|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Login Ask a Question Search About Us Policies Frequently Asked Questions Top-10 Favorites Order T-Shirt Archives Today's Posts (18) 21 20 19 18 17 16 14 13 12 11 10 09 07 06 05 04 03 02 31 30 29 28 27 26 24 23 22 21 20 19 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 09 08 07 06 05 03 02 01 30 29 28 26 25 24 23 22 21 19 18 17 16 15 14 12 11 10 09 08 07 05 04 03 02 01 31 29 28 27 26 25 24 22 21 |
Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, How long should I freeze Yoplait Whips to achieve optimal ice-creamy or gelato-y texture? I froze one for about 7 hours, and that was way too long--it turned into a big hunk of icy crystal. Would stirring halfway help with the texture? Or would that mess up the whippiness? - Darth Fedora
ALiebe Darth Fedora- Guten Tag! Willkommen zu das Brett von 100 Stunden! So, you like the Yoplait Whips, do you? Well, we got us a few, and we'd say they're not so bad. As it happens, apparently the Germans love 'em too. Or so we just made up while writing this. Being the scientific (and typically hungry) gents that we are, we decided to find the Definitive Answer to this question. Using your estimate of 7 hours as a baseline, we purchased 14 Yoplait Whips of various flavors, labeled them in two different groups (1-7 and S1-S7), and put them in our freezer (set on the default medium setting; your freezer or mileage may vary), and proceeded to...sit around for a long time. The plan was this: at every hour, we would remove one cup from each group and taste them, recording our opinions of the yogurt. Those in the S group (as per your specific query) were to be opened, stirred thoroughly, closed, and replaced halfway through their freezing time. That is, S1 was stirred at T + .5 hour, S2 at T + 1 hour, S3 at T + 1.5 hour, etc. Through this procedure, we not only arrived at a conclusion for our preference of freezing time, but actually uncovered a generalized set of principles: the Laws of Frozen Yogurt, if you will. Here's how it went: T + 1 hour: Both yogurts were cold and beginning to form frozen portions (especially near the outer edges) but were far from frozen. They were essentially just really cold. The stirred yogurt, it was immediately obvious from the first stirring, immediately lost its "whippy" texture (as warned on the side of the container). Thus, S1 was much denser than 1, resembling normal yogurt. If the denser, creamier texture appeals to you, buy regular yogurts; they cost about the same and you get more yogurt (less air) in each container. As recommended by some web research, we let each yogurt sit (lid replaced) on the counter at room temperature in 10-minute intervals. After the 10-minute mark, the yogurts in group 1 were essentially at a normal refrigerated state. T + 2 hours: The yogurts had reached a semi-solid state. The unstirred yogurt had more of a grainy, ice-crystal texture, while the stirred (again, read as "normal") yogurt had a smoother mouthfeel. This is where the efficacy of the room-temperature waiting period began to reveal itself; the whipped yogurt left on the counter for 10 minutes became significantly less grainy and more uniform in texture. However, by 20 minutes, the yogurt had returned to normal "refrigerated" status. T + 3 hours: Both yogurts were reaching "just frozen" stage: not hard, but in a solid state. Again, a few minutes on the counter resulted in an improved texture. T + 4 hours: Now having achieved a fair bit of homework, internship applications, and watching Band of Brothers on DVD, we added another accomplishment to our list: the perfect freezing time! At 4 hours, the yogurt was frozen completely through but had not achieved rock-like status. The same texture patterns already established applied, but after a 10-minute rest on the counter, the Yoplait Whips achieved what we considered the ideal texture possible for the material. Longer than 10 minutes began to become too soft. T + 5 hours: Both yogurts achieved "very hard" consistency. Almost dangerous to spoon, due to possibility of accidental auto-impalement. However, an approximate 15-minute wait returned the yogurt to a palatable consistency. It was also at this point that stirring began to have less and less of an effect; yogurt S5 was stirred at T + 2.5, meaning it had begun to achieve solidity and was thus less impacted by agitation. This trend continued as the yogurt became ever harder to stir. T + 6 hours: As expected, there was very little change from the 5-hour mark. Maximum (short-term) freezeage appeared to have been reached, and the experiment was thus terminated before the 7-hour consumption to avoid the vomiting that would have inevitably followed (we've already had nearly half a day's calories in Yoplait form alone, by this point). Conclusions: The Laws of Frozen Yogurt (as alluded to and explained throughout): 1- Stirring is not beneficial to freezing Whips (if the texture is preferred, regular yogurt should be purchased). 2- Freezing time in a standard freezer is ultimately subject to diminishing returns, resulting in a hardness maximum. 3- Counter rest will improve texture and spoonability, but even at maximum hardness should not exceed approximately 15 minutes. Our final recommendation is that Whips are best when frozen from 3.5 to 4 hours, not stirred, and allowed to rest at room temperature for a time less than or equal to 10 minutes (you may need to adjust these times, according to the general framework of the above laws, based on your freezer). Also, nobody should ever eat that much yogurt. We quickly found that the light, airy substance of Whips was not enough to satisfy our hunger, but we had consumed so much sugar that our appetites were completely sated. It was quite a conundrum. Ach! Well, Darth, I hope that helps you in your quest for the ultimate yogurt. Danke für die Frage! Auf Wiedersehen! -Foreman and Commander Keen P.S.- We sent the lids into Yoplait to ensure the donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Because We CareTM. Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, The other day, I was chatting with a friend I'll call "Laser Jack." He mentioned that he doesn't request "fun" reading through BYU inter-library loan because he doesn't want to waste university resources. (I, on the other hand, assume that if the ILL office doesn't want me to have Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooey, they'll cancel the request.) Anyway, the conversation with Laser Jo—Jack got me to wondering, how much does an average inter-library borrowing request cost the BYU library? - Katya
ADear Katya, Wow, funny coincidence that this fellow and I should have such similar 'nyms. But it's a small Internet, after all. According to a couple of people I talked to, each request costs BYU's ILL about $35. One girl also confirmed that it's intended for academic, rather than personal, use. —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Next to the northern exterior side of the HFAC building is a cute little garden area with some statues, benches, and small cobblestone-like walls. Walking east along that sidewalk (with the MOA building on the left), you will approach the last bench with a small cobblestone wall behind it. As you sit on the bench, you'll be facing west. If you sit on the left most side of the bench, you can turn around and notice a loose protruding rock, probably just bigger than a ping pong ball. You can pull the rock out from the wall, to discover a pipe welded onto the back of the rock. When you unscrew the rock from the pipe, you will find a piece of paper inserted. On this piece of paper is a handwritten list of names. What is this? - BYU's Robert Langdon
ADear RL, When I first went by your location, I managed to find where this rock and pipe used to be, but all that was left was a cylindrical hole in the rock wall. Luckily, when I went back today someone had replaced it. When I saw the list of names, I started to be suspicious. After unrolling the paper all the way, my suspicions were confirmed. As the paper itself states, this is a geocache. If you're not familiar with geocaching, read up on it via that link. Basically it's a hobby wherein you go looking for a "cache" hidden at specified GPS coordinates. Geocaches may be hidden in remote areas that require hiking or other travel to reach, or they may be in more urban areas (like the one you stumbled across). I'm sort of curious how someone managed to get one in the wall of the MOA garden; it looks as if they may have been involved in the construction of the wall, given that the cement there perfectly matches the shape of the cylinder. And please, everyone, if you go look at this, put it back when you're done. It's part of the game. —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, My husband and I were recently called to be our Ward Service Missionaries. Part of the calling is organizing ward service activities once a month that have an emphasis in community outreach and missionary opportunities. We are having trouble thinking of projects and especially projects that present missionary opportunities, especially since we are here in Provo. We thought we had a great idea in sending care packages to soldiers with Books of Mormon in them, but it turns out you can't sent packages to random soldiers any more. All the activities I can think of just don't really have a lot of exposure to non-members. Do you have any ideas? Our lack of ability to plan a good activity is making me feel like a terrible member of the ward... - Frazzled volunteer
ADear Frazzled volunteer, Reading your question, the first idea which comes to my mind is to ask your ward members what they would like to do. In my home ward it always seemed that when a person in a calling, any calling, tried to do that calling without consulting the people who would be involved, then it was less enjoyable. When the people in charge asked ward members what types of things they would like to do there was generally a more positive reaction. Now to relate this to your situation. Although you are in Provo, most people know, or know of at least one non-LDS person. Seek out those connections and work from there. Also ask members in your ward what sorts of things they are interested in; you may be surprised to find out the different types of charities and organizations people know of and are involved with outside of church. I understand your problem. It is true that you are not going to have as many opportunities to actually serve non-LDS people when living in Provo. But there are other ways to be of service, and more importantly you can be a missionary even when you are not directly sharing the gospel. Find projects that simply help people. Maybe organize a trip to a school in a less developed part of Utah County and volunteer, or make crafts or something you can donate to other places (such as hospitals and orphanages). Get members of your ward involved in a hands-on activity. It would not only be service but perhaps they could invite the few non-LDS people they know. From the Board archives I found one post with good FHE activity ideas, some of which you could use. A good one from that list is to arrange a Haunted House or, along the same lines, to simply arrange some sort of fair or circus. Anyway, to make this service you could have people pay a small fee for participating in different activities, and at the end donate the money to a specific organization/charity. Keep it open to the public and invite as many people as you can. A good site where you can find a lot of suggestions for activities would be the LDS.net forums. The most important thing to keep in mind in your calling is to make sure you are really helping someone. I always find it a little annoying when I go to a church "service" activity but it is more informational than beneficial. Collect people's opinions, arrange something, and do it sincerely; that is the best service. -Mico ADear Frazzled, I'd like to second Mico's suggestion of doing service. People are much more likely to respond well when they're invited to participate, instead of targeted for pursuit. Set up a neighborhood project and make sure that all the non-members (and the members) know about it. I think the ward missionaries should be all about removing boundaries between people. Member missionary work has a much higher success rate because of the inherent friendship, not just because people happen to live near each other. Building relationships between members and non-members is the way to go. -Yellow Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Do you have any good "A ____, a _____, and a _____" jokes (blanks may include, but are not limited to: biologist, physicist, chemist, engineer, lawyer, mathmetician, writer, economist, politician, doctor, police officer, teacher...you get idea). - Dead Cat
ADear Dead Cat, A priest, a rabbi, and yo’ mama all walked into the wrong joke. - Rating Pending (who could probably do better than that . . .) ADear DeadCat, A priest, a rabbi, and an imam all walked into a bar. The bartender said, "What, is this a joke?" That's all I have. Dr. Smeed ADear Dead Cat, An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says "You're all idiots," and pours two beers. Ha-ha. -Mico ADear Dead Cat, Two mathematicians are having an argument in a restaurant. "The average person hardly knows any math," says the first. "No, no, I think that you'd be surprised how much math most people know." The debate is interrupted while the first mathematician leaves for a few minutes to visit the restroom. While he's gone, the second calls the waitress over and tells her he's going to ask her a question when his friend gets back. "When I ask you the question, say 'One third x cubed.' Got it?" She nods and goes back to work. The first mathematician comes back, and the second says "Here, let's settle the argument. I'll ask the waitress to do a simple integral and see if she gets it right." He calls her back over and asks "What's the integral of x squared?" "One third x cubed," she replies, and starts to walk away, adding "...plus a constant." A biologist, a physicist, and a mathematician observe two people enter a house. After a while, three people leave. The biologist says "This is clearly evidence of reproduction." The physicist contends, "No, it was experimental error; we need to repeat the observation." The mathematician corrects them, saying "All we need is for one more person to enter the house and it'll be empty again." An engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician are each given 10 meters of rope and challenged to enclose the largest area possible. The engineer arranges the rope in a circle; "Clearly, a circle encloses the maximum area possible." The physicist places the rope in a straight line and states "We can assume the rope continues in a straight line, so I've enclosed half the planet." The mathematician arranges the rope in a circle, like the engineer, and steps inside the rope, saying "I declare myself to be on the outside." And it's not quite the right kind of joke, but here's one more I couldn't leave off: An engineer asks, "How?" A physicist asks, "Why?" An English major asks, "Would you like fries with that?" —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I know in my head that I have control over my life--what classes to take, what to do with my free time, what career to pursue, who to be friends with--but when I think about my life, it just doesn't feel like I have any control at all. What's the matter with me? Why do I feel so helpless when I'm not? - Obleas
ADear Obleas, My guess would be that you're feeling this way because there are so many things that you don't have control over in your life. Yes, you can control all of the things that you've mentioned, but even these things often involve factors that you can't control. For example, you do have control over what career to pursue, and you can make yourself as marketable as possible. However, this doesn't guarantee that the job market is going to be even close to ideal when the time comes to get yourself hired. I, too, often feel like I just want to throw up my hands and scream "What the heck is going on here?!" when I get frustrated by yet another factor that I can't control in my life (the lovely bout of swine flu I just finished dealing with, for example). The best thing to do at moments like this is to stop dwelling on what you can't control and start focusing on how you can control your reaction and attitude toward these things. ~Hermia ADear Obleas, Yeah, there are SO many things in this life that we have absolutly no control over. You or I could be crossing the street today and get hit by a car! Adds a bit of excitement to the daily grind, in my opinion... But, to feel the way that you do all the time is not a good thing. I would suggest talking to someone about it if it is a constant or persistent problem. If you're a full-time BYU student, don't be afraid to go to the Counseling and Career Center in the basement of the Wilk. It's one of the most underutilized resources at BYU, I would bet. Even if you don't go there to talk to a counselor, consider making use of the Stress Management and Biofeedback Lab, which helps teach stress management and relaxation techniques that could help you when you have one of those panicky moments. I went once on a whim and it was actually pretty nifty. All of this is free, helpful, and one-on-one, so definitely consider it. If you decide not to pursue either of those options (there's often a stigma associated with getting help from others, especially when you throw in words like "counseling," but don't let that keep you away), you could try some self-help CDs that the Stress Management Lab makes available through the LRC in the library. A list of available materials can be found here. There's one called Worry Stoppers (CD 33-R); perhaps that might help. Best of luck! - Commander Keen Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I am really having a hard time understanding the church's stance [or I guess the doctrine we believe in] about homosexuality (as I'm sure a lot of people are). We believe and encourage marriage and the family so much: we say that the greatest joy comes from marriage and raising children and we are exhorted so very often to find a spouse and get married. But for whatever reason, gay people are not attracted to the opposite gender. I'm sure many of them would like to be–it would make things a lot easier because of the difficulty anyone faces in being different from the norm and because of so much hate and misunderstanding aimed toward them. I'm sure there are many gay members who realize that they would really like to be attracted to the opposite gender so that they could follow the commandment of getting married. But they aren't. So it's understandable that gay people would want the same thing as the rest of us--to find someone to love and commit to--but just in the same gender. But there's the rub: we don't believe in gay marriage and believe having sex with the same gender is a sin. So what are gay people supposed to do? They believe in marriage just like the rest of us but can't marry the opposite gender because they're not attracted (and yes, people do try any way to marry the opposite gender, but that seems to end in heartache because the one spouse isn't fully attractive to the other and it's not an honest marriage). But then they're told they can't marry the same gender either, no matter how much they may love a fellow gay person, because it's wrong. That's quite a catch 22, isn't it? So how does this make sense? It seems gay people are supposed to just be content with no hope of marrying someone. Thanks for your help. Love, Jane
ADear Jane, The first and best information I can provide on this subject is an article called "Helping Those Who Struggle with Same-Gender Attraction" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It was published in the October 2007 Ensign/Liahona. Please, please read this entire article. Here is the first section:
Again, I suggest that you go through and read the rest of Elder Holland's article, but even in this introductory story, he makes a number of key points that I want to reiterate.
You mention that people who are attracted to others of their same gender want "the same thing as the rest of us -- to find someone to love and commit to." That is perfectly true. Romantic love can be one of the most powerful and rewarding experiences of this mortal life. The desire for physical expression of love (including sex, but not limited to it) is one of the strongest natural impulses that humans can feel and can both strengthen and express existing feelings of love. If there were no considerations, rules or expectations that impugned on our seeking after what we desire, then there could be no legitimate reason for rejecting anyone’s pursuit of love or sex. But as members of the Church we believe that there are very specific, God-given commandments about how and when those feelings can be acted upon. Again, this isn't just a matter of heterosexual versus homosexual tendencies: both are equally condemned when practiced outside of the bounds the Lord has set for the physical expression of love, along with any number of other impulses, desires, or cravings, sexual or not, that people can experience as part of a mortal life. In his article, Elder Holland says this:
One point that is emphasized over and over again is that the desire itself, the temptation to do anything is not itself sinful. It is giving in to the temptation in your thoughts, your words or your deeds that make it a sin. Anyone who pretends that natural, physical desires are easily dealt with or simple to overcome is absolutely wrong and makes light of a torment that perhaps is their great blessing not to be afflicted with. But, at the same time, anyone who says that resisting the temptation to act on those desires is impossible or unnecessary seriously misunderstands both the purpose of this life and the power of the Atonement. What are gay people supposed to do? The specific answer to that question can be unique and personal for every individual. But in general terms the answer is the same for everyone: stay clean and worthy and live your life the best you can. Stay worthy of your baptismal and your temple covenants. Stay morally clean in your thoughts, words and actions. The last line of Elder Holland's story that I initially quoted is, I think, especially important: "Although he yet faced challenges to work through—or simply endure—I had a feeling he would handle them well." Work through - or simply endure. There may never be a good enough explanation for why this attraction exists in someone nor a change in a person ever brought about, no matter how faithfully sought after. I'm absolutely convinced that a temple marriage is not an end-all solution for those with a same-sex attraction, and I reject the idea that any gay person can learn to love and eventually marry someone of the opposite gender. You say that marriages between people who struggle with same-sex attraction and people of the opposite gender often end in heartbreak. I’m sure that many of them do. But I know for a fact that it has worked for some people, people who have made and kept their temple covenants and remained worthy members of the Church. I know for a fact that these marriages can and do bring children into the world. I can't say anything about the difficulty of such an arrangement, but I would think that the kind of mutual respect, sacrifice, love and understanding that must exist in such a marriage would probably exceed what is found in a more traditional LDS marriage. I would also think that that love, sacrifice and understanding would qualify those unions for a greatly increased amount of blessings and support from the Lord in this life and for great blessings in the life to come. And those who cannot marry because of their attraction? In a press interview about same-sex attraction, Elder Lance B. Wickman said that "same-gender attraction did not exist in the pre-earth life and neither will it exist in the next life. It is a circumstance that for whatever reason or reasons seems to apply right now in mortality, in this nano-second of our eternal existence." He and Elder Oaks, with whom he gave this interview, go on to discuss that remaining clean and worthy in this life will qualify people for all of the blessings God can give them in the next life, including eternal marriage. I admit I'm not entirely comfortable with this idea. I can easily see how it could be troubling or upsetting to a gay person who wants to live worthily, but at the same time finds the promised reward of marriage difficult to desire if not downright disturbing or repellent. But I absolutely believe that, in whatever way it happens, God will fully make up for whatever wrongs we have suffered in this life and every trial we had to bear. I absolutely promise that the blessings he gives to those who did the very best that they could will far outweigh the misery and suffering we had to struggle through in our mortal existence. So are gay people "supposed to just be content with no hope for marrying someone"? I feel that this is a question that, in all honesty, we can't fully answer in this life and can be misleading in the hopelessness of its tone. Should anyone be without hope? No, never. But all of us, in whatever situation, should take hope in the things we can be hopeful for: "the expectation for the promised blessings of righteousness." In his article, Elder Holland discusses those who can never marry or have children in this life, a fact that others besides persons with same-sex attraction have to deal with.
I think there are few questions that deserve a good answer more than, "Why am I this way?" "Why can't I be different, or feel differently than I do?" "Why can't God, why can't the Church, accept me for who I am?" It is the most natural thing in the world to want, if not to demand, an explanation for a situation that seems so inherently unfair. But, in the long run, life on this Earth is not the long run. Whatever rewards the next life may hold and whatever answers will be given at that time, I again believe will more than adequately make up for the perceived unfairness we suffer here and the answers given will fully explain what is so inexplicable to us now. If people inside or outside the Church find my opinion and explanation stated here unacceptable, insufficient, or unbelievable, I hope that they find one that is acceptable to themselves and, more importantly, acceptable to God and to the standards and commandments that He has given to us, His children, here on earth. I admire those who have the faith to stay strong in the face of a challenge that I don't know that many of us, including myself, could face. - Rating Pending (who, with Elder Holland, "weep[s] in admiration and respect" for those who "fight the good fight") ADear Jane, You might be interested in this series of articles published in the Mormon studies journal Dialogue. A few different viewpoints and approaches to this complex issue are given. No easy answer or consensus is reached—and that's exactly why it can be a valuable source. As an aside: I should add a disclaimer that these articles contain adult content. I do NOT mean pornography, but rather a frankness about sexuality uncommon to Mormondom's PG-Disney culture which frequently holds that "if it's not appropriate for children, it's not appropriate for anyone." Actually some issues that are very appropriate (even sometimes essential) for adults to contemplate aren't appropriate for children, teenagers, or maybe even college freshmen. Love, Waldorf and Sauron Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I’ve read a couple answers that mention the BYU Rock and Roll Club. What IS this club? Since they were the champions of Club Fight (Board Question #52084), they must have some incredible secret strengths. ...I'd like to get in on that. When/where do they meet? What kind of stuff goes down during their meetings? -Mary Jane
ADear MJ, According to their official BYUSA site:
They also have a blog, which says that their next meetings are dedicated to playing Rock Band and to talking about Metallica's Master of Puppets...which sounds sorta awesome. -Claudio Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I need professional help. Hence, why I'm writing to you guys. :) Last year for Halloween I was a Treasure Troll (go early 90's!) The costume was so-so, but the hair.... I have long hair and with the help of a friend we got it to stand straight up! And it was dyed purple. Basically, it was a bit of an awesome costume. So here comes this year. I have no idea how to top last year. I mean, it's not every day you see someone with almost 2 feet of purple hair sticking straight up. Any clever ideas? I've still got the long hair... - Legendary Hair
ADear HAIR, You should flaunt your hair as much as possible before Halloween and then shave it all off for Halloween. That would be quite scary. Alternatively, I would suggest poofing your hair so it looks something like the band members of KISS*, whose hair I imagine is even more legendary than your own. There is also the legendarily large hair of eighteenth-century high-class women, which, if you can emulate, would be enough of a costume that you could forgo the other period clothing. You could be a "typical" Utah-Mormon girl with big hair. I'm not exactly sure how you would go about that, but it would involve a ghastly amount of hairspray. Perhaps you should go as Cousin It from The Addams Family. Or Samara from The Ring (oh, I got a little more creeped out than I should admit from looking up Samara pictures). You could even read the Board archives, get ideas, then tweak them to your own tastes. Searching for "big hair" on Google images can also give you lots of ideas, but I'm not sure those are the hairstyles you want to emulate...ever. -Mico *"Related searches: Gene Simmons"?! Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, This fall I've begun taking a foreign language at BYU that really, really interests me. Problem is, I graduate in the spring! I'm hoping to stay at BYU for law school next fall, though. Are law students allowed to take other (as in "non-law") classes, like a second or third year foreign language class, just for fun? Are they allowed to take a summer study abroad program? I wish I'd discovered my interest in learning this language sooner. I hate to think I won't be able to take the full complement of courses available and that I will forever miss out on the study abroad opportunity. - So sad to be graduating already!
ADear sad, Law students are allowed to take non-law classes...but it will make you that much busier. If you go on summer study abroad, you'll miss out on all the summer internship stuff that all the other law students do. Your law school advisor will probably advise you against it. I say take advantage of it while you can. -Whistler Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Preface: I got the flu back in September. I knew five people who were sick at such a time that it's reasonable to assume I caught it from one of them. They all caught it at the same place, and one of them tested positive for swine flu. As such, we all feel it's a reasonable assumption that we probably had swine flu as well (as far as influenza goes, it really wasn't that bad. It was just ridiculously contagious). I have been led to believe there are two flu shots this year: one for swine flu, and one for all the other strains. My real question: If I was correct in assuming I had swine flu, is there any real value in getting the regular flu shot? If I was incorrect, is there any real value in getting the swine flu shot that's coming out later this month? And, since either of those situations is possible, why not hedge my bets and get both? Thanks, ;
ADear wink, The value of getting the regular flu shot is that it could keep you from getting the flu. The seasonal flu shot is a cocktail of vaccines against three different flu viruses. According to the CDC: Each seasonal influenza vaccine contains three influenza viruses-one A (H3N2) virus, one regular seasonal A (H1N1) virus (not the 2009 H1N1 virus), and one B virus. The viruses in the vaccine change each year based on international surveillance and scientists' estimations about which types and strains of viruses will circulate in a given year.The H1N1 vaccine that everyone is interested in taking (or demonizing) is for a novel strain of virus that cropped up unexpectedly earlier this year and spread rapidly. The vaccine for this 2009 H1N1 would have been included in the seasonal vaccine, but it wasn’t developed and FDA-approved soon enough before the seasonal vaccine started going out around the country. You said that the flu you had earlier is possibly swine flu. If you feel confident about that, then go ahead and get the seasonal one. If it wasn’t swine flu, then it’s possible you could still catch one of the other strains of flu and have the miserable experience of two flues (flus?) in a year. Of course, even if you do get the seasonal shot, it’s possible you could catch an unexpected flu virus not included in the vaccine, or a bacterial infection with flu-like symptoms. If you are a relatively healthy young person, the biggest advantage to getting the flu shot is just avoiding the irritation of the flu and, in my mind, the biggest disadvantage is the cost of the shot ($20-30) and the hassle of going and getting it. Currently, due to an insufficient quantity of H1N1 vaccines here in Utah, they are only giving flu shots to pregnant women, high-risk healthcare workers and children younger than six. If that doesn’t describe you, then you probably won’t have much chance to get an H1N1 shot for the next while even if you want it. - Rating Pending (who notes that another advantage of getting the flu shot is being able to claim that the government is now monitoring you and/or poisoning you) Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, How can I change my major back to "undeclared?" I am a freshman and this is my first semester, I was just way too hasty in declaring Linguistics as my major, and I am now regretting it. I've tried looking around MyMAP, and I know for sure how to change majors, but have seen nothing about what to do if I want to change the past and go back to the days before I was bound with a declaration. Help would be appreciated! - Miss Hasty
ADear Miss Hasty, I've never heard of anyone doing it and I suspect it's impossible. Fortunately, though, that doesn't matter! The department your nominal major is in can and probably will send you random emails, but for a major without an application there is really not much else they can do. There's no law (again, in majors without applications) against pretending to be undeclared even when you have a nominal major. Personal example: when I changed my major, I first decided I was quite interested in the change, and then I took a term's worth of classes in the new major (without telling my advisement center anything). I think sometime around the end of that term, I decided that I'd officially switch to the new major, and then I didn't bother to fill out the paperwork for another month or so. No one cared. I can practically guarantee that people will likewise not care if you are nominally a linguistics major but take classes in other areas. So, don't worry, be happy, and as for changing your major back to undeclared, don't and pretend you did. ~Ƥ. Ɗ. Kirĸe Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, What's the strangest last name you ever knew someone to have? - Once knew a missionary named Sister Buttuks (yeah, she was anxious to get married)
ADear Gorfindel, I know a couple of weird ones. Butkus (similar to yours, the same name as the football player), Schauerhammer (John Bytheway uses this name in about all his talks, and I knew a cousin of the guy he talks about), Bytheway, and a whole mess of islander names. I think the one that takes the cake though, is Al-Khudari. He was an Iraqi guy I knew when I was on MY mission, and his name means "The vegetable seller" or, "the green one." It is like having the last name "Green" but amped up to be literally "the green guy." Dr. Smeed ADear Once I have a friend of a friend with the last name Super. It doesn't look like we're terribly good at coming up with weird last names, so here's a link to a site with a rather extensive list of surnames that are odd, funny, and embarrassing (sometimes all three). -Humble Master ADear Once, A missionary in my mission was Elder Matamoros, which is roughly translated "Elder Moor-killer." The Moors, of course, are the generally Muslim people ethnicity of northern African origin that also inhabited the Iberian peninsula for hundreds of years. The same Iberian peninsula where I served my mission, and where many Moorish people continue to live. Yeah, that one could be awkward. He came home and married a girl in my ward, though, and we're still friends. Also, he's amazing on the piano. So it's not all bad. -Yellow Back to top QHello, eh? So, what's the best word you've ever spelled (or seen spelled) on speed scrabble/regular scrabble? - Roseteak, Canadian.
ADear Roseteak, I know you only picked that 'nym because I once tried to use "roseteak" as a word in a game of Scrabble. If it had been a word, it would have been basically the best ever - two triple word scores and a bingo for using all my letters. But it isn't. Aside from that, I've seen "vociferous" and "mercenaries" on the same Speed Scrabble grid. I've also seen "zoological," "equestrian," "piscivorous," "ghyll," and "phlogiston," among countless others. I have clearly been playing Speed Scrabble with awesome people. Just throwing that out there. ~Ƥ. Ɗ. Kirĸe ADear Roseteak, I've used "gaol," "sorties," and "yond" in Scrabble games before. Tao once used "connived" for 167 points (I'm looking back on my Facebook Scrabbles here). Anyway. I was way into FB Scrabble for a few months there. -Whistler Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I work full-time as a nurse. Because the hospital is short on labor and delivery nurses, I was recently offered the opportunity to do a six month (paid) orientation and become a labor and delivery nurse, my DREAM job. The only thing is my husband are trying to start a family, something I feel will happen sooner rather than later. Do think it's dishonest for me to take the offer knowing that after I have a baby, I'll be scaling back to working only one day a month? The hospital may only get 3 months out of their 6 month investment. In my mind, it doesn't seem logically sound that I should give up this opportunity based on something that hasn't even happened yet but I can't shake this gnawing feeling of dishonesty in the back of my head. If your opinion is to not say anything, one more question: the orientation won't start for another 2-3 months. If I get pregnant in the meantime should I say something? Thanks, Board Writers! I appreciate your input! -L&D RN hopeful
ADear hopeful, I know you don't want to hear this, but I think it is dishonest. My advice would be to wait for a bit to get pregnant, not years and years, but the eight months it would take to be done with this orientation. If you want the job, take it, make sure that you have fulfilled your commitment, and then get pregnant. This way, you aren't giving up on either of your dreams of this job or starting your family. Additionally, if you plan it right, you won't even have to wait eight months to start. You could potentially get pregnant halfway through your internship and still be in good enough shape to fulfill your duties through the end of your commitment. Dr. Smeed Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, How secure do you think www.mint.com is? Would you trust all your account usernames and passwords to this site? - Trying to Better Manage My Finances
ADear Trying, Your concern is very justifiable; I was hesitant to trust them myself, until I did quite a bit of looking into them and how they work. Several other writers have also done a lot of looking, and the Board gives Mint.com a fairly enthusiastic thumbs up, for the most part; see Board Question #50476 and Board Question #49721. Also note that, as Yellow pointed out in response to Curious Physics Minor's concerns in the first question (he also objected here), Mint doesn't have login information to your accounts and potential hackers thus couldn't get it either. (You also can't use Mint to transfer money, so someone hacking into your account would see your balances but couldn't do anything about it.) So if they don't have your login information, how do they know your account balances? As Yellow also pointed out, a different company, Yodlee, handles your bank login information and passes along balances to Mint. So how is that any better? To quote Yodlee, "Over 150 top financial institutions and portals - including thirty-two of the top fifty U.S. banks - offer Yodlee-powered solutions to millions of consumers worldwide." Yodlee is used by a variety of very high-profile financial companies, including ING Direct, CitiBank, Merrill Lynch, e-Trade, Capital One, Wachovia, MSN, T. Rowe Price...and a few others. (See here for the full list.) These people are betting their entire businesses on Yodlee, and they're not small-time players, either. If they've vetted Yodlee and found them reliable, I have no argument. —Laser Jock, who likes Mint ADear Trying, It's pretty darn secure. Not as secure as never telling anyone anything ever, but secure enough that I sleep soundly at night. Mint's a great service, and has really helped Dragon Lady and me manage our finances. Just note that the account balance is often a couple days behind, or at least it is for Wells Fargo accounts. But really, it's essentially as safe as using your bank's online website. -Yellow Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, How much does having a baby truly change the nature of a marriage? I know many people who have started having kids lately, and once they do, I NEVER hear them say anything about their spouse. It's like their life completely revolves around their child and they forget that they also have a marriage. I recognize that this is an unrighteous and selfish attitude, but this trend really scares me. I am afraid to have children because I am afraid they will take my husband away from me. I am afraid that I may become jealous of a child one day because my husband will love him/her more than me. How grounded is this fear? How do I overcome it? I truly want to live a righteous life and fulfill my divine role as a mother. - Lost
ADear Lost, I was just reading the recent article "What's love got to do with it: Why some marriages succeed and others fail" by Ted L. Huston from the journal Personal Relationships, and it has a section on your very question. Let me just quote some of it for you: First-time parents experienced a small spike in overt affection before having their first baby--probably because they were interested at the time in conceiving or excited about the pregnancy--but the declines in affection with parenthood were comparable to those found among couples who did not have a baby. We also found no evidence that parenthood exacted a toll in terms of marital strife (MacDermid et al., 1990). The picture that emerges counters conventional social science wisdom--built largely on before-and-after research designs that lack a control group of couples who remain childless--that parenthood hastens marital disenchantment (see Huston & Holmes, 2004; Huston & Vangelisti, 1995).The article goes on to say that marital tension was higher when parents continued to share breadwinning roles and when husbands who were insecure about their childcaring abilities had to help out more than they liked. Wives' love for their husbands helped them accept what level of involvement their husbands preferred to have in helping with childcare. Husbands spent less time doing leisure actives on their own, and couples spent less leisure time as pairs and more leisure time with friends and relatives (something that the wives liked). Overall, having a baby did not decrease love and marital satisfaction any more when compared with childless couples. -The Supershrink ADear Lost, How interesting. Typically, if there is going to be some sort of spousal neglect, it is women who block out their husbands because of children, not the other way around. My daughter is 15 months old. Shortly before she was born, I started reading up on various postpartum problems, and parental obsession with the infant was one that scared me a bit. My wife is a woman of many wonderful attributes, among them a fierce sense of devotion and loyalty. I was afraid that in the hormonal and emotional maelstrom that follows birth, this attribute might get shanghaied to the point where all of her devotion was to the baby. I brought it up with her, and her response was, "You're probably right, at least for the first few months. After all, the baby will need me a lot more than you will at that point." The logic was perfect, but I was still a bit concerned. Our daughter was born healthy and strong, and we returned home from the hospital a few days later. I have to say, though, we were both wrong. Of course my wife was spending a lot of her time with/taking care of the new little one. But I was too. And when we were both spending time with the baby, it turned out we were spending time together as well! Our marriage grew in several great ways in the months that followed, and I love my wife even more now than I did before we had our daughter. I like to think that feeling is reciprocated. As for why people talk about their child more than their spouse, it's probably because the baby actually IS the biggest thing in their life right now. Most of the people you're talking to sound like first-time parents, where every day is a new adventure and every experience is brand new. They think that their baby is the most fascinating thing in the world, and, in their world, that is probably correct! They also probably assume (apparently mistakenly, in your case) that you, as their friend, are interested in the adventures and well-being of their child, and they're eager to share the details with you. The test their spouse took last Tuesday isn't nearly as interesting to them as the baby smiling at them or a particularly cute outfit the baby's grandma sent out. The fact is that you're viewing these proud new parents from the outside of their relationship, and it's easy to think that they don't think about each other anymore. In some rare cases, that may be true. But I'm willing to bet that in most marriages that were solid before the baby, there is now more love, more kindness, and more affection than there was before. It is almost instinctive to put your arm around the person holding your child, and it doesn't take too much more thought to give them a kiss. They are probably talking for hours about all the things they saw their child do during the day, the hopes they have for the baby's life, and all the great things that are going on. Don't get me wrong; these folks are tired, and probably a bit on edge. They bicker and snap at each other, maybe even more than they did before the baby. But honestly, babies bring so much love into a home that those things get glossed over and forgotten quickly. In closing, I'm glad you realize that your attitude is selfish. I hope you'll pray about overcoming it. I believe that marriages built on the gospel of Christ and on mutual love and affection can weather any storm; I'm even more sure they can survive great blessings like a child. -Claudio Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I was taking a back way through campus the other day and saw a student go into a door designated as the "BYU Magicc Lab" (yes, magic does have two c's). What is the Magicc Lab? Perhaps they make magic wands. . . . How cool is that. Seriously. But really, I just want to know what the BYU Magicc Lab is and what is does. - Waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter
ADear Waiting, Woo google. It stands for Multiple AGent Intelligent Coordination and Control. Basically, flying robots. Love, Waldorf and Sauron ADear Waiting, The MAGICC lab does research involving Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Their work involves designing UAVs; developing auto-pilot systems, embedded real-time operating systems, and collision avoidance systems; signals processing in a limited processing environment; and many other interesting problems. They also work with the Computer Science department, who coordinates with Utah County Sheriff's Search and Rescue to help drive research efforts into effectively using UAVs to aid search and rescue missions. -Curious Physics Minor Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, According to Board Question #53486, Board Question #53919, and Board Question #49414 there are sisters in the HFAC(+CK) clan and at least one of them like to read the Board. Is there any chance that she/they will be joining soon? Or has/have she/they done so already? - HFAC+CK? HFACACK? HFCACK? HFAC ATTACK! (Hey it's Foreman And Claudio And The Totally Awesome Commander Keen!)
ADear name suggestions which are equally totally awesome, At present, no, no female member of our family writes for the Board. Could it happen in the future? It's very possible, but that depends upon the females in question. Stay tuned for excitement...?! - Commander Keen Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, While in my class in the SWKT and in the underground part of the JFSB i have been unable to connect to the internet. Does it not have the BYU Secure or BYU guest networks? The JFSB had byuc0ug4rs and a network called Free Public WiFi and i could connect to both of the networks but could not open up a webpage, including byu.edu.How do i connect to the internet in these classes? - Anonymous
ADear anon., If you can't pick up a signal then there's not much you can do. BYU's wireless is available in much of campus, but there are still dead spots in several places. The networks you saw—byuc0ug4rs and "Free Public WiFi"—were actually showing up due to other laptops nearby. They're what are called ad-hoc networks, meaning that a laptop is acting like a wireless access point. This could be useful to wirelessly connect two laptops, but it doesn't help you connect to anywhere else. For some reason, some laptops are set up to automatically create ad-hoc networks (I assume when they can't get a real wireless signal), and they usually use names of networks they've connected to in the past. You can tell ad-hoc connections from normal wi-fi because they'll show up with a different icon next to them when you look at what wireless networks are available. (Another giveaway, in this case, is the fact that byuc0g4rs doesn't exist anymore, and "Free Public WiFi" never did exist on campus.) The interesting thing is that the owners of said laptops are probably entirely clueless that they're broadcasting like that. —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, So now that we've all had the pleasure of finding that attractive qualities of the board members in Board Question #54073, how's one go about getting a date with one of these lovely people? I know a few of the guys have applications, but what about the rest? Not that I'm looking for a date....I'm just curious! --Looking for love in all the wrong places
ADear Me too, Single men can e-mail me to ask me out (I am a young lady). My e-mail address is whistler@theboard.byu.edu. I'd like to see Absent Friends sometime. Hint hint. -Whistler ADear that's a funny 'nym, considering your question, I don't have an application, because it hasn't come up yet. Which also doesn't mean I'll create one, but it might. Guess you'd have to just ask. Although, Whistler had such a great idea! I have a list of stuff I've been wanting to go to, but would prefer to be taken to by a date. So, if you're interested, I'll tell you which upcoming events I'd like to attend, you'll be graced by my presence, and it'll be a win-win situation! -Miss Scarlett ADear Looking, For pretty much any writer, e-mailing them is a good place to start. You can find e-mail addresses for many writers in their blurbs under "Active Writers" in "About Us." (You can reach me, for instance, at  .) For those writers who have a dating application, you can do a quick search to track it down (usually involving their pseudonym plus the phrase "dating application"). And if the above two options fail, there's always the option to submit a question expressing interest in a date with someone.—Laser Jock ADear you certainly are- My (in)famous secret mission dating application can be found here; send me an email if you think you've got what it takes. And please, be patient with me (especially you ladies currently in line). Besides being a convoluted (but fun!) process, we're all busy people and it's hard to get everything set up and executed in as timely a manner as we'd all prefer. You'll all get your turn. -Foreman Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I'm in Mexico right now for Fall semester. I need housing for winter semester. Do you have have any ideas of where to look online? Do any apartment complex sell just a semester contract? Thanks! - LJ
ADear LJ, I don't know about online (though the BYU housing website is helpful), but I know at least two people who need to sell their fall/winter contracts because they are leaving for winter semester (so... it would be like just buying a winter semester contract). E-mail me at whistler@theboard.byu.edu if you'd like to know more. -Whistler ADear LJ, Considering I am in your same situation (but on different continent), I can tell you with complete surety that YES you can find this information online! BYU has a lot of information about off-campus housing on their Off-Campus Housing website, crazy right? They have it set up pretty nicely. All you need to do is click on the drop-down menu for "Search for Housing," then choose "Vacancy Listings>Undergraduate." This will bring you to the Undergraduate Housing Search page, where you can enter what type of housing you need. From there you can look at information about housing and contact sellers whose apartments meet your criteria. Since you are in Mexico you may be able to call people, but e-mailing should also work fine. I have been e-mailing back and forth with my soon-to-be landlords for a few weeks now, and everything has gone really smoothly. As for large apartment complexes, if they have any vacancies they might be listed here. However, just like in other apartments, if you are looking for a semester contract you will have to find someone who is selling theirs. Big complexes don't generally (read: don't ever) sell single semester contracts, but there are still opportunities to get single semester contracts from people who are getting out of their own. Don't worry about it! If all else fails use Whistler's contacts! Better yet, only do what I suggested if Whistler's friends fail you. -Mico, who is so so so glad to have figured out housing for next semester, although I am a little worried since I won't get to see the place ahead of time... Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Apparently there is a hiring freeze at the law school--even though we are bleeding expensive professors (due to sickness, retirement, callings to far off countries and appointment to the Obama administration). The point is: the law school administration has cut a course that is extremely important to me and about 25 other students because there is no professor to teach the class and they say they are prevented from hiring anyone. The deans at the law school have flat out refused to reinstate the course. The only solution I can think of is to go over their heads to show whoever is in charge the need for an adjunct professor (which would be SO comparatively cheap). I know it has a small chance of success, but this means a lot to me. My question is this: Who is the individual responsible for limiting the number of hires at the law school? My PSA is this: If I could go back 3 years and attend another law school, I probably would have. Think long and hard about which school to attend--choosing the one with the cheapest price tag has come back to bite me. (This is not to disparage the law students who are generally lovely, wonderful people, or the professors who are top notch. But the administration...is a different story.)
ADear I'm not sure you'll like hearing this, but the hiring freeze is not just for the law school. It's for all of BYU. And it comes from the leadership of the LDS church (i.e., President Monson approved it). Here's part of a news story about it:
So, if President Monson approved it, and you want to go to someone higher, I'm going to have to recommend praying about it. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like the hiring freeze is going to be lifted in the immediate future (incidentally, many, many schools have instituted hiring freezes since the recession started (I've even heard that it could safely be said most schools have), so this problem is not unique to BYU). -Humble Master ADear PSA, [Note - I wrote this without knowing Humble Master was currently writing his own answer. I've left mine so you can see the uncanny resemblance between our answers, though his is better.] This isn't just a law school thing, it's not even just university-wide. It's a Church-wide hiring freeze, with a few exceptions like student employees. Unfortunately, the hiring freeze is a consequence of BYU and the Church being inextricable from the real world. Limited resources are difficult, but BYU isn't the only school hurting from the recession. Love, Waldorf and Sauron Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Where can I find information about what kind of tags are allowed on the board? (How to quote, bold, and so on.) I believe that this information used to be available on the "Ask a Question" page, but I can't find it anymore. Thanks! - Fredjikrang
ADear Fredjikrang, You're right; it used to be on the Ask a Question page, but we removed it in an attempt to declutter things. To make text italic, [i]do this[/i]. To make text underlined, [u]do this[/u]. To make text quoted, [quote]do this[/quote]. You can't mark text as bold because all your text will be displayed in bold. That's how questions are. -Yellow Back to top CDear Help me Stacy and Clinton (Board Question #54175), If you literally want help from Stacy and Clinton (aside from getting yourself nominated for What Not to Wear), I highly recommend their book Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body. First off it has a guide of staple items you should have in your closet, like those links Whistler provided. Second of all, it breaks down body type by shape and height and gives you tips on what would look best for you. Best of all, though, throughout the book it has universal tips for the kinds of things you would be looking for. Everything from good color combos, how to accessorize different outfits, fabric types, sheen, etc. All the stuff they talk about on the show, but at your fingertips in this handy book! My sister got this book for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I've definitely borrowed it a few times. Like you, I used to have a hard time figuring out how to look more chic, but I've gotten compliments several times on outfits I put together based on tips in this book. It's also great because it's affordable. I'm slowly building up the items on their list of staples as I can afford them, but I'm also learning how to use what I've already got. They've got it at the Provo Library, and it's way cheap on Amazon, so I would get your hands on a copy. Your friends will all want to borrow it too! - Stacy and Clinton should pay me for advertising
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||