You can also get them all on a CD from the Distibution Center for around $4.00, if downloading off the internet isn’t your thing.

No official reason was given for pulling out – but there is speculation that the old Joseph Smith Academy building may be at fault. The building, acquired in 1998, is old.

“The facility is very old, the pipes are rusty and leaking, boilers are very old and the windows have become inefficient,” Evan Ivy (BYU Study program director) said. “It is estimated that it would cost $10 million to renovate.”

Although, you might not want to listen to what Evan Ivy says, because he also says that: There is a lot of sentimental attachment to the program and facilities used in Nauvoo, Some three to four generations have come to the program and use the building.” – Um… Evan? The program is only 12 years old. Sure, Mormons tend to marry young, but not that young.

BYU professor Milton Backman was in charge of starting the program, and still hopes – in his words – it can be “resurrected”. In the meantime he says that they will keep the Joseph Smith Academy open twenty-four hours a day as they give students the colllege credis they so desperately need to graduate prior to their long flight to Salt Lake. When it is all said and done, Backman has torch in the corner of his office waiting for the special moment.

“It’s tradition, you see… When we leave, things have to burn. I don’t want to trust lightning this time.”
BYU NewsNet – BYU Says Farewell Nauvoo

BYU Devotionals & Speeches

Every Tuesday, at 11:05 AM BYU hosts a devotional. The speakers come from either the faculty, or General Authorities of the Church. The tradition of the BYU devotional dates back until the days of Adam – when he gathered his posterity together every Tuesday morning at 11:05 AM to discuss basic doctrine with them.

So what? Well – BYU has been recording these devotionals for a long time. If you are interested in getting access to some of the classic LDS speeches, such as Bruce R. McConkie’s “The Seven Deadly Heresies“, or Truman G. Madsen’s “Souls Aflame” (one of my personal favorites), or Hugh B. Brown’s classic speeches “Profile of a Prophet” or “God is the Gardener” [note that it is "Gardener" not "Gardner"] you can get them all in one place. For free.

BYU doesn’t do a good job of advertising this (so I’m doing it for them right now). Apparently some other people have noticed it, because recently they have added a copyright notice to make it clear that you can’t download all these devotionals and then sell them. (Gee. I wonder what kind of sites that might be aimed at)

The BYU’s Speeches Website has over 804 talks available in MP3 format to download, and about 200 more that you can read in HTML format (but can’t download in MP3 for some reason).

LDS.org Audio section

General authorities speaking to college kids doesn’t cut it for you? What would? Perhaps the entire book Jesus the Christ, by James Talmage would make you happy. More into contemporary church topics? Perhaps the audio copy of this month’s Ensign (conveniently broken into tracks) might be the perfect thing to listen to on your morning commute. (Or if you are really intrested – they have audio versions of ever Ensign, New Era, and Friend dating back to January 2004.)

If you want to get the audio copies of the latest conference talks – they have those too. Oh, and in case you were planning on checking out all 40+ CD’s of the Old Testament from the BYU Library and slowly ripping them (3 at a time is all they let you check out… it takes a while… don’t ask me how I know) – they have the entire Old Testament and every other standard work available for download.

To get there, either click here, or go to the website of the true church and click on “Gospel Library” and then click on “Audio” in the submenu. (DON’T click on “Audio Scriptures” on the side under the “Broadcast” menu – that takes you somewhere else that has streaming audio.)

BYU Broadcasting “Find a Talk”

BYU Broadcasting isn’t goign to sit back and be left in the dust. They also have a website called where you can “Find a talk.” That is – you can find a talk that they felt like putting online. Their collection is rather strange. They pull out some random BYU devotionals ( not nearly as many as the BYU speeches page) – and some other content from sources such as the Sperry Symposium, Women’s Conference, and BYU Education-week.

It has been a long time since I have been in a 100 level general-ed class. This is the biggest class I have been in for a while – looks like 60 people are in this class. That stinks, because I was planning to eventually get detailed answers to questions I have about the geology of different climbing areas. That likely won’t happen in a class this size.

100 level classes are all about memorizing basic facts and multiple-choice tests. My professor is a good lecturer, so it should be an enjoyable process.

If any of you loyal readers need Geo 101, register for section 3 and we can have geo parties together. (if you can’t register online, don’t worry – he’s signing everyone’s add/drop cards.)

I’ve always been tempted to take a picture of her to show the dedicated RyeBlog readers exactly what it is I am talking about. I’ve never really wanted to interact with this girl, however, on the off chance that she would sputter a curse in a strange elven language and force me to also live out the rest of my existence within arms-reach of my locker.

This week being finals week, my locker-visiting schedule was changed and I ended up getting there durring her dormant period. I managed to snap this picture… sorry it didn’t turn out well – I didn’t want to use the flash and wake her up.

Yes, this is real. This girl really does spend almost her entire life next to her locker.

Be sure to get the time right, because they list the time on their website in Pacific time. (5:00PM Pacific time). [One year I missed a bowl game because the BYU site listed it in Eastern time because it was being played in Memphis, but I thought they were listing it in Mountain time.]

No word yet on who they are playing. It is likely someone from the PAC-10.
Las Vegas Bowl website
Deseret News article

UPDATE:It will be aired nationally: “The 2005 Pioneer PureVison Las Vegas Bowl, an ESPN Regional Television owned-and-operated event, will kickoff at 5 p.m. (PST) and will be televised nationally on ESPN.” – according to byucougars.com

Supporting Evidence

Perhaps the best evidence supporting this theory is the destruction of the WTC-7 building. This building was also destroyed after the planes smacked into the twin towers – but no plane actually hit it. Fire damage has never brought down a steel building before or since Sept. 11, Jones claims.

Other evidence is gleaned largely from videos of the collapsing towers. Some videos show some slight flashes just prior to the collapse of the towers. The large amount of powerdized concrete billowing out from areas far below the initial collapsing region also supports the hypothesis of some additional energy source involved in the collapse.

BYU Physics Professor Dr. Stephen Jones has spent a significant amount of time researching exactly why the world trade center towers collapsed the way that they did – and believes he has found evidence pointing toward a possible intentional demolition of the buildings.

My personal impression of Dr. Jones

I took Physics 121 from Dr. Jones – and he certainly wasn’t a nutty guy. Yes, he was the kind of physics professor who would have little jingles he would sing to help you remember certain equations for Newton’s Laws – but he was like all the other physics professors I have had at BYU. He was scientifically minded, and realistically grounded. For a professor, he was very down to earth. He had a gentle demeanor and was somewhat soft spoken.

The only pet tangent he seemed to enjoy talking about that was not related to physics was fitness. He liked to point out that human growth hormone production decreases in the late twenties (or maybe it was the 30′s) and that at that point it is likely you will gain weight if you do not excercise.

In short: He’s not the type of guy to go off on crazy ideas, and he’s not the type of guy to do things for attention.

‘Explosive Demolition’ is not a proven fact: an investigation is warranted

Dr Jones does not claim he has definitive proof that the collapse was caused by explosion. His main argument is that such a cause should be investigaed. The evidence that does exist would warrant such an investigation, he claims.

My thoughts

Dr. Jones has not just started flapping his gums because he thinks this is something interesting. He has spent quite a bit of time going through the peer review process and getting other people to weigh in with their opinions. I agree with the BYU professors that he met with and presented his findings too recently – an investigation should be conducted. I do not honestly believe that the trade towers were demolished by explosives – but with some evidency pointing in that direction it is foolish to not look into it more.

Where it should stop

The argument over the physical properties of a collapse versus an intentional demolition are well within the realm of science. Where this paper should not go, however, is to the fringe areas of trying to explain the “why” or the “whodunnit.” Science isn’t particularly skilled at that. We still haven’t explained the “why” behind certain quantum effects for light (except to say “don’t try to understand this, it will drive you crazy.”) For a scientist to even speculate on who would have wanted to blow up the towers is improper. It is beyond the realm of science. Leave that to the people writing the movie screenplays. For now, focus on what is within the realm of science – cold, impersonal analysis.

You can read the Daily Universe story

Somehow, they manage to field a decent football team every year. This year that will not be enough as BYU’s high scoring offense will easily defeat them this afternoon (game starts at 4PM). Since the game will likely not be televised outside of the local market, you should check out EPSN’s page – which frequently updates with play-by-play information.

KSL also broadcasts their audio of the game over the web, and would make for good listening while you are out roping cows or something.
ESPN.com – NCF – Preview

What was impressive was how Todd Watkins was actually catching the ball again today. He had 7 receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown. He was followed in number by Jonny Harline – who had 6 receptions for 80 yards and also had a touchdown.

UNLV was effective at stopping the run for the first few attempts, but after Naufahu (a.k.a. “Fahu”) Tahi steamrolled over their defensive line a few times – they loosened right up.

BYU improves their record to 5-4, and looks to win both of their remaining games and head to a bowl game.

TCU, who won the MWC conference championship today outright, will likely suffer the curse that goes with that championship in the form of the middle-of-nowhere “Liberty Bowl” in Memphis.

BYU can laugh their way all the way to the bank with a trip to the Las Vegas bowl – which would actually bring them more money than attending the Libery Bowl because of higher ticket sales and more people actually wanting to watch a game in vegas.
[For more details, check out the ESPN.com Recap]

BYU was destroying Air Force until they rallied late and came back to score a few points. The secondary had some holes, and special teams was weak at times. But – Fisher DeBerry’s worst nightmare to defend against – the speedy “Afro American” – managed to run the ball down his throat. Curtis Brown had over 200 yards, and non-black (but still brown) Fahu Tahi steamrolled his way down the field as well. BYU had 683 total yards, 383 of it through the air and 300 on the ground.

BYU now faces UNLV next week. UNLV is coming off of a bye week.

[More in depth recap of the game is at ESPN.com]

After I got the few classes I needed, I just threw on a bunch of random classes that I don’t need. Sure, I’ll drop them eventually – but it is just funny to see “Beginning clothing construction” next to “Computational Physics 3″ on a schedule. I really hope that my differential equations courses have helped prepare me for the rigors of Math 102: “Quantitative Reasoning,” because that’s on my schedule too.

Once I finally pear down my schedule and get rid of these oddball classes I added on, my schedule shouldn’t be too bad. Some seniors spend their last semester taking “breather” courses that they can finally “enjoy.” There are two reasons I wont be doing this. First, I’ve been in school so long I don’t think there is such a thing as a class I can’t fail would “enjoy” for the sake of “enjoying it.” And second, that’s what I did all along.

BYU has beaten CSU for the second year in the row by successfully running the ball through their defensive line. Tonight, Curtis Brown had 147 yards and two touchdowns. Fahu Tahi ran for 86 yards (probably half of those yards came with a couple of CSU players grabbing on to his waist, the man is a tank)

Early in the game BYU had some disappointing turnovers. On their first drive, BYU had the ball inside the red zone and John Beck threw an interception. The defense stopped the Rams after three downs and forced a punt.

On the next drive, with Jonny Harline close to the goal-line, he was hit. The ball popped out of his arm and into the arm of an excited CSU player who would start a drive that BYU’s defense would shut down.

BYU is now 3-3 on the season. Next week, BYU faces Notre Dame. Last year, BYU defeated a much different Notre Dame team by beating on their quaterback like he was a rented mule.

[A more thorough recap at ESPN.com]

There will be 4 quarters of football. Each team will have three timeouts at the beginning of each half. The field will be lit with lights.

Expect to see a lot of stuff in the air from BYU. Expect a few bad calls from the officials, and expect to see CSU lose.

[Via Deseret News]

Ever “hiked the Y?” Chances are if you have stayed in Provo, UT for an extended period of time the answer to that question is “Yes.”

There are three things people who hike the Y tend to remember about the hike. First, it was long. Second, the view was amazing. Third, the parking was crazy. Recently, a significant amount of work had been done to change that third thing (and to improve the overall experience.)

The parking lot is now bigger, paved, and large enough for a bus full of Bronco Mendenhall’s BYU football players to turn around. Where it was once just sagebrush and weeds, the trailhead has nice shrubberies and trees.

In addition to nice landscaping, the most welcome improvement would the restroom facilities. (With running water, and power).

Remember how you thought your car was going to topple over the edge and into oblivion? Well, some cars in the past have done just that – and big rocks are now placed in vulnerable areas. (An emergency helipad has also been installed, so they probably don’t trust the rocks that much)

The Daily Herald has an article further detailing the improvements to the trailhead. The best part of the article, however, is when they quote this one fruitcake who says:

“The Y is the fountain of youth.”

Hmm… Come to think of it, I have always seen more freshman coming down the trail than I have going up it.
Old Y trailhead gets makeover -The Daily Herald, Provo Utah

For most of the game, it felt like “the same old cougars” were on the field. Because of KSL’s technical difficulties and a blocked PAT, we were behind in the game before it was even on my TV.

BYU held in there, and – with a couple lucky bounces of the football – was able to turn things around and win the game in the final minutes.

This is a game that we would not have let ourselves win last year. Thank goodness it’s a new year.
ESPN.com – NCF – Boxscore