Andy Laub

Andy Laub is a designer & developer in the Twin Cities.

Published Dec 03

Finale »

Well, this will be the last entry this year, which is kind of nice. I survived another year and put in at least one entry a month. My Christmas/Birthday was good, I got some great games (Mario Kart, Simpsons Hit & Run) and so did Abe (Mario Golf). We bought lots of IKEA stuff in leiu of buying Christmas presents for eachother. We also found out yesterday that the move-in date for the new apartment Cheap Oakleys will probably be towards the end of February as opposed to the beginning. It will be absolutely fantastic to be in a place twice the size of our current one. I can hardly wait. Also fantastic is the fact that MacWorld San Francisco is only a week away. I really hope the 12″ Powerbook gets some updates. I wish for a larger amount of non-removable base RAM (512 Mb would be nice) and maybe the 1.25 Ghz G4. Those two things alone would make me very happy. So, we’ll see.

Cars »

I like cars alot, and I figured since I haven’t ever done this on this site, I’ll make a list of the 10 new cars I’d most like to own. Here goes:

  1. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish Well, before this car I can’t honestly say that I was a big proponent of Aston. But this really changed my mind. Its shape is absolutely gorgeous, and what’s more, it’s the James Bond car. You really can’t go wrong.
  2. Audi S4 Avant I think this car is a contradiction in and of itself. Audi has taken a big, immensely powerful V8 and put it in a station wagon the size of my Accord. Considering the 1.8T version of the A4 is fantastic to drive, this can only be better, right?
  3. Honda S2000 I feel, as a Honda owner, that it is requesite to include a Honda on this list. Although I’ve never driven an S2000, I certainly long to, due partially to it’s glove-like fit and back to basics attitude, and partially because it’s just so damn cool.
  4. Infiniti FX45 It took me awhile, but I’ve really come to dig the FX. At first I wasn’t sure about it because it was neither German nor made by Honda, but the more I see them and hear that great V8, the more I want one. If I had to buy an SUV, this is one of the very few I’d consider.
  5. Land Rover Range Rover Given the other vehicles on this list, you may not have expected to see the Range Rover show up here. However, the sheer class that the Rover emits, in addition to that air of mystery that surrounds it, puts it on my list.
  6. Mercedes Benz E55 AMG This would be the obligatory cruising sedan. Give me one in black and send me on my way. Seriously, though. The old E55 was OK, but http://www.lamifor.com never really did it for me. This new one, though, is just killer. I love both the interior and exterior, and I think M-B is headed in the right direction.
  7. MINI Cooper S Works What’s not to love about a 200 hp MINI? I think that combination of power with the MINI’s disarming look and easy to live with size makes for a fun drive.
  8. Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe I have a thing for the Porsche 911. I am in love with that shape. I would like to someday own a late 60’s 911 as a secondary car (because I could never afford a new one). But why this 911? True, it’s not a turbo. But it is a fantastic looking car nonetheless, and you have to love the light strip across the tail.
  9. Toyota MR-2 Three words: keep it simple. Toyota does just that. I think the MR-2 is minimalism at its finest. It’s one of those cars that you just want to drive for the sake of driving.
  10. Volvo V70 R C’mon, a 300 hp AWD Volvo wagon? Exactly why I like it. Back when Abe had his Volvo, I’d take a stab at the gas and it would take a moment to respond. Alas, that’s just not the case with the R. Like that’s a bad thing.

Snowless »

It is the 7th of December today, and still no snow. Normally I wouldn’t be even remotely disappointed by this (because of commuting), but since my drive each day has been cheap oakleys reduced from 45 minutes to, well, 4, the snow is now OK in my book. It’s kind of disappointing and weird to get up and think “hey, it’s December,” but then look outside and not see any snow. We had a little bit very briefly in November but it’s gone.

Also, being that it’s December and almost Christmas, here is my 2003 Want List:

  1. Herman Miller Aeron PostureFit Chair : $850
  2. LaCie d2 160 Gb : $200 (ed. discount)
  3. Apple PowerMac G5 dual 2Ghz maxed out : $10400 (ed. discount)
  4. Sony Grand Wega 42″ LCD Projection Monitor : $2800
  5. Sony PS2 : $180
  6. Mario Kart Double Dash : $50
  7. Infiniti FX45 : $50000
  8. $$$$$ : $?