Posts for Friday, June 29, 2007 | The 100 Hour Board

Question #37397 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

BYU

Comments

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Regarding Board Question #37195, BYU no longer accepts most credit card payments for tuition. If you want to pay with credit card, it has to be done online; Visa is NOT accepted, only American Express, Discover and MasterCard. There is a 2.75% non-refundable service fee for using this service. Paying with an eCheck is BYU's preferred method of payment. For more information see BYU's Tuition and Fees information page (http://saas.byu.edu/tuition/payment.aspx?lms=4).

- A One Stop employee

Question #37387 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

BYU - Academics

Comments

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board and Child of Board Question #37195,

My husband's family has a trust fund that pays for his education here at BYU (lucky us!). His uncle has to pay his tuition, so my husband just changes his Route Y password for his uncle to access the account. He then changes it back after the tuition is paid, so his uncle can't access his records later on. I'd recommend that!

- Top Hat

Question #37383 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Comments

Q:

Dearest 100 Hour Board and The Hero,

In regards to Board Question #37036, that painting I believe The Hero is speaking of is Jehovah Creates the Earth by Walter Rane who has painted some paintings for the LDS Church.

http://www.canvaswrapped.com/art.php?poster=Jehovah-Creates-the-Earth

Yours Always,
Scarlet Flamingo

A: Another reader also suggests that it was down in the basement of the BYU Bookstore last week in the Art section.

-Yellow

Question #37282 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Entertainment - Theater

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I recently went on a trip to New York, and saw a few Broadway musicals. One of them was the famous Mary Poppins(which was absolutely amazing). But my question is about one of the scenes where Mary Poppins was in the nursery with Jane and Michael, she had just finished magically pulling out items from her carpet bag. She pulled out a sheet, shook it out, and layed it over... well nothing, she then let go of the sheet, and it formed to her bed! How was she able to make the bed appear out of nowhere? I know that it was some sort of "stage magic" but exactly how did Mary Poppins do this?

- Practically Perfect

A: Dear Phinneas,

Well if we told you the secrets of stage magic it wouldn't be magic anymore, now would it? Suspend thy wicked disbelief!

-Kicks and Giggles

Question #37281 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Language & Linguistics

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Does the phrase "knocked up" imply that the pregnancy in question is accidental? I argue that it implies an accidental pregnancy out of wedlock; the fiancee argues that it just implies a pregnancy.

Don't think we haven't checked the Urban Dictionary. We did. Both definitions are listed.

- Cymbal Rush.

A: Dear Cymbal

I always thought that the phrase simply meant to be pregnant, but that it is generally used in a negative sense (and this slang dictionary agrees with me). But, with both definitions being available, as you already mentioned, you're both right.

-Humble Master

A: Dear Cymbal Rush.,

Interesting. In my mind, it definitely has "unplanned" connotations, but I think that's more a matter of register than of denotation. In other words, it's such a casual / low register term, that it doesn't seem like you'd use it for a planned, eagerly anticipated pregnancy. That's my native speaker two cents on the matter, anyway.

(And I do hope that you and your fiancée were only discussing being knocked up in a theoretical sense!)

- Katya

Question #37280 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Language & Linguistics

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Is the skin on your elbow really referred to as "wenis"? I heard that from someone who swore thats what it is called.

- interested

A: Dear interested,

No. It's not. Or at least, not in a medical sense. The back of the elbow is the olecranal and the front is the antecubital. Wenis may be used in a "street talk" sense in some circles to mean the outer skin of an elbow, but no respected dictionary lists it as a word. Incidentally, searching for "Wenis" in Wikipedia reveals that the term is an alternate spelling of the name of a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. That's all, though.

Smile!

-Yellow

A: Dear interested,

The Urban Dictionary confirms the definition of the word, albeit with a variety of spellings. Yellow's right, though, I doubt the term will ever appear in a [standard] dictionary. (I, personally, have a great deal of respect for the Urban Dictionary. It's probably the most complete and thorough dictionary of slang ever created.)

- Katya

Question #37278 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Relationships

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Guys, what are some major turn offs from girls? Just making sure I'm not doing anything unknowingly unattractive.

- What's the problem?

A: Dear What's

A wedding ring, tattoos of the first presidency, a subscription to a goldfish of the month club, smoking two packs a day, a higher proficiency with swearing than a sailor, armpit hair, a murder conviction, a mustache, owning the DVD set of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, believing Johnny Depp is waiting for you to enter his life (and that by having the largest poster collection of him on Earth you are letting him know you are interested), sweat that smells of skunk, eight or more illegitimate children, STDs, a complete set of Backstreet Boys cds, hair of a color that is more often found in the detergent aisle than on a human being's head, the unshakable opinion that Earl's Gotta Die is the greatest song in the history of sound, 12 or more fingers, braided nose hair, an obsession with dressing pets in small outfits, the desire to name a child "Mufflewufflekins," a firm conviction that man is descended from cheese, a disregard for Pixar films, a complete and utter lack of bladder control, insisting that karaoke is a good idea, not understanding why there will never be a Spider-Man/Batman team-up movie in our lifetime, a collection of stuffed animals and trolls so large that the smaller members of the collection have been forced out of the bedroom and into public display, speaking text and internet acronyms such as "LOL" instead of either a) saying "That's funny" or b) actually laughing out loud, believing that Shakespeare is too hard to understand, carrying a small living mammal in a purse, a mullet (yes, that one is a bad decision for women as well), insisting that Nazi Germany "had a lot going for it," joining an online group that's attempting to get Harry Potter banned from publication because it promotes witchcraft, a habit of biting other people's toenails, a habit of making Pokemon sounds in the midst of everyday conversation, attempting to convince everyone that we don't exist and are simply characters in the dream of a cat, smuggling fruit across the Canadian border, speaking during movies (especially to reveal plot points), saying "I don't get it" after reading any book more complex than Goodnight Moon, refusing to order anything more substantial than a kid's meal at any restaurant, constantly attempting a sadly misguided impression of the Crocodile Hunter which sounds more like a drunk Sean Connery than Steve Irwin, bedazzling an entire outfit, arguing with a voice nobody else can hear, starting water balloon fights in the dead of winter, etc., etc., etc.

-Humble Master (one of the above list was actually a key factor in a friend of mine ending a relationship)

Editor's Choice

A: Dear What's the Problem?,

I simply love Humble Master's comment above and was so very tempted to include my own similarly funny list but we all know that's not going to happen. Instead, here's my serious list of turn-offs:

-poor hygiene, body odor is a bad idea
-financial dependency on her parents
-an apartment that is always messy, I can appreciate mess (ask my roommate) but there has to be order in life
-dishonesty, this is huge. Dishonesty doesn't necessarily just mean lies but also keeping up appearances. It hurts to share yourself with someone and then realize she wasn't open in return.
-too scared of showing affection
-too open with showing affection
-hairy arms, I try to look past this but it's just so hard
-turning me down for a date, it doesn't happen often but when it does it sure is a turn off

-Just Another Cassio
...freezing in his new office.

A: Dear I'm resisting the temptation to make fun of your 'nym~

Could it be that you're hiding in doorways, and when the object of your affection walks by, you're jumping out and wildly flailing at him with a +5 Broadsword of Death?

Because that's a serious turn-off.

~Hobbes

Question #37277 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Writing/Publishing

Q:

Dear friends,

I just bought a sexy new refillable journal for my mission. After ordering the journal shell and several blank refills, I was emailed by the company saying they were out of the blank kind and could send me graph-ruled or journaley-ruled (might not be exact words). I asked for the journaley kind and got them in the mail.

So here's the question: On the pages, the bottom three-quarters are just ruled lines. Above that, though, there are three blanks for the date (I assume that's for the starting date for that page, the word "to", and the ending date for that page), and then two boxes around the date blanks. In the left box, there are the numbers 8-12 and 1, and in the box on the right, it's numbered 2-7. If there were seven boxes and not six, I would assume it's a weekly planner layout and outlined the weeks on either side, but there are only six.

What the heck are you supposed to write in those boxes?
Â _______Â ____ _______ |8 | |2 | |9 | __ |3 | |10 | |4 | |11 | ____ |5 | |12 | |6 | |1 | |7 | |_______| |_______|
(it's like that if you change the font to Courier)

--Gimgimno

A: Dear George,

I think it's a day planner. You plan your day by hours so you'll be organized and effective in completing your tasks for the day. Isn't that nice?

-Kicks and Giggles

Question #37255 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

LDS - Culture

LDS - Doctrine

Folklore - LDS Rumors/Myths

LDS - LDS Rumors/Myths

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Is it appropriate to take the sacrament in another ward if you are attending your own? I was at a farewell last week and was told that I shouldn't. I always thought taking the sacrament twice was a privelege that would help me focus especially on the Savior and His Sacrifice two times that day. Is there some sort of reason that people don't like to do this?

Oh, and if I am in another ward in the same stake, should I sustain stake callings (like Stake Sunday School President or something) if I am not going to be going to my own ward? Or is it accepted practice to not?

--Are these Mysteries of the Handbook, or just silly Mormon customs?

A: Dear Mystified,

I'm going to say they're just silly Mormon customs. I asked my branch president, and he said that he had never heard it was inappropriate to take the sacrament twice. In fact, back before we had the consolidated meeting schedule that we use today (where we go once, for three hours), it was normal to take the sacrament twice—once in the morning (it was passed in the opening exercises for Sunday School) and once in the evening, during sacrament meeting. He also added that it was his interpretation of policy that only the bishop could tell someone else not to take the sacrament. I know I sure feel like it's not my place to tell someone else not to take it.

When I asked about sustaining stake callings if you're visiting somewhere else in your stake, he said that yes, you should.

—Laser Jock

Question #37247 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Medical/Body

BYU - Student Life

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Is there really a BYU Health Center Dermatologist? I've looked on the website, but there wasn't much in terms of services they offer. Can I see the dermatologist if I don't need a beard card (not that I could grow a beard anyway)? And when are you allowed to use services at the Health Center? Can you do it once you've registered for classes, received a student ID, or during the semester you're enrolled?

- Smooth like a baby's bottom (with acne on it)

A: Dear Smooth,

There are doctors who specialize in dermatology. However there is no dermatologist. You'd have to get a referral for that. I recommend The Dermatology Center in Orem. They were nice to me.

They will always let you see them, they've been pretty nice to me. They will always take your money.

If you have BYU health insurance you can go there once you're covered by BYU Health Insurance. So, yes. :)

-Castle in the Sky

A: Dear Smooth,

You can see the doctors at the BYU health center for acne. Just call them and ask to see a doctor for acne (I made the mistake of asking someone who didn't know and accidentally set an appointment with a doctor, who, while he specialized in dermatology, did not deal with the medication I was on at the time). I think the copay is ten or fifteen dollars, it is really pretty reasonable. Coverage is effective the first day of classes, according to the health plan handbook.

-Whistler

Question #37235 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Food & Drink

History of

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

So why are candy canes red and white, and when did this dyeing start happining?

-Out of Season

A: Dear Christmas in June,

No one is quite sure why, but it was sometime right around 1900 that the formerly plain canes started featuring stripes. Check out these sites about candy canes for more information. They also debunk some widespread myths, like the ones stating that candy canes started as clandestine marks of being Christian. Anyway, read them for more.

—Laser Jock

Question #37227 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Food & Drink

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Why is chocolate in Europe so much better than in the U.S.? And where can I get European chocolate while living in the U.S.?

-The Brother of the Brother of Jared

A: Dear Brother Brother,

In my opinion, it isn't. The chocolate I had in Ireland was disgusting. I missed good ol' American Hershey's.

Nike

A: Dear Brother,

It's probably because they sweeten their chocolate with rum.

-Team HAT

A: Dear Jared,

It's because they put less wax in it. Just compare the ingredients lists.

-Whistler

Question #37220 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Famous People

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Did Lloyd Newell go on tour with the Tabernacle Choir?

- Craig Jessop

A: Dear Not Craig Jessop,

Yes, he did. How do I know this? He is also doing some firesides along with the concerts, and I get to go to both!

-excited for the Choir

Question #37202 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Transportation - Automobiles

Q:

Dear Century Piece of Processed Wood,

OK, real question this time. I was driving across the desert yesterday, and when I gassed up in the middle of Nevada, my choices of gas were 83, 85, and 87 octane. When I gassed up in Reno, my choices were 87, 89, and 91. The 91 octane "premium" was cheaper than the 83 octane "regular", but that has nothing to do with my question. It's just a complaint.

While in the middle of Nevada, I looked around and couldn't find any higher-octane gas than 87. The only reason I could think of is that Nevada is full of hicks who wouldn't know a high-performance vehicle from a hole in the ground, but even I don't believe that. Plus, my friends from Nevada (who with one exception AREN'T hicks) would beat me with my own muffler were I to suggest such a thing. So, why the poor-quality gas in the middle of Nevada?

-MustacheBoy, who honestly didn't think there was much difference between gas qualities until yesterday.

A: Dear MustacheBoy,

The octane of a fuel basically corresponds to its resistance to ignite due to compression. In most cars, this makes very little difference, as the engines do not produce sufficient compression to cause autoignition. Higher-performance cars, though, require a higher octane gasoline in order to prevent premature combustion of the fuel/air mixture.

You'll note, though, that this all has to do with the ambient pressure. Cars that use a carburetor to create the air/fuel mixture will actually require a lower octane fuel at high altitudes, since they simply won't reach the same pressure. (Engines with a fuel injection system will not experience this effect.)

So, the point of all this is that, depending on where you were in central Nevada, you may have been at a higher altitude than Reno. Cars in that area would generally have needed a lower octane gasoline, though I am surprised at the large variation of the octane ratings between the two sites. Higher octane fuel is also of a higher quality, so economics may have also been a factor. The central Nevada area may be a small-town environment (which is my assumption, seeing as you didn't bother to name the city) and may simply have less ability to purchase the higher-quality gasoline.

That's my guess.

-Yellow

Question #37198 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Folklore - Rumors/Myths

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Is spontaneous human combustion real and what causes it? I watched a special on the history channel about it that had pictures as examples but they still could've fabricated it. I've heard both ways: that it's real and that it's a myth. so which is it?

So Many Questions, So Little Time

A: My dear,

Of course it's real! It was on TV, wasn't it?!

- The Defenestrator

A: Dear SMQSLT,

There has been a lot of speculation on SHC. Since no one has been able to scientifically prove it and as an engineer I'm going to go with NO. Unless God wants you dead. But that's not spontaneous.

-Castle in the Sky

A: Dear So Many

There is no proof that it spontaneous human combustion occurs. It's generally not regarded as plausible. You can read two extensive write ups about it here and here, but they both explain some theories behind how it could occur, without offering any proof that it does occur.

The two main theories of how it might occur are "the wick theory" and "The Static Flash Fire Hyposthesis." Both cases cite external events which cause the fire. In the wick theory a person either a)dies or b) passes out in a location that causes their clothes to catch fire. From the link above:

The wick effect theory essentially says that a person is burned through his/her own fats after being ignited, accidentally or otherwise. The clothed human body acts like an "inside-out" candle, with the fuel source (human fat) inside and the wick (the clothing of the victim) outside. Hence there is a continuous supply of fuel in the form of melting fat seeping into the victim's clothing. Fat contains a large amount of energy due to the presence of long hydrocarbon chains.

The Static Electricity version pretty much says that a spark of static electricity lights a person's clothes on fire.

So, even those sites that discuss the supposed phenomenon in detail offer explanations besides "spontaneous human combustion," explaining that outside sources light a person's clothes on fire, rather a person's innards super-heating to the point that werf's flesh burst into flame.

-Humble Master

Question #37190 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Science - Agriculture

Folklore - LDS Rumors/Myths

LDS - LDS Rumors/Myths

Religion

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I was just told that in England, in the United Kingdom, an area known as East Anglia contains the flat land suitable for farming in the UK, is it true that the owners are of course Mormon and also what's the attitudes of Mormans to Hindu's?

- StevieG

A: Dear StevieG~

We puzzled over this question for a bit, but I think I've got an idea what you're looking for.

"Mormon" is a family name traced back to Suffolk, England, with many variant spellings, one of those being "Morman", which you used in your question. Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything linking this family specifically to East Anglia.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of course, has presence in England. It was the first non-American country to receive missionaries and continues to be a stronghold of the Church today. The only information I could get on the religion of Mormon landowners in East Anglia, unfortunately, was the last (irrelevant?) sentence of this article. I especially enjoyed its title, which reveals the nasty bias of the author. Except for the title, however, the article appears to be mostly accurate information.

As for the Church's view on Hindus? Well, in the Articles of Faith it says

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

So while it's obviously pretty naive for me to say, "All Mormons like Hindus" or anything of the sort, I can say that any member of our Church who discriminates against a Hindu (or anyone, really) does so without divine sanction.

~Hobbes

A: Dear StevieG

Your description of East Anglia as flat is confirmed by the East Anglia Travel and Tourism website which says "Flat. That's the word that best describes East Anglia. The level landscape imparts a sense of space and freedom, and also allows opportunities for easy walks and cycling.

I used this site to figure out what counties are a part of East Anglia, and then lds.org to figure out how many wards are in that area. There are 4 stakes and 23 wards that I could find in the area of East Anglia. This means that there are a goodly number of Mormons in the area, but hardly a majority.

I'm not really certain what you mean when you ask about Mormon's attitude towards Hindus. This LDS FAQ, comes from GospeLink, discusses the LDS faith and non-Christian world religions. It begins by stating:

Latter-day Saints believe that God has inspired not only people of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but other people as well, to carry out his purposes. Today God inspires not only Latter-day Saints but also founders, teachers, philosophers, and reformers of other Christian and non-Christian religions.

It has a lengthy section discussing Hinduism directly. It's too long to quote here, but it opens by explaining:

Unlike the LDS Church, Hinduism has no founder, no central authority, no hierarchy, no uniformly explicated or applied moral standards. However, Hindus and Latter-day Saints share at least two fundamental beliefs—the continuing operation of irreversible cosmic law and the importance of pursuing ultimate union with the divine—though these principles may be understood differently (see Unity).

Hope that helps, the site I linked to has much more information (I recommend the read, it's interesting).

-Humble Master

Question #37189 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

BYU - Athletics

Sports - Athletics

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

I am going to be a freshman at BYU in the fall and was wondering if BYU has any kind of field hockey team or club or if there is any in the Provo at all.

- freshie

A: Dear freshie,

I'm afraid that I've been entirely unable to locate a single Field Hockey team or club in all of Provo. It's not one of the sports played in the BYU intramural program here, it's not listed on the athletic clubs page here, and a general search for "Field Hockey" Provo yields no results of interest. If you're really interested, though, you might be able to start a Field Hockey club yourself. Wally III (my old coworker) started one not too long ago, and it didn't seem terribly difficult. You'll want to look at the Student Connection FAQ for more information.

-Yellow

A: Dear freshie,

See also Board Question #3669.

- the librarian

Question #37187 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Language & Linguistics

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

In order to help you answer my question, I will reveal to you what language I'd like to keep up this summer, though it will endanger my true identity (I guess it doesn't matter to those of you who have already figured out who I am through the 100hrmb.). So, a resubmission:

Do you have any suggestions on how I can keep up Italian this summer? No one I know here speaks it, and I'm already reading the Book of Mormon in Italian, but I'd like oral and writing practice, too. Thanks a bunch!

Cordiali Saluti,
Eponine

A: Caro/a Eponine,

When I first started blogging, I had a bit of a conversation through comments with a guy that I randomly found on Blogger. Someone else saw our (public) conversation and commented, recommending a couple blogs to help me. To be honest, I don't read them terribly often, but I have read both of them on occasion. I especially like the first one. The comment said:

"www.thewritingenterprise.blogspot.com (di uno scrittore "italo-americano"....)

e su www.ilregno.blogspot.com

sono scritti, il primo in italiano e in inglese, il secondo in italiano."

Blogs are nice because people sometimes write more like they speak, and you can often converse with the author through comments. For a challenge, you could keep a blog of your own in Italian. Some Americans who are learning/remembering Italian do that to keep it up.

When I first got back from my mission, I would listen to Italian radio stations kind of often. You can do that for free online. Radio-Locator is one site that will sort them by country; the Italian radio stations are here.

Another way to keep up the language is by watching Italian movies. You may or may not already know that Blockbuster and Hollywood have extremely limited selections of Italian films. I know that they do. The Orem library, however, has many, many Italian movies. So that's kind of fun. They don't have a ton of recent ones, but they do have a whole lot to pick from anyhow. I've been thinking about getting myself a Netflix subscription because they have a whole lot of Italian movies and quite a few that have been made within the last 10 years. (I'm very interested in seeing The Tiger and the Snow, which came out in Italy a couple years ago but didn't here. They recently added it on Netflix. Yay.)

You can follow the news in Italian. The biggest site for the telegiornale will (of course) be Rai.

Some other things that I do to practice Italian are:

- Reading Italian articles on Wikipedia. If you're really good, you could try writing an article; the Italian one is not nearly as big as the English one.

- Listening to and watching Italian stuff on Youtube. I especially like watching music videos for people like Laura Pausini and Nek. Sometimes I sing their songs, which is kind of like oral practice. I like modern Italian music more than I like, say, Andrea.

- Just searching on search engines and seeing what I can find. Virgilio is a big one. Also Simpatico.

- Also depending on what level you're at, if you want language instruction, I've found the best to be Pimsleur. If you can find Pimsleur's Italian courses, they're amazing. And they have you speak a lot, so I plan on reviewing mine sometime to polish my Italian a bit.

- The BYU Bookstore carries the Liahona in Italian. I'm reading conference talks (out loud usually), in Italian this summer. You can also find them online, of course, but I do better about actually reading them when I have the magazine.

Obviously, the best ways to keep it up is by speaking it with someone or visiting Italy and speaking with lots of someones. If you're a BYU student, foreign language housing would be a Very Good Thing.

Anyhow, those are some suggestions and things that I've done, just off the top of my head. I'm taking an advanced Italian grammar class this summer and I'm excited about it.

Buona fortuna!

dimmi (sorella di Lavish)

A: Dear Eponine,

Italian? Shoot, girl, I was thinking, like, Cherokee.

OK, for Italian, most of my previous suggestions still hold. For listening practice, here's a list of Italian radio stations that you can stream online. For reading and writing, I still recommend MyLanguageExchange. There are about 6000 people on there who speak Italian and would like English-speaking penpalsr, and it only costs $6 to sign up. I'm also really fond of Church magazines for reading practice. (I fully support reading The Book of Mormon in a foreign language, but the style tends to be very formal and archaic, so it's not necessarily that helpful for general reading comprehension.)

Speaking practice is going to be a bit harder, since you really need to find an Italian speaker to listen to you and talk back, but if you're just without practice for the summer, I doubt you'll lose much ground.

- Katya

Question #37184 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Computers - Internet (general)

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

Yep, I have a MySpace page. And while I am familiar with the MySpace phenomenon, I am still a little confused about the details. Thus, I have a family of questions regarding the popular social networking site.

What precisely does it take for someone to be in my "extended network?" (Side question: did I punctuate that correctly?) I mean, does someone have to be connected to me by one mutual friend? Can they be two degrees away? Three?

The creator of the site, Tom, is automatically friends with everyone. Does he count? Is everyone in everyone else's extended network because Tom is everyone's friend?

Sometimes, when I'm not logged in to the site, it will still say I'm in someone's extended network. Now how is that possible? I'm not logged in!

- bubba.

A: Dear bubbagump,

I couldn't find anything on myspace.com about their "extended network", but other sources, such as this blog and this howto site, seem to agree that your extended network is everyone not on your friends list. This is due to the fact that at least partly because of Tom, you're friends by extension (no matter the degree) to everyone else. Even if you unfriended Tom, at least one of your friends (or their friends, or their friends' friends) is still friends with him, so you are still linked to everyone else.

I don't have a myspace profile, but if I look at another profile, it says they're in my extended profile. Kind of an audacious assumption, if you ask me. I think basically it's saying that everyone on myspace is in the extended network, and if you joined, or logged in, that person is too.

The whole extended network thing is why myspace creeps me out even more than facebook. It's like stalkernet times two.

-=Optimus Prime=-

Question #37183 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Random

Board - Writers

Q:

Dearest krebscout,

In reference to your response to Board Question #30696: are you saying I'm really good looking?

...and then they made me their chief.

A: Dear foxy "friend",

Very much so. So good-looking, in fact, that I'd like to see you tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.

-krebscout

Question #37068 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Environment/Nature

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

At the end of "Blood Diamond" they made a comment about buying "conflict free" diamonds. Where can I find one of those and how much more expensive are they?

Simon

A: Dear Simon,

I searched around a bit and I found that since 2003 there has been a certification process (the Kimberly Process) to ensure that the diamonds purchased are, in fact, conflict-free. However, based on light reading the process is rather voluntary and needs some improvements.

Unfortunately, the only way you can be assured of a diamond being conflict free is to buy one from Canada.

At Brilliant Earth.com (http://www.brilliantearth.com) a .54 carat princess cut, D color, SI1 Clarity Canadian loose diamond was $1560 which is cheaper than our local Provo Town Center given the difference in size(3/8 carat D color SI1 round for $1100).

-Castle in the Sky

Question #37043 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

BYU - Activities/Events

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

So I work for BYU. My job requires me to go all over the dorms and housing areas, and because of this I've seen a number of things. One thing in particular is what my co-workers call "free bread day" at Wymount. Apparently the local grocery stores bring their aging bread to the central building over there and leave it for the poor starving college students to eat.

And thus brings up my question: how often does "free bread day" occur? I picked up a loaf of French bread yesterday, but before that it had been a really long time. Maybe even a year. What's the deal?

-The Bread Barren

A: Dear Bread Barren~

Ha ha! At first I thought you'd misspelled your 'nym, then I got the joke! Well done!

Okay, I spoke with Jamie over at Wymount housing, and she says Free Bread Day is not a formal thing, it's just that when Albertson's has bread that's about to expire, they bring it over and put it on a table in the foyer.

So if you're looking to score free bread, it looks like it's really luck of the draw for you. But honestly, bread isn't that expensive, is it? Maybe I just had a privileged upbringing.

~Hobbes

A: Dear,

I rustled up a little more info. It won't really help you in the search for bread, but it's kinda fun. It sounds less like the grocery stores bring over their bread, and more like a sweet old (probably nearing 90!) man named Albert who brings it over.

There really is no schedule--sometimes it shows up months apart, sometimes it's there several times a week, sometimes during the week, sometimes on the weekends. Whenever it does show up, though, word spreads fast, and the bread is usually gone within a half an hour.

Anyway, I thought it was a neat story. If you get the chance, thank Kecia Gilliam for providing us with it.

-Uffish Thought

Question #36536 posted on 06/29/2007 3:01 a.m.

Entertainment - Movies

Utah - Provo/Orem Community

Q:

Dear 100 Hour Board,

When I first got married we attended a married student ward in the Manavu Chapel south of campus. It was a wonderful old building. About a year later they moved us out and renovated it. I went back once after the renovation and didn't like it, but that is another story. (I like old buildings).

Recently we watched the church video "Easter Dream" which I hadn't seen since my mission. In the movie, the grandfather takes his grandson to the church to show him something. The outside of the building and the inside of the chapel look like the old Manavu Chapel.

Could you please find out for me if the Manavu Chapel was used in the filming of "Easter Dream"?

Thank you
- Alum in AZ

A: Dear Alum,

First, I apologize for the time that it took to get this answer.

And now, onto the answer:

Yes and no. While this uplifting story that will inspire viewers in any season has quite the story, it does not have the inside of the Manavu chapel. The outside of the chapel is the Manavu chapel, but the parts filmed inside were shot somewhere else. In the film there are windows lining both sides of the chapel, the Manavu chapel, however, only has one outside wall. I don't know where the inside shots were filmed, but they weren't at the Manavu chapel.

-Curious Physics Minor

P.S. Many thanks to Lavish for the use of her VCR, and participating in the trip to the Manavu chapel to double check the architecture.