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

Posts for October 30, 2009

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

What happens to the Scantrons at the testing center after students take their tests? Does the testing center just shred them all, or do they save them in case a student thinks his or her test was graded incorrectly?

Sincerely,

- Rage Against the Machine

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ADear Bulls on Parade,

A couple friends of mine work in the Testing Center, and they say the scantrons are given to the professor, and that it is at his discretion as to what is done with them. So, if you have a question about a specific test, you should ask the teacher.

- Commander Keen

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Hey ya'll. How are you? I'm good. Listen, I was wondering if you guys could help me with a little question that I have been wondering. What do you guys think of the P90X workout? Worth the money or what? Anyway, it was nice having this one sided conversation with you, but I've got to go now. Thanks for everything!

- Your (adjective) nemesis,
Essence of Evil

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ADear Nemesis,

I don't think any of us have tried it personally, but my sister has. I sent her your question and this is what she said:

Quote:

Well, first off, the P90X is not a beginner's workout. Unless you are already in pretty good shape, go with the original P90 workout series. This is a hard-core, go from good shape to great shape quickly, set of videos. If you get the boxed set it comes with a diet and exercise plan for fastest results, and of course, they are trying to sell you some of their 'unique' powders and vitamins, but the workouts are legitimately difficult. It's nothing new, but he does combine boot camp-style exercises with football drills, jumping jacks and martials arts, which makes it interesting, and the yoga and stretching videos are just as intense as the higher impact stuff. There are also a number of weight training videos, which I don't use as much, but are very helpful if you need new ideas for different exercises or different ways to combine the ones you're already doing for each muscle group.
All in all, I'd give it a 4 out of 5, and would recommend it if you're into exercise videos and are already in decent shape. But shop around - you can find it online for much less than the $129.00 retail price.

I'm a recent convert to workout videos, and I'd like to give a plug for Slim in 6. I've never tried P90X, so I can't compare the two, but I've been doing Slim in 6 the past month and been getting pretty dang good results (without following their diet plan). And Slim in 6 is much, much cheaper.

Good luck,
Waldorf and Sauron

ADear Eau de Toilette,

I'm great, how are the wife and kids? That's good to know.

I have two Army buddies who do the P90X workout, one who did it last year, and I am looking into it myself. All accounts say it puts the TEN in INTENSE.

All three of my friends are pretty hard-core Army types, and they say the tough part is sticking with it. It's a 6-day a week program, and the intensity makes it easy to spend a few days saying "Man, I can take a day off."

It sounds like Waldorf and Sauron's sister hit it right on the head. It is not a beginner's workout but if you are up to it, it is most assuredly worth the money.

Dr. Smeed

ADear Evil,

I, too, have heard stellar reviews of P90X. There was an elder in our mission who had it (minus the DVDs, of course) and I got to flip through the book and look at some of the workouts. Intense, indeed! And it's quite the varied plan, as Waldorf & Sauron's sister said. It'll whip you into shape if you stick to it. I plan on doing this (or something like it) sometime when I'm not on campus for 18 hours most days.

Short version: it looked sweet and the elder swore by it. Lastly, I say this in a totally hetero way....the guy was ripped.

- Commander Keen

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

This is a photoshop question. How would i make this type of effect? Tutorial or example would be appreciated.

http://localhostr.com/files/7a...

- Ice Cream Sherbert

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ADear Sherbert,

Uh...what effect? A gradient in the background? Overexposure? A white hoodie?

I have no idea what you're even asking.

-Yellow

ADear ICS,

You're going to have to be a lot more specific, especially if you want a tutorial. But I'll give it a shot.

1) Start with a good, high-resolution, well-lit photograph.
2) Extract the figure from the background. Here's a tutorial on extraction if you need one.
3) On a layer beneath the background, make a gradient with colors you like.
4) I can't quite tell if the background has a slight texture or if it's just the graininess of the image, but if you want texture, go find one you like (I get mine, free and royalty-free, from here) and put it in a layer behind the gradient.
5) Mess with the opacity settings on the gradient layer until you find one you like. Try the "Multiply" or "Screen" options, those are my favorite.
6) Back to the foreground layer. In Image>Adjustments>Exposure, turn the exposure way up. Then in Image>Adjustments>Vibrance, turn the vibrance and the saturation way up. You can also play with this in Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation.

And that's about all I see going on in this photograph. If I didn't hit on the effect you were looking for, feel free to write back. More examples and more specifics would be appreciated.

Best of luck on that,
Waldorf and Sauron

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Please tell me whether Hugh Nibley's office in the library is still around. If is not, where was it located when it did exist?

- posledovatel

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ADear disciple,

To get in the right mood to answer your question, we went up to the Ancient Studies reading room (which is mostly just a bunch of old books - but they're cool old books). Outside the exit of this reading room are three offices; 5430 is the office Hugh Nibley used before 2003 when he was working on his final work, One Eternal Round (which should be coming out next year). You can see where the ancient studies room is on this map, but unfortunately the small offices are not numbered. We'd like to thank Cali O'Connell in library administration for her institutional knowledge and records which were vital in researching your answer.

-Whistler and +The Sentry+

ADear posle-what?

Hanging around Nibley's old office won't make you any smarter. Sorry.

-wet blanket

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Where is the best place to get a camera repaired in Provo?

My Canon Powershot SD790 IS won't focus anymore. Everything else seems normal, except the noise is strange when it extends or retracts the lens.

Also, how can I tell if it is in warrenty? I have had it since april.

Camera Man

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ADear Camera Man,

It should be under warranty, according to Canon's Limited Warranty. Your best bet is going through Canon. Let me warn you, if your camera is for some reason not covered under that warranty, it will probably be cheaper to buy a new camera.

Love,
Waldorf and Sauron

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

I'm trying to estimate how many lds women there might be in the United States between the ages of 22 and 26. How would I go about that? Do you have a good estimate yourselves? I thought I remembered a similar question, but couldn't find it in the archives.

- MST

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ADear MST,

Earlier this year the Pew Forum put out an article on the statistics of LDS people in the U.S. This article included some information on ages and genders of members of the Church! Let me sum it up for you. Approximately twenty-four percent of the LDS population in the U.S. is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine. Among that percentage, fifty-six percent are women.

Percentages don't have any substantial meaning though without a solid number. For some reason I had a difficult time finding a current estimate of the current actual number of LDS people in the U.S. I did finally come up with a study from 2005 which gave the U.S. LDS population to be 5,503,192. So, we can extrapolate from this that there are 739,629 LDS women in the U.S. between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine.

Of course, your question takes away all the eighteen-year-olds, and women older than twenty-six. Take that into account, plus the women who are not actively LDS, but their names are still on the records of the Church, and the number is smaller. Then add a pinch of pretty women, since that study was a little old and a few people probably joined the Church, or aged, in that time. So if you were to personally go about estimating how many LDS women there are in the U.S. in your specified age group I would suggest using my number as a starting point, then subtracting a lot, and adding a little, until it feels right.

OH! Or, this is a way better idea! You should take a road trip for the next...few years...around the U.S., visiting every ward's sacrament meeting and counting all the young LDS women in the Church. Whoa, too bad we don't take large counting questions, and too bad this isn't the 1,000,000 Hour Board. Cause, really, that would be a pretty epic answer.

-Mico

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ADear 23,

The D.I.

No, seriously.

I love thrift stores and garage sales...not only because I find things for super cheap, but because the thrill of the hunt makes my finds way more fun to wear. I also love thrift stores because I can find unique items--and by that I do not mean shirts with bells and the like. I like knowing that on my walk from the SWKT to the JKB I won't feel like I am looking into a mirror over and over again.

For more mainstream articles, however, I prefer Target. It's affordable, but not in an "I'll fall apart the first time you wash me" way.

Speaking of the D.I., if anyone would like to donate a black turtleneck before Halloween, I would greatly appreciate it. My costume is missing an essential piece...

⋯Anomalous

ADear girl,

If I'm looking for something a little classier but still cheaper than normal, I sometimes venture into Plato's Closet (up by University Mall, ya know?). It's a rare occasion, though.

And I second DI. And Anomalous, are you stalking myself and Foreman? We were just there today looking for black turtlenecks for Halloween...

- Commander Keen

ADear girl,

Lately I guess I've turned into kind of a snob--but with good reasons for it. If I ever found anything at D.I. that fit, I'd maybe try shopping there more often. I am pretty small, and while I'm sure they have smaller sizes, I feel like I only find stuff in larger sizes. It's also just so time-consuming to go and look through everything. Lately I haven't had tons of time for shopping, and when I've gone to the mall or to Target or wherever, I've really had a hard time finding things. So, my favorite place to shop these days is the outlet mall in Park City. Obviously it's a big time chunk for travel, but every time I go I find some really nice clothes, and usually I can get a decent deal. They aren't super cheap, but these days I'm going for quality clothes that fit really well, and that's what I find there. I love the Ann Taylor, Banana Republic (bless you both for having a petite section!) and Gap stores for those reasons, and usually I can get some sort of coupon or rewards certificate for them. When I have more time, I tend to shop around a little more, because you never know where you'll find things, but for now, I at least know where I'm most likely to find some clothes that I love.

-Miss Scarlett

ADear a girl, 23,

Looks like most of us are pretty cheap here. For the cheapness factor, I buy nearly all of my pants (among other things) at Ross or Walmart. I love the fit of Downeast Basics tops and they're quite reasonably priced. For anything on the fancier side I usually take a look at Charlotte Russe. On the outside they appear to be full of immodest and expensive clothes, but on the inside they have incredible clearance racks and a lot of surprisingly sensible, modest, good-looking stuff.

There you have it,
Waldorf (not Sauron)

ADear woman,

I'm with Miss Scarlett on this one. I don't typically like thrifty type stores because it's so time consuming to look through all the clothes, plus I usually can't find my size. Honestly, I kind of hate shopping, so when I buy clothes, I often have no problem spending just a little bit more money for something nice and sturdy that I can wear with multiple things. This way, I don't end up buying tons of cheaper things that just end up taking space in my closet.

When the dreaded time of clothes shopping does come, however, I often go to Target for the bottoms, Rue 21 for the jeans, Downeast Basics for the tops, Habitat for the skirts and Kohl's for everything. Oh, and I always buy all of my Converses from ebay.

I guess black turtlenecks are the hot item for Halloween this year. If you guys had told me earlier, I could have sent you some. At a shop near my apartment I found some awesome black turtlenecks (both male and female cuts) for about $10. Now all I have left is to finish making all of my origami shuriken. What could I possibly be for Halloween this year?

-Sky Bones

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QTo the 100 Hour Board,

This one is definitely odd, but I am curious all the same.
What do you do when you accidentally squeeze too much toothpaste out of the tube?
Toothpaste can be expensive, so do you shove it back in, store it for later, or use it all right then and there?

- O.H.D. (Obviously Having Difficulties)

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ADear O.H.D.,

I'm one of those people who habitually overestimates the amount necessary. I often face the quandary of not knowing where to relocate a lake of lotion, swamp of shampoo, or a ton of toothpaste. Once I ruined an object lesson about how you can't take words back by carefully suctioning the toothpaste back into a tube, but this process is much too time-consuming to use on a regular basis. So, usually I'll wipe off the excess with a finger and wipe it over the sink spigot. When I'm done brushing my teeth, I rinse off the chrome. However, toothpaste is like Windex: you can use it for everything. You could also try using toothpaste to:

Clean out the sink basin or counter.
Write messages on your bathroom mirror (it keeps the glass from fogging).
Take odors out of plastic bottles.
Even out scratches on DVD's or glassware.
Take garlic or onion smells off of your fingers.
Clean headlights.
Remove residue from jewelry.
Or hang a poster.

-Ineffable

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Let's say you had some money, say, less than $1,000, specifically for charitable acts/donations/etc. What would you do with it? You could give it to a large corporation or a small one, international or local, to an individual or a group. You could even start your own charitable organization. The sky is the limit.

- Philanthropic

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ADear Philanthropic,

I think rather highly of Kiva, a micro-loan organization, so I'd send a large chunk of the money to them. Although, I also appreciate the lowered administrative costs with LDS Philanthropies because so many are volunteers, and so I give a generous amount to them as well. And I'd save a hundred dollars or so for Choose 2 Give because I'm a student so my donations are matched 5 to 1 (Go Cougars!).

-Ineffable

ADear Philanthropic,

I'd take the whole thing and give it to an eating disorders treatment center to be used for someone who really needs to stay longer but whose insurance is stopping payment. It would only pay for a day, or maybe not even that long depending on the type of facility, but a day's a big deal.

- The Black Sheep

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QDear 100 Hour Board,

Recently while running I was nearly hit by a car. I thought of a puzzling notion. Is there a speed at which you are no longer considered "run over"? For example, could a slow moving object "walk you over" or a super fast object "sprint you over"? I ask you, what seems to be the deciding factor in the process, if any?

- A.A.Andrometric

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ADear A. A. Andrometric,

Run, in the instance of "run over with a car," is less an indicator of speed than of manner. As is the instance of these alternative definitions from Merriam-Webster's (renumbered for convenience):

Quote:

1: to move on or as if on wheels. 2: to cause or allow (as a vehicle or a vessel) to go in a specified manner or direction. 3: to cause to pass lightly or quickly over, along, or into something.

A slow moving car still "runs over" a leaf because a trickle of water, half its speed, also runs over a leaf. Run is the manner in which the leaf was overtaken in both instances, not the speed at which the impact took place.

-Ineffable