The Wilder Side

Losing Interest in BYU Football

2011-10-12T14:33:00.016-04:00

I was listening to the B.S. Report the other day and I heard Bill Simmons talk about the reasons why he doesn't follow college football. First, because he attended college at Holy Cross, and second, because college football is corrupt and ungoverned. This reminded me of the things I hate about college football and the reasons I've lost interest in BYU's football season and I decided to list those reasons and to try to figure out what has gone wrong.

Reasons I watch BYU football games, in order of importance:

School pride.
The chance to compete for a conference title.
The chance to beat Utah.
The chance to compete for a national title or a BCS bowl.
The chance to qualify for a bowl game.

The first reason, school pride, remains intact. I still want BYU to win every game, whether or not I'm interested enough to watch.

Not my kid. Just a picture about school pride.

The second reason, the chance to compete for a conference title, is the biggest motivation I have to watch a game. School pride makes me interested in the outcome, but competing for a title makes me watch. The fact that this is now missing is THE biggest problem for me as a fan this season. I understand the need to escape the Mountain West and get a better TV contract, but I hope that independence is just a stepping stone to another conference (Big 12, please?). The main reason I prefer conference competition above the national competition is that individual conferences do not involve such blatant corruption like we see in the BCS. Another reason is that BYU usually stays in the conference race longer than the national race.

The third reason, the chance to defeat Utah, is a strong motivation. It includes beating them head to head, but also finishing ahead of them in the conference. This rivalry is key to my motivation to watch BYU games, especially during seasons when the only remaining achievement within our reach is to finish ahead of Utah. The fact that Utah is in a different conference limits this motivation to just the one game, which is another of the problems this season.

The fourth reason, the chance to compete on the national stage (in a BCS bowl or for the national title), is a strong motivation, but there are problems with it. It is usually short-lived. Only while BYU remains in the BCS conversation does my interest remain high enough to watch the games based solely on this reason. This has happened a few times since Bronco took over, but it's always fallen apart by the end of the season. It would also be bittersweet if it were to happen, because we would be involved in a corrupt competition. Except for a few cases (Boise State, Utah), the "Basically Corrupt Series Championship" doesn't prove much beyond who has money and who doesn't.

The final reason, qualifying for a bowl game, almost didn't make the list. If BYU is struggling to qualify for a bowl game, then I've probably given up on the season already. I don't find bowl games very meaningful since there's nothing riding on the outcome.

So after going through the list, I think the main problems that distinguish this season from previous years are that BYU is not involved in a conference competition, and that Utah is not involved in the same conference competition as BYU. The other problems have been there for a while, so they probably don't factor in, except that maybe the continuing BCS corruption has alienated me from college football in general. I suppose there's always basketball and women's soccer.

The Away Goals Rule

2011-02-14T14:45:00.053-05:00

Yes. This is my next random blog post about soccer. I know what you're thinking. What's taken so long, right? Well, I'll tell you. You see, the thing with random blog posts is you can't rush them. They just happen when they happen. It's part of their charm and appeal. So here you go.

The away goals rule is a way of breaking ties in playoffs where opposing teams play against each other twice, once on each team's home field. The rule stipulates that if the aggregate score is tied after completing both games, the team that scored more away goals wins and the other team is eliminated. If the number of away goals is a tie, then an additional 30 minutes of extra time are added to the second game, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. This approach is used in many important soccer competitions worldwide, including the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, and certain qualifying matches for the UEFA Euro Cup and FIFA World Cup. There are also many other competitions that use the rule.

Now that you know what the rule is, let me get to the point. It's a dumb rule. It is redundant and unnecessary. The problem of home-field advantage has already been solved by playing a game at each team's home field. Adding the away goals rule results in a competition that values home defense and road offense above road defense and home offense, which is not very meaningful. Sure, if everyone agrees to it, then great, but I would hate to be the team that loses by that rule.

The most prominent example I can think of is the Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona in 2009. The first game, played at Barcelona's stadium, ended in a 0-0 draw, which meant that Chelsea failed to score any away goals. The second game, played at Chelsea's stadium, ended in a 1-1 draw. The aggregate score was 1-1, but since Barcelona scored their goal on the road, they moved on and Chelsea was eliminated.

Based on the final scores of the two matches, Barcelona had the stronger offense on the road since they scored an away goal and Chelsea did not, but Chelsea had the stronger defense on the road since they didn't allow any goals at Barcelona's stadium while Barcelona allowed one goal at Chelsea's stadium. So the away goals rule, as stated previously, values a strong road offense above a strong road defense. It seems arbitrary. Isn't it just as impressive to stop the home team from scoring as it is to score goals on the road?

In conclusion, the away goals rule is meaningless and arbitrary. It doesn't send the better team through to the next stage. It's just a way to decide who "won" because that's a decision that has to be made.

Some might argue that there isn't really a better way to do it, so let's analyze the alternatives. I don't like penalty kicks, but I think I would prefer them over away goals. At least that way you can hang your hat on something that feels a little more real, if only a little. Extra time can be a good option, but it gives an advantage to the team that plays at home during the second leg. This could be acceptable if the advantage is given to the higher seeded team. They may already use seeding in this manner, but I'm not sure. The only other suggestion I can think of is to play a third game at a neutral site, but I don't really like adding more games.

Based on the above analysis, my final proposal is to give the higher seeded team the home field for the second leg and to eliminate the away goals rule completely. Extra time and penalties can be added as usual at the end of the second leg if necessary.

My Keys to Dieting

2010-10-15T20:39:00.009-04:00

Don't buy candy in bulk.
Eat lots of fruit (especially apple cinnamon and strawberry Nutri-Grain bars).
Eat one baby carrot every other day (optional).
Consume only water between dinner and breakfast, unless there is a Costco chocolate cake nearby.
Make sure there is no Costco chocolate cake nearby.
On gameday, pizza of any type and in any amount and at any time of day is acceptable.
Chicken + George Foreman.
Lean Cuisine.
Otherwise pig out and enjoy yourself.

Dumb Sports Rules

2010-09-27T15:52:00.007-04:00

I recently realized how dumb it is that professional tennis players get multiple chances to get a serve in. To celebrate how dumb this rule is, I thought I would compile a list of dumb things in sports. Please add comments if you think of more.

1) The service fault in tennis. In what other sport do athletes get a complete redo when they mess up?

2) NFL sudden-death overtime. I don't care what statistics say, you have to give each team an equal opportunity. I suggest two 5-minute halves so each team can receive a kickoff and both offenses and defenses are on the field. Another option would be to give the 2nd team a chance to respond if the 1st team scores on the first drive. If the 1st team doesn't score on the first drive, start sudden death when the 2nd team gains possession. This is so easy to fix. Why don't they do it? I think they made a rule change recently, but I don't know what it is and it probably isn't good enough.

3) PATs in football. I think they're pointless. They're too easy and they rarely add any excitement to a game. I propose eliminating the PAT and implementing a one-point conversion, which would be the same as a two-point conversion except you start closer to the end zone. The one-point conversion could be from 3 yards out and the two-point conversion from 6 yards out.

4) Intentional fouls at the end of close basketball games. (Thanks Hyrum for reminding me of this one.) Fouling should never be allowed to become a strategy in any sport. In this case, the problem is that referees call normal fouls when everyone knows they're intentional. The definition of intentional foul needs to be revisited so that the referees can get it right. Otherwise it might be necessary to use Hyrum's idea that all fouls are intentional with under 2 minutes left in the game.

5) Not using instant replay in baseball. Just ask Armando Galarraga if he wouldn't appreciate a little help from a video replay. It could be like football, where the booth chimes in if they think there's a need. Or give each team one challenge, which they lose if they're wrong.

6) Fighting in hockey. I like this, but it's pretty dumb, so it's on the list.

7) Baseball stadiums of different sizes. How much does this skew home run stats?

8) Spiking the ball to stop the clock. Why is this allowed? Shouldn't it be intentional grounding?

I'm sure there are many more. Hopefully this is a good start.

Views from the Washington Monument

2010-09-06T00:37:00.002-04:00

When my parents came to visit recently, one of my favorite things that we did (other than try out a new version of speed scrabble) was the Washington Monument tour because of the amazing views. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Favorite Conference Talk

2010-08-18T18:48:00.000-04:00

Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk in the Priesthood Session is my favorite talk from April because it answers all the questions I've ever had about priesthood blessings. I highly recommend it.

Maybe I should get rid of my cell phone.

2010-08-11T12:26:00.000-04:00

I know some people that don't have cell phones and somehow they're okay. I also read an article recently about how many successful businessmen don't use cell phones so they can have more control over their time and can communicate with other people on their own terms, among other reasons.

I've decided to list what I recognize as the advantages and disadvantages of cell phones so that I can get to the bottom of this mystery.

Advantages

They are good for emergencies (such as when you run out of honey bunches of oats and your roommate is at the store).
They are good for traveling (like when you forget to record the game and you can set the dvr from your phone).
They are good for finding people at football games (BYU vs Oklahoma in the Dallas Cowboys humongous stadium).
I suppose there are one or two useful iphone apps out there.

Disadvantages

They are a distraction from the people or task or road in front of you.
They can show disrespect to the people you’re with.
They make you too accessible to other people.
They provide a temptation to waste time in so many different ways (email, internet, games, apps, etc.).
They are usually expensive. I wonder how much of the average person’s debt can be attributed to cell phones and the fact that we’ve grown accustomed to large monthly bills.

I think that one possible solution (for those who want a solution) is to get a cheap home phone line and maybe a "pay as you go" cell phone and to not be afraid to turn either of them off.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

2010-07-27T19:59:00.000-04:00

I know the government isn't supposed to waste money, but I'd sorta like to work in a building where strange-looking insects don't feel at home in the hallways and where spiders don't casually lower themselves onto my desk every other day. And decent AC would be nice. And maybe a bathroom on the 2nd floor. And maybe a carpet that isn't ripped in 20 places, including right under my chair so it can't roll properly. And perhaps some trash cans. You can't recycle everything. I'm pretty sure about that. And finally, could someone please move the pressure valve away from the walkway leading to my building? At least put up a hazard sign and some complimentary ear plugs. That's all I want.

New Apartment

2010-06-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

I have a new apartment. Again. Email me if you want my new address. I hope everyone is doing well. Gracias.

The Beautiful Game

2010-06-19T15:21:00.000-04:00

I love watching soccer, especially at the level of the World Cup. My previous post was merely an attempt at a humorous and philosophical study of the sport, with my main conclusion being that the rules could use a little tweaking. Even so, soccer is the greatest sport in the world. It is very simple in concept, but it requires such a high level of fitness and intelligence to play it well. Even though not very many goals are scored, all aspects of the game can be enjoyable to watch when it is played well. It is called The Beautiful Game for good reason.

The Problems with Soccer and Suggested Solutions

2010-06-16T10:05:00.412-04:00

I decided to modify this post and make it much, much better, based on some suggestions and on my own thoughts.

I enjoy watching soccer but it can be frustrating when not many goals are scored, which is most of the time. Because of the low scoring, a lot of games end in a tie, which, in my opinion, should not be allowed. However, if we eliminate ties, we need a better way to break the tie. Too many important games are decided by penalty kicks, which are only a skosh better than flipping a coin.

So in summary, the problems are

Low scoring.
Games ending in ties.
A poor method of breaking ties.

Problem #1 - Low Scoring

Fundamentally, a sport should be designed to separate the two teams involved so that there is a winner and a loser. Let's look at it from purely a mathematical perspective. Speaking of averages, there aren't enough goals scored in a soccer game to mathematically produce a winner. For example, in the NBA, a typical score might be 100-90. In soccer, the equivalent score would be 1-0.9 or 2-1.8, which, after rounding, becomes 1-1 or 2-2. If we keep the same ratio but increase the total number of goals, we won't have a winner until reaching a score of 6 to 5.4, which, after rounding, becomes 6 to 5. Based on this math, you would need 11 or more goals per game to produce a winner. In soccer, this is extremely rare. This is important because, in my opinion, it indicates a fundamental flaw in the sport (or perhaps just the rules of the sport). Of course I realize that the numbers I've used are based on my own thoughts but I think they are reasonable.

So the important question is: What needs to be changed to increase the number of goals scored in soccer games?

The answer, in my opinion, is in the rules of the game. The basic concept of soccer doesn't need any modification. It's in the details where changes are needed. These details include the following:

The offside rule.
The penalty area and the goal area.
The goal.

Here's what I think should be done in each case.

The offside rule should be eliminated. It's just a stupid rule. It's illogical and counterproductive. It's never really made any sense to me. Why should the position of the defense restrict the position of the offense? How about actually playing defense instead of just taking a step forward and calling it offside.
The penalty area and goal area should remain the same size, but the goalkeeper's use of his hands should be restricted to the goal area instead of the entire penalty area. I might even go so far as to remove the use of hands altogether, but I will refrain for now. :-)
The size of the goal should remain the same unless the other changes prove futile. In that case, the size of the goal should be increased.

Hopefully, by solving problem #1, problems 2 and 3 will be less significant, but let's tackle them anyway.

Problem #2 - Games Ending in Ties

No one likes a tie. Fans want their team to win. Team members want to win. The coach wants to win. The owner wants to win. The celebrity sitting in the stands wants some camera time, and, of course, for their team to win. I want all of these groups to want to win. Don't you? I don't want to watch a team playing to avoid a loss. A sport should be designed so that there is always a winner, except maybe in timed races, but even then they should just break time down into smaller increments and find out that it was in fact not a tie.

Luckily, this problem is much easier to fix than problem #1. Simply add a rule requiring that all soccer games produce a winner. This, of course, leads to problem #3.

Problem #3 - Poor Method of Breaking Ties

Penalty kicks are the worst possible way to break a tie, except, of course, for a game of rock-paper-scissors. There is simply too much guessing involved. There is some amount of skill involved in the player placing their shot accurately and in fooling the goalkeeper, but mainly it's just a guessing game. I'm a big fan of penalty kicks during the game when fouls are committed, since there ought to be a huge penalty for fouls near the goal, but something better is needed for breaking a tie.

I propose modifying extra time. Here are a few possibilities.

Remove the goalkeepers.
Create advantage scenarios such as 10-on-8 or 5-on-4 and alternate every few minutes until one team scores more goals. Fewer numbers would also allow for players to rest in between and therefore for extended extra time if needed.
Allow unlimited substitutions.

That's all I've got. Thanks. You're the best.

Sporcle Quizzes Are Awesome!

2010-01-18T00:13:00.000-05:00

During Christmas break, my family introduced me to Sporcle. It was a life-changing experience. I have since learned a lot about geography, history, literature, music, science, and sports, among other things. My favorite quizzes (so far) are the following.

U.S. Presidents
U.S. Capitals
Countries of Africa
Countries of Europe
Countries of Asia
Countries of North America
Countries of South America
Countries of Oceania
VH1's 100 Songs (80s)
VH1's 100 Songs (90s)
Artists Who Hit #1 (2000s)
Bible books - New Testament
Bible books - Old Testament
Big 4 U.S. Sports
#1 Ranked Tennis Players
Periodic Table
Greek Alphabet
BBC Top 100 Books
NBA Champions
The Last Five
World Series Winners

Unrelated to the New Year

2010-01-01T02:14:00.005-05:00

Several people have asked me if there's an electronic copy of my dissertation. In the unlikely event that you might be interested, the link is http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2706.pdf

Really boring stuff. And it takes a while to load. Enjoy!

Recent Changes

2009-12-13T21:51:00.001-05:00

This may be a long and boring post, but it might be the most exciting post you've ever read!! Will you dare to risk it?

A year ago, I finished school and started a new job and finally made it to the real world. I know, it was about time. My original plan was to retire when I graduated and become a jazz musician. Unfortunately that didn't happen. What did happen was that I decided to get my own apartment in Waldorf, Maryland, which was about as close as I could get to work without sacrificing my standard of living beyond an acceptable point. It seemed like it would be smarter to live closer to work, since I'd be making that drive almost every day, rather than living closer to people. No offense intended to all you southern Maryland people (with notable exceptions to whom offense is indeed intended).

At first I really enjoyed living alone. It was a nice break from all those things from which it was a break. It was nice to be able to come home and do whatever I wanted and watch whatever I wanted and completely relax and just hide from life for a little while. Maybe I needed that after having roommates for so many years, but eventually it became rather wearisome to drive to church, institute, friends' apartments, or anywhere I wanted to go that wasn't in the middle of nowhere in southern Maryland.

Well here I am a year later and I've finally made some key changes that will help me get back to a more social life, and a life that will be much improved in many ways I hope.

The biggest change was my recent move to Alexandria, Virginia, which is much closer to the people I know out here and all the LDS single ladies that everyone tells me I need to meet. I also have roommates now, which is hugely important, as everyone knows.

Some less important, but still significant changes include the selling of my tv and couch, and a general paradigm shift towards simplifying and getting rid of all the extra, unnecessary stuff I have rather than continuing to buy more and more stuff just because it's cool and I can. Albeit I don't believe I will ever get rid of my leg lamp.

I also got rid of DIRECTV which I never should have gotten in the first place. I should have listened, Colette. You were the wisest of all (see facebook status comments way back when). I did enjoy some HD sports along the way, but was it worth it? I don't think so.

Oh, and I haven't bought a movie in a while.

And I finally went to traffic court for that ticket I got a while ago. The judge ended up cutting the fine in half and dismissing the points on my record, so I'm happy.

And I'm done with all my Christmas shopping, unless of course you're dying to have me buy you something. Speak now or forever hold your peace. I figure if you made it this far through my post, you deserve something. No promises, though.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

I Bid Thee Adieu

2009-11-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Yes. It is true. My companion of 2.5 years has gone away, leaving me sad and lonely. Alas. Woe is me. She's kept me company through the good shows and the bad shows, the fantastic sporting events and the less than stellar. I may never find her equal again. How can I ever again watch the Masters, the 24 season premiere, a midnight viewing of Wicker Park, or play Super Smash Bros on the N64 without shedding a tear or two. I can't. It's impossible. Go ahead. Dare me to try it. I'll fail.

What can be done? The answer eludes me. Hence, I will do nothing. Perhaps her memory will fade away into the past like the integrity of Major League Baseball, or perhaps it will linger as a cherished moment, such as John Beck's pass to Harline, Jason Lezak's record anchor leg to defeat the French in the 2008 Olympics, or the times when I defeated Samus with Pikachu (or with Fox, Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, or Ness). Only time will tell.

Goodbye, my friend.

Victims of Their Own Success

2009-10-25T23:59:00.003-04:00

I would like to take a moment to reflect on the recent success of BYU football under Bronco Mendenhall. While there have been some deeply disappointing games, two so far this season, and a handful during previous seasons, I would invite you to walk with me down memory lane.

2004

Crap. Crap. Double crap. Triple crap?
Last year under Gary Crowton.

5-6 overall record.

Third straight season with a losing record and without a bowl game.

The most memorable game for me was the 28-27 loss to a ranked Boise State team after missing what would have been a game-winning field goal.

2005

First year under Bronco Mendenhall.

6-5 record during regular season (6-6 overall).

Bowl eligible for the first time since 2001.

The most memorable games are, unfortunately, the overtime losses to TCU (51-50) and Utah (41-34), but at least they went to overtime. Just think, we were two overtimes away from being 8-4 in Bronco's first year.

2006

Bronco's second year.

11-2 overall record.

Ranked as high as 15th during the season.

Undefeated in conference play.

Two close losses to Arizona (16-13) and Boston College (30-23 in OT) kept us out of a BCS bowl.
5 points away from a perfect season (just try and question my math skills, I dare you).

Beck to Harline baby!!! (Harline is still open.)

Destroyed Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl 38-8.

Raised expectations to super high levels for 2007.

The end of a fine career for John Beck. I salute him. FYI - he is currently 3rd string QB for Baltimore.

2007

Bronco's third year.

11-2 overall record.

Ranked as high as 14th.

Undefeated in conference play.

Two early non-conference losses kept us out of a BCS bowl.

Eerily similar to 2006.

Revenge against Arizona (won 20-7).

4th and 18 Max Hall to Austin Collie.

Played UCLA twice, losing the first, but winning the Las Vegas Bowl 17-16 with a blocked field goal at the end of the game.

2008

Bronco's fourth year.

10-3 overall record.

Ranked as high as 7th.

Started the season 6-0, reaching a 16-game winning streak, ranked in the top 10, and prompting much hullabaloo about BCS Bowl busting.

Defeated UCLA soundly in the skirmish 59-0.

Disappointing losses at TCU 32-7, Utah 48-24, and Arizona 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl, but interestingly, despite the mid-season loss to TCU, a win over Utah would have made us conference co-champions with Utah and TCU, and possibly would have landed us in a BCS bowl depending on the final rankings. Alas, it was not to be.

2009

Bronco's fifth year.

Started 6-2.

Ranked as high as 7th.

Upset Oklahoma in season opener, leading to a top 10 ranking and discussion of a possible berth in the national championship game.

Unfortunately, there were two disappointing losses to Florida State and TCU but there is still time to salvage a respectable season.

Overall:

I have to applaud Bronco Mendenhall and the BYU coaches and players for how quickly they turned the program around after Gary Crowton left. Two conference championships in the first three years and BCS buster potential every year since 2006 make a pretty good case. Sure, there are still some things to figure out and there has been some disappointment each year, but it is only because of all the success, which has raised expectations and put us in the national spotlight. It's tough to meet rising expectations when you've already climbed so high. Not to mention that TCU and Utah could have beaten anyone in the nation last year, not just us. Same goes for TCU this year.

This is my positive take on the BYU football program.

Texas

2009-10-04T18:18:00.071-04:00

A few weeks ago, I went down to the BYU-Oklahoma game at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. It was basically the best Labor Day weekend of all time. Besides the great football game, it was also my first real visit to Texas and I think I even saw a big, bright star (at night). My brother Nathaniel and I stayed at my other brother Mark's house in Wylie and we got to see our littlest niece Adriana, who made the trip even funner (yes, funner is a word). We also made it to the Sixth Floor Museum where Kennedy was assassinated, which was very enlightening. Well, I've decided to keep this short and just put in a picture of Adriana and some pictures and videos of the game. You can get more at my brother's blog here if you want. Enjoy.

Yes. She is that cute.

A fitting tribute.

Very large BYU football player.

Large (and excited) BYU fans.

Looking around at the big honking stadium.

Rushing the field. Unfortunately, we were a little too far away to participate.

Utah

2009-08-30T23:53:00.024-04:00

Last week (Aug 19-24) I made it back to Utah for the first time since graduating. I was much more relaxed this time than when I was scrambling to finish school and getting ready to drive across the country to start a new job and a new life. It was really nice to see my friends and family. I didn't actually take any pictures, so, uh, sorry.

I got in Wednesday in the afternoon and went to my brother's place in Sandy. It was fun to stay with them, especially since I got to party with their 7 and 5 year old son and daughter, Zealan and Caslea. I went to a Canyon Terrace reunion that night. It was fun to reminisce about our many crazy adventures. To pay respect to this little gathering, I would like to share some haikus from apartment 33's famous haiku page.

CT33
The perfect attention span
For reading haikus

Cleaning the kitchen
It's a big waste of my time
It will never last

Who is your daddy
I don't think I need to tell
But yes it is me

Thursday was quite eventful. I made it back to Cafe Rio for lunch with my friend Karin. Then I gave myself a personal Provo history tour, including parallel parking on condo row. Later I stopped by Colette's new place in south Provo and we caught up and figured out how to hang the hammock on the balcony. Thursday night was dinner and games at the Shepherds' house, where I stayed for a few months when I was finishing up school. Thanks for dinner and an awesome evening! By the way, I added the farmtown app. Just FYI. Maybe you guys can work on my farm for me? It's pretty bad so far.

Friday, I was invited to go to Chuck-A-Rama for an early dinner with my grandpa and my uncle. We had a nice visit and I kept the food down, so it was a success. That night my friend Becca planned a party at her house and even invited me to come over. Thanks Becca! It was great to see everyone. I reached three milestones that night. I sang the vocal part on Rock Band (as opposed to singing the guitar part), I lost to 3 girls at Bohnanza (a card game involving many types of beans), and I ate a costco brownie bite and dried mango at the same time.

Saturday morning I got to watch my 5 year old niece score a goal in her soccer game. Pretty awesome. I asked her what her favorite thing about soccer was and she said it was the snacks. Very wise. Lunch in the park with my family and going to see my sister's kittens took up the afternoon. Later that night, I met up with the guys at Ruby River in Sandy. Somehow we all got there at the exact same time and ended up parking right next to each other. We were all of one mind that night and it was one to remember. My 16 oz New York Cut and Jacketed Baked Potato never tasted so good.

Sunday was pretty awesome. Kung Fu Panda in the morning with my niece and nephew. First time I'd seen it. Temple dedication in the afternoon. Dinner at the Mower's house that night. Can life get any better? Of course, there was also States Sequence after dinner. And Dreamer the Dog did some tricks. And Katie Mower drew a picture of me. Thanks Katie. May you enjoy many more years of Dreamer and Scooby Doo.

I want to apologize to everyone I didn't get to see and to whom I didn't say goodbye. I was rushing around so much that I failed miserably in that regard. You'll all just have to come visit me so I can make up for it.

Follow Up to Latest and Greatest

2009-08-10T17:21:00.003-04:00

I figured out a way to share files that aren't videos or pictures. There are a bunch of free file hosting websites that let you upload and share whatever you want. I chose MediaFire. I uploaded the 6 songs that I recorded a long time ago. If you care to download them, click here. I don't know about download speeds. I pulled them straight from my itunes library, but there shouldn't be any issues cause there's no copyright. Hopefully that will work. I'll start working on some new stuff soon which ought to be about 100 times better. Enjoy!

Latest and Greatest

2009-08-08T21:13:00.003-04:00

Don't be fooled by the title. It's mostly "Latest" with only a little "Greatest".

Although P90X is 13 weeks and I've only finished 12, I am celebrating early cause I jacked up my left elbow somehow and I already bought my chocolate cake. As soon as I'm all better and fat from cake I'll start again on a modified version of the program. Most of the workouts are easily cut in half so it's more like 40 minutes a day instead of 60-70. Don't worry, the math works out. Warm up, stretch and cool down don't get cut in half.

In other news, I'm working on a little project that I'm kind of excited about. A few years back, I recorded a few acoustic cover songs with just a normal computer soundcard and a cheap microphone. It was fun, but the quality was extremely low. (Yet some friends of mine still thought it was necessary to steal them off my computer. You know who you are.) This past week, I pulled out my old desktop computer and set up some audio recording software and hardware. Thanks to my brother, I also have some decent microphones. If you have any good song ideas, let me know. I've got a few I'll start with. Maybe I'll post them if I can figure out how.

Andy Roddick Is My Hero

2009-07-05T22:17:00.004-04:00

I almost always root for Roger Federer. I'm a big fan of seeing good people breaking the biggest records in any sport. (For the same reason, I usually root for Tiger Woods as well.) The only time I root against Federer is when he plays Andy Roddick. Andy tries so stinking hard to get ready for their matches, but he always falls short. He also has the best interviews.

This time I thought it would be different. Andy still had a huge serve, but he also had everything else now. He'd been working really hard, he'd lost some weight, he'd hired a new coach, and he'd shown what he could do by beating several tough opponents on the way to the final. I really thought he was going to do it. These were my thoughts before the match started. I also thought he was going to do it when he broke Federer to win the first set. Then again when he went up 6-2 in the second-set tiebreak. Then when he broke Federer again in the fourth set. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when he took him to 14-14 in the fifth set. Unfortunately, it didn't work out, but it was so close that the outcome should, in my opinion, be attributed to pure luck.

Sorry Andy. Better luck next time.

Institute

2009-07-05T21:18:00.006-04:00

I would like to say a few words about the phenomenon that is Institute. I refer only to the social aspect. Those of you who are social geniuses may not be able to identify. The rest of us may have some fun.

At BYU, I, of course, had no desire to ever go to Institute. In fact, I could often be heard to say things like "Institute, Shminstitute" or "Insti-what? Toot? Haha, you said toot." or "I already have church, FHE, devotionals, firesides, religion class, religiously-oriented engineering professors, a church calling, and everybody telling me to go on dates in my spare time."

However, things changed significantly when I moved to the east coast. I basically live all by myself in the middle of nowhere and my main contact with LDS single folks is at church and Institute. In fact, the post-Institute social hour is the best chance I have to practice my waning skills, or perhaps to develop any at all. Unfortunately, the bane of my existence is anything and everything social, so naturally I feel completely awkward during this weekly event. What makes it even more awkward is that there is no "excuse" for being there. I do okay in situations where there's a reason to be there other than just socializing, such as playing sports, or watching 24, or catching fireflies, but when it's just a "linger longer" or "munch and mingle", I can barely bring myself to walk into the room.

Nevertheless, I open the door and I enter the room. Sometimes I walk around the room once and everyone seems to be talking to someone else already. Should I interrupt someone's conversation or walk around the room again? Maybe if I skipped around the room it would be a conversation starter for everyone else. Perhaps another pass by the refreshments table? I figure if I walk around the room twice and I don't see any openings, I can leave feeling like I tried. It's similar to a parking lot in that way.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into "the world through the eyes of Matt."

Maryland Residence and The Fourth of July

2009-06-28T23:05:00.005-04:00

I finally got my Maryland driver's license and registered my car. It will definitely be harder to spot it in a parking lot, but maybe I'll get fewer traffic tickets. Supposedly I'm supposed to do all that within 60 days of moving here, but I didn't move into my current apartment until Feb. 28th, so I'm really only 2 months late.

Speaking of traffic tickets, I hired a traffic attorney a few days ago. I never thought I would be doing that, but justice must prevail.

I've been a slacker at P90X. I only did the workouts every other day this week, but I was feeling sick so I have an excuse. I've decided to move to Phase II cause I need more carbs. Gotta have my spaghetti and potatoes (and ice cream?). I'm starting week 7 so I'm about halfway through. After the first 90 days are up, my plan is to eat a Costco chocolate cake all by myself and then start again. What do you think?

Moving on to more important things, this Saturday is the 4th of July. I hope to celebrate by designing a large rocket motor at work and then watching many little rocket motors explode this weekend. I hope you all enjoy the holiday.

Family, Lincoln, P90X, and Utah

2009-06-21T21:40:00.007-04:00

This week my brother Mark, his wife Sarah, and their 15-month old daughter Adriana came to visit. She's a pretty cute little girl. They stayed with me in my apartment for a few days. Pretty tight quarters, but it was fun.

We went to see a few places in the city. It was incredible to be in Ford's Theater and to think about the significance of what happened there.

We also saw the Spy Museum, the National Archives, the Air & Space Museum, and a few other things. Did I mention that we ate some Chinese food in China Town? Very appropriate. Except for the part where I ordered Cantonese noodles. I shouldn't have strayed from the formula.

P90X is going well. I started the 2nd month this week. Missed a couple days with my family in town, but I did pretty well. I was introduced to the corn cob pull up. Ridiculous. Didn't even try it. Stuck with the resistance bands.

I bought some plane tickets yesterday for a trip to Utah. Wednesday, August 19th until Monday, August 24th. I'm kind of excited, even though it's still 2 months away. If anyone will be around, let me know and we can party or something.

Touring DC with the Shepherds

2009-06-14T19:46:00.009-04:00

Yes. The Shepherds let me hang out with them for a day. I know. I know. You're wondering how I pulled off this amazing feat. The answer is simple. I don't know.

We went through the White House and the Capitol and to Arlington National Cemetery. I actually went through the White House twice since I left my cell phone in my car and I thought they were already inside, but I finished the first lap just in time to catch them on the way back in. Lucky. Here are some random video clips and photos that I took with my phone.

resting between the White House and the Capitol

Capital Building Dome

mural under the dome

attempting to capture the vastness of Arlington National Cemetery

changing of the guard

John F. Kennedy's grave

P90X Week 3

2009-06-07T22:46:00.004-04:00

I made and ate spaghetti tonight. Delicious. Mmmmmm. It's been a while. I got tired of Lean Cuisines for my daily carb portion.

This week has been pretty awesome. I got a lot more out of every workout and I finished the first segment of the P90X program. This coming week is more cardio than anything else. Kind of a recovery week. The second segment (starting the following week) is super intense once again, but mixes things up to create "muscle confusion" to avoid plateauing.

No traffic tickets this week, but I do have my first ever court hearing on Thursday where I will attempt to defend myself. It should be interesting. I imagine they'll let me say a few words and then tell me to pay up. Either way, I'm kind of excited.

P90X Week 2 and Other Stuff (Mostly Other Stuff)

2009-05-31T19:40:00.008-04:00

Am I so obtuse that I could drive past a school bus (with blinking lights and a stop sign) and not see it? Don't answer that. I'll answer it for you. Yes, I am exactly that obtuse, assuming that the officer who pulled me over isn't a big fat liar. (I assume no such thing.)

Normally I'm not surprised when I get a ticket. I'm irritated, but not surprised. This time I was surprised times three - when I got pulled over, when I found out what I'd supposedly done, and when I saw how much the fine was. I naturally had some questions for the officer, such as, "What the heck are you talking about, you moron?", but this didn't go over very well. I've since decided that I need to set aside more money for traffic violations, since I can't seem to escape them, no matter how careful I am.

Okay, enough venting. This probably helped me to stop worrying about money so much, since it's out of my control. On a brighter note, I'm definitely planning a Utah trip for July or August. I'm already excited. Maybe Arizona too. And maybe Australia.

So I just finished my 2nd week of P90X. It was easier this week and I was able to get more out of it. Still not doing the whole Yoga workout. And I never will. No thanks. I have decided to be a little stricter with my diet. I threw away the fat-containing Ranch dressing and I'm not buying any more cheddar cheese. For now. We'll see how that one goes. I'm definitely a fan of this whole program. I'm excited to keep going. I think that living alone, although there are pros and cons, has given me some freedom to do a lot of things that I've wanted to do for a long time, especially in the area of self-improvement. Well, that's all I've got for now, except to say, "Go Andy Roddick!"

P90X Week 1

2009-05-24T19:57:00.004-04:00

I "successfully" finished a week of P90X and I don't see any change. What's going on? Just kidding. I know it's not a quick fix. I'm in this for the long haul, but I already feel different in a lot of good ways. To my faithful followers who have realized that I started a week late, I would say, "Good catch," but I know you don't exist, so I won't say it. :-)

It's funny to think that I'm on the Phase 1, Level 2, Portion Approach diet plan. That sounds a little complicated for me, but it's actually pretty straightforward. Phase 1 is the first month and it's called "Fat Shredder". Very enticing. Level 2 means I need 2400 calories per day based on my body weight. The Portion Approach is one of three options the diet plan provides. There's also the Meal Plan Approach, where they tell you exactly what to eat. That takes too much work. Not for me. The third option is Quick Options, but it doesn't list very many items that work for Phase 1. I may use that option more later. Anyway, the Nutrition Guide is pretty awesome because it's so detailed. They explain everything you could ever want to know and more. The Fitness Guide is equally detailed and spectacular.

The workouts come on DVDs and are about 1 hr each, except Ab Ripper X, which is about 15 minutes. You have to have some equipment, including dumbbells, a pullup bar, or resistance bands. I really like the Bowflex SelectTech Dumbbells. You can just turn the dial and select the weight you want.

Anyway, let's break down the week's accomplishments.

Day 1 - Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X

This was a scary day. I didn't pace myself and I was done about halfway through Chest & Back. Didn't even make it to Ab Ripper X. Pullups are too hard, for now. I need to learn to use the resistance bands. Lesson of the day = don't try and do as much as the folks on the DVD. At least not yet. Maybe not ever. But that's the beauty of it. I can use lighter weights or less reps than them and tailor to my fitness level. Did I mention that the Recovery Drink tastes amazing. It's seriously really good.

Day 2 - Plyometrics

I was excited about this one. I've always wanted to work on my vertical jump. I paced myself a little better and made it through.

Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper X

I was a little too worried about pacing myself and used lighter weights that I should have. Better next time. First experience with Ab Ripper X was killer. How is that humanly possible?

Day 4 - Yoga X

Yikes. Yoga. Well, I went ahead and tried it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I stopped after about half of the 1.5 hr DVD, but I will admit that it requires a lot of strength and flexibility. Downward Dog. What a stupid name.

Day 5 - Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X

Very tough stuff. I like it. More pullups. Resistance bands are key. Did a little better on Ab Ripper X, but only a little.

Day 6 - Kenpo X

I like this. I get to pretend I'm beating somebody up. And it goes fast. It seemed kind of easy. Maybe I wasn't doing it right.

Day 7 - Rest

Enough said.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

2009-05-10T20:47:00.003-04:00

I just finished listening to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Just listening to it has been a highly empowering experience. I've already made some key changes in my life and I've set some important goals. I honestly feel like I'm headed for greater things. That probably sounds really cheesy and it's only true because I really needed some help, but I would still recommend it to anyone, even if you're not as screwed up as me.

P90X

2009-05-04T19:32:00.003-04:00

I am starting P90X next week. It's an intense workout program that lasts for 90 days, and then I am supposed to be super ripped and stuff. It also involves a diet plan. No more Double Fudge Brownie for a while. I'm doing it because several friends have recommended it and it's something I can do in my own apartment. I'm supposed to take a before and after picture, but I'll spare you. Wish me luck.

History + Major League Baseball

2009-05-01T22:08:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I was given a tour of the city by a good friend. Thanks Donelle! We saw several things, but the most impressive to me was the Lincoln Memorial. I've always wanted to go there. It was a good opportunity to remember the extraordinary man. (It also reminded me of the end of Planet of The Apes starring Mark Wahlberg.)

Later that night we went to my first Major League Baseball game. The Nationals vs the Marlins. The Nationals were 1-7 and the Marlins were 8-1 before the game. In the 9th inning the Nationals gave up their 2-1 lead and ended up losing 2-3 in extra innings. Should have guessed. Too bad. I was almost ready to become a fan. Just kidding. I still might. With a dramatic ending and a light smell of alcohol in the air, it couldn't have been better. Let's not leave out the fantastic metro ride to get there and back. Nor should we forget that it was Donelle's birthday. Happy two weeks after your birthday!

LASIK

2009-02-21T15:07:00.011-05:00

I am pretty excited about being able to see now without contacts, glasses, or binoculars, thanks to LasikPlus and Dr. Neil Wills. Actually, I do still need binoculars.

I had LASIK surgery on Friday, February 20th, in Alexandria, Virginia, and so far everything seems to be okay. My eyes are red and still healing, but they told me in my next-day visit that everything looks fine. I have a long list of do's and do not's for the next week and beyond, but nothing too difficult. These include eye drops, sunglasses, avoiding lawn work, not wearing eye make-up, and not sweating or swimming.

I want to thank Ginette and Ryan for helping me get back to my apartment afterwards. I would have been stuck without them.

And, by the way, I would recommend the procedure to anyone. LASIK or related procedures can help if you're nearsighted, farsighted, and/or have astigmatism. I've even heard that you can have an eye put in the back of your head.

I Need Your Audio Book Suggestions

2009-02-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

I'm moving in the direction of audio books, folk(s). This is partly because I like books and partly because I stare at a computer all day and I don't want lose my sight and partly because I think it will be easier to get through a book this way and partly because I have a 25 minute commute.

I'm starting with 1776 by David McCullough, but I don't know what I'll listen to after that. I would appreciate any book suggestions you may have. Also, if you know of a good source for audio books, I'd like to know that as well. I've signed up at audible.com, but I'm open to other ideas.

Thanks!

Graduation Party

2009-02-06T23:28:00.000-05:00

No I'm not throwing a huge party. I just want you all to be able to party for me wherever you may be. After a painful last semester, I finished grad school in December and started my job on Dec. 8th, 2008. Since then, I have had to make several phone calls, send several emails, and submit a few petitions to deal with mistakes made by BYU.

For example, the secretary in my department changed my registration during the semester, adding a class that I ended up failing since I obviously didn't go. It also caused tuition charges to appear on my financial account. I had to submit a couple petitions to fix those problems. Then they weren't going to let me graduate until April since the first problems pushed me past the December deadline. One more petition finally fixed that.

I have now received the official word. I am a December 2008 graduate and my diploma is in the mail. Thanks again to the Shepherds for letting me stay with them last semester. I couldn't have done it without them.

Compressed Work Schedule

2009-02-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

How does this sound for a work schedule?

Week 1
Monday - Thursday 7:30 - 4:30
Friday - stay home and sleep/party
Week 2
Monday - Thursday 7:30 - 4:30
Friday - 8:00 - 4:00

It sounds pretty good to me. I'll take it. This is my new compressed work schedule which gives me a 3-day weekend every other week. Pretty nice option. This is especially significant because now everyone can come visit me on my long weekends. It only happens twice a month! Don't let this opportunity pass you by!

LASIK

2009-02-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

I'm currently scheduled to have LASIK surgery on Friday, Feb. 20th. It's exciting and worrisome at the same time. I trust the doctor and technology, but just the idea of messing with my eyes bothers me a little bit. Wish me luck. Does anyone want to be my driver?

Free Tour

2009-02-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

This is my current apartment, which I hope to leave in a couple weeks for a smaller and cheaper apartment. Enjoy the tour.

What I Miss Most About BYU

2009-01-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

These are in no particular order.

Medieval Club sightings
Scoreboard Grill
Pretending I would someday run to the Y
Parallel parking on condo row
Watching 24 with the entire ward
Being able to sleep in as a grad student
Friends in Alpine
Food in Alpine
Sequence
Unicorns
Honor Code Nazis
University Parking Enforcement
Crazy fans tackling Utah cheerleaders
Reno Mahe
Joe Mama
Marriott Center seats
Ward talent shows
Angie Daddy
John Beck
Roommates
Awkward FHE moments
Law & Order
Bronco Mendenhall
Crepe night
Running to the Temple and back
Kiwanis Park
Not needing GPS
Hale Center Theater
Birthday parties at Red Robin
Ruby River
Endless numbers of unsecured wireless networks
Not taking a religion class AND not going to Institute
Cheap rent
Furnished apartments
Mountains
Mowing Grandpa's yard
Double Gulps
The BYU Women's Soccer team
Intramural injuries
1040EZ
Honey Pot notes
Brian Regan quotes
JDawgs
Movie nights

East Coast Matt

2008-12-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

No, this post is not about football. You're welcome.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, at approximately 7:30 pm (9:30 ET), I left Utah behind after 9.5 years at BYU. There may be a "What I Miss Most" list in the near future.

My brother Mark and I drove across the country to Indian Head, Maryland, stopping along the way in Kirksville, Missouri and Zanesville, Ohio. Kirksville was planned. Zanesville was just luck.

We got to Maryland on Saturday, Dec. 6th, and then Mark flew back to Mexico so he could move with his family to Texas. He's just a mover and a shaker.

I'm currently staying in a Super 8 Motel in Indian Head, where I'll be until Jan. 10th (except for Christmas in Missouri), which is the day I can move into my new apartment in Fort Washington.

I started my new job on Monday, Dec. 8th. It's a good job. Everyone's very nice and helpful. The schedule is great. I can work an extra hour M-Th and take off every other Friday. Pretty sweet.

Well, it's been a difficult transition so far, but thanks to my mom and dad, the Shepherds, my brother Mark, Donelle, Meg, Kim, Brandie, and other family/friends, I haven't given up yet.

Muchisimas gracias a toditos.

Future BCS Improvements?

2008-11-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

I found out recently that the BCS is apparently moving towards a fair system. While this is encouraging, let's look at the details of their plan.

Go to the very bottom of this link and read "Standards for Future BCS Automatic Qualification".

Here are the main points.

The champions of the 6 BCS conferences will automatically qualify for a BCS bowl through the year 2013 based on an evaluation of their performance from 2004 to 2007.
Performance evaluations of the 5 non-BCS conferences from 2006 to 2009 will determine if their champions automatically qualify in 2012 and 2013.
All conferences will be evaluated from 2010 to 2013 to determine which will automatically qualify from 2014 to 2017.
A maximum of 7 conference champions will automatically qualify for a BCS bowl in any given year.
Conference agreements with bowls will continue.
The evaluation data includes the following for each conference

the ranking of the highest-ranked team in the final BCS standings each year
the ranking of all conference teams in the BCS computer rankings each year
the number of teams in the top 25 of the final BCS standings each year

While the year 2014 looks promising, let's discuss the plan between now and 2013. In my opinion, nothing changes. The proposed modifications are likely just an attempt to put off potential lawsuits. It's not until 2012 that a non-BCS conference MIGHT qualify for an automatic berth without having to be in the top 12. However, there is still a limit of 7 automatic berths, so only one non-BCS conference can qualify. Sounds eerily similar to the year 2008.

The limitation of 7 automatic berths is another problem altogether. It is an upper limit, which means that there may be less than 7 depending on the qualifications established by the BCS people. This likely means that the 6 BCS conferences, and perhaps the Mountain West, will have automatic berths starting in the year 2014 (potentially 2012). However, at least four conferences are still left out and they may never overtake the top 7. Even if they did improve sufficiently, the biased polls might keep them out.

Another issue is the continuing agreements between specific conferences and specific bowls, with no timeline attached. Five of the 6 BCS conferences (all but the Big East) have ties to BCS bowls, so if those agreements continue, then those 5 conferences are guaranteed an automatic berth, despite the claim that it's based on performance evaluations.

The point of all this is that the BCS is only pretending to change, and they're taking as long as they possibly can to do it. Maybe in 2014 things will actually be different, but there will likely still be a hidden IF statement in the BCS performance analysis program that only gives automatic berths to the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, and PAC-10.

I declare, "Let there be real, immediate change or let there be real, immediate lawsuits."

Bull Crapping Stupid

2008-11-12T02:33:00.000-05:00

That is my definition of BCS.

In my last post, I suggested some things that the non-BCS conferences can do to fight the system. I would like to add to that list.

1) Campaign against Fedex, Tostitos, Citi, and Allstate. Promote their competitors. Call upon all fans of non-BCS teams to boycott these bowl sponsors. If new sponsors replace them, boycott those ones too.

2) Frequently make public statements against the absolutely unbelievable and ridiculous system.

3) Call upon the NCAA to step in and organize football like they have basketball. We could have December madness. At least give every conference an automatic berth, just like in basketball.

4) Organize a playoff with the 5 non-BCS conferences and declare the winner the national champion. Take the 5 conference champions and 3 at-large teams. Only let in one BCS team, preferredly the best team that got snubbed by the BCS (like Missouri last year). Invite the competitors of Fedex, Tostitos, Citi, and Allstate to sponsor the playoff games. Call the first-round games the "Ethics", "Fairness", "Integrity", and "Poop on the BCS" Bowls.

5) Invite Pete Carroll, Joe Paterno, Urban Meyer, and anyone else who has complained about the system to star in anti-BCS commercials. Invite the competitors of Fedex, Tostitos, Citi, and Allstate to sponsor the commercials. Don't forget to involve Barack.

6) Ask President Obama to trash talk the BCS in the State of the Union Address each year.

Feel free to add to the list.

Unbelievably Unethical

2008-11-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

I believe in equal rights for football teams and players. I call upon all university presidents, conference commissioners, coaches, etc. in the MAC, MWC, WAC, Sunbelt, and Conference USA to bring a lawsuit to the doors of the NCAA, BCS conferences, television networks, and anyone who is allowing/promoting the unethical bias in the current system.

If any one conference has reason to scream and shout (and sue), it is the Mountain West. With three teams in the top 15, when the Big East and ACC have zero (yes, zero), how can anyone possibly justify not giving the MWC champion an automatic berth in a BCS bowl? Why should the Mountain West champion have to fight to stay in the top 12 AND be ranked higher than other non-BCS conference champions while the Big East and ACC champions just have to be in the top 120? The MWC should lead the other four non-BCS conferences to fight against the system in every possible way. Lawsuits would be good. Here are some other ideas for the folks in charge.

Campaign against Fedex, Tostitos, Citi, and Allstate. Promote their competitors. Call upon all fans of non-BCS teams to boycott these bowl sponsors.

Frequently make public statements against the absolutely unbelievable and ridiculous system.

Call upon the NCAA to step in and organize football like they have basketball. We could have December madness. At least give every conference an automatic berth, just like in basketball.

Somebody do something!!!

I'm dying of frustration.

A More Realistic Approach to the College Football Playoff

2008-11-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

In my previous post, I presented my ideas on the ideal playoff system. However, it is necessary to discuss what steps need to be taken to move in this direction. The BCS is already making small changes each year, so within the limits of the "fluid" BCS system, I propose the following stepwise introduction of a college football playoff.

First year modifications:

Modify automatic BCS bowl qualification so that the top 8 conference champions automatically qualify. Determine the top 8 champions using the BCS rankings. This would remove the unfair advantage currently held by the 6 "power" conferences. It shouldn't be too hard to make this change, especially since the top MWC, WAC, and MAC teams are ranked higher this year than those of the Big East and ACC. In addition, MWC teams have won the majority of their games against the Pac 10. Moreover, 2 of the 3 BCS busters in the last 4 years actually won their games (Utah beat Pitt 35-7 and Boise State beat Oklahoma 43-42).

Assuming that 2 of the 8 automatically qualifying teams would play in the national championship game, there would be 2 spots available for at-large teams.

Second year modifications:

Remove the national championship game and let the 4 remaining BCS bowls make up the first round of an 8-team playoff. Thus, the top 8 conference champions would have a chance to play for the national championship. There would be no at-large teams included, but those teams didn't win their conference, so who cares. Notre Dame and other independent teams would complain, but why should they be given special treatment. If it is absolutely impossible for them to join a conference, then special rules would have to be established for them. However, I think they should be forced to join a conference and play by the same rules as everyone else.

If preferred, start with a 4-team playoff, and expand to 8 teams the following year. If desired by coaches, university presidents, President Obama, or whoever the heck has any influence, expand the playoff to include 16 teams the year after that. In my opinion, this should include the 11 conference champions + 5 at-large teams.

This approach seems feasible to me. Let me know what you think.

College Football Playoff

2008-11-05T02:38:00.000-05:00

This post has been slightly modified based on extensive discussions with other college football fans.

Just for the fun of it, here are some of my thoughts on the way a college football playoff system should work. My ideas include reforms that give weaker conferences a greater chance at being involved. I believe this is absolutely necessary in order to be fair and ethical.

1. A playoff should include either 1) the top 8 conference champions or 2) all the conference champions + 5 at-large teams. See reasons a to h below.

a) The number needs to be 8 or 16 because any number between would result in some first-round byes, which would mean less money for those teams and would cause trouble. Any number less than 8 would include too few teams, in my opinion.

b) It doesn't make sense for a team that didn't win their conference to compete for a national championship. However, if extra teams need to be in the playoff to make the numbers work, so be it.

c) The little guys would have a chance to play for the national championship.

d) Teams from weaker conferences would be motivated to improve so that 1) they could send their champion to the playoff and 2) they could perform well in the playoff.

e) Non-conference games wouldn't be as likely to make or break a season.

f) Teams from different conferences would be more willing to schedule each other.

g) Pete Carroll would understand the system.

h) Obama would be a happy camper.

2. Playoff seeding would be determined either by an appointed committee or by the Matt Tanner computer rankings.

3. Teams not eligible for the playoff would play in non-playoff bowl games, just as they do now.

4. Independent teams would not be allowed into the playoff. Instead, they would be forced to join a conference and play by the same rules as everyone else.

I think any details that I haven't addressed could be worked out in a reasonable manner.

Your thoughts?

Mountain West BCS Busters

2008-11-04T14:31:00.000-05:00

This post has been modified slightly based on corrections pointed out in the comments.

Could the Mountain West Conference get 2 teams into a BCS bowl in 2008?

Ludicrous, you say?

Ridiculous, you might add?

Inconceivable, you suggest?

You may be right. These words have often been used to describe me. However, the same words have also been used to describe the BCS system. Hence, a lingering hope remains.

In the following analysis I have assumed that the current BCS rankings are final.

Now, let us consider carefully the criteria for busting the BCS. (May it be busted often.) Don't hesitate to correct me if I am mistaken in any way.

Rule #3 for Automatic Qualification:

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:
A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

Note: No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be in the pool of teams eligible for selection by the bowls as at-large teams.

End of Rule #3 for Automatic Qualification.

Based on the above rule, the highest ranked conference champion from the non-BCS conferences can earn an automatic berth. The remaining non-BCS conference champions can qualify for at-large eligibility. I believe this also includes co-champions. If Utah, TCU, and BYU were co-champions of the MWC, then all three would qualify. Utah (#8) would get the automatic berth and TCU (#12) would eligible as an at-large team based on Rule 3a. BYU (#15) would be eligible as an at-large team based on Rule 3b because North Carolina (#19) and West Virginia (#25) are the highest ranked teams in the ACC and Big East conferences, respectively. Boise State (#10) would also qualify as an at-large team based on Rule 3a.

Even if three MWC teams and one WAC team qualified in this manner, only one team is assured a spot. In addition, no more than two teams from each conference can be selected. If a second non-BCS team were selected in addition to Utah, it would probably be Boise State, since they are ranked higher than either TCU or BYU.

Now, let us consider the criteria for earning "at-large" status without being conference champion.

At-Large Eligibility

If there are fewer than 10 automatic qualifiers, then the bowls will select at-large participants to fill the remaining berths. An at-large team is any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:
A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, and
B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.

End of At-Large Eligibility

Given the current BCS rankings, Boise State (#10) and TCU (#12) would qualify as at-large teams, but BYU (#15) would not.

Now that we have discussed the possibility of multiple eligible MWC or non-BCS conference teams, let us consider the actual teams that would likely be selected for a BCS bowl.

Seven teams would receive automatic berths.

Alabama (SEC)
Texas Tech (Big 12)
Penn State (Big Ten)
USC (Pac 10)
Utah (MWC)
North Carolina (ACC)
West Virginia (Big East)

Three of the five at-large teams would fill the remaining spots.

Texas (Big 12)
Florida (SEC)
Boise State (WAC)
Ohio State (Big Ten)
TCU (MWC)

Note: I have only considered the top two eligible teams from each conference in the above lists, since only two teams from each conference can be selected. Thus, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri have been ignored.

If at-large teams were selected based on the rankings, Texas, Florida, and Boise State would be selected to fill the remaining spots. This would mean that two non-BCS teams busted the BCS (Utah and Boise State). However, I believe it is possible for BCS Bowls to select any of the eligible teams, so there would be a slim chance that TCU could sneak in, but only if they were expected to attract more viewers than the other teams. Very slim.

Although the BCS system is already unfair, the unfairness is magnified this season by the automatic berths of the ACC and Big East, which would otherwise have zero qualifying teams. If their automatic berths went to Utah and Boise State (based on BCS rankings), then there would be four at-large teams to fill the four remaining spots, ensuring that TCU would play in a BCS bowl, and that the MWC would have two BCS busters, and that three total teams would bust the BCS. Unfortunately, the ACC and Big East retain their automatic berths, so Texas, Florida, and Boise State would probably be selected, leaving TCU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Let us consider the remainder of the season. If Boise State loses a game, they may lose their at-large eligibility, which would give TCU a greater chance of busting the BCS. However, if Ball State continues it's winning streak, they may sneak into the picture. I don't want these teams to fail, but the best case scenario for the MWC is if Boise State and Ball State lose. Not to mention Texas, Florida, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri.

Finally, let us focus on the Mountain West, by considering the possible outcomes of the Utah/TCU and BYU/Utah games. I will assume that all three teams win their other games and that Boise State and Ball State are not ranked high enough to steal the automatic berth.

If TCU defeats Utah, they will be conference champion and earn the automatic BCS berth. In that case, the winner of the BYU/Utah game on Nov. 22 would likely be eligible for an at-large BCS berth. If, however, Utah defeats TCU, then the matter is more complicated. In that case, if Utah defeats BYU, then Utah will be the conference champion and it is uncertain whether BYU or TCU would be eligible for an at-large BCS berth. However, if BYU defeats Utah, there will be three conference champions, and the BCS rankings would determine which team gets the automatic berth and whether a second team would be eligible for an at-large berth.

Wasn't that fun?

Go Cougars and Go Mountain West!

Remember, I warned you.

See comments for possible corrections to the above analysis.

Marriage Between a Man and a Woman is Ordained of God.

2008-10-30T00:14:00.000-04:00

In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8, which proposes an amendment to the California Constitution to define marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, does not diminish these benefits. If you're voting NO on Proposition 8 because you think it diminishes the rights of gays, you've been misinformed and I hope you'll reconsider.

As far as I know, this type of amendment is only on the ballot in California, but it will probably become a nationwide issue very soon.

According to a good friend of mine (and I agree with him), voting YES on Proposition 8 in California, or on similar amendments in other states, may be more important than your vote for President.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has taken an official position on Proposition 8, which is that we should vote YES.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriage-and-proposition-8

There are several eventual repercussions, if Proposition 8 does not pass, that worry me more than any other issue.

Our children will be affected significantly. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will be mandated to put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will be taught that it is okay for men to marry men and women to marry women. Sexual education classes will teach children about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Religious freedom will be severely limited. There will inevitably be conflicts between religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Religions will lose the right to exercise their beliefs. It will become illegal to teach that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will suffer from discrimination because it will not allow gay marriages in its churches and temples. Other churches will suffer the same discrimination.

Surely there will be many more negative consequences than these.

Do what you can to promote the traditional definition of marriage. I hope you'll vote when the opportunity comes and that you'll also encourage others to vote.

Disser-what?

2008-10-29T02:46:00.003-04:00

The title I chose reminds me of a quote from Zoolander.

"Audi-what-ey"? - Derek Zoolander

Very funny.

So, anywho, I finished the first complete draft of my dissertation today. It was an exciting moment. I followed it up by driving to costco and buying the famous chocolate cake (halloween decorations included) and some cheesecake, not to mention a lovely package of chocolate chip cookies. Then there was a brief stop at Kohler's for some Vanilla Bean and Cookie Dough ice cream. I must congratulate myself on my shopping choices. Self, well done.

(not the actual cake, which you would have known if you were paying attention to detail)

The night proceeded with visits from the Mower family (sweet!), playing with Myles in the box that the Shepherds' new chair came in (he really wore me out), playing air hockey on the Shepherds' other new purchase (while sitting on the floor since there weren't any legs on it yet), eating cake (see picture above), and watching The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton version). Did I mention that this particular movie found its way into my shopping cart before I could escape costco? I enjoyed it, especially the last scene, which is where . . . just kidding. No spoilers here.

So, here are some of the specs on this dissertation thing.

Title:

Multidimensional Modeling of Solid Propellant Burning Rates and Aluminum Agglomeration and One-Dimensional Modeling of RDX/GAP and AP/HTPB

Number of pages:

192, not including preliminary pages (title page, table of contents, acknowledgements, abstract, etc.), references, or appendices

Number of Figures, Tables, Equations:

88, 20, 22 (I know, pretty weak on equations)

Number of hours spent:

98,720

Number of Double Gulps consumed:

4?

Number of times I beat Dan in Super Smash Brothers (N64):

a large number (I wouldn't want to embarrass Dan.)

Number of times I considered quitting school and becoming a full-time jazz musician:

1

Number of times I wished I had majored in something other than chemical engineering:

592 (per day)

Number of times I skipped school because graduate students can do whatever they want:

a large number (I wouldn't want to embarrass myself.)

Okay, that's everything i can think of. The first person to comment gets a shout out in the acknowledgements page. Sweet. See ya later.

Electricity Thieves

2008-10-21T15:37:00.000-04:00

Did the title peak your interest? I'm not talking about your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum electricity thief. I'm talking about the most devious kind there is, which just happens to be your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum household electronics.

The family I'm currently staying with (the Shepherds - they're the coolest people around.) just installed a windmill in their backyard, so they've been very conscious of electricity consumption, which has provided me with vast reservoirs of new information on the subject. Take a look at this info I found on one website:

75% of the electricity consumed by electronics and small appliances is consumed while the devices are not being used. Electronics and small appliances make up 10-20% of overall household electricity use. So, 8-15% of household electricity use is by appliances or electronics that are not actively being used (computer, microwave, stereo, TV, DVD, etc.)

This may be common knowledge to the 3 people that see this post, but it was news to me, so I thought I'd share. Here are some relevant links.

http://www.cityofsitka.com/energy/Appliances_and_Electronics_-_Web.pdf
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/09/020926065912.htm
http://communityrelations.berkeley.edu/CalNeighbors/Spring2001/appliances.htm

The moral of the story is: Unplug stuff if you're not using it. It might save you a lot of money.

Go Ahead, Tag Me

2008-07-27T04:40:00.000-04:00

Donelle tagged me with the joys, fears, goals post. I might skip some of it. Here goes.

Joys
1. Singing and playing the guitar (for VERY small and familiar audiences or none at all).
2. Playing games with family and friends.
3. Buying cool new toys.

Fears
1. Stepping in poop.
2. Not knowing that I stepped in poop.
3. Finding out that I stepped in poop.

Goals
1. Finish my dissertation by the middle of October.
2. Do well at my new job.
3. Watch a Scooby Doo episode with Katie Mower.

I TAG...
Katie Mower (After all, she is my arch rival in the game of tag)

I got tagged. Yippee. Here it is. Don't have too much fun.

2008-07-27T03:40:00.000-04:00

Eric tagged me. I'm really excited about it.

10 years ago: I was barely home from my mission, living with my grandma in Provo and working with my brother at Morinda, which is the Noni juice company. Pretty gross. Never drink it. It was just a temporary job until fall, when I would start my second year at Ricks College. Yes, it was actually still called Ricks College.

Things on my to-do list today:
1. Talk to Donelle.
2. Beat Dan in Super Smash Brothers.
3. Find a place to live until the end of October.
4. Find a place to live in Maryland after October.
5. Sing a song.

Snacks I enjoy:
1. Wheat Thins
2. Doritos
3. Cake (yes this is a snack)
4. Ice Cream (also)
5. Cookies (as well)

Things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
1. Turn my entire immediate family suddenly into millionaires.
2. Give a million dollars to a random person, since I've always wished that would happen to me.
3. Retire.
4. Become a jazz musician.
5. Buy a lot of land and turn it all into soccer fields for kids.

Places I’ve lived:
1. Grinnell, Iowa
2. Charlottesville, Virginia
3. Kirksville, Missouri
4. Rexburg, Idaho
5. Ecuador (Guayaquil, Cuenca, Milagro, Pasaje, Santa Rosa, Machala)
6. Provo, Utah

Jobs I’ve had:
1. Lawn Mower
2. Paper Boy
3. Burger King (everything and anything)
4. BYU Auxiliary Maintenance (MTC, Foreign Language Housing, Wilkinson Center). For those of you who don't know what auxiliary maintenance is, I was not a janitor. I was Mr. Fix It.
5. MTC Teacher (Spanish)

Who I Tag (this means you now do what I just did):
1. Your mom.
2. And yours.

Improv Food Court Musical

2008-07-27T03:17:00.000-04:00

I saw this on my brother's blog. Apparently there's an improv group that put on a musical in a food court. Go to the link and scroll down to the video. It's pretty cool. Enjoy.

Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center

2008-07-21T03:39:00.009-04:00

I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life for many years. I've considered joining the PGA Tour, becoming a high school PE teacher (those who can't teach, teach gym, and I sure can't), being the lead singer in a Rock 'N Roll band similar to Guns 'N Roses, developing artificial organs for humans, surfing, becoming a jazz pianist/singer, and learning the ways of the samurai.

Okay, in reality I've been working on my PhD in Chemical Engineering for almost 6 years now. It's supposed to take 4-5 years, but I switched projects in the middle due to funding problems, so I essentially had to start over about 3 years ago.

During the last few months I finally reached the point where I could start looking for a job (I'll be done with school in October), so I've been sending out resumes and talking to everyone I know out in the industry. The funny thing is that none of the places I expected have given me an interview, let alone a job offer. The main one was ATK Launch Systems in Brigham City, Utah. I've worked closely with several people there during graduate school and I thought that would turn into a job. Nope. Nothing.

There was one place where I didn't have any connections, but I still sent my resume. As it turns out, after a few emails, they invited me to come out and interview. I attribute this solely to them recognizing who my advisor is. So I went out there and gave a 40 minute presentation on my graduate school research and met with a few people, which is their standard procedure for PhD students. I won't go into how stressful that was for me, but the answer is VERY.

Apparently it went pretty well because they told me while I was there that they would probably give me an offer, but they were still deciding where I would best fit. A few days later they gave me an offer and a few days after that, I accepted.

It took about 10 seconds to decide that I wanted to work there. The job is similar to the other places I applied, but the location is the best of them all.

So I'll be working in Indian Head, Maryland, at a Department of Defense Energetics Center, specifically the Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center. The general mission of the center is to research energetics and energetic systems. This means explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, and anything related.

My actual job title will be

Position: Engineer
Department: Energetics Technology Department, Component
Technology Division, Propulsion Branch

My general job description, in my own words, is computer modeling and research of energetics and energetic systems.

Job =

Best Cell Phone Plan of All Time!

2008-07-20T20:24:00.000-04:00

Be excited, be very excited!

Recently, I found out from my brother about a Sprint cell phone plan that is everything I've always thought a cell phone plan should be and even a little bit more. In fact, there is no possible way to beat this plan unless you have a family plan with A LOT of people or your parents are footing your bill. Does that sound intriguing to you? It did to me.

In summary, Sprint has been offering a plan for the last few years with unlimited everything, except for the number of minutes. For $30.00/month (which in reality means slightly less than $35), you get 500 minutes. For $50.00/month, you get 1250 minutes. That is the long and the short of it. Texting and data are unlimited, nights start at 7pm, free sprint to sprint calls, and everything else you would normally get, like caller id, call waiting, blah, blah, blah.

The only catch is you had to be referred by a sprint employee to get this plan. But recently they opened it up to everyone (at least those who knew about it), so this is me spreading the wealth.

LATE BREAKING EMERGENCY ALERT: PLEASE IGNORE EVERYTHING YOU'VE JUST READ!!! Uh . . . I just barely checked the website where they offer this plan and it's been changed. According to a google search, they're now charging $60 and $80, which may still seem good to some of you, but they've also reinstated the employee referral system. I'm no longer excited about telling everyone about this crappy, undesirable, pathetic Sprint plan that rips you off like every other mobile phone service. Luckily I signed up when it was $30/month. I apologize for the roller coaster blog ride, but I'm afraid I'm still going to post it because I haven't had many posts lately. Enjoy!

Amended Title = What Used To Be The Best Cell Phone Plan Of All Time

Amended Picture =

Ann Marie

2008-07-13T00:59:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's been almost two months since my sister got married, but I've been busy and I'm just now starting to blog again.

My little sister Ann Marie (Annie) got married on May 24th to Thomas Lecaque in Kirksville, Missouri. I and several of my siblings went home for the weekend to be there. Here's a few pictures.

Annie & Thomas

My parents and all my siblings (minus one brother)

Cutting the cake.

Dancing

Ring exchange

I love my little sister and I'm very happy for her and Thomas!

Love you Annie!

The Third Year Is The Charm

2008-05-08T23:33:00.000-04:00

"The third year of what?", you ask? Well, I'll tell you. The third year of registering for the St. George Marathon. The last 2 years I didn't get picked but now that I don't know if I'll be in Utah in October, they've finally let me in. Now I just need to find someone to run with me. Any takers?

Finding a Job

2008-04-23T09:01:00.006-04:00

I have been blessed with unnatural ability in certain things. These include Boggle, Mario Kart (more likely the result of a wasted childhood), spelling (won the 6th grade spelling bee!), and saying dumb things. In everything else, I have an unnatural disability, except for my skill at reading the back of the box of the Costco Hershey's brownie mix. The result is delicious!

Sometimes I try to find people that are better than me at these things. Such efforts can be frustrating and fruitless (actually it's not that hard). I'm sure those people exist, but it's a very small group, similar in size to the group of people that are born with half their brain smaller than the other half. Where are these people? (Okay, I might know one such person. Yeah Becca!)

I've begun looking for jobs recently and I've realized that it might be a similar process. Okay, I'm exaggerating. I do have some good prospects, but at this point I have no idea where I'll end up. I've applied to several places. ATK, Aerojet, Indian Head and Sandia are the main ones so far. Check them out. They're cool. Still got a few months to go, so I'm certainly not desperate yet. We'll see how it goes.

My Little Mexican Niece (Mi Pequeñita Sobrina Mexicana)

2008-03-27T00:23:00.000-04:00

My brother Mark and his wife Sarah decided that they want to live in Mexico for a while. Who knows why? Maybe it's to experience the world. Maybe it's to improve their Spanish. Maybe it's the tequila. Maybe they want to feel tall. I'll have to remember to ask them. They've been there since June 07 in Monterrey and on Monday night at 11:44 pm (mexican time) their baby girl, Adriana Rachel Tanner, was born! What brave parents! I feel that it is my duty to post a couple pictures of Adriana and her proud (and brave) parents.

This Is The Most Exciting Thing You Will Read Today Unless You Don't Know This Person

2008-03-26T00:27:00.000-04:00

So, just a few days ago my Bishop, Clyde Shepherd, and his wife Jana, created a blog for their family. I was pretty excited since they are some of the coolest people I know and I also just got involved in the whole blog business. For those of you that know the Shepherds, see below. As for the rest of you, go ahead and glance at their blog if for no other reason than to add to the number of hits they get.

http://clydeandjana.blogspot.com/

Final Day In Vegas = Boring Title

2008-03-20T17:08:00.004-04:00

Saturday began with great potential. In fact, some very good things happened early in the day. You roller coaster enthusiasts will get excited about the Desperado at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada (which happens to be where we stayed). This roller coaster is 209 feet tall, with two huge drops of 225 and 155 feet. I won't even mention how fast it goes (cause I don't know). No, I'm not just telling you about it. We actually rode on it too. Just once though. These days I'm a one-roller-coaster-ride kind of guy. After that there's trouble. On a somewhat less exciting side note, I also got some new running shorts at a Nike outlet that are longer than my previous running shorts (thank goodness).

The real highlight of the day was seeing Jeff Plicka, who's going to dental school at UNLV. We all met at Terrible's Buffet around 1pm. We were really excited about the buffet since we'd been planning it since the day before, but all the more so because we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. While we were waiting for Jeff at the restaurant, a rather large (horizontally) woman slowly made her way out, stopping only to exclaim, "I'm SO full!" This only added to our excitement. Unfortunately, the buffet took after its name and to top it all off, what we thought was soft serve ice cream was actually just frozen yogurt. But we did get to catch up with Jeff, who is more busy than anyone in this world with classes and tests and stuff like that.

If the buffet in this picture looks good, it's because it's not the one we went to.

After our not-that-tasty smorgasbord, we all went to the final game (between BYU and UNLV). The Plickas came with us and we also met up with Jason and Amy Mower and their friend Chris who had been in LA. So now the group consisted of Dan, me, the Plickas, the Mowers, and Chris.

BYU had a great first half, but Cummard, Plaisted and others got in foul trouble and UNLV went on a crazy second-half run and we never recovered. Did I mention the unfair home court advantage and the stupid, drunk UNLV fans? Maybe in a previous post?

We took off with 2 minutes left in the game (about 6pm), and its a good thing we did, cause their was apparently a huge brawl involving UNLV fans storming the court and attacking BYU fans, band members and cheerleaders. And that was despite a supposed security upgrade from last year. There better be some apologies and some consequences! I'm waiting to hear from the UNLV president any day now . . .

UNLV fans suck.

Our drive home was supposed to be quick and painless, but a few miles outside St. George, there was a very large something-or-other (some kind of dirt spreader/farming thingamabob) which had no lights on it and happened to still be sitting in the road after the man pulling it behind him got in an accident. Jason Mower was driving the lucky next car and he partially collided with this thingamabob. The air bag in his car deployed and he suffered some minor injuries. Luckily, the car I was in with Scott and Todd Mower and Dan was close behind so we were able to stop and help. After all the post-accident nonsense, we took Jason's car to St. George to be fixed. Then all 7 of us hopped in the rental car (Hyundai Sonata) and drove an hour to Cedar City. We picked up the Toyota there and split back into 2 cars the rest of the way. Got home about 3:30 am Sunday morning.

Cougars and Utes Unite!

2008-03-19T19:23:00.000-04:00

I got up Friday morning at about 6 am since I couldn't sleep and I really needed some ibuprofen. One advil run, two mcdonald's runs (I can't believe I spent $10 at McDonald's in one morning (or ever)), and two naps later, Dan finally woke up (this was about 1pm I think). Dan's not really that lazy. He just hadn't slept for the last 3 days, literally.

At this point we left to try and catch a movie, but ended up at In-N-Out Burger eating delicious In-N-Out Burger food. Mmmmmmmm. Double-Double, Fries, Lemonade, Chocolate Shake. Double mmmmmmmm. It could have been a triple mmmmmmmm except that I didn't like the fries that much. Next time - no fries and triple mmmmmmmm heaven.

We just killed time until the games started. BYU snuck by San Diego State in a pretty close game. Utah kept it close with UNLV but couldn't pull it off. We all cheered for Utah the entire game and so did every other BYU fan. Nothing like the Rebels' unfair home court advantage and stupid, drunk fans with their stupid, drunk chant of "Rebels, Rebels, Rebels, . . . " to unite the Cougars and the Utes together as "Non-Rebels With A Cause". We'll let them be the U in BYU for a day. But the Y will be bigger.

What Happens in Vegas is Disclosed Right Here in My Blog!

2008-03-19T16:09:00.001-04:00

I went to Las Vegas this past weekend with Dan Francom and Scott and Todd Mower. Not a bad group. We left Thursday morning at 5:30 am and got back Sunday morning at 3:30 am. I must say that those were a fun-filled and thrilling 70 hours of my life, the majority of which was occupied by watching basketball and sleeping. This will be the first of 3 posts, one for each day. You know you're excited.

On the way down we got a rental Hyundai Sonata in Cedar City cause the Toyota Avalon was giving us the business. Other than that there were no hiccups unless you count my lack of foresight in not putting on shorts before we left.

We got to the Thomas & Mack Center and bought us some tickets which turned out to only be $40 for students for the whole men's tournament. The one non-student among us was not so lucky (non-student prices not shown here).

After watching BYU blow out Colorado State, the 4 of us walked over to Chipotle and enjoyed ourselves some fajita burritos, mmmmmm good. Last time I ate there it was a little dry, but this time I followed Dan's lead and learned what a scoop of beans and a touch of sour cream can do to create an exceptional Chipotle experience. Top that off with my 5th (or thereabouts) "annual" Dr. Pepper this year and I was left speechless.

Well, I was not sure how much basketball I could watch in one day and we had three games to go, but every one of them was a great game. TCU almost upset UNLV in a ridiculous display of three point shooting and last second shot-clock beaters. TCU made 17 of 23 3-pointers (84%), the most ever by a team in the MWC tournament, but somehow they only made 10 of 27 2-pointers (37%). The 28 combined 3-pointers was also a tournament record. Unfortunately for the Horned Frogs, who were up 88 to 86 with 30 seconds left, UNLV's Wink Adams drove down the court and made a 3-point play the hard way with a questionable foul call with 3.4 seconds left. The Rebel Referees gave the game away and we had to listen to the stupidest chant of all time, "Rebels, Rebels, Rebels, etc.", combined with the tomahawk chop (why?), repeated over and over the rest of the tournament.

The other games were pretty good. Air Force lost by 4 to San Diego State. New Mexico took Utah to overtime but ended up losing by 2.

By the time all the games ended, all of us had a headache (at least I did) and we drove to Primm, Nevada and stayed at Buffalo Bill's.

But It IS Rocket Science

2008-03-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

I thought I would answer a question that people keep asking me which is, “What do you actually DO at school?” Usually I say things like “sit in front of a computer all day” or “solid propellant combustion modeling” or “save the world from terrorists” or “play facebook scrabble” or “listen to music”. All of those (except one) are actually quite accurate but one of those (not the inaccurate one) may not be that meaningful to the one person that might eventually read this.

So what do I do?

I’ll try to be brief. A solid rocket motor is essentially a cylinder with a nozzle at one end, from which gases of high pressure and temperature escape, providing the thrust for the rocket or missile or space shuttle booster or ejector seat or whatever the motor is attached to. “Solid” refers to the fuel/propellant type, which is solid. (Pardon me while I recall scenes from “Undercover Brother”)

The solid propellant burns which produces the hot gases in the motor and builds up the pressure, which is key. It basically boils down to this. The faster the propellant burns, the higher the pressure in the motor and the greater the thrust. Different applications (shuttle, missiles, etc.) require different amounts of thrust and thus, different propellant burning rates, and thus (is that too many thuses?), different propellants.

What I do is create and develop computer programs that supposedly calculate how fast a solid propellant burns based on its ingredients. This is all based on hundreds of chemical reactions that supposedly occur in and above the burning propellant. I spend a lot of time finding reactions in the literature that I need to include to improve the accuracy of the program. Then I rerun it with the new reactions and compare the calculated burning rate to experimentally measured rates from the literature.

Of course, its not just the chemical reactions that are important. There are also the solid fuel properties like density, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, etc. that have to be right. And the burning rate is only one of several things that the model needs to predict correctly. It should also predict the correct temperatures and amounts of chemical species through the entire combustion zone.

Some people call me a rocket scientist. They are correct. Besides these amazing pictures, I even have a shirt that says "As a matter of fact, I AM a rocket scientist" to prove it. Exciting, huh?

Joshua Radin at In The Venue

2008-02-29T20:36:00.002-05:00

Thursday night was my first time at In The Venue in Salt Lake City. I heard about the upper level with the great seats and I was excited to actually sit down and enjoy a concert for the first time in a while. I haven’t gone to many concerts and even more rarely do I see people live that I’ve seen on television on a national stage. So, while this is probably not a big deal to anyone else, it was huge for me to go see Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson. Alexa Wilkinson was also quite good.

The great seats turned out to be nonexistent since the staff pulled them all outside to make more room for people to stand but we did get to sit precariously on a wooden board high up against the wall. It wasn’t too comfy and I kept kicking people as they walked by but we had a great view and it was worth it.

On a side note, Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk are no longer together. He sang at least one song last night that he wrote about the break up. Apparently she’s got “growing up to do”. Maybe she and I can do some “growing up” together. (guilty laugh)

I went with a pretty awesome group. Eric Robinson, Claudia Aranda, Ashlee Hoppes, Jade Christensen, Amanda Hansen and Allie Muelleck.

Favorite songs from the concert:

Sky - Joshua Radin & Ingrid Michaelson
Lovely Tonight – Joshua Radin & Ingrid Michaelson
Everything’ll Be Alright (Will’s Lullaby) - Joshua Radin
Today - Joshua Radin
The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song - Ingrid Michaelson
Unchained Melody - Ingrid Michaelson

Ciaocito