BYU vs. Oregon State Gameday

Today, my Alma Mater plays my new, substitute Alma Mater in football.  I'll be cheering for the team that would win an IRL mascot cage match (in impressive fashion).  I have the unique opportunity of knowing both of these teams very well, so I will offer an extended preview of today's matchup.

Prediction:
Even Sean Mannion would have had trouble with BYU's defense in Provo.  Cody Vaz, making his first career start, in LaVell Edwards Stadium against this monster of a D, has little to no shot.  I'm assuming that Riley Nelson is going to start and play most of the game.  If that's not the case, we're looking at 3-0 game in 3OT.  BYU's offense has struggled, but should be able to find some renewed life behind a renewed Riley Nelson.

BYU - 13, Oregon State - 6

Player to watch: BYU QB Riley Nelson
Matchup to watch: BYU WR Cody Hoffman vs. OSU CB Jordan Poyer
Stat to watch: Cody Vaz Turnovers

Keys to the Game

BYU
Play smart on offense
Take advantage of turnovers
Kick the ball through the uprights

Oregon State
Protect Cody Vaz
Contain Riley Nelson
Execute in the Red Zone

That Time of Year Again

With my two favorite baseball teams being, unquestionably, the worst two teams in the league, it's time for me to look forward, once again, to football season.  Before I really begin, some notes on the coming season:

• There are about 33 days until the whited out kickoff of my BYU Cougars against the Cougars of Washington State in a game I've affectionately dubbed the 'Cougar Bowl.'  I'm going to try to get a pair of tickets to this game and head over to Provo to see it. 
• I hate Utah.
• My BYU Cougars, again, take on the Oregon State Beavers, whom I've come to know and love.  I'm a Beaver believer when they take on any other opponent, but against my Alma Mater, they're just another team to slash down.
• Both Oregon State and BYU look very similar to what they were last year, for good or ill.
• Though I love OSU, I think I want to travel down to Eugene to take in a Ducks game at Autzen Stadium.  I've heard it's loud and awesome, and I'd like to see it for myself.

Oregon State

Unfortunately for the Beavers, looking very similar to what they were last year means that they'll probably look about as bad as thy did last year.  I don't think they'll slip against Nicholls State, like they did last year against Sacramento State, but the outlook is still bleak.  This team has a lot of young players on both sides of the ball that still haven't quite meshed into a teamed.  Though the Pac 12 is largely overrated, it contains good teams with many more talented and more experienced players than OSU's squad.  The Beavers are a better team at home than on the road, and this year's home schedule is tougher than last year's, with more teams that are capable of beating OSU.

Record: 3-9
Wins: Nicholls State, @Arizona, Wazzu
Losses: Wisconsin, @UCLA, @BYU, Utah, @UW, Arizona State, @Stanford, Cal, Oregon

This year's civil war game will, once again, go to the Ducks.  The Beavers always play well against the Ducks and usually play very well at home.  However, the University of Oregon doesn't have to worry about things like "academics," and thus, like much of the SEC, are perennial national championship contenders.  The Beavers will, likely, finish last in the Pac 12.

Ducks - 38, Beavers - 24

BYU

With the abomination of a quarterback know as Jake Heaps now being Charlie Weis' problem, the BYU Cougars are set to do at least as well as they did last season.  This year's schedule has a good balance of teams throughout, with there being a bit of a cakewalk there at the end.  I think (as objectively as possible) that BYU is capable of beating any team on their schedule this year.  The games against Utah, Boise State, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech will be tough, but I think BYU is capable of winning all of those games.  Much like last year, the offense should be capable of making plays and the defense will bend occasionally, but won't break often.

Because the Cougars are very likely to win at least six games, they should earn and accept a bowl bid, likely the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego against a second choice from the Mountain West.  Though San Diego State may not finish second in the Mountain West Conference, an SDSU v. BYU Poinsettia Bowl would probably sell as many tickets as any bowl game is going to sell, including the BCS bowls and the National "Championship."  Therefore, I'm picking San Diego State to go up against BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Record: 11-2
Wins: Wazzu, Weber St., @Utah, Hawai'i, Utah St., Oregon St., @Georgia Tech, Idaho, @San Jose St., @New Mexico St., (@)San Diego St.
Losses: @Boise St., @Notre Dame

Believe it or not, Riley Nelson hasn't really had a chance to go up against Utah.  We can all see that the abomination of a quarterback known as Jake Heaps didn't have what it takes to take on a bitter rival, especially at home.  However, Riley Nelson, like the acclaimed, mobile lefty that came before him in BYU history does have it... in abundance.  I think Utah goes into this game confident that nothing much has changed in the BYU squad since the end of last year and will realize that they've never actually faced Riley Nelson when the team around him hadn't already given up.  Riley, in his one and only opportunity, should be able to go into Rice-Eccles Stadium and bring the Cougars home victorious... by more than 7 points...  for the first time in 16 years.

Cougars - 38, Utes - 28

Oregon State @ BYU

This one is going to be no-contest.  Last season, BYU beat Oregon State by 10 in Reser Stadium despite not playing their best game.  Like I said before, Oregon State plays much better at home than they do on the road and BYU defends LaVell Edwards Stadium well.  Riley Nelson will plague the Beavers' defense with his running ability and the Cougars defense will be able to shut down OSU's running game handily.  The Beavers will get their points and stay in the game for a while, but it won't be close in the end.

Cougars - 41, Beavers - 20

I'm excited.

Being Under-appreciated

A little less than two weeks ago, the BYU Cougars took on the Golden Hurricane of the University of Tulsa in the 2011 Armed Forces Bowl.  The game was a hard-fought slugfest between two equally-matched opponents.  Near the end of the game, BYU drove down the field and scored a touchdown on a fake spike, Dan Marino style to win the game.

The official MVP as well as the Player of the Game awarded by ESPN went to wide receiver Cody Hoffman, who caught all 3 touchdown passes for BYU in the game.  Though Hoffman's performance was impressive, I wouldn't have given him the MVP.  The commentators for the game suggested that they might vote for Matt Reynolds for MVP after an impressive block that he made late in the first half to set up Hoffman's first touchdown pass.  While I think that offensive lineman are among the most underrated and under-appreciated players on the gridiron, I still would have given the MVP to another player for his outstanding performance.

That man's name is Riley Stephenson.  He wears number 99 and punts for BYU.  Yes, I would have given the game MVP to the punter. (As a side note, that's a sharp-looking suit.)

Punting is probably the most underrated and under-appreciated position in football (with the possible exception of long-snapping, though it's pretty much the same idea).  No one likes to punt.  Teams would much rather keep their offense on the field and continue trying to score.  In leagues with less maturity and less defense, punting is rare and teams almost always elect to go for it on 4th down.  However, punting is also key to the game of gridiron football.  Especially when a team is in its own territory, punting puts more distance between the opposing team and their end zone.  If a coach has any faith in his defense, he will usually elect to punt the ball away when his team is on its own side of the 50.  If he doesn't have any faith in his defense, it's going to be a long game, either way.  Coaches will tell you that field position is important in any football game.  It is universally better to start at your own 45 than at your own 5 yard line.  The closer a team is backed up to its own goal line, the more conservative play calling usually is.  On complicated plays, it's too easy to get tackled for a loss and give up a safety or cough up the ball for an easy touchdown.  Winning the field position battle helps a team win the game.

In the 2011 Armed Forces Bowl, Riley Stephenson had an exceptional game punting the football.  BYU sent him out onto the field to punt 8 times throughout the game.  Of those 8 kicks, none were brought out to the 20 on a touchback, 7 of them landed inside the Tulsa 20 yard line, and 3 made their way inside their 10 yard line.  Riley only had one non-amazing kick all game: a 36-yarder that went out of bounds at the Tulsa 42 yard line.  Even that kick didn't look all that bad.

The biggest risk in punting is that the punt returner will be able to make a play and carry the ball for a large gain or even a touchdown.  However, a punt is not really returnable if it hangs up in the air long enough for the coverage team to get down the field and get in the face of the returner or if it goes out of bounds before it can be fielded.  This is the part of Riley Stephenson's punting game that impressed me the most in the Armed Forces Bowl.  Of his 8 punts, 7 were not returned and either went out of bounds or were downed by the BYU punt coverage team.  The one that was returned was a poor decision by the return man inasmuch as he only made it 1 yard before being hit by a BYU defender and fumbling the ball.  This fumble was recovered by BYU and led to the Cougars' only touchdown in the first half.

I relate to Riley Stephenson and punters in general because I'm a civil engineer.  If you live in something that's not a naturally-occurring cave, you're the beneficiary of the work of multiple civil engineers all at once and you probably never recognized it.  Civil engineers design structures like buildings and bridges so that they don't fall down and kill you.  They design the drinking water and sewer systems that keep you from contracting dysentery.  They design roads and traffic signals to be as stupid-proof as possible to try to keep idiots from running into and killing you on the roadways.  They (hopefully) even analyze the dirt underneath a structure so that it doesn't get reclaimed by its mother Earth.  And you know who gets credit for all of it?  The architect (and maybe a little bit the construction crew... maybe).  Yes, the nancy with an art degree who does nothing but make the building look pretty gets all the credit.

So, thank you Riley Stephenson, for your MVP-worthy punting performance and helping the BYU Cougars to a 3rd consecutive bowl victory.  Few others seem to appreciate it, but I know I do, because I'm in the same boat.

2011 in Review

In January, I published this post on my blag detailing my hopes and goals for the year 2011.  I'm glad to report that I had a much better 2011 than 2010.  Pretty much every goal or hope that I listed in that post manifested itself.  I didn't find an internship despite the supposed prevalence of geotechnical lab work, but I think I'll make it, somehow.  I also only saw 4 football games in person, but again, I think I'll live.  My 2011 included:

• Receiving funding and enrolling in a master of science program at Oregon State.
• Beginning coursework toward that master's degree.
• Moving to Corvallis, Oregon and living 1,300 miles away from my parents. (Honestly, it's kind of tragic even being back for the holiday break.)
• Acquiring a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer with 000002 miles on it.
• Turning 23.  This has pretty much been my favorite age so far.
• Being the 1% for Halloween.
• Seeing 4 college football games in person.  
• Seeing BYU play and win in Corvallis.
• Getting a new cell phone.  The old one crapped out maybe a month after that post and my parents got me a new one.  A dumbphone, of course.

With a new year comes new hopes and goals.  Unlike last year, I have a good idea of what my future holds.  I'll be continuing coursework and starting research toward my master's degree.  For 2012, I want to make significant strides in my research, not spend more than two weeks at a time in my parents' house, and see more football games.  In addition to the Oregon State games for the coming year, I'm thinking about heading to Provo for the BYU season opener against Wazzu and/or making a road trip to Boise to see the Cougars take on the Broncos on the Smurf Turf.  I'm thinking that the Mayans just ran out of room on their calendar; 2012 is going to be a good year.

Grad School Lessons, Take 1

In addition to teaching me about important technical skills like geotechnical lab work, foundation engineering, and structural seismic design, my first term of grad school has taught me some important life lessons.  Here's a quick summary of each, in no particular order:

• Check out the neighborhood before moving in.  Seriously, if 3/4 of your prospective neighbors speak little or no English, it might be worth it to pay twice as much to live twice as far away from campus.  Here's hoping that my car is still there when I come back from winter break.
• Don't trust other people to do your work.  In two of my classes this term, the homework was assigned as group assignments.  Suffice it to say, I found out why I always did my homework by myself during my undergrad years.  My grades in the two group classes were significantly lower than the one that had individual assignments.  It would have involved a lot more work to do the homework myself, but I think I would have been more satisfied with the results at the end of the term.
• Sometimes you're the dog and sometimes you're the hydrant.  In the seismic design final, I was the hydrant.  Dr. Miller feels that he wants his seismic design classes to learn the codes that govern design of structures.  This would all be well and good if he actually showed his seismic design classes how to use the code.  He told us what was coming, but we were still woefully unprepared because there was little teaching of the code and no assignments based thereon.
• Most people love alcohol more than life itself.  In grad school, most everyone is over 21 and is fully capable of consuming alcohol at any given social event.  Most everyone also exercises this right to the degree that they're pushing the limit of being too impaired to drive, but generally chooses to drive anyway.  I'm seriously thinking about upping the insurance on my car... assuming it's still there at the end of the break.
• People drive like they're impaired even with no help from alcohol.  Everyone in Corvallis drives 20 mph regardless of what the speed limit is.  I don't think the cops even bother setting up speed traps, it's not like they'd be good for anything.  The best one I've seen is a guy who changed his mind as to whether he wanted to turn at a particular intersection about 3 or 4 times and made a swerving half-lane-change for each one right in front of me.  In all fairness, it was right by fraternity row, which leads me to believe he was, indeed, impaired by alcohol.
• It can always get stupider.  I thought BYU CE's undergrad stupid seminar was stupid, then I became acquainted with Oregon State CE's graduate stupid seminar.
• Be grateful for what you have.  BYU's football team had at least a 10-win season every year that I was a student there, and stands a good chance of doing it again this year.  I got used to going to a school with a winning football team and it's kind of tragic that my current school's football team is arguably the worst in its conference. 
• My grades are always lower fall term/semester.  Speaking of football, when several hours of your Saturday are taken up by awesome football action both live and on the TV, it's hard to get any work done.  Winter and spring terms should be easier on my GPA.  Though, next fall I'm going to really need to focus and get it done.

Well, that's pretty much all I've got for now.  I've listed this as 'Take 1' because I assume that I'll have other lessons that I'll learn as grad school progresses. In the mean time, I think this should be sufficient.

Updatetastic

I'm about a month into grad school at THE Oregon State University, which means that I'm about a third of the way through my first quarter.  It's been pretty great so far.  My three classes in Lab Testing of Soils, Foundations, and Seismic Design have been enjoyable and I've been doing well in all three of them.  The thing that I like best about my classes so far is definitely the sparsity of assignments.  In both Lab Testing and Seismic Design, there are only about 4 or 5 assignments due throughout the quarter.  In Foundations, we have an assignment every week, and as long as they don't take 16 hours (like last week's assignment) it's really not too bad.

Also, as you might be able to ascertain from my post before last, I found some research with Ben Mason, who I think is a really cool guy.  He's also my professor for Lab Testing of Soils.  My thesis is going to be something along the lines of "Numerical Methods for Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction of Multiple Building Systems."  Yes, it's a mouthful, but that's how most theses are. In English that translates roughly to "How soils in urban areas behave when the buildings on top of them start shaking in an earthquake."  Our goal is to try to get this research published in a technical journal and probably present it at a conference as well.  In the words of Ben himself, at the end I should basically be able to staple these two documents together and submit it as a thesis, we'll see how all of that goes.

I'm not starting this research right away.  In December Ben will give me some literature to review, and we'll actually begin with the research in about April or May of next year.  The research will really begin in earnest during the summer, when we don't have much else going on.

I also just got my own desk in the office for geotechnical engineering grad students. It's pretty awesome.

And my Alma Mater plays my new substitute Alma Mater in football tomorrow.  Just in case you haven't heard, I'll be wearing blue and will be sitting in the BYU fan section.  Prediction:

BYU - 30, Oregon State -21

The Beaver is Doing the Richardson Dance

So, I have made my move to the great state of Oregon.  Both myself and my roommate are moved in and I'm pretty much loving it so far.  I found out that the roomy is actually 18 years old and doesn't have a driver's license, but that's not really a big deal.  The good news is that he's a computer (science) nerd and is pretty mellow.  So basically, we're both just socially capable enough to hold a decent conversation, but just socially awkward enough to leave each other alone most of the time.  It's pretty awesome.

The rest of my likes and dislikes I'll be putting into list form, so here you go:

Dislikes

• My apartment is in the middle of little Mexico.  Seriously, very few of my immediate neighbors speak English.
• The walls of my apartment are nothing but lumber, drywall, and air.  You can hear everything that goes on within 20 feet of your apartment walls, on any side.  Most this goes on in Spanish.
• Along these same lines, the door to my bedroom doesn't currently close... at all.  Neither brute force nor gentle persuasion will make it go to its home.  We'll see how quick they are on my maintenance request.
• More generally, the university is apathetic to the concerns of student housing.  Living in the 1-mile radius at BYU made rent slight higher, but it also provided some protections for students.  Namely, BYU ensured that student housing included furniture and mail keys for their students.  Since I've arrived here, I've had to spend a boatload of cash on furniture and I haven't been able to check my mail.
• The university and surrounding entities are profoundly liberal.  I went to a GTA orientation this week in which one of the presentations was on "The Diverse Student Populations of Oregon State University."  My dad suggested that this particular brand and level of liberalism was best described by the term 'pure collectivism,' with which I can hardly disagree.

Likes

• The people in my ward are pretty freakin' awesome.  I've never been quick to make legitimate friends, but it's been happening here so far.  
• There are more women than men.  During my Memorial Day trip up here, I figured that the ratio was about 60/40.  After attending this week, I'd estimate it's more like 55/45... either way I see plenty of women without feeling like I'm swimming in the estrogen ocean.  When you're an engineer, that's a nice change of pace.
• As I mentioned already, my roommate is pretty cool.
• The university has really nice accommodations.  The nice thing about going to a state school is that no one's all that apprehensive about spending the taxpayers' money.  As a grad student, I get my own desk and shelf space with my own computer.  It's pretty legit.
• Even in a disastrous football year, the students have spirit.  At BYU, students often walked around in other universities' apparel and wore pink and brown horizontal striped shirts to football games even when the team went 11-2.  I would always vomit a little in my mouth when I'd see someone wearing a USC shirt on campus (or even worse, the University of SpUtah.)
• I have my own car here.  Honestly, I'm sure how I survived 4 years as an undergrad without at least something resembling a motor vehicle.

 So far, I've been thinking that the state of Oregon and Oregon State University are pretty cool.  This might be really put to the test when I head down to the DMV to get my car registered in Oregon, but I'm going to need to actually be able to check my mail before that happens.  ;P

The Big IX

There's been a lot of talk, recently, about Texas A&M moving out of the Big 12 in favor of another conference. After being snubbed by the Southeastern Conference, the two biggest candidates are the Big Ten and the Pac-12, both of which would enjoy an increase in their ability to recruit in Texas. The problem for the Big 12 is that the departure of Texas A&M would take them from 10 teams down to 9, which, at best digs an even bigger hole for a conference whose brand is highly numerical, and at worst, breaks the conference apart.

Naturally, many people in the analysis business are discussing what teams could come in and fill the voids left by the recent departures in that conference. The name that's getting thrown around far more than any other is BYU. Now, before I go any further, I'd like to say that I do not represent Brigham Young University in any respect, other than being an alumnus similar to any other BYU alum in the nation and abroad. That being said, I think I can offer some insight into the circumstances that could lead BYU to the Big 12 Conference.

Starting this year, BYU will go independent in football and join the West Coast Conference (WCC) in most other sports, excluding a few in which the WCC does not participate. Institutions of higher education are rarely very organic, and BYU is no exception to this rule. This decision to change conference affiliation was well thought out and undoubtedly prayed over for months before it was made. At this point in time, BYU is committed to going independent and staying independent in football for years to come. BYU is also an uncannily good fit for the WCC, a conference of west-coast religious schools, in other sports.

While BYU is very committed to its current plan, it would be possible for the Big 12 to sweeten the pot enough for BYU to come on board. A year ago, the conference was not desperate enough to make those sacrifices, with its biggest anchors, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M remaining firmly in place. Now, with Texas A&M heck-bent on getting out of the conference and BYU being one of the few good teams left without an Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conference affiliation, the Big 12 might just have the incentive to give BYU what they want.

In my opinion, here's most of what it would take:

• Giving BYU full autonomy over its TV contract with ESPN. The biggest reason BYU went independent was to get out of the infernal abyss of The Mtn. television programming and actually get some nationwide exposure for the football program. They signed an 8-year contract with ESPN and will have many of their games broadcast on the unquestionably popular network during that time. The Big 12 would have to, in no way, interfere with this contract in order to get BYU in the conference.
• Limiting the term of BYU's Big 12 contract to the remaining 7 years of the ESPN contract. Basically, BYU would be free to walk away after 7 years with full rights to its broadcasting contract with no (that means zero) exit fees.
• Allowing BYU to keep certain already-scheduled opponents for their non-conference schedule. I mostly speak of Notre Dame, Boise State, Utah and Georgia Tech, but BYU would need to be free to schedule conference games around its non-conference schedule for games that have been scheduled as of the time BYU joined the conference.
• Allowing BYU to play Utah on whichever week they chose as long as they were a member of the conference. If Utah could get permission from their pimp, maybe we could have the game on rivalry weekend. What a concept!
• A big, fat check to any school with whom BYU has to abandon a future meeting. When schools back out of an agreed-upon meeting, they often cut the other school a check, just to make sure lawyers don't get involved. The Big 12 would need to cover any of these costs for BYU.
• An agreement with the WCC. Most everyone involved likes the fit of BYU with the West Coast Conference in sports other than football and would hate to see them move back out after only a year or two. The Big 12 would probably need to supply some cash and some exclusive scheduling rights (many to BYU) with the WCC for some years to come, but the terms would be negotiable.

The terms that I've listed here are quite a price to pay for a team that's not a perennial national "championship" contender, though such schools are becoming fewer and farther between. However, this is why BYU did not join the Big 12 a year ago, even though I'm sure there was at least some discussion between University and Conference representatives. The Big 12 was just not willing to pay the asking price while it still held together and had many of its best teams. BYU is also comfortable with and committed to football independence and to the WCC; and it will take a rather hefty sum to get them to pack up and move.

Will the Big 12 want a team like BYU enough to make the necessary compromises? Only time will tell.

I Am, Indeed, Ready...

...for some football.

Of course, I'm speaking of college football, since I haven't watched much in the way of pro football in the last 6 years. This year, there will be two teams that I'll legitimately cheer for, the BYU Cougars and the Beavers of Oregon State. These teams do play each other this season in Corvallis, where I'll be in grad school. Not only will I be cheering for BYU, but I'm 99.99% confident that they'll win the game, and 85% confident that they'll embarrass OSU like a bunch of dirty n00bz. If the game was played today, my prediction would be:

BYU - 37, Oregon State - 17

but week 8 is quite a ways off.

Now, my thoughts on the seasons for both BYU and Oregon State, complete with best case, worst case, and most likely scenarios.

BYU

Worst Case Scenario

Record: 9-4

Wins: UCF, Utah State, San Jose State, Oregon State, Idaho State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Hawaii, ECU

Losses: Ole Miss, Texas, Utah, TCU

Naturally, the worst case scenario begins BYU football independence with a 3-game skid. However, I believe that with the (lack of) strength of schedule, BYU should be able to make and impressive run at the end of season including a bowl win in the Armed Forces Bowl over East Carolina University, who I predict will be C-USA's #3 this season.

Most Likely Scenario

Record: 11-2

Wins: Texas, Utah, UCF, Utah State, San Jose State, Oregon State, Idaho State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Hawaii, ECU

Losses: Ole Miss, TCU

For this scenario, I gave BYU a win against Texas and a loss against TCU. In reality, that could easily be switched up to give a win against TCU and a loss against Texas, but I don't think the most likely scenario ends up with BYU winning both, as much as I would enjoy that. I honestly don't think Utah is going to beat BYU again this year. Last year, Utah needed the help of the officials to beat BYU by one point in Salt Lake. This year, the teams aren't much different and the game is in Provo. Most scenarios, including this one, have BYU going to the Armed Forces Bowl against the C-USA #3.

Best Case Scenario

Record: 13-0

Wins: Ole Miss, Texas, Utah, UCF, Utah State, San Jose State, Oregon State, Idaho State, TCU, Idaho, New Mexico State, Hawaii, LSU

Losses: N/A

Of course, the best case scenario has to end up with the Cougars going undefeated. If BYU went undefeated, despite the (lack of) strength of schedule, I think they would end up being chosen for a BC$ bowl. This year, the order or selection is Fiesta, Sugar, Orange. While an undefeated BYU could be picked up by the Fiesta Bowl, I think they would favor a 2nd or 3rd place SEC/Big Ten team or an undefeated Boise State team. Since the Orange Bowl will be forced to take the Big Least champion against their will, that leaves the Sugar Bowl to be the most likely scenario for BYU. Since the 1st place SEC team (my prediction - Abalama) will probably end up in the "championship" game, that would leave the 2nd place team for the Sugar Bowl. My prediction would be Louisiana State to play an undefeated BYU in the Sugar Bowl. Naturally, there's also a scenario in which BYU loses to LSU, but that wouldn't be the best case scenario.

Holy War

BYU - 27, Utah - 21


Oregon State

Naturally, Oregon State's outlook is a little more bleak. Don't forget that BYU has won infinitely more national championships than Oregon State (or Utah).

Worst Case Scenario

Record: 3-9

Wins: Sacramento State, UCLA, Wazzu

Losses: Wisconsin, Arizona State, Arizona, BYU, Utah, Stanford, Cal, U-dub, Oregon

A losing record means no bowl bid for Oregon State. Under this scenario, OSU would be 1-4 in games in which I am present and would be 0-6 on the road. In the words of Simon Cowell, "Dreadful, absolutely dreadful."

Most Likely Scenario

Record: 5-7

Wins: Sacramento State, UCLA, Arizona State, Wazzu, U-dub

Losses: Wisconsin, Arizona, BYU, Utah, Stanford, Cal, Oregon

Similar to last season, I think OSU will end up just short of bowl eligibility. It's possible that Oregon State could match up well against Cal and come away with a win and a shot at bowl eligibility, but with the game being played in San Francisco, I think Cal will be able to edge them out. One could also argue that Washington has a shot at beating Oregon State. However, I think that, without Jake Locker and in Corvallis, they're not going to be able to overcome OSU's scoring ability.

Best Case Scenario

Record: 7-6

Wins: Sacramento State, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona, Wazzu, Cal, U-dub

Losses: Wisconsin, BYU, Utah, Stanford, Oregon, TCU

To be honest, Oregon State actually has quite a few heavy hitters in their coming schedule. I just don't think OSU has the weapons to go up against Wisconsin or Stanford and come away with a win. In one of the few scenarios in which I have Oregon State being bowl eligible, I have them going to the Las Vegas Bowl and losing to the Horned Frogs of TCU.

Civil War

Oregon - 35, Oregon State - 20

So there you have my preview for the teams which I'll be following during the 2011 college football season. I'm ready.

Une Année

One year ago today, I was standing in a line of others dressed in the black robes of a false priesthood in the Smith Fieldhouse of Brigham Young University waiting to receive my empty diploma cover. August 13th, 2010 was the day that I walked for college graduation. My degree was posted to my transcripts a couple weeks later and I eventually received my diploma in an envelope that said, "DO NOT FOLD" in big, red letters on the front. I graduated from college on Friday the 13th, and while the day itself was grand, the circumstances surrounding it seemed to reflect the lack of luck often associated with the date.

I applied for my first full-time engineering job in January of 2010, and made the mistake of not counting the many that came after that. I figure that I must have applied for at least 300, but I have no idea exactly what the number is. This mistake will not be repeated when I graduate with a master's degree, hopefully in June of 2013; I will counting the number of full-time engineering job applications submitted with as much precision as possible.

If I had indeed known how terrible the construction-sector job market was going to be in 2010 in December of 2009, this post would have been very different. I would have started applying for master's programs at that time and would have started almost immediately after my graduation from BYU with a bachelor's degree. Who knows what my life would have been like it that had been the case? I probably would have applied to about the same set of schools, but the funding scheme for this last year could have been much different, and I could have ended up going to a school other than Oregon State. As it is, I will be heading out to Oregon State in a little under a month to start the master's degree, and I'm convinced that that is where I need to be at this time of my life.

On a lighter note, I've decided that I'm going to reward myself with something if I find a decent-paying, full-time engineering job after I graduate with a master's degree.


That's a 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. My love of motorcycles started when my aunt Lory sent me a remote-controlled replica of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R; and I've kind of wanted as close to real version of that bike since that time. I've been riding dirt for much of the mean time, but I've been looking forward to the day when I could get myself a street bike. The ZX-7R was discontinued several years ago as a result of the 750cc racing class being halted. That leaves me with the option of either the ZX-6R (600cc) or the ZX-10R (1000cc). The ZX-6R is not only the safer option, but in a strange piece of irony, seems to be more ergonomically suitable to a man of my size.

They're running about 10 large at this point. Considering the other costs I would be facing compared to the income of a full-time engineering job, that wouldn't even be hard to come up with.

Here's hoping that the next two (or so) years are better than the last one.

Independence Day

As most anyone with connections to BYU will know, BYU's football team is going independent in Division I-A football, with many other sports affiliating with the West Coast Conference. As you can imagine, I'm pretty excited about BYU football going independent and playing various opponents from all across the country. I'm also pretty stoked that BYU is coming to Corvallis in the fall to play Oregon State at Reser Stadium. I bought two tickets in the visitors' section of that game and I will be wearing virtually all blue with absolutely zero orange. I'm also contemplating making a sign that says, "OSU Grad Student" and below that, "(Guess where I did my undergrad)" with an arrow pointing down toward me. It would be legit. Anywho, there are some other things that I will enjoy about BYU going independent in football:

• Dusting my feet off on "The Mtn." TV network. Bad cameras, camera angles, and cameramen, are compounded by the terrible commentary.
• Getting rid of Mountain West officials. Through the years watching BYU and Mountain West football, I've seen terrible call after terrible call. As we liked to chant at LaVell Edwards Stadium, "I'm blind! I'm deaf! I'm a Mountain West ref!"
• BYU on ESPN. My Alma Mater has seven games on the ESPN networks for the upcoming season, most likely with more to come. People all over the country and the world will get to see Jake Heaps and the BYU offense steamroll "power conference" opponents.
• Referring to the Pac-12 as SpUtah's pimp. "It's unfortunate that SpUtah couldn't get permission from its pimp to have the Holy War game at the end of the season."
• Something that resembles a student section at LES. While I was at BYU, the athletic department always scattered the students about in order to optimize revenue. With BYU on ESPN, this is not an option and there will actually be a student section. [Scratch that, bad info]
  
• Leverage and options for conference bids. With conferences courting schools all over the place, BYU will have the power to negotiate with big six conferences like the Pac-12 and the Big XII if they would even want to entertain such offers.
• Independence. As with most other forms of independence, being independent in football will allow BYU to do whatever they want with their money and efforts without a conference commissioner lording over them.

This year, Independence Day comes a few days early, on July 1st. I will be sporting my various BYU gear in celebration and it will be a day of rejoicing in Provo and the BYU faithful all around the world.

Go Cougars!

I Clearly Have Too Much Time On My Hands

...because I just ranked all of the classes I took as an undergrad. The format is: Class Code - Class Name: Instructor, Term, Grade.

1. CE En 421 - Structural Steel Design: Paul Richards, Winter 2010, A
2. CE En 321 - Structural Analysis: Rick Balling, Fall 2009, A
3. CE En 341 - Elementary Soil Mechanics: Travis Gerber, Winter 2010, A-
4. CE En 332 - Hydraulics and Fluid Flow Theory: Rollin Hotchkiss, Winter 2009, A-
5. Rel A 121 - Book of Mormon: Camille Fronk-Olsen, Fall 2007, A
6. Acc 200 - Principles of Accounting: Norm Nemrow, Winter 2010, A
7. Bus M 380 - Executive Lectures: Cheryl McBeth, Fall 2009, A
   
8. Ex Sc 116 - Beginning Bowling: The Asian Dude, Spring 2009, A
9. CE En 204 - Dynamics: Dr. C, Fall 2008, A-
10. CE En 112 - Engineering Graphics and CAD: Clyne Curtis, Fall 2007, A
11. CE En 103 - Statics: Dr. C, Fall 2007, A-
    
12. Geol 330 - Geology for Engineers: Randy Skinner, Spring 2008, A-
13. Rel C 234 - LDS Marriage and Family: Kent Brooks, Fall 2008, A
14. Stat 221 - Principles of Statistics: Perpetua Nielsen, Spring 2008, A
15. Math 112 - Calculus I: Don't Remember, Fall 2006, A
16. CE En 461 - Geometric Design of Highways: Mitsuru Saito, Spring 2008, A-
17. Rel A 212 - New Testament: Camille Fronk-Olsen, Winter 2009, A
18. CE En 424 - Reinforced Concrete Design: Paul Richards, Spring 2010, B+
19. CE En 433 - Hydraulic Engineering: Wood Miller, Spring 2009, B+
20. CE En 305A - Metals, Woods, and Composites: Dave Jensen, Fall 2009, A
21. CE En 203 - Mechanics of Materials: Dr. C, Winter 2008, A-
22. CE En 305B - Concrete, Masonry, and Asphalt: Spencer Guthrie, Fall 2009, A-
23. Rel C 324 - Doctrine and Covenants: Guy Dorius, Fall 2008, A
24. Econ 110 - Econ Principles and Problems: Matt Butler, Spring 2010, A-
25. CE En 113 - Engineering Measurements: Dr. Reese, Spring 2008, A
26. Engl 316 - Technical Communication: Nicole Wistisen, Winter 2010, A-
27. Physics 123 - Physics II: Dave Allred, Fall 2007, B+
28. Math 214 - Multivariable Calculus: Emma Turner, Winter 2008, B+
29. CE En 351 - Environmental Engineering: Gus Williams, Winter 2009, A-
30. Chem 106 - Principles of Chem II: Dr. Herrick, Winter 2007, A
31. Psych 111 - General Psychology: Mikel(?) South, Winter 2008, A
32. Rel C 325 - Doctrine and Covenants: Randy Bott, Winter 2010, A
33. Bus M 340 - Marketing: Doug Witt, Summer 2010, A-
34. Rel A 122 - Book of Mormon: Sherrie Johnson, Winter 2008, A
35. Chem 105 - Principles of Chem I: Dr. Seger, Fall 2006, B
36. CE En 361 - Intro to Transportation Engrg: Grant Schultz, Winter 2009, B+
37. Engl 150 - Writing & Rhetoric: Sarah Jenkins, Fall 2007, B
38. CE En 470 - Senior Design (kind of): Wood Miller, Winter 2010, A-
39. Bio 100 - Principles of Biology: Sis. Jefferies (I think), Fall 2009, A-
40. Bus M 300 - Finance: Lise Crawford, Summer 2010, B+
41. Physics 121 - Physics 1: Alex Flournoy, Winter 2007, B
42. CE En 562 - Traffic Engineering: Mitsuru Saito, Fall 2009, B+
43. CE En 270 - Computational Methods: James Nelson, Fall 2008, B
44. Org B 320 - Human Resources: None Really, Summer 2010, A-
45. Math 113 - Calculus II: Don't Remember, Winter 2007, B
46. A Htg 100 - American Heritage: The Bald Guy, Fall 2007, B
47. Left 101 - That One Hippie Class: The Hippie Woman, Fall 2006, A
    
48. CE En 100A - Stupid Semenar: Michael Borup, Fall 2007, A-
49. CE En 100B - Stupid Semenar: Michael Borup, Winter 2008, C+
50. CE En 200A - Stupid Semenar: Michael Borup, Fall 2008, A-
51. CE En 200B - Stupid Semenar: Michael Borup, Winter 2009, B+
52. CE En 300A - Stupid Semenar: Michael Borup, Fall 2009, B+
53. CE En 400C - Even Stupider Semenar: Michael Borup, Winter 2010, A-
54. GYM 101 - Gym I: Don't Remember, Fall 2006, A
55. GYM 102 - Gym II: Don't Remember, Winter 2007, A
56. Pl Sc 201 - Western Political Heritage 1: Dr. Hancock, Fall 2008, B-
57. Pl Sc 202 - Western Political Heritage 2: The Canadian Guy, Winter 2009, C+
58. Math 334 - Ordinary Differential Equations: John Dallon, Fall 2008, C+
59. Math 343 - Elementary Linear Algebra: Jeff Humpherys, Fall 2007, C

Did I really take 59 classes while I was in college? In all honesty, I might have taken even more, as there might have been a class or two that I forgot about. Also, you've probably noticed that there's a nice correlation between my ranking of a class and my grade in the class, but don't get your cause and effect mixed up. For the most part, I got good grades in classes because I enjoyed them; I didn't enjoy classes because I got good grades in them. Just so you know... ;)

Annie Very Sorry

Today marks the second anniversary of the creation of this blag. As luck would have it, it's also the 100th post I've made to it. Here's a recap of things that have happened in the last 2 years and 100 blag posts in approximately chronological order.

• I bought a handgun.
• I decided to get a business minor.
• I read 'The Five Love Languages' by Gary Chapman. It changed my life.
• I saw then BYU tight end Andrew George catch a walk-off touchdown pass from Max Hall to beat SpUtah in OT.
  
• I applied for over 300 full-time civil engineering jobs.
• I got 3 interviews and no formal job offers.
  
• I took and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam.
• I moved into an apartment with guys who I actually liked beforehand.
  
• I went to the Utah Summer Games Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Cedar City and accidentally attended a Single Adult dance. (Notice the lack of 'Young' at the front.)
• I went longboarding down Provo Canyon with Scott Manning and still have the scars to prove it. I pledged that I would never ride/drive anything that didn't have brakes after that.
  
• I bought and have been learning to play the bass guitar.
• I appeared in 'The Food Nanny' TV program on BYUtv.
• I graduated from BYU with a BS.
• I applied to 7 institutions of higher learning to pursue a master's degree in civil engineering.
• I was accepted by 6 of those institutions.
• I found out that I would receive funding from Oregon State University and, without hesitation, decided that I would matriculate.

As we can see, it's been a great time. I'm totally looking forward to next two years worth of Unfortunate Dudefests. :D

Y?

I've been thinking about the reasons why I wouldn't necessarily want to go back to BYU for grad school. BYU is cheaper than any other school to which I've applied (as the tools who wish they could go to USC know very well,) and I already have a healthy number of friends there who would be there for the whole three semesters of my grad program. However, there are some solid reasons why I wouldn't necessarily want to go back.

1. There's a reason I didn't get married in 3 years as an undergrad. This negates one of the biggest reasons I would return to BYU: WifeQuest v. 2.0.
2. The Civil Engineering grad program is not in the top half of US News & World Report's rankings. #73 out of 124.
3. Employers hate Mormons. While technically illegal, employers can discriminate against whoever they want, because there's no effective method of quality control.
4. They will have 1, count them, 1 geotech professor. Dr. Gerber is getting canned, so they will only have Dr. Rollins. Dr. Rollins is a quality teacher and researcher, but it's just him.
5. I couldn't augment my list of contacts. Going to a different school offers me the opportunity to get to know more people who know people.
6. I'd like to learn finite element analysis... but not from Dr. Balling. CE En 506 at BYU is a beast because it's taught by Dr. Balling and it's a combined class with continuum mechanics.
7. The Jimmer is a senior this year. If he had one more year, I would be much more likely to go back to BYU just to see the Jimmer Show.
8. There's no spring break. This week is spring break for many universities. Not having some time off is ridiculous. Call it conference prep week if you must.
9. The Beard Code.
10. The CE department doesn't have a coursework only option. Many schools have a master's degree that's just 30 hours of coursework. At BYU, one must complete either a thesis or a project.
11. The Utah legislature passed HB116, though Utah Valley's representative, Jason Chaffetz says that it has no chance of being implemented.
    

There are probably a few more that I may or may not add to this list at some point in the near future. I think this should do if for now.

(Image courtesy of the BYU Alumni Association.)

Edit: [New grad school odds as of 04/01/2011: Oregon State - 2:1, CU Boulder - 3:1, BYU - 10:1, Virginia Tech - 30:1, Washington - 60:1, UCLA - 60:1.]

sqrt(Evil)

Holy crap, I forgot how much is actually costs to be a perpetual student. I made a spreadsheet of how much it would actually cost to go to grad school for a semester. I actually counted monthly expenses and then multiplied by 4, but that's a technicality. The moral of the story is that I can't afford this S#1+. Also the difference in tuition between BYU and CU Boulder is only about $3500. The difference between $42,000 in total debt and $30,000 in total debt is mostly negligible. I ask all 3 people who read my blag to pray that I get funding... I could really, really use it.

Yeah, seriously...

Edit: [New odds effective 12p EST 03/11/2011, CU Boulder - 5:2, Oregon State - 4:1, BYU - 5:1, Virginia Tech - 15:1, Washington - 20:1, and UCLA - 30:1.]

The People's Republic

This last Friday I went up to the People's Republic of Boulder for a visit to the University of Colorado at Boulder and their Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) grad program. Even though the city of Boulder is one of the most liberal cities in the United States, full of hippies, stoners, and homosexuals and is practically the opposite of Provo, where I got my undergrad, I really enjoyed my visit there. The CEAE program is perennially ranked in the top 25 of civil engineering graduate schools, and I can see why. In no particular order, here are some of the things that I liked about Boulder and the University of Colorado at Boulder:

• It's close to home. The location is totally out of control of the university, but it's important nonetheless. I grew up in the Denver/Boulder area and have made many friends nearby. It was good for me to live 500 miles away from my parents during my undergrad. I really enjoyed not having them looking over my back all the time. Now that I'm 22 and will be 23 when I start grad school, I'm not too worried about their hovering because we both realize that I'm an adult and I'm mostly capable of functioning on my own. It would also be nice to go back to my parents' house when I run out of food.
• The centrifuge(s). The University of Colorado at Boulder CEAE program has a 400 g-ton centrifuge that can be used for geotechnical modeling. The centrifuge spins around, applying a load greater than the acceleration of gravity, but always perpendicular to the model ground surface. This is incredibly useful for research and makes the University of Colorado at Boulder the center for small-scale geotechnical modeling research. They also have smaller centrifuges that are useful for smaller projects and instruction.
• Dr. Dashti. Professor Shideh Dashti is a geotechnical professor at CU Boulder who specializes in geotechnical earthquake engineering. On a side note, she is also the skinniest woman who I've ever seen; probably a dress size 0. I could almost touch my thumbs and middle fingers around her waist at the narrowest point, but that's tertiary. The real reasons that Dr. Dashti could influence my grad school decision is that her research comprises the exact kind of things that I would like to work with and she is an active member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI.) I talked to her about EERI and she said that she would love to start a student branch at CU Boulder if she had a student who was will to spearhead the group. Not only would this be a fabulous opportunity to learn, but it would look really, really good on the resume. Dr. Dashti was also one of nicest people I've ever met and one can tell that she enjoys what she does.
  
• The rest of the faculty. While I was there, I met 3 other members of the faculty and have corresponded with one more via email. The three other faculty that I was able to meet were Drs. John McCartney, Richard Rigueiro, and Dobroslav Znidarcic (who is very Eastern European.) They were all very personable and passionate about their research without taking themselves too seriously. For the civil engineering grads out there, they all kind of reminded me of Dr. Richards at BYU. I also emailed Dr. Ronald Pak after the visit since he wasn't there at the time and he seemed like a pretty cool guy as well.
• The administration's attitude toward alcohol. Granted, it hasn't always been this way, but the school administration tries to discourage alcohol use as much as they can. After CU Boulder was jacked up a few years back for NCAA football recruiting violations involving alcohol and loose women, the administration has taken a much more conservative stance on alcohol consumption. As with many other universities, the students don't exactly share this view. In the civil engineering computer lab, I found a drained six pack of Coors in the recycle bins (like I said, liberals.) However, the CEAE department was not handing out beer, like another University that I've recently visited.
• The campus looks familiar. Much like the campus of BYU, CU Boulder has a mountain backdrop and very few roads crossing campus. The campus was also built like a hospital, (on a funds-available basis), which means there's no easy way to get from one end of campus to the other. While at BYU I kind of got used to a campus that felt this way, and I like that aspect of CU Boulder. The campus does not totally resemble BYU, since the university requires all buildings to be covered in at least a certain proportion of red sandstone. The buildings all kind of look the same. However, I'm okay with this inasmuch I won't have to find buildings other than the engineering center all that often.
• The football stadium. I've rooted for CU football off an on for a while now, and I really like the stadium in which they play. In a way, it's like coming around full circle.
  

To be fair, I will also make a list of things that I didn't like or that are still unknown.

• As previously mentioned, the buildings all looked the same.
• The engineering center is a deep, dark labyrinth in which each department gets its own wing.
• There may or may not be any Mormons. I've heard good things about them so far, but visits to the institute and Boulder single's ward are in order.
• People may or may not actually stand up and cheer at football games. The student section looks good on TV, but that might not reflect the actual situation. Sadly I will have to pick a grad school before the next football game for any of them.

What this all adds up to is that I would be very excited about going to CU Boulder if I got funding there or if I failed to get funding anywhere else. Even though CU would be more expensive than returning to BYU for tuition, I think it would be worth it if I could actually find a job outside of Utah when I graduate. To the chagrin of my friends at BYU, the only way that I can see myself returning is if Dr. Rollins can get me funding by April. Additionally, the passage of Utah HB116 through the state congress makes me even less excited to return to Utah, but we've already been there and done that. If I was to make odds right now, I'd say CU has a 2:1 shot, 4:1 for Oregon State, 10:1 for Virginia Tech, 12:1 for Washington, 18:1 for BYU, with the remaining 90:1 chance going to UCLA.

We'll just have to see how it goes.

Back to Bass-ics

Recently, I've remembered a few things about which I want to blag and have had motivation to blag recently. I think this is because I did something reasonably productive for a couple of weeks (working at tαr3eI as a cashier) and it managed to give a little spark to neurons. Whatever the reason, please bear with me.

When I was young, my father told me that our family had no real musical inclination or talent and that I probably wouldn't be able to play a musical instrument as long as I live. Naturally, that only made me want to stick it the old curmudgeon and learn to play a musical instrument anyway, just to spite him. While I was in college, I was exposed to some of the most musical people that I had ever met. Also, while I was in college, I was able to attend more sporting events, namely football and basketball games, than I had seen in my life up to that point. This is relevant in this case because, at these games I managed to improve the strength and endurance of my vocal chords while I was there. This enabled me to sing both louder and more precisely than I had ever sung before. To make a long, boring story short, I was more interested in music than I had ever been previously.


At this point, it was just a matter of picking which instrument I would want to learn to play. The summer after my junior year, I met a now good friend of mine, Scott Manning. Scott is/was the bassist for the Empirates. I first heard of these guys at BYU's battle of the bands and absolutely loved their stuff from day 1. (You follow the link that I've posted above to go to their facebook page and partake in their musical deliciousness.) Anywho, after I met Scott and heard his silky-smooth bass lines, I started to pay more attention to bass lines and rhythmic portions of popular music. I discovered that rhythm and the bass guitar are at the heart and sole of everything that I enjoy about music. The bass is the foundation for most popular music, and most music in general. As such music tends to sound somewhere between incomplete and just plain bad without it. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Yellowcard.) My absolute favorite part of bass sounds and the bass guitar is the musical tension that is built in measures where the bass is absent, and the headbanging glory that ensues when it returns. To put it succinctly, I think the bass guitar is awesome and I wanted it to be a part of my life.

Now, as I already mentioned, neither of my parents families are very musically inclined, and I have my doubts that I would really be able to successfully play any musical instrument. However, there are couple of things about the bass guitar: 1) It only has 4 strings. I have 4 fingers... this shouldn't be a problem. 2) It's a perfectly symmetrical instrument... inasmuch as something on a binary logarithmic scale can be symmetrical. In short, the bass guitar is one of the easier instruments to learn to play, and I like it that way.

This summer I got myself a bass guitar and have been learning to play it. It's been a little tough, because I've had somewhat limited access to amplifiers of any sort, and playing a bass acoustically is mostly futile... So if you know anyone who has a bass amp for sale, or for free, let me know. However, I believe that my bass and I will be pumping out some pretty smooth bass lines together before you know it.

Just in Case You Had Any Doubt that I'm a Nerd

So, I was looking through my blag posts, both new and old, and I realized that I have not yet on this blag really mentioned my life's passion and the field where most of my greatest talents lie. Though over the last two years, a bachelor's degree in civil engineering has been reduced to the likes of a BA in English or a BS in Psychology, this field is truly where I belong.

I'd like to take a moment to explain that I'm comparing a BS in Civil Engineering to the aforementioned degrees because one who completes any of them has zero chance of finding a job other than bagging groceries in the years 2010/2011... much like any other bachelor's degree. According to BYU's undergraduate catalog, a BA in English takes 48-65 credit hours (depending on your foreign language experience) and a BS in Psych takes 52-53. For those of you who are saying, "And your point is?" a bachelor's in civil engineering takes 95-96 hours which include courses in chemistry, physics, single and multivariable calculus, mechanics of materials, structural analysis, fluid mechanics, and if you're really ambitious, something called "Continuum Mechanics and Finite Element Analysis." It's not exactly literary criticism that we're dealing with. Over the last 200 years, there have only really been 2 in which it was difficult to find a job with a BS in Civil Engineering, and those were 2009 and 2010.

Anywho, I have wanted to be a civil engineer since I was in the 8th grade. Before that, I had ambitions of being a Paleontologist, a Marine Biologist, and a Mechanical Engineer. The turning point came when my 8th grade shop class held a balsa wood bridge building contest. The assignment was given before the winter break and the bridges were to be broken about a week after the break. Being the nerd that I am, I spent almost the entirety of that winter break sketching out the truss structure for my balsa wood bridge, including miter joints and angles and then carefully constructing my bridge. (Through 4 years of college, I've realized that my design was far from being very efficient, but it worked out fairly well.) The method that was used to break them was barbaric, but neither I, nor anyone else in the class new any better. Mr. Moore took a pair of wooden blocks, put them 8 inches apart, put a coffee can on top of the bridge, and put 45-lb weight plates on top of the coffee can. Though my bridge made some cracking noises early on, it managed to hold 962x its own weight, which wasn't the best design, but it was up there. After that experience, I decided that designing infrastructure was something for I had a passion and something that I would want to do for the rest of my life.

Throughout my time studying civil engineering in college, I found that I enjoyed learning about most, though not all, of the sub-specialties of civil engineering and most of the principles that went therewith. I think I was the only person in the history of CEEn 203, Mechanics of Materials who not only understood Castigliano's theorem the first time, but also kind of enjoyed it. I can say that I enjoyed learning the concepts in just about all of my classes that were labeled "CEEn." There are some notable exceptions. CEEn 270 involved coding. I'm not only incredibly bad at coding, I hate the very thought of it. As far as I'm concerned, you cut a check and you get software by email or on a CD by snail mail. I was thinking about going into transportation engineering when I realized that transportation engineers are just a mask for corrupt and incompetent government officials to do whatever they want anyway. While this is true in some cases anywhere in civil engineering, it's true in almost every case that I've found for transportation engineering. I can totally get into designing an intersection for maximum efficiency. However, designing an intersection so that people have to wait extra long at the light in front of the Target that a city councilman's brother owns is not my bag... if you get my drift. When I went into my class in environmental engineering, I secretly dared the course to prove to me that this sub-specialty wasn't just a bunch of leftist hippies with good math skills. Sadly after the encounters with deep ecology and conversion factors in the back of the book like, "1 lite year = 365 days drinking low-calorie beer," and "2 kilo-mockingbird = 2000 mockingbirds," I couldn't possibly take the field seriously. However, there are still the fields of structural, hydraulic, and geotechnical engineering along with a couple others that captivate my interest.

Since I have little to no chance of finding a job in civil engineering over the next couple of years with only a bachelor's degree, I have decided to pursue a master's degree (as if you haven't heard about that on this blag.) In civil engineering, a master's degree usually involves an area of deeper specialization in a sub-specialty like structural or water resources engineering. At this point, I've decided that I want to study geotechnical engineering, mostly because I could justify taking a couple of courses in other sub-specialties, since geotechnical engineering is so broad. For those who aren't familiar with the concept of geotechnical engineering, it is literally the engineering of dirt, and includes topics like soil mechanics, foundation design, groundwater flow, etc. As fiancée #2 pointed out, this does indeed sound like about the nerdiest thing that you could possibly think of. And yes, I realized this when I took Elementary Soil Mechanics with Dr. Gerber at BYU.

On that note, I recently bought a foundation engineering textbook to read to keep my neurons from withering away and dying while I'm hopelessly un(der)employed. I just started reading it, and again I'm taken back to that day when I designed my first structure in 8th grade shop class. Not only am I now thinking about structures and how the individual members interact with each other, but also how the entire structure interacts with the soil, and the potential problems that can be faced when a foundation is not properly designed.

The reason why I'm writing this blag post is because it has been reaffirmed again to me today that civil engineering is really what I love and that if the construction industry ever rebounds and I can find in job in this field that I will scarcely have to work a day in my life. I've known people who have gone through multiple years of college and still not really known what they want to do. I made it through an engineering program in 4 years at least partially because I figured out what I wanted to do for a living in the 8th grade and have hardly had any doubts since. In the words of one dubious BYU Econ professor, "Self, great day." :D

A Faire

I really don't like to set new year's resolutions. I don't know that there's any particular reason why, I just don't. Though I don't particularly like resolutions, 2010 sucked and there are a few things that I'd like to accomplish in 2011. I won't call these resolutions, since many of them are partially or completely out of my control. I think I'll just call them my goals and hopes for 2011:

• At long last, choose a graduate school. (Purdue and UCLA are already out, btw.)
• Start grad school (or get a job, which is drastically less likely.)
• Move out of my parents' house (again). Like I tell my dad, "Dad, no one wants me out of your house more than me."
• Get an internship. After I choose a grad program and adjust my résumé accordingly, I hope to expand that résumé with some internship experience.
• Get a car. If my mom gets some cash from her deceased father anytime soon, I might just have a brand new car fall into my lap (figuratively speaking). If not, I'm going to get an older, crappier one. I've had a driver's license for 6 years, and an adult not having a car anywhere west of Jersey is bullsh*t.
• Turn 23. I'm a big fan of Milan Hejduk of the Colorado Avalanche, who wears number 23. Also, ever since I was exposed to fiancée #2's strange fixation with even numbers, I've developed a strange fixation with odd numbers, especially 3's and 7's.
• Figure out a really good and relevant Halloween costume by the time October rolls around.
• See at least 6 football games. In 2010, I only saw one football game in person. It was a good game and I got to chill with some friends, but I just need more football in my life.
• See at least one BYU football game. If I go to Oregon State for grad school, this will be easy, since BYU comes to Corvallis in September, otherwise I'll have to make a trip to Provo, probably for either the Idaho or Idaho State game, but I'll see how my schedule looks in 10 or 11 months.
• Get a new cell phone. I feel pretty confident that my phone isn't going to make it through 2011. The other day, the hinge popped open and the top half separated from the bottom. I was able to fit them back together, but it's pretty clearly broken.

I think that pretty much wraps it up. If I could accomplish the first four or five things on the list, I would consider 2011 a very successful year. Let me just say that if this year is as bad as last year, I'm going to start organizing a French Revolution-style coup d'état to overthrow the reign of the nouveau American bourgeoisie. :P

Lower Bound

I've been thinking recently about This Post that I made over a year ago concerning the number of women worldwide with whom I'd be mutually compatible. After I thought about it, I realized that the number I came up with (66) was a very conservative estimate and practically represents a theoretical upper bound to the actual number of women with whom I could have a relationship. I am now revisiting this topic to make less conservative estimate so that I can find a value closer to the lower bound.

In the same format as before:

Membership of the LDS Church (as of Dec. 31st 2008): 13,508,509
Using the same number as before for comparability.

...who are active: 7,429,680
Instead of the way-conservative 76% activity rate, I used a much more pessimistic value of 55%.

...who are female: 3,714,840
Yeah, the world is still pretty much half women.

...who live in developed nations (and speak English): 1,300, 194
Say only 35% of LDS women live in developed nations and speak fluent English.

...who are in the proper age range: 130,020
Saying a seven-year age range represents 10% of the populace probably represents an approximate lower bound.

...who are "beautiful" in my opinion. 2,965
Saying that women must be 2 standard deviations above average in the characteristics that I'm looking for isn't even that big of a stretch.

...and intelligent: 68
I maintain that an IQ of 120 isn't that much to ask when mine is in the range of 145.

...who aren't already married: 21
Are 70% of Mormon women 18-25 married? Probably not. This represents one of my less reasonable assumptions from the first time around.

...who are interested in me: 4
I think 1 standard deviation below average is about right.

If I carry all of my digits instead of universally rounding up, it comes out to 3.22, since those tenths and hundredths start to be significant when you're talking about single digits.

Were you surprised it didn't hit zero? Because I was, the way it was looking there for a second.

130,020/4 = 32,505 weeks, which is about 625 years at one date per month.

The once every six months trend has remained pretty steady, so at that rate, it would be more like 16,252 years.

Just remember: The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees it as half empty. The engineer sees a safety factor of 2.