Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Posts for October 15, 2009

AWondering-

You can get anything you want if you're willing to work for it. Also, always have health insurance.

- Cuddlefish

ADear Wondering,

I've made a lot of progress on really trying to show compassion to everyone. I thought I was always good at this, but since I was 16 I've grown a lot in this area.

- The Black Sheep

ADear Wondering,

Follow the prophet.

So simple, but really took a couple good (read: not good) times of disobeying prophetic counsel to really drive the point home. Now I try and follow the Lord's servants as best as I possibly can.

Oh, and to avoid ambiguity, it really was simply disobeying (or perhaps I should say disregarding) counsel, not breaking commandments. Big difference, but both are very important.

D&C 21:4-6. Who doesn't want that?

-Commander Keen

ADear Wondering,

Be moderate in all things, especially moderation.

Dr. Smeed

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Has anyone ever fallen from the upstairs of the lecture hall in the MSRB? Those barriers are only about knee-height!

- Should I bring my first aid kit to class?

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ADear worried,

I've not been able to find any evidence that anyone has ever fallen from the barriers. My contact, who worked in the MSRB for a few years, never knew of anyone falling either, but she said it wouldn't surprise her too much if someone had.

Personally, I think it's unlikely that someone has ever fallen, though I bet there have been a few close calls.

-Yellow

ADear first aid kit,

I'm going with Yellow on this one. I also haven't been able to find any evidence that anyone has fallen over the railing. It's not a terribly tall balcony either so I doubt someone would get seriously hurt, unless they landed in a bizarre position.

I sent an e-mail to a professor to whom I may or may not be related that used to have an office in the MSRB for several years. Here's what he said:

Quote:

Hmm. It's true that the balcony railing isn't very high, but at least during the 8 yr I was over there, no one went over the edge. I think knee-high may be an underestimate unless you are Carl Malone. It's interesting that the balcony in that classroom was actually out of commission for decades until it was restored when the building was renovated in the 80's (?). Before that time, only the lower part of that classroom was accessible.

After receiving this e-mail, I looked up a brief history of the MSRB and the upper balcony in question was indeed closed for a very long time for renovations. This even lessens the chance that someone has toppled over and met their doom. But as Yellow said, I'm sure there have been a few close calls.

-Sky Bones

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

I have several t-shirts, many of which are awesome. As such, people are frequently asking how they can obtain said shirts, and I try to give as much information as I can.

One shirt, however, I obtained in rather an unorthodox way. I was attending (actually, working at) a BYU football game during Fall of '08, and as I was walking back to Helaman Halls, wherein I was housed, I saw a man selling t-shirts from a folding table. Finding one of them (pictured here: http://i573.photobucket.com/al...) to be particularly amusing, I purchased it, and have worn it several times since.

I have never seen this man again, nor have I ever seen this shirt on anyone but me. However, several people have asked me where they might obtain one, to which question I must respond with an embarrassed confession of my ignorance.

I therefore turn to you, O Mighty Board. Can you help me find this purveyor of t-shirts, and this one in particular? Might there be somewhere to which I can refer my friends and colleagues in order to obtain said shirt?

- Anonymous

(P.S. Expect Us.)

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ADear Anonymous,

I actually thought that this shirt would be almost impossible to track down, given the circumstances under which you obtained it. Thanks to a certain Facebook group that I am familiar with, however, it turned out to be quite a short and fruitful hunt. You can find the shirt at Primary Tees' website.

I'm also a fan of the "Once There Was a Snowman..." shirt. Brilliance.

⋯Anomalous

ADear Anonymous,

As one of many native Utahans who don't fit the Utah stereotype, I'd like to point out that that shirt is somewhat offensive. Surely you've learned by now that insulting entire groups of people is in bad taste? Or do you still go around saying "Boys Rule, Girls Drool"?

Love,
Waldorf and Sauron

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Now that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he will be receiving ~$1.4 million. That's substantially more than Joe the Plumber's income! Do you think our Noble President will redistribute his new wealth? I want my 0.5¢!

—Hopes Kanye West shows up at the Stockholm Concert Hall on December 10th

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ADear Smuggy,

Of course. President Obama pays taxes like everybody else. In fact, unlike most college students, Obama is (and has been for years) in the highest tax bracket, which pays the bulk of all taxes. So, if Obama raises taxes on the rich and lowers them on the poor, he will in fact be raising taxes on himself, and part of that money will go toward your tax cut (or toward important government services that benefit us all, such as bombing the moon).

Unless President Obama meets several stringent regulations, including giving all of the prize directly to a charity or government organization, it will be part of his taxable income.

Love,
Waldorf and Sauron

ADear Smuggy-

President Obama has stated that he will be, in fact, donating the prize money to charity (source). Which charity, I'm sure, will be a matter of great political discussion.

-Foreman

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QDear Anomalous,

Re Board Question #53861, does it bother you to read the KJV translation of the Bible?

E.g.,

"I am the woman that stood by thee here . . ." (1 Samuel 1:26)

"Where is the child that is born . . ." (Matthew 2:2)

"Then again they called the man that was blind . . ." (John 9:24)

etc.

- Katya

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ADear Katya,

Not really. Sometimes a mini-alarm goes off in the back of my head (have fun with that mental image), but I have trained myself to overlook differences in grammar between the 1600s and the present day*. I also overlook the constant use of "an" when the following word begins with the letter "h." I figure that language is always evolving. Who am I to be irritated at the grammatical customs of people who haven't walked this earth for hundreds of years?

*As a disclaimer, I know that I do not always speak English perfectly...the instance mentioned is just a grammatical pet-peeve of mine.

Thanks for asking,

⋯Anomalous

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

While walking from the JFSB to the HBLL, I noticed that the little cement moldings around the green planted areas have holes/pegs in them. What in the world are these for?

- You've got me pegged

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ADear pegged,

I think those little holes are artifacts of how concrete forms are put together. When you want to pour a concrete wall, you first build plywood forms on each side and then pour the concrete in. Concrete is rather heavy, plywood is not especially rigid, and it'd be challenging to build the supports for the forms to such a standard that the plywood wouldn't bow out and give you a goofy-looking wall. The solution is that you put matching holes in the plywood on each side of the wall, run wire through the wall, and then attach little plastic plugs on either side and tighten the whole thing up. The plugs fill the holes in the plywood, keep the wire from pulling through, and stop concrete from leaking out. The wires stop the plywood from bowing out and the net result is a wall with flat faces. (Yay!)

Then, of course, you get some kid working on your construction project to come around with a pipe wrench and a screwdriver to torque/pull/chip the little plastic plugs out of the concrete face. (I was once that kid, so rejoice in knowing this answer did not just come from Wikipedia!)

Net result: mysterious holes.

~Ƥ. Ɗ. Kirĸe

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

While in Europe this summer, I couldn't find Diet Coke anywhere, but instead drank Coke Zero. Having never paid that much attention in the US, I assumed that Coke Zero was Europe's version of Diet Coke. However, when I returned to the US I found that we have regular Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. What is the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke? They seem to be exactly the same to me!

Thanks for your help!

- Diet Coke Lover

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ADear Diet Coke Lover,

I'm sure this won't surprise you, but there is actually very little difference between the American versions of Coke Zero and Diet Coke. They are almost exactly the same, except Coke Zero is sweetened with both aspartame and another calorie-free artificial sweetener called acesulfame potassium, whereas Diet Coke just uses aspartame. They also have a slight variance in the proportions of ingredients used in both drinks, but it's not very much at all.

Did you know that there are about 18 different "flavors" of Coke in the American market right now? That's pretty intense. I imagine they are all pretty similar, and vary just enough in ingredients to have slightly different flavors. I've always thought Americans would be a little better off if they drank more water throughout the day.

Also, in case you were curious, it appears that the Coke Zero you drank in Europe is slightly different from the Coke Zero found in America. There's a nice chart at the bottom of Coke Zero's Wikipedia page that might interest you.

-Sky Bones

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CA comment on Board Question #53945

The Park at Rock Canyon is excellent for this type of activity. Huge, flat, and treeless.

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