Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Last isys grateful

Well this is our last day in our isys class where we take the time to write these posts. So I'm writing to say I'm grateful that we did this during class.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Final points scenario



Scoring situations for playoff seeding:

#1 Should go to the winner of Rob or Ren.
#2 Chad…unless he outscores Rob by 210, ren by 145 points(well the winner of that game). It won’t happen.
#3 Should go to the winner of Jordan/Tyler.  The winner of Kyle/Konner could overtake this spot only if they outscore the winner by…a lot.  Konner would have to outscore tyler by 50, Jordan by 80, and kyle would be 70 and 100.  So that shouldn’t happen.
#4 Loser of Rob and Ren
#5 If Brady beats me, he should get this spot unless the winner of kyle/konner outscores him by a lot.  Kyle would have to outscore him by 60 and konner by 40.  If I win, The winner of K/K should take 5 unless I outscore konner by 45 and kyle by 25.  I outscored kyle by 30 this week so it could happen.  I outscored konner this week by .14, so not likely.
#6 Assuming you are smart enough to understand 5, you should get 6.

So depending on the seed Konner or Kyle want, they are either cheering for brady or me.  They cheer for brady if they want 6, and they cheer for me if they want 5.  I would kinda like 6 because then I would avoid Rob/Ren, the two highest scorers of the year so far.  Although playing Jordan in the first round doesn’t sound too appealing either.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Playoff Scenarios part 1



Well the 2nd to last week is over, and it is much easier to see who needs what to get in the playoffs.  All I can say is the West Division…nothing is easy with you.  In other news, no teams with losing records will make the playoffs.  That’s kinda sad that it’s an upgrade, but oh well.  Also, only two teams will get in per division.  I’m not sure we’ve had that kind of balance before (well in records, maybe not in talent).

Let’s start with the members of the South Division.
Matt and Trevor – Let the battle for last begin.  Remember guys, no throwing games.  Just because A Rog stubbed his toe doesn’t mean you are sitting him to play the “safer” chad henne.  And if you “accidentally” sub Charles out and“forget” to put him back in, I’ll override the system and do it for you.
Rob and Ren –Loser gets the #4 seed for sure.  Winner gets no less than #2/Bye.  Depending how Chad does next week, the winner could get a #1 seed (more on that in chad’s section).

West Division

I suppose this is relatively easy now.  Win and you’re in.  Here is the point break down.  Jordan – 1486.88, Tyler, 1453.96, Konner – 14063.32, Kyle 1387.52 (these come from the numbers I crunched tonight.  It was their previous points plus this week’s points, not complicated).  This only matters for the seeding…You either want 3 or 6.  5 means you play the loser of Rob and Ren, which isn’t ideal.  What’s interesting is that The top two teams points wise play each other. So the winner of Konner/Kyle will have to outscore the winner of Jordan/Tyler by a lot to lock up the #3 seed, which likely won’t happen.  I’m not sure what the difference between 5 and 6 is yet because the North Division hasn’t finished yet and I don’t know their total points.

North Division – I’m making assumptions that the games stand…that Geoff and I win.  I can’t assume points though. I don’t trust projections.

Chad will make it.  As either #1 or #2.  If he loses to Geoff he will for sure be the number 2 team because the winner of rob/ren will have more wins.  If he wins, but doesn’t outscore the winner of rob/ren by X amount of points, then he will still get the #2 seed. (I will let you know X tomorrow once chad’s points are done).

Geoff is unfortunately out.  He needed the me to lose (which I shouldn’t) or the west to be a little crazier.

Brady and Skyler…Winner advances, loser goes home…just like when we played each other last year in our rivalry week.  I’m not sure what the seeding potentially could be (5 or 6) because of the points, but I’ll let you know tomorrow night.

Also, shout out to kyle for going through and figuring this out and texting me while I was writing this.  I’m glad someone has some initiative around here.  Not that half the league needs to worry, but I’m glad someone else does besides me.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Fantasy Football Playoff Scenario

It's that time of year again where I go overboard on analyzing my fantasy football league and figure out what can happen for everyone.  I don't know if I'm the only one who cares enough to do this or if I'm the only one who knows the tie breakers enough to do it (most wins, and any tie in wins is broken by highest points scored).  So with two games to go in my STG League, here are the scenarios broken by person.  And I'll do this again next week when things are much clearer with only one week left.

I am Batman - Chad:
This all actually came up because Chad texted me today to talk about this.  He was worried that Ren and Rob would both get first round byes.  I assured him that can't happen because only division winners can get first round byes.  Even if the wild card has the 2nd best record, he doesn't get a bye.  So Chad has our division and a first round bye locked up.  He is 3 games ahead of Brady for the division lead, and he is 3 games ahead of Tyler and Kyle in the West Division, and so he is guaranteed a first round bye.  Best Case Scenario (BCS): #1 seed with a bye.  Worst Case Scenario: #2 seed with a bye.  Chad should buy an RG3 jersey for Christmas and give money to RG3's charity.

Rob Dogo - Rob:

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, Rob might go the distance this year (but we say that every year), but getting a first round bye would help.  He is tied in record with Ren, but he has a near 120 point lead in the tie breaker.  Assuming he beats Trevor this week (the second worst team) he will have a final week showdown with Ren.  Ren plays the worst team this week (Matt) and if Ren wins that game then the Division Championship (and bye) will be between them week 13.  Fortunately for Rob he can lose to Trevor as long as he beats Ren because he has so many points that Ren shouldn't be able to catch up.  BCS: #2 seed with a bye. WCS: #4 seed playing the team that barely squeaked in.


El Gordo - Ren:
Ren's fate is tied with Rob, so if you read the above paragraph, you know what is going on with Ren.  basically he has to win out.  If he loses once, he also needs Rob to lose once.  If they finish with the same record, Ren needs to outscore Rob by 65 points the next two weeks to pull ahead in the tie-breaker.  But not likely.  He controls his own fate (as much as you can control it in fantasy football). BCS: #2 with a bye. WCS: #4 playing a crap team.  Like Rob, he has a decent scenario either way.



Well those 3 have playoff spots locked up and two of them are battling for the bye.  I love how our schedule has worked out this year.  You will see why as I explain all the other scenarios.  So now that we see our good players who are for sure in, let's look at those who have been eliminated.

Native Americans - Trevor:
Finished last, last year.  Currently 2nd to last right now.  Unless Matt somehow wins against a top 3 team, Trevor can't move to last.  Unless he sits his team.  Which is not allowed.  So if you do Trevor, I will penalize you and have you finish 2nd to last anyways so you can't get the number one overall pick.  That also goes to all the others.  If you are eliminated or have very little shot of getting in, no throwing games to get a better seed.  I get trading away players for draft picks (but the deadline has passed), but sitting your best players is not kosher.  So don't do it. I'm not sure what he considers best or worst because of the shame of taking last but the joy of having the first pick, but he will either finish last or 2nd to last.  I realize now he can finish last if he loses to Matt in the last week, but I'm not going to change my paragraph because it's a great way to lead into no losing on purpose.  But I do feel bad for Trevor.  He has scored the 4th most points, but he gives up a lot of points.

BHers - Matt:
Mathematically eliminated.  Can move up to second in the last week of the season if beats Trevor, or Ren this week, which I doubt.  So the question is Matt, who are you taking with your #1 pick? And who are you taking with Rob's #1 pick?  Matt will have a very enjoyable off-season and shouldn't be in this position next year.  If he is, we know he sucks, or got bit by the injury bug.


Everyone else has a shot to make the playoffs.  Granted, it's a long shot, but it's still a shot.  This list will roughly be in order of those who need the most help to make the playoffs.  So we start with Geoff.

Up 'n Atoms - Geoff:
Geoff needs some serious help. First off, he needs to win out, as soon as he loses, he's done.  He needs Jordan and Konner to lose out (That's not entirely true, because if Jordan and Konner each win a game he could win on a tiebreaker based on points.  But with two weeks worth of points, that is a little hard to look at, especially when he trails Jordan by so little), which is very possible since they don't play each other (like I said, I like how the schedule played out).  So assuming they lose out, Geoff then needs Brady to lose out.  As soon as Brady wins, Geoff is gone.  So he needs to beat Brady this week, and then I need to beat Brady next week.  However, if I beat Chad this week Geoff is eliminated.  If I beat Chad, and Geoff beat Brady, Brady and I would play against each other and the winner would advance, and Geoff would be a game behind.  So to recap, Geoff has to win out, Brady has to lose out, I have to lose to Chad and beat Brady, and if that all happens, Geoff has to make sure he outscores Brady and me (which he currently is over Brady, but only by 25 points, and he's destroying me) plus he needs Jordan and Konner to lose.  That would give him a 6 Seed.  He could get a 5 seed, but the that involves a whole lot of tiebreakers and Jordan and Konner each winning a game, butI don't want to get into too much right now.  Next week.

Dixie - Skyler:
My scenario is a lot like Geoff's.  The West is really crazy, but I need Kyle and Tyler to win out to make my scenario simple. And I would need Brady to lose out, which would be lose to Geoff and myself. If Brady beats Geoff, I need to outscore Brady by like 52 points for 2 weeks to get a tiebreaker.  There is a mess with the West Division, but I don't want to worry about that in comparison to Geoff and I.  I'm looking at a 6 seed if that all happens.


B EZ ON MY SNAX - Brady:
Brady can be #5, #6 or out.  Assuming he wins out, the difference between #5 and #6 is the tiebreaker with the west division winners.  He can lose 1 game and still make it, but that was semi covered in the other scenarios of mine and Geoff's

West Division:
This is a mess.  The top 2 teams are tied at 6-5 and the two bottom teams are tied at 5-6.  If the top 2 teams win out, they make the playoffs as the 3 & 5 seed or 3& 6  depending on the Wild card team in the North.  There is a chance that they could get seeds 3, 5, & 6, but that both Jordan and Konner to win a week, plus it requires Brady to lose both games, me to lose to Chad (but beat Brady).  I am honestly too tired to evaluate them on an individual basis because their division could be: Kyle and Tyler at 8-5, Konner and Jordan at 5-8, or Konner and Jordan at 7-6, and Kyle and Tyler at 6-7, or someone...you know what, I'm done with it.  Just let it be known it's a mess, if anyone of them wins out, he makes it.  We can really look at this next week. 

So this post has cleared up the obvious 5 people (chad, ren, rob, matt, and trevor).  If the schedule hadn't worked out like it did,  the West division could snake a bye game, but they cant because either Rob or Ren will get to 9 wins.  Someone from the West will for sure make the playoffs as the division champ, but from there on out, it gets messy quick.  We'll have this talk again late Monday next week or early Tuesday. 

Friday, November 16, 2012

What it means to be a Flyer?



I love sports.  I love watching them, talking about them, and playing them.  I think my love of sports might be the thing that drives my wife most crazy.  What she finds most odd about my love of sports though is that it includes loving my high school team.  For those who don’t know, my wife is from Maryland, from an area that can be considered a suburb of either Washington D.C. or Baltimore, and she has never cared much for high school sports.  Not even when she was in high school.

I have wondered for some time why this is.  Does it have to do with being from a small town vs. being from the suburb of some big cities?  Maybe it’s the east coast vs. the southwest?  Maybe she hates all sports(I really hope not, and I don’t think she does)?  Maybe it has to do with the fact that my family have been Flyers as long as they have existed and that she doesn’t have that connection to her high school?  I can say I’m not sure, but I think it has to do with a combination of all of them.

First off, let me toot my own families’ horn.  Now what I’m about to say can only be proved by very old newspapers at my grandpa’s farm, and if you ever want to see it, I’ll gladly show you, but I’m the great grandson of the original Dixie Flyer.  You might be saying “Huh?” or “What?”, so let me explain.  Do you know how Dixie got the name Flyers?  It was given by a news writer talking about how the Dixie point guard was very fast, how he flew up and down the court, and something else about the rest of his flyers(I can get you direct quotes at Easter time).  Any idea who that point guard was? Arnold McArthur, my mom’s paternal grandpa.  So anyways, I think that’s the first reason why I love being a Flyer so much.  However, I know I’m not the only one who loves being a Flyer even after graduation.

Here’s a quick stat for you.  Roughly 30 people I went to school with (meaning we’re all graduated) commented about Dixie taking state in football today.  Some of them have family on the team, but most don’t.  That says to me that plenty of people still have school spirit even though they have already graduated college and moved away(you should have seen the number of adults at the game who don't even have kids on the team).  Now why is that?  I think a lot of it has to do with the small town, and I think a lot of people have multiple generation connections to Dixie.  However, I think there is more than that.

Why would anyone care about a school 5 years later unless that school did something for them or to them?  I don’t think they would.  So what is so special that Dixie has that other schools don’t?  I think the one word to describe it is family.  Some people may have hated Dixie and would totally disagree with me (I have a couple in mind) but I can only describe how I see it.  Maybe I’m biased because family was the way football felt and I equate that to all the school, but I like to think that even though I didn’t know everyone during school, everyone was friends because we went to the same great school.

So why did so many people post about Dixie winning today?  Was it a slow facebook day? Were we supporting a brother or cousin on the team?  Maybe some were living through others?  Or maybe being a Flyer means being family, even when it’s people you don’t know doing great things and you offer your support for a cause larger than yourself?   

All I want to know what being a Flyer means to you…and either why you did or didn’t care about today.  Please comment below or on facebook, because obviously it means something to 30+ people.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Blue Line Deli

I'm not normally a fan of blue line deli with Wendy's being so close, as well as other good places. Today I'm grateful for BLD though because I'm super hungry and need to grab something quick to eat.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

UPS and McDonalds

Today I am grateful for places with free wi-fi (mcdonalds) and places that print and bind projects (UPS) and I'm even more grateful that they are right next to each other.  It makes getting our projects done easier.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Star Wars

Today I'm not going to say I'm grateful for voting. I'm sure everyone else already is saying that. Today I'm grateful that Disney bought lucasfilm and is making more Star Wars. Just for the record, I wasn't pondering this all day, I'm just wearing a Star Wars shirt. When I grabbed my phone to type this, looked down and I saw my shirt and it motivated me.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Family

It's been a while since we've had the class where we post grateful blogs, but I'm grateful for this weekend because of family. Logan is getting married and chance should be getting his mission call. I'm excited for them to take these steps in their lives and glad I can be a part of it.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Our Trip to Disneyland

So as anyone who as been reading knows, we had a family vacation in October to Disneyland.  It was all sorts of good fun, but I've learned something about Disney that I didn't learn before: I'm not a fan of park hopping.  It was a little different this time because Konner was only to be there for one day, so to be fair to him, we went to both parks on the same day.  I just don't like it that much because it takes away from the park that you're visiting.  For example, I never did the little rides that I enjoy (Peter Pan, Star Tours, Mr. Toad's wild ride, etc.) at Disneyland because we did all the big rides and then decided to go to California Adventure for the big rides at that park.  Also, I think it made me more tired, but that's later.  So anyways, onto the specifics of the trip.

Tuesday night, we drove up to SLC in the very nasty rainstorm, parked in the economy lot that was the furthest away from the airport, and then took the economy shuttle to the airport.  There was nothing crazy about security, and we even had enough time to buy some dinner from a burger place...smash burger maybe? I don't really remember.  The flight had no TV (Boo...as in the unhappy kind, not the trying to scare you kind), and so I played with the Disneyland app on Jocelyn's iPad.  I enjoyed flying over Las Vegas.  Very bright and very cool to see from up above.  So anyways, we landed, got to the hotel, and hung out with my family.  The hotel was pretty nice, and it had a great view of the beach and golf course.  If you want to see the view, look at my cover photo, and imagine it with sun.

So my family are all Disney nuts, and we wanted to be at the park first thing in the morning, so we all got up super early...and it was totally worth it.  While we were getting ready (roughly 7:30) we realized that Jocelyn's brother lives an hour and a half away and has a decent amount of free time, so we called him and left a message inviting him to join us.  So anyways, I had to drive to Disneyland with Jocelyn, Logan and Shellee, which was interesting, or different you could say.  SoCal driving wasn't all that bad.  Most everyone was pleasant and a good driver.  But there was a lot of traffic and a lot of highway switching.  So anyways we show up, get to the park.  The Halloween festivities were far more...abundant is the word I'm looking for, than I ever remember seeing.  The large Mickey Pumpkin/Jack o' Lantern was pretty cool, and two sided.  Also the entry ways were covered with very large character heads that looked like they were made from pumpkin.

I don't remember what we rode that morning, but I know we were eating near Adventureland when Derek arrived.  So we finished and then went and found him getting through security.  So he joined the party.  Seeing as how he had never been to Disneyland, I hope he found it to be a fun and magical place, but I think that's something that comes from going as a kid.  So anyways, we had all sorts of fun from lunch on.  Logan and Shellee eventually left and went with the Hoopes, and we continued with the fun until the end.  The one exception to that all sorts of fun statement was the temperature.  That first day was 95 degrees!  In mid-freaking-October!  That made the day draining and tiresome.  At the hotel...I don't remember what we did that night.  We had some extra bedding, and no Konner, so Derek stayed the night.

Next day, some early wake up routine, but when we took off I drove my mom, Chance, Logan, and Shellee, and Jocelyn rode with Derek and my dad took off to LAX to go pick up Koko.  First thing we did was go to Cars Land to ride the new ride.  We got there at about 9:10 and the line was already 75ish minutes long and the fast pass line was folded over on itself and seemed like a 35 minute line.  I must say, all of Cars Land looked awesome, but we didn't want to wait that long.  We all got in the single rider line, and miraculously got 4 of us in the same car that seated 6.  The ride was pretty awesome, and as it neared the end it broke down.  The cast members had to come get us out, and we were given a fast pass to make up for the experience.  Anyways, I don't remember what else we did that morning, but we were in California Adventure until lunch.  Konner and my dad showed up and we went to Disneyland for lunch.  Normally I wouldn't go into what I ate, but I went for the turkey leg.  It always looked so good when I saw others eat it that I had to go for it, and Konner joined me.  Word to the wise, the turkey leg is an experience...that you only want to experience once.  Worth it...but I won't be getting it again when we go.

So anyways, more family fun with everyone, in much cooler weather.  I think it was around 80-85 that day and the remainder of the trip.  We went to the places Konner wanted since he wasn't with us the day before.  Eventually Logan and Shellee went off with the Hoopes and the rest of us went on our merry way.  I think everyone was kinda tired, and decided to leave early (early in my family is leaving before we are forced to go).  Derek went back to San Diego and my brothers went with my parents.  Also, I didn't know where to insert this, so now works, but Konner got a Perry the Platypus Pillow Pet - it's cool.  Jocelyn and I got fast passes to see world of color so we stayed.  If you haven't seen it, you need to.  Well worth the time.  Just make sure you get there early enough.  So after Word of Color was over, we drove back to Newport Beach (the location of the hotel) and called it a day.

Friday was beach day...but it was also lazy day.  We didn't get started nearly as early in the morning.  Logan and Shellee left early with the Hoopes since they started well before we did, because they spent the majority of their time with us, plus it was Tess' birthday.  So the remaining 6 kinda sat around all lazy like until we eventually went to the beach.  I'm not much of a beach person, but it was still fun given those circumstances.  We eventually left, got cleaned up, and then went to some pier/beach/dock place that Chance went to on his grad trip.  We explored the stores and ate there and had fun.

The next day we got up, cleaned up, checked out, and went to some orange county market swap meet thing.  Not the coolest thing in the world, but it would have been better had I had money to buy crazy stuff, and somewhere to store it besides crammed in an airplane.  After that we went to the airport, got on our plane, had my heart broken by BYU and got home.

So that was our trip and it was a blast.  I'm already counting down to the next Disney trip.  I don't know when that will be, but I'm hoping for sooner rather than later.  I don't really have any pictures to post, so tough cookies.  Just trust me when I said everything was fun and looked cool.  Too bad I'm now back in the real world.  Speaking of which, I should go get ready for bed.  Peace out.

Isys stuff

Today I will be grateful for my Disneyland trip, which I fully intend to blog about another time. And that's it for today.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Midterm

I'm not grateful for my midterm, but I'm grateful my professor was willing to work with my schedule and is letting me take it early.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Laughter

Today in class, I'm grateful for laughter, because we have laughed a lot today and I'm mostly trying to fill something up on gratitude.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Gracias Google

Today I'm thankful for google and the Internet. I love finding thinks quickly and concisely. Also, thanks Wikipedia for becoming more reliable and including a works cited page. I love getting info easy and fast.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

2 weeks

2 weeks until I'm in Disneyland.  This is what I'm grateful for today.  That's it.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Grateful Again

I finally won a fantasy football game in my stg league, and moved out of last place. I lost in WWD but I'm still in first place, so it's all good.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

PepsiCo Interviw

I'm grateful that after sending in my application for a PepsiCo internship, I got an email the next morning saying I can sign up for an interview time on Friday.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Another Isys grateful post

Today I'm thankful that my isys 402 midterm was pushed back a couple of days. It will make it easier to attend my brothers wedding that way.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

More gratitude

Today I'm grateful for pets. Yesterday/last night I read an article on the Deseret news about how pets are used in rest home type places and how they brighten up the people's days. I'm grateful to have had pets and that we have a pet now. To all the anti animal people, I just don't understand you

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Grateful in Isys

I'm grateful for group projects, especially when there is a ton of work to do. I'm also grateful for the AIS opening social tonight as well as more football this weekend.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

September 11

This is another grateful blog. And today I'm grateful to live in this country, for those who sacrifice for this country in the armed forces as well as the people in the fire and police forces.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

A Brief Summary

So school is crazy and I haven't had much time to blog, or made time for it -- whatever.  So here are some brief rundowns.

We went to St. George three weekends in a row before this weekend.  Logan came home, which was awesome.  Picking him up from Vegas was pretty fun.  It was a nice long car ride down to Vegas with my family plus Shellee, and my aunt Jodie and cousin Trisha found us later on the trip.  Once the long car ride got over, the long waiting at the air port began.  The funniest part about the trip was wandering back and forth between terminals to try and find him.  The incoming flights get off on their gate and then ride a train/tram thing to the main area.  We didn't know which section of the train he got on so we didn't know which door to wait by.  We marched back and forth a lot once we saw people coming off the train to try and find him.  We eventually did find him and it was a happy event.  We got dinner and then drove home.  We (the brothers not named Konner) stayed up fairly late talking those first few nights...good ol brotherly bonding.

Anyways, we finished out the week watching Dixie High School football beat Springville and then we left on Saturday so that we could get back on time to teach sunbeams on Sunday because we couldn't find a sub.

That Monday I gave my two weeks notice at the bookstore and I don't really remember what else happened the rest of that week.  We did leave on Friday with the McArthur's to come back down to St. George because my brother was giving his homecoming talk and we were having our western woods fantasy football draft that Sunday night.  We also watched DHS play again...and Konner got some decent playing time.  Logan gave a great talk...other than he confused Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket in his talk.  The draft also went well.  Then we came home...and then school started the next day -- dun dun dun.

Monday was orientation and Tuesday, the I Sys Jr. Core began.  Good golly there was so much homework that first week.  But I got it all done, and I'm hoping to keep the habit up, but who knows.  So far so good, but I'm starting to procrastinate more.   So Thursday we went to the BYU/Washington St. football game.  I had fun and was impressed that BYU's defense did so well.  Too bad the game was so late.  Friday was another busy day of work, school and homework.  My parents came up to watch DHS play Provo.  3 High school football games in 3 weeks.  Jocelyn has never been happier.  Konner got a little bit of time, so it made it all worth it.  Saturday morning was my last day at the bookstore and then we took off with the Pierce's to St. George.

We went to St. George this time for my 5 year high school reunion as well as for my other fantasy football draft.  Everything went well, other than after the reunion we went to play pickleball and the lights turned off early on us.  Also that Saturday, my brother got engaged...yes that same brother who had been home less than 3 weeks.  They will be getting married November 3rd in the St. George Temple, FYI.  At least that is what I've been told...I doubt the date changes, but sometimes things change the further you get into planning the wedding.  So Monday we came back to Provo and had school week 2 starting Tuesday.  This week hasn't been so bad as far as homework goes, but it's still plenty tough.

Wednesday, the NFL kicked off.  Let's just say I was very happy.  Jocelyn's brother Derek also got in that night so we went to dinner with him and then played Settlers of Catan.  I do not have a love for that game as much as I used to.  It was a bad game for me overall, but I just got bored so quickly.  Intramurals started on Friday, and we got smoked.  We were down a man and we didn't have our QB there.  Later that night I watched Dixie/PV online (Dixie won) and then on Saturday we went to the BYU/Weber St. game.  Today was church, and more fantasy football.  Not the best week for me, but I found some silver linings.  Derek also left today.  It was fun having him stay with us a couple of nights.  We did go mini golfing (he beat me by 3 or 4, and I beat Jocelyn by 2-4) and out to eat a couple of times, plus he entertained the cat while he was here.

So that's it.  You might not hear from me in a while, but I'm sure you're not complaining about that.  Also, everything on my countdown list is done except Disneyland.  37 days left and counting.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Another thankful Isys post

These will be coming every Tuesday and Thursday.  Good times.  Today I am thankful for bright or different colored tables in my textbooks.  They make it easier to find the things you might get quizzed on.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Grateful Journal

So for my Isys 401(40something anyways) class, we have to write down something we are grateful for and I figured it would be a good time to update my blog and include something grateful.  I'm slightly late on this, but I'm grateful that my brother is home from his mission (not that I get to see him much anyways) and back to life.  I'll treat this as a teaser or a bigger blog about him later, but for now, I'm grateful that he's back.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

The Funny Thing About Miracles

Before I get started I just want to say congrats to Kyle and Kelcie for such a good wedding/reception.  Also, by way of announcement, our car is working again.  Apparently we filled the extra tank of antifreeze and water, not the direct tank.  So ya...don't make that mistake if you can avoid it.  Anyways, miracles...

My wife and I teach primary (the 4 and 5 year olds) and one boy in the class is named Tyler.  When we moved into the ward, Tyler's dad was in the bishopric and had cancer.  As far as I remember he was diagnosed with cancer, recovered, but then it came back, and when it came back it was stage 4.

Around this same time I learned that a man I used to work with named Pule Misa was also diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  It didn't look good for either one, but Brother Teemant had already beat cancer once plus was trying a new experimental medication, and Pule was on the upward swing in the hospital, so there was hope for both.

I'm sure both received plenty of prayers, faith, and blessings on their behalf, but unfortunately Pule passed away (feel free too look that previous blog post up on my page).  Now while I'm very happy for the Teemant's, I felt/feel very bad for the Misa's.  Now someone could ask well why did God only save one and not the other.  Quite frankly, I don't know, and I don't care to question.  Miracles are based on faith...but even then God does what He knows is best.  Of course with faith I don't mean where we say God will give me what I want because I believe in Him...It's faith that He knows best for us and everyone.  It's the faith that says "I believe that God will save me, or that I will be taken care of in the next life and He will take care of my loved ones once I'm gone"

I know that can't be easy, but that's why it's called a leap of faith.  Trials help us depend on Him, come closer to Him, and eventually return to him.  So whether you have something small like an overheated car or stage 4 cancer, you can overcome what's bothering you or learn from it and accept something bigger that He has in store for you.  Either way, it takes faith in Him to see those miracles (big or small) in our lives.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Story Behind the Cat Scratch

If you're reading this, it means you somewhat follow what I do in my life.  If you somewhat follow what I do in my life, you have probably seen the picture I posted on facebook of when the cat mauled my head.  Well here is the story of how it happend.

We just finished watching a movie and were getting ready for bed (it was around 12:30 am).  I usually am the one to feed the cat, so I was going to put food in his bowl before we went to sleep.  Two things you need to know about my cat: 1 - When I feed him, he likes to jump off the counter, onto my back, and then up to the top of the fridge, and 2 - When he is really energetic, he will run laps around the living room.

That night he was running laps as I went to feed him.  He saw me getting his food and thought about jumping on my back.  I saw his hesitation and waited for him to start his next lap.  Once he kept going on his lap, I started to pour the food in his bowl and he cut his lap short and went straight to the counter and then took a quick jump towards me.  I think he slipped or took a bad jump after sprinting to the counter and he landed on my face/head region -- Break time, I'm watching Phelps vs Lochte online. F'ing Phelps...took 4th.  Good job Lochte for dominating -- and when the cat sprawled out, I'm pretty sure he extended his claws.  Once I got hit, I think I moved into and made matters worse for me.

It hurt because he crashed into me, but I didn't think anything more about it other than I was angry.  In case you don't know, head wounds bleed...and my wife doesn't like blood.  So I saw her face and realized it probably didn't look so good.  Well, you've seen the pic and know what happened... if you haven't go to my page and see it.  The point is, I wasn't viciously mauled by my cat.  He just crashed into my head.  So you can all stop the cat hate anytime now.

Time to get back to the olympics online. Go USA!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Life update

Well things are going quite well for me.  I'll keep it quick, but since I haven't blogged in a while, I thought I would now.  I did get into the Information Systems program, so that made life really nice.  I have my schedule all mapped out, so that felt cool to see how my next two years should roughly go.  Because I got into the program I had to get a new laptop, which I'm currently using...and it's awesome.  It's much nicer and bigger than my old dinky netbook.  Maybe I wont like carrying this around as much, but considering all my classes but one will be in the tanner building, I'll be ok.

As far as not important to life, but still awesome things, we finally finished "Lost" this week.  It felt good to finish the show, and I thought it ended well.  It did a good job tying up loose ends.  Speaking of watching stuff, I watched the two batman movies this week on DVD and then went to the midnight movie here in Provo.  Also thought it was a good movie.  I like how it ended.  The only bad thing about the movie occurred in Aurora, Colorado.  Very sad, very scary.

That's about it...Not much more going on that's worth sharing.  So thanks for reading, and adios.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Upcoming Activities

So today at church, I may have been a little bored...I'm no Spencer W. Kimball (at least I think it was him that said he has never been in a boring sacrament meeting)...and so I started going through my calendar to see what was coming up in my life, and now I want to blog about it because I normally don't post positive things on my blog.

In 5 days...I find out if I make it into the Information Systems Junior Core.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet on myself, 1. Because I'm awesome, 2. Because I got an A- in the 303 class, 3. If I can't believe on myself, why should anyone else, and 4. see #1.  Ok in all seriousness, I'm hoping, but I don't want to get my hopes to high up and then have them crushed, so I'm still waiting anxiously.  If I get in, you'll see it on facebook.

In 37 days...My brother Logan gets home from his mission.  I'm very excited because even though I've been in college almost the entire time he has been gone, I still miss him.  My boss was kind enough to give me the week off that he gets home and so I plan to enjoy it.  Too bad he's going to DSC and not coming up here to go to school.

In 56 days...I will have my 5 year reunion in 55 days, and on the day after we will be having our fantasy football draft (a few days after that is NFL kickoff.  Instead of making a 60 days, I just thought I'd include it here).  That day is definitely one of the top 5 Sunday's of the year.  Other's include the Superbowl, Easter, and general conference Sunday's.  **Bonus Sunday's** if there are Christmas or birthdays going on, the list gets expanded that year.  Maybe I'm a hypocrite for mentioning the Superbowl and Easter in my top 5 Sunday's together, but don't you judge me.

and 
In 100 days...Disneyland.  Really I feel that I should have capitalized the whole word, made it bigger, bolder, italicized, a different color, and included pictures...but that wouldn't follow this blog format and it would give away the 100 days later too soon.  Just know that I am excited to go to Disneyland with all my family...which for the first time ever includes Jocelyn.  Thanks to my generous parents, they will be flying us down there, covering the hotel, and paying for the tickets.  Before you think my parents are loaded, let me say, flyer miles, hotel points...and the Disney tickets are straight cash from their pocket.  So like I said, quite nice of them, but they haven't won the lottery (as far as I know).  So let me recap, free travel, free lodging, free tickets (for us...thanks again mom and dad), Disneyland, California Adventure, the Beach (eh...not a huge fan, but whatever), with my wife, my brothers, my parents, and no school...yes, I like to think I have great reason to be excited.

Too bad Jocelyn will probably kill me before day 56 or 100 happen because she will get annoyed with me talking about them so much.  So there you go, now you know what I'm looking forward to in life.  And now it's bed time.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Illuosry Superiority

***Warning: Sports blog ahead...and even worse than that, it's fantasy football.  Feel free to turn back now***

If you know me (chances are that you do if you are reading this on purpose) I think I'm awesome.  Hey, at least I can admit I'm somewhat egotistical.  Admitting it is the first step, wanting to change is the next step...and I don't plan on getting their anytime soon.  Anyways, like I said, I think I'm awesome, but I think most of us feel that way about ourselves.  According to the all-knowing Wikipedia this is call Illusory Superiority -- it basically says that we all think we are above average...and I think most people suffer from it, or enjoy it, whatever.  So now that we have established we all think we are awesome, I can go on.

I am a lover of sports (my wife still cries about it at nights) and I like to think I know what I'm talking about (blame the I.S.) most of the time.  And any time I can talk about sports with someone, I'll do it.  I feel especially strong about Fantasy Football.  It doesn't help my ego that I won one of my leagues last year and took second in the other, but you can deal with it.  So today I was trying to increase my fantasy football knowledge and was reading different articles, rankings, and strategies when I came across a "Bleacher Report" article.

I occasionally read their stuff but not too often because they are people like me (or in my opinion, worse than me) writing for them.  I'm sure they have well-written articles and insightful information, but I haven't found it yet.  Again, maybe this is the I.S. talking, but I feel like I could write wonders for them.  Anyways, I'll give credit to Kurt Saunders because he actually writes for them and I don't, but his article was awful.  I'll let you read it because I don't want to rehash everything he said (although it validates his article and gives him clicks...dangit!) but he basically said don't draft a certain 5 guys in the first round.  I would easily take 4 of them in the first round and one of them number one (Arian Foster).  Now maybe he plays in a very different league than I do, with standard scoring...and only 6-8 teams, but his advice was awful.  Basically he wants your first round to be something like this

Ray Rice
LeSean McCoy
MJD
Aaron Rodgers
Marshawn Lynch
Ryan Mathews
Matt Forte

and after this I have no idea, so I'll make something up trying to use his logic.

Murray
Gronk
Graham
DMC
Steven Jackson

But that's a stretch because while he makes some interesting points, he eliminates too many people.

If you know this guy, get him in a 12 team PPR league where all TD's are 6 points...and make it for some serious cash.  You'll thank me for it later.

So anyways, to wrap this all together, thanks to I.S. I thought I could be a decent sports writer (decent meaning nothing but educated opinions and stats from ESPN and other sites to back me up) on my blog or something, but Kurt's writing has inspired me to admit I too suffer from I.S.  While I wont give up trying to talk sports, I will use Kurt as my inspiration to battle I.S., do some research, and to not be argumentative just to be argumentative.  And again, please, if you know him, put him in your big money league...and invite me to join.