GUEST POST: American Muscle Cars, Ranked

Editor's Note: Today, in a very special event on the Steve Boese blog, we present (another) very, very rare guest post. 

Today's post is from none other than the star of stage and screen William Tincup, HCM industry thought leader. Prior to immersing himself in the world of HR and HR Tech, William piloted fighter jets with the Navy, and allegedly had an encounter with a Russian MiG in disputed airspace in the South Pacific. Later, William went on to graduate from the prestigious Naval Aviator's academy in Southern California, where he also gained notice with his singing and volleyball playing ability.

William has always had that proverbial 'need to speed', so today we present this take on a very, very important topic: American muscle cars.

Enjoy! 

Classic American Muscle Cars, Ranked

By William Tincup

Notice the word classic. So, if you're pissed that your 2017 Corvette Z isn't listed, well, this list isn't for you. Similar but different, this list will not rank Jaguars or Lamborghini’s, etc. By using the words "classic" and "American" the list is really focused on the greatness that was produced here in the 60's and 70’s. Okay, okay. Here we go...

10. 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.7 secs

Exterior: Sebring Yellow (Black trim)

Interior: Black

Hardtop

 

09. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.3 secs

Exterior: Dusk Blue

Interior: Black

Hardtop

 

08. 1970 Pontiac GTO 455 Judge

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 6.0 secs

Exterior: Orbit Orange

Interior: Black

Convertible preferred

07. 1969 Dodge Charger 500

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.5 secs

Exterior: Bright Red (white trim)

Interior: Black

Hardtop

 

06. 1970 Plymouth Cuda 440

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.6 secs

Exterior: In-Violet (Black trim)

Interior: Black

Hardtop

 

05. 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.5 secs

Exterior: Candyapple Red

Interior; Black

Hardtop

 

04. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 6.5 secs

Exterior: British Green

Interior: Tobacco

Convertible preferred

  

03. 1967 Shelby GT500

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 4.8 secs

Exterior: Silver Frost (Black trim)

Interior: Black

Hardtop

02. 1967 Pontiac GTO

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.2 secs

Exterior: Signet Gold

Interior: Parchment

Hardtop

 

01. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454

Speed: 0 to 60 mph: 5.3 secs

Exterior: Misty Turquoise

Interior: Ivory

Convertible preferred

Something to think about. In your opinion, when does a typical mid-life crisis occur for men? Pick a range of years. Now, think back to the guys (and gals) that fought in WWII. Would the makers of these classic cars AND buyers of these cherry rides... would they be in that mid-life crisis range? Probably huh. Well, now you know where innovation really comes from. 

You can comment if you like, but if you disagree with me, of course you would be wrong.

Steve here - fantastic stuff, William. Love the Chevelle at #1. Also am a big fan of the Cuda. But I would gladly take any of them.

Have a great weekend!

GUEST POST: Girl Scout Cookies, Ranked

Editor's Note: Today, in a very special event on the Steve Boese blog, we present a very, very rare guest post. 

Today's post is from none other than the mighty Matt 'akaBruno' Stollak, Professor of Many Things at St. Norbert College, father or twins, founding member of The 8 Man Rotation, and all around swell guy. Matt's past is a little less clear, some say in 1935 he ran guns to Ethiopia, and in 1936 he fought in Spain on the loyalist side. I like to think he may have killed a man, but that's the romantic in me. 

Nonetheless, and without delay, I present Matt's take on a very, very important topic: Girl Scout Cookies. Enjoy!

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Girl Scout Cookies, Ranked 

By Matthew Stollak

If you aren’t already aware, it’s Girl Scout Cookie season. If the Girl Scouts haven’t already been to your front door selling their wares, they are waiting outside your local supermarket, or a dutiful parent is pitching them at your office.

I’m on record as stating that Girl Scout cookies are mediocre, but you’ll buy them anyway. So, if you have to purchase them, here’s the definitive 2016 ranking.

12. Caramel deLites/Samoas – Controversial, I know. It has chocolate, it has caramel. But, it also contains the devil’s floss – toasted coconut. Worst!

11. Cranberry Citrus Crisps – What focus group demanded these? Is it still Thanksgiving?

10. Lemonades – There are many great icings in the world…chocolate, vanilla….yet, you choose lemon?!?!?

9. Savannah Smiles – You can try to cover the sour taste of lemon with powdered sugar, but it is still a fail. More like Savannah Frowns, I’m afraid.

8. Rah-Rah Raisins - It’s horrible to reach for a chocolate chip cookie, only to find it is oatmeal raisin. Now add yogurt and make it mass-produced, and you have something not worth cheering about.

7. Trios – Too much of everything….chocolate chips, peanut butter, oatmeal. Should work in theory, but the whole is less than its parts. (Steve here - agree, and oatmeal does not belong in cookies)

6. Toffee-tastic – Rich, buttery cookies with golden toffee bits. Add chocolate and it would move up the charts.

5. Trefoils – This is your basic shortbread cookie. Not bad, but it doesn’t wow you either.

4. Thanks-A-Lot - They take the Trefoil and add fudge to the bottom. Plus, the embossed “Thank You” is in several languages. So, not only is it tasty, it’s educational as well.

3. Do-Si-Dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich – Top 3, but could rise higher if they switched out the oatmeal cookie with the shortbread.

2. Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs – It’s a generic PB Twix. 

1. Thin Mints – What else could be at the top? Especially out of the freezer, you know you’ll eat a whole sleeve.

Steve here - Thanks Matt for weighing in on this important topic.

And as always with these 'Ranked' posts, you could disagree, but you would be wrong.

Have a great weekend!

National restaurant chains, ranked

For a long weekend where you are perhaps considering dining out at some point, I humbly submit to you this subjective, unscientific, unresearched and 100% accurate breakdown and rankings of the important national restaurant chains.

Note: these chains fit into the category of 'Casual Dining', that staple of medium-sized towns and access roads just off the Interstate everywhere. But the point is that places like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Chipotle (New ad pitch: 'Now with LESS Ecoli!!!!'), are not in the running.

Here goes:

10. Outback Steakhouse - Fun fact: I once ate in an Outback Steakhouse each week on Monday night for six months while on a project in Hickory, North Carolina.

Signature item: Bloomin' Onion

9. Chili's - Ate there last night. Am totally not kidding. 

Signature item: Baby Back Ribs

8. Red Robin - Seem to have recently undertaken some kind of re-branding. 

Signature item: Royal Red Robin

7. Olive Garden - This is terrible food, more or less, but the one near where I live is ALWAYS packed, so that has to count for something.

Signature item: None really. But usually they will keep bringing you food until you explode.

6. Red Lobster - 83% of the shrimp consumed in the USA are eaten in Red Lobsters. Actually, I have no idea if that is true. But it seems like it could be true, if you know what I mean.

Signature item: Cheddar Bay biscuits

5. T.G.I. Friday's - Am kind of surprised these are still around. I guess someone had to survive the epic battle between Friday's, Bennigan's, and Houlihan's in the 90s.

Signature item: Pretty much anything from the appetizer menu. You are proably a little drunk already and are not that picky about the food.

4. Carabba's Italian Grill - My son's favorite on this list. Also had a 90-minute wait to get in at 5:45PM on a recent weekend night. That's nuts.

Signature item: Have some pasta. Or some chicken. Heck, have both.

3. Applebees - Feelin' good in the neighborhood. Perhaps too good. 

Signature item:Two or three shady as hell local drunks that are at the end of the bar at 11:35PM on Thursday night.

2. Buffalo Wild Wings - I used to stop in the BWW on the way home from my old teaching gig. Nothing more sad than going to a bar by yourself at 10PM on a Tuesday. Good wings though.

Signature item: Wings, you dummy.

1. The Cheesecake Factory - The choice of big time ballers everywhere, especially in Las Vegas. Go at midnight, sit at the bar. Order draft beer and dessert. You won't regret it.

Signature item: Original cheesecake. Don't mess with a classic. 

You can comment if you like, but if you disagree with me, of course you would be wrong.

Have a great weekend!

Holiday TV specials, ranked

It's been a busy week on the blog and I am pretty much out of good any ideas for today, so let's get topical and unnecessary and sound off on a very important issue - holiday-themed TV specials.

We all grew up with them, perhaps still have to suffer through some of them if we have young kids, but no matter where you come down on holiday TV specials you likely have a favorite. Or perhaps not. Doesn't matter, because I present here your unscientific, incomplete, subjective, yet 100% accurate ranking of holiday season TV specials.

Here we go...

10. Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer - Completely unwatchable. Santa is kind of a jerk in this one as well. Only after Rudolph can be of some use to him does he give a hoot about him.

9. Frosty the Snowman - Equally unwatchable. Wow, you mean snowmen melt when the sun comes out? Who knew!

8. John Denver and The Muppets: A Christmas Together - The presence of John Denver makes the Muppets a little more tolerable in this otherwise grim affair. And that is not saying much.

7. Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July - When the 'crossovers' start that can only mean the writers are officially out of ideas. Please don't watch this. 

6. Mickey's Christmas Carol - Featuring the excellent casting of Daffy Duck as 'Scrooge McDuck'

5. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol - I confess to not really remembering this one, but Mr. Magoo always seemed cool and half-drunk all the time so that has to count for something.

4. The Year Without a Santa Claus - Notice a theme here? How the kind of boring Santa character can never seem to carry a special on his own? Snow Miser and Heat Miser are the stars of this forgettable special. And Mrs. Claus was a real let down in this one too. Step it up Ma Claus!

3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Should really be higher. I never had any sympathy for the stupid Whos. I always felt like they deserved to have their Christmas stolen from them.

2. Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Two words: Burgermeister Meisterburger.  That is all you need to know. Epic character.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Hits almost all the right notes. Lucy is at her apex predator best. Snoopy steals every scene he is in. And the best musical score of all time for a TV show from jazz legend Vince Guaraldi.

Honorable mention - Nick Offerman drinks whiskey in front of a Yule Log.

You might disagree with the rankings, perhaps even feel like I made some terrible omissions from the list, but as is the case with all of these 'ranked' posts, you would be wrong.

Have a great weekend!

Biases, ranked

I love when things work out exactly as I thought they would. I also love when I overestimate my own ability and when I forget what it is like when people do not have as much information on a subject as I have. And when I underestimate how long it is going to take to complete a task - man that's gold.

All of the above are examples of biases, in one form or another. There are so many biases it can be hard to keep them all straight, and to know which biases are better/more interesting than others. Therefore I submit this subjective, unscientific, incomplete, and 100% accurate list of biases, ranked.

Here goes...

10. The Illusion of Control

9. The Dunning-Kruger Effect

8. Planning Fallacy

7. Negativity bias

6. Shared information bias

5. Confirmation bias

4. The Hot-Hand Fallacy

3. Projection bias

2. Availability heuristic

1. Gambler's fallacy

Did I leave some important biases out? Sure.

Did I fail to adequately explain my rankings? Of course.

Might you disagree with the above rankings? Yep. But you would be wrong.

Have a great weekend!