BYU Football, well, sucks. Please do better.

The following is an editorial that I wrote for the Scroll. Found it quite entertain

As all those who follow college football or have parents who's alma mater is BYU will know that BYU decided to go independent in the realm of NCAA football. And it now looks like it wasn't the best plan afterall.

For those who don't have a clue what this means, it is something big. It is something that can change the future of college football team forever.

BYU has been a part of the NCAA-affiliated Mountain West Conference (MWC) for a while. What this meant is that BYU would always play conference teams every year and also had to abide by MWC conference rules.

But BYU wanted better. The problem with BYU being in the MWCs was that BYU was often stuck playing, well, not so great teams. The MWC has very few nationally ranked teams compared to other conference.

The other problem BYU had was the MountainWest Sports Network. In 2006, the MWC had a conflict with ESPN over scheduling and financial compensation so later that year they created their own sports network.

Scroll: University employment offers opprotunites

Note: Every week I have an article published in the Scroll, a newspaper on the BYU-Idaho campus. The following is one of those articles.

With school back in session many students are often looking for employment, specifically on-campus jobs.

Some see jobs on campus as having advantages over off-campus jobs. One such advantage may be receiving higher pay than from community jobs.

Campus offers over 2,900 jobs that are available for students. The best way to find one of those jobs, according to Patrick Powell, training and student employment coordinator, is to visit www.byui.edu/studentemployment.

On the website, students can search for jobs that are posted by on-campus employers and community employers. 

Any department on campus that needs student employees can post information about any open positions.  Information on that posting would include a job description, hours, pay and requirements.

Casually looking on the website may not yield many results.

Catch more after the break!

Charity… I think.

So right now I am currently sitting in my I-COMM Student Media class. A couple of minutes ago, a girl walked in selling these wanna-be sour skittles.

She stated to everyone that everything that they make on these will go to help impoverished kids in Africa. Me, feeling generous and hungry thought to buy some. At that point I realized that I had only two quarters. So I told her that I only had the 50 cents and she reply in a semi-dramatic "ahhhh" and walked away.

Now this got me thinking… I doubt that those cost more than 50 cents buy, probably quite a bit less. But yet, she refused. It's some better than none? I don't know why but I am totally perplexed by this. I have never been denied for a small donation before.

Scroll: Parenting class offers skills to students

Note: Every week I have an article published in the Scroll, a newspaper on the BYU-Idaho campus. The following is one of those articles.


Child development majors at BYU-Idaho will teach a class about parenting every Monday and Wednesday 9 to 10 a.m. throughout the month of June.

Since the beginning of Fall Semester 2008, students have been facilitating this class to share what they have learned in the classroom.

“This program has started to give students the opportunity to practice what they have learned,” said Kevin Galbraith, a professor in the home and family department.

Galbraith said that what is taught in these classes would be helpful to any parent.

At one class, a student discussed how to change challenging behavior, and the positive ways it can be dealt with. 


Another student taught about the attachment theory and how it develops consistency in a child’s life.

The last student talked about how to build strong bonds between parent and child and how important it is to take time for your children.

“We have been getting good reception with this, but most seem to come because of a crisis situation,” Galbraith said.

The course welcomes anyone in any situation and it is aimed to be more prevention oriented.

Catch more after the break...

I lust after this...

So this past weekend I bought myself a really cool looking titanium and carbon fiber CTR ring.  It is pretty much the coolest thing ever.  So today as I was bored, I was looking at carbon fiber rings and found this.  So yeah, 57 dollars of pure manliness. In fact, I kind of want it for a [future] wedding ring.


You heard that right ladies, I'm inexpensive.  I don't expect much, just a cheap ring.  I ain't no gold digga.  I expect your phone calls any minute now.... waiting...

BP Oil Spill: Jimmy Fallon's take

So there I am this morning... it's raining outside and I am eating my regular bowl of cheapo brand frosted mini-wheats.  I decided to see what was on CNN and as expected, another story about the BP oil spill.  As a bit of comedic relief, they showed this video of the monologue on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. My favorite part is at 3:08 left.  Think Field of Dreams. :D Video after the break...

Midterm Grades

That, my friends, is how the cookie crumbles.

Perfect Monday

Often time's people think that Mondays have to be the worst day of the week. I beg to differ.

Today was one of those perfect days for me. The weather was perfect. Warm and a light breeze. I don't know why I am why am writing about this but today was one of those days that was remarkable.

It was one of those wear you just walk slow and enjoy the great weather and because you have no reason to walk fast. Anyway, I love it and wish everyday could be like this.

Scroll: Expansion promotes student gathering

Note: Every week I have an article published in the Scroll, a newspaper on the BYU-Idaho campus. The following is one of those articles.

In the 10 years since the announcement that Ricks College would become a four-year university, many changes have been made to the physical appearance of the campus. The campus has grown to accommodate the increasing number of students.

When the announcement was made, plans were put into place to help accommodate the projected growth of the university. Over 30 renovation or construction projects have been completed on campus to help fulfill those plans.

“When you look at it 10 years ago, we had a total enrollment of six to eight thousand; now we are approaching 15 thousand,” said Charles Andersen, BYU-Idaho university resources vice-president.

The most notable changes have been the addition of the Thomas E. Ricks Building and the Gordon B. Hinckley Building. The most recent changes have been the Hyrum Manwaring Student Center expansion and the new auditorium.

“I think the changes are good because they help create a better learning environment,” said Amy Esplin, a junior studying English. “It really helps me focus more on my studies.”

Andersen said that most of the construction from 2001 to 2007 was focused on expanding classroom sizes and accommodating the larger student population.

Catch more after the break...

Scroll: Three new degrees to be offered in the fall

Note: Every week I have an article published in the Scroll, a newspaper on the BYU-Idaho campus.  The following is one of those articles.

Starting fall semester, BYU-Idaho will be offering three new degrees in humanities and welding fabrication.

Two of the new majors will be in the Mechanical Engineering Department and the third will be in the Humanities and Philosophy Department.

“It’s a really good liberal arts education preparation for grad school,” said Vaughn Stephenson, Humanities Department chair in regard to the new humanities major.

The humanities major will offer three areas of emphasis: intellectual heritage, law and life-long learning.

“We have a significant number of people who say that they would like a good well-round[ed] college degree and this finally allows us to offer something like that. I’m really excited about that,” said Stephenson.


Catch more after the break...

Scroll: Hart to Start Charging for Clothing Rentals

Note: Every week I have an article published in the Scroll, a newspaper on the BYU-Idaho campus.  The following is one of those articles.

Starting this fall semester, John W. Hart Building patrons will be charged for clothing rentals, according to a university announcement made last week. 

The new fees are designed, in part, to help alleviate the rising costs of providing laundering for clothes. 

"The rise in cost is attributed to many things: rising student wages, energy costs, soap cost and more,” said Justin Garner, the activities director.

“There’s one thing we want to be very clear with the change: this is not a building fee,” Garner said. “This is explicitly to help cover the cost of laundering clothes.” 

There will continue to be no charge for use of the facilities.

Garner also said that while the school does not charge for the use of the building, the majority of other universities do. 
   

Read on after the break...

Imma back everybody!

So over the next couple of days I am going to post some of the articles that I have written for the campus newspaper.  I am hoping to get this blog kickstarted.  How you enjoy!

Friend - noun

So what does it mean to be a friend? That is the question that I have been wondering for a while. Since I have been at school this has been on my mind. In fact, I am going to look up what a friend is in the dictionary.


Friend [frend] –noun
1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection orpersonal regard.

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: 

So one could reasonably say that this is a two person affair supplemented by active contribution of both parties. Simply put, both people need to put effort into a friendship to make it successful. Does anyone mind to tell me to make that magic happen?

A Whirlwind of a Week

So this past week has been my least favorite in a long while. Why you might ask? My car.

The adventure actually start this past Saturday. On Saturday I went to the temple and when I came back out, my car wouldn't start. It was really strange given that no light were on when I got in the car and also the engine would crank. So I went inside the temple and had one of the engineers come out with a jumping kit to see if that would work. When we get to my car, I get in to show him what the problem is. Luckily, the car started again and I didn't think another thing about. In fact, that whole weekend went by without another problem. I passed the whole thing off as a fluke.

Monday morning comes around. I wake up early to do my initial appointment at the plasma donation place. After getting there and finding out that I needed to come back later that day. So a bit disgruntled I get back in my car. And it doesn't start.

Now at this point I think the problem is going to be the same so I wait for about 20 minutes and it doesn't start again. After another half hour of unsuccessful hoping, I call the University car jumping service. That proves to be unsuccessful. So about 45 minutes after that, I call my cousin that owns a shop here in town to come take a look at it. Once he gets there I jump in the car to show him what is going wrong, and… it starts.

Later that afternoon I go back to the plasma place and finally donate plasma. I get back in my car and it doesn't work. So 2.5 hours and a push-start later, I am not having any luck. So I write "Broken Down" on a piece of paper, stripped the car of anything with value, and left it in the parking lot.

The next day I was able to get it over to my cousin's shop and do some diagnoses. The problem? The starter is busted. The result: a lot of wasted time and $93 out of my pocket. It has been a bummer of a week so far but other than that, life has been great. Heck, I am had a great week with my studies.

Moral of the story… I can't really think of one. It's been a test of character for sure.

The Week is Over

    So yeah, not that many people follow but I have changed the service that I use to post my blog. The reason that I did this is because I found that blogger allows me quite a bit of flexibility in terms of the design of the site. So hopefully this will be better for the future. J

    Now here is the problem with falling behind on anything that you should be writing in, catching back up is the pits. So I will tell you about my adventure with Star Trek with past weekend.

    Friday night my roommate Lynden and I went to Papa Murphy's and got two of their massive stuffed pizzas. After that we wandered over to the Red Box that was in the Wal-Mart (of note, this red box was blue). Lynden and Stephen both recommended "Star Trek." So that is what we rented.

    Well, given that it is late, I will get to the best part. Russ, our other roommate was out for the evening for a jog. When he got home, he accidentally tipped over a glass of water on to Lynden's laptop. Luckily it just got the bottom of the laptop so he dried it off, put a towel under it and then put it back in the same place.

    A couple of minutes later I put a glass of water there myself. A couple of minutes after that, I split on his laptop too. Haha, the poor guy had the worst luck. I blame Spok.

    Anyway, it is 11 p.m. and I need to be up early in the morning for a physical that I need to do to give plasma. Should be fun but way early. Have a great night!

Sleepy in the Kimball

    So yeah, as the post implies, here I am in the Kimball building on campus and I am getting sleepy. It's funny how when I was younger I always used to make fun of old people that use to sleepy and tired so easily. My culprit? The sun. Yes, the sun. Because I am need to be in the Kimball building to interview someone for the scroll, I decided that I was going to sit in the direct sunlight. Warm and sleepy. Not a good combo at all.

    As you might be able to see, this is my first blog post. I am hoping that I can make this more of a habit from now on. I am currently a communications major emphasizing in Journalism and I was recommended by quite a few people to do this. They say that it will enhance my writing skills. I sure hope that it will.

    So I will post later tonight (if I am not too tired) with some updates. Until then, enjoy!