School is Over!

I'm glad school is over.  I finally have time to do things like -- lay around all day in bed and watch movies.  My wife wishes I was more productive, so I even did the dishes today.  I know I know, I'm a saint.  Anywho, despite the late nights, lots of work, uber amounts of frustration and confusion, it was a rewarding semester.  Not saying I would want to do it again, but it was a good experience.  Building a POS (point of sale, not piece of something) system, an e-commerce website, and an android app (not super well mind you) was interesting and has definitely made me think being a some sort of software developer or web designer or something would be fun.  Especially for a start up.  Moving on -- moral of the story, it was a successful semester.

Another good thing about this semester is that I got better grades (barring some sort of curve down in my classes) than last semester. So I consider that a success.  Also, I even took a "for fun" class this semester, which is a first for me.  It was VBA programming, and finding that class fun probably makes me a nerd, but oh well.  Another fun thing about this semester has been the golf pass I bought.  I've been able to go play a round of 9 holes at Cascade a couple of times now and it has been totally worth it.  My golf came has gotten  much better (I was about 9-12 inches away from a hole in one today) because of all the practice.  Too bad once Tuesday comes around my pass expires and I won't be able to go as often.

Speaking of what's coming up, I'm not sure I ever announced that I got an internship with the church this summer up at their Riverton office building.  I will be doing quality assurance.  Basically lots of testing to see if I can break what the developers made.  It should be fun, plus it's paid and that will help us in the coming year.  My wife has been awesome and working/making all the money while I've been trying to get good grades in the core.  So more money will allow us to save and maybe have a little more fun.

This will be my last paragraph, and then I'll let the 7 of you reading this get back to facebook.  We are moving this weekend, so that just adds to the changes we will be having this summer.  Now that I have a little more time (well after we are done moving), I'll try and blog more frequently.  And I'll try and keep them smaller.  No promises, but I'll do my best.  Until then, adios amigos.

It's February?

Yes, somehow it is already February and I haven't blogged in quite some time. Well I have a few moments to kill and I thought I'd share something that is on my mind. As most of you probably know, my major is information systems. There are some days I hate my major, and other days I love it. To be fair, when I say hate, it's the same hate most have for school during the really busy weeks: lots of homework and projects due at once, you are learning a lot of new things and retaining little, and sometimes it's just hard. So like I said that's just school and college in general. Now to why I love it. I realize life isn't all about money, but it really helps when you do something that pays well. It helps that my major is (on average) the highest paid bachelor's degree at BYU. I also enjoy that it is a ranked top 10 nationally, so people come talk to us. It feels good to be wanted. From last Wednesday and including tomorrow, I will have had 5 interviews. So 5 interviews in 8 days. Let's just say I'm very lucky and grateful to be where I am.

I just want to use this space to say thank you to my professors(even though I sometimes dislike the homework) because they have done a good job getting this program where it is. I also want to say thank you to former students for doing so well. I want to say thank you to Reid Grawe for doing such a great job at getting a lot of students in the Isys program jobs/internships. I also am really grateful for the other students who have helped me so far this year, as well as AIS for setting up many information sessions. And last I want to thank all the people who have shown interest in the program, in me, and some of them for giving me a chance to apply to their positions and for interviewing me: KPMG, E&Y, PWC, Deloitte, Pepsi, USAA, the LDS church, Goldman Sachs, Bluehost, CapitalOne, and many more. I still have around another year and a half in school (maybe 2 1/2 if I get into the masters), so I'm sure I'll rewrite this whenever it is that I graduate. I just wanted to say thanks now to those people/groups that have helped me out.

So anyways, other things of interest would be that my brother Chance is in the MTC. He has two weeks down and four more to go until he is in Tacoma. It's very fun to read his letters and see how much he is enjoying his time as a missionary.

Other than that, there is nothing major to share. I do have a hole in my heart now that football is over, but I can start worrying about the NBA, so it should all work out. I'll try and make blogging occur more often, but we'll see what happens.

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.

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.

Playoff Scenarios part 1

Well the 2^nd 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.

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. 

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.