Category: this crappy year

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It’s Time To Talk About Saabs

A lovely centered picture of the last Saabs ever.

Friends,

I know you’re not a complete loon, but I just thought I’d mention that the very last Saabs imported into the United States are going up for auction at their respective ports of entry. Here’s your last chance to own a marginally weird near-luxury car from a defunct Swedish marque before they’re all gone. Considering the potential for massive discounts, would you take a chance? Remember, no warranty, no parts, no dealers, and no service except from Sven around the corner.

Now how much would you pay?

– bob

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I’m So Sorry

A lovely centered picture of Penney the puppy dog.

Friends,

I may have killed your computer.

Things seem to have gone horribly wrong at bobtherieau.com and our home site has been used since August to peddle bad juju to you, our glorious and good-looking readers. Some evil chump had taken it upon herself (see what I did there? I mixed up your expectations of the gender of hackers, didn’t I? now look at yourself. go on. look.) to glom onto the friendly shoal on these internets where you can find the rest of my stuff to send you bad things. That’s the simple version, but for you, I hope you learn from my mistakes:

  • Don’t use public WiFi to fetch your mail from a computer or a smartphone because your passwords tend to be sent in the clear, without encryption.
  • This is especially true if your email user name and password are the same as your site admin user name and password (or even close).

Everything seems to be fine now that we’ve changed servers, passwords, user names, likes, dislikes, aftershave, everything. Well, everything but the goodness that you can expect every single day here.

And again, we’re really sorry that once again you’ve had to go to Best Buy and ask some geek to explain why your peecee is running really slowly. Maybe it’ll be better next Thanksgiving.

Your pal,

– bob

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Goodnight, Steven P. Jobs

business solutions from apple.

Friends,

Mister Jobs, referred to here over time as His Steveness, has succumbed today to the pancreatic cancer he has battled for several years. There are those out in the crabby public who would say that his legacy isn’t so much that he invented anything, but that he created an environment at Apple where his employees might innovate. I disagree.

Steve Jobs invented the idea that an entire company can create a global environment where people everywhere might innovate. That’s very different.

Godspeed, sir.

– bob

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Wankel? No Ma’am, I’m Just Looking

It is beautiful. Like a sunset filled with gorgeous sadness.
Friends,

News that Mazda has killed the slow-selling RX-8 means only one thing—that the rotary engine will cease to be in production in any of their production vehicles for the first time since the late 60s. They’re pretty cheap right now as dealers try to clear their remaining inventory, and I’m thinking that I need a weird four door sports car with a thirsty and smoggy engine at this moment, but a good night’s sleep should cure that.

I’ve always been fascinated with the engine that goes “hmmmmmmm,” but not so fascinated to dive into the world of massive oil consumption and blown apex seals. That’s not to say I couldn’t, just that I shouldn’t.

Right?

– bob

P.S. If you know somebody who has a Rotary Pickup in decent shape, let’s talk.