Break This: Stalkernet

Have you ever visited a school website and found yourself in a student directory? Sure, it's fun to find yourself and a few of your friends, but do you really want your information to be available to anyone on the internet? Some colleges and universities post disclaimers about how information shouldn't be used for commercial purposes, but they cannot provide any guarantee that someone won't just look you up on your student directory and send you commercial email despite the warning.

Worse than the occasional SPAMling attack is the potential for some wacko with too much time on his/her hands to use the directory wacko who has found a great new way to meet new people on the college directory. For this reason, I hereby dub open college directories "Stalkernet," which I will continue to refer to through the rest of this post.


Stalkernet has a legitimate purpose: college and universities need to retain student information so they can collect on registration, maintain academic records, and keep in contact with you after you graduate from college. The problem comes when the colleges and universities decide to post the information to the internet. In some cases, the information is only available to students who have logged into the school's web portal which, although better than no security at all, is not particularly desirable.


The solution in many cases is simple: check that box on your personal information page that keeps your contact information from being posted. In some cases you may also need to talk to the administration office in order to resolve this issue, but the personal privacy and peace of mind is worth the effort. So go ahead: Break Stalkernet....

Break This: Diminishing Returns on Study

I am an avid believer in the concept of diminishing returns. I really like to apply it specifically to studying for an exam. You see, right now I am working on my masters at BYU and I have come to learn throughout my college career that I reach a certain point, no matter the subject, where I cannot hold in more information. I believe that whenever a person is studying for an exam, whether the exam contains application or theoretical questions, there is only a certain amount of information your mind can hold before it can't hold anymore.

This is where diminishing returns starts to take affect. You notice that although you are studying and using the same methods and processes you know will maximize your studying efforts, there seems to be only a partial amount that sticks in your mind. So my question is this: why waste the time? I think that once you hit that speed bump, the time used to study loses value in an exponential scale. Don't spend too much time in that area of diminishing returns because after all that time and work, when you come out of the exam with a score far less than you expected you will only be that much angrier for losing that time.

So when you hit that peak and really start noticing that your "brain is getting warm" or that diminishing returns has sunk in with a vengeance I would suggest doing one of two things: Either stopping for a long period of time (if you really want to keep studying) or Just take the exam. I promise you will thank me for helping you stay sane during midterms and finals.

Break This: Organic Food

Ever wonder how much money is spent on organic food? It is way too much. Honestly, how much of a difference is there between organics and regularly grown food? Think about it this way: Most baby boomers we raised and fed non-organic food when chemicals such as pesticides and other fertilizers were mainstream. Personally, I think they turned out alright and I'm not seeing a third arm or an extra eyeball. In fact, they as a demographic generate the largest amount of revenue in the United States.

Here is another argument. I have talked to doctors, food scientist, and nutritionists here at Brigham Young University and every single one I talked to mentioned that they are happy that people in general are becoming more aware of what they eat, however, the fact that people are going out of their way for organics isn't worth the minimal incremental possibility of better health. Nothing has been conclusive to them.

How about the argument that it is "greener" to buy organic food compared to regularly grown food because of the growing process harming the environment. Well, unfortunately for that argument, organic foods are being transported on such a wide scale from local growers to different chains such as Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and the likes that the carbon foot-print necessary to quickly ship those sensitive foods from one end of the country to the other.

Now, I am a healthy eater. I like to eat wisely and I'm not a penny pincher. But the exorbitant amounts of money spent on a slight non-conclusive improvement in nutrition through organic foods needs to stop. Regularly grown foods are good for you because of the natural properties of the food. As long as you aren't gorging down junk food you're ok.

Break this: Cell Phone Advertising

I hate cell phone advertising with a passion. Sure, I’m okay with the barrage of marketing attempts on the internet, television, radio, newspapers, billboards, and I guess even those guys who invite you to “information sessions” trying to get me to recruit three friends to join- but my cell phone?

That’s right. If you haven’t experienced the magic of the cell phone text message, or its verbal counterpart, you probably will sometime soon. A recent article in ComputerWorld (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9097878) details the channels and the players in the game, but the result is that all of us will be receiving lots of cell phone advertising via text, web, phone call, etc. from companies like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo. And the sad part about the whole issue is that I end up paying for those annoying text messages on my monthly statement.

So what do we do about it? Join the DND List, or call the cell phone company and complain. These people need to know that we’re not going to take it, and especially that we’re not going to pay for them to text us. So go ahead: let’s break the Cell Phone Advertising movement.

Break This: Pre-Pre-Holiday Merchandise and Sales

Has anyone noticed that it is Christmas already? Neither have I, but the stores around town sure think it is. Not that there is anything wrong with holiday discounts, in fact, I love a good deal just as much as the next guy. The only I have with the retail industry at this point, is them thinking that they can start selling for Christmas at the beginning of October. Go to a local store and you can see them putting in decorations, gift ideas, ornaments, trees, the whole nine yards.

The sad part is that there are plenty of other holidays during this time of the year that are getting totally pushed aside by the big guy in a red suit and his reindeer. What happened to Halloween? Or Thanksgiving? I guess they will just reduce the prices further when they come but leave up the decorations fro Christmas. Or even better, why not mesh the decorations of all of the holidays into one display.

Think of it. Santa with a Jack-o-lantern head and turkeys pulling the sled. I can see it now. Seriously, though, this has got to stop. Besides sapping our wallets for a longer period of time and making us feel inclined to buy something we don't really need, the decorations are way too soon and way too much. This needs to stop.

Break This: Stupid Fan

There is something about sporting events and cheering my team on that I just love. The energy and the excitement, the skill and the talent, the pain and the struggle to win. I love it! But what is with the stupid fans.
First, if you are going to cheer your team on then wear the RIGHT colors. I don't care how cute the outfit is, show your team pride, that goes for guys and girls. Last Saturday, I went to my school's football game...watched from the second row, south end zone! Totally awesome. But I could have kicked the guy in front of me. He was wearing a red baseball cap, a gray sweatshirt with a black blazer over it, jeans, and black dress shoes. Our school colors are BLUE & WHITE! If you come to the game dressed like that guy, you should have to seat in the nosebleed section.

Second, STAY for the entire game. You have already been there more than 2 hours why not finish it out. I don't care what the score is or how bad the weather is. Finish something, oh, you fair weather fans.

Third, (this applies to football mainly) be QUIET when your team has the ball. The players need to be able to hear the quarterback call the play. Make noise and get loud when we are on defense.

Fourth, ignorance is annoying. Study up on the game, know the rules, and don't just yell because you didn't like the call. And as good as you think you are at playing the sport, you are not on the field or court. If you were really all that good than you would be out there.

If your top priority is anything other than watching and cheering your team on then why not stay home. Everyone will have a much better time. So it's time to break the habit of being a stupid fan.

Break This: Self Help Seminars

If there is one thing that irks me to an extreme, it is all those "find meaning in your life", "get rich like me", "you can do anything", and "be happy like me" types of self-help seminar. I have had family members and friends spend lots of money going from one seminar or conference to another. They keep telling me after wards that it was so inspiring or that they were moved to change or that they were made to do all sorts of crazy activities in order to achieve a new level of .

However, they clearly didn't learn their lesson because they keep going back. But I don't think the people who runs those seminars are wanting them to only attend once. In fact, you might consider this *cough*scam*cough* to be based on the idea that in order to really maintain that goal in your life you have to consistently attend all of the "help" sessions.

The reality is that people's talents are based on their naturally reoccurring patterns on how they behave to stimuli. That means ever since we were teenagers, certain pathways in our brain solidified how we make doing certain actions, how we look from different perspectives, or how we react to different stimuli permanent. That means that no amount of training, exercises, or practice will make the pathways in our brain that are weak as strong as the dominant ones we made growing up. It can make it better, no doubt, but it will not make it one of your talents.

So what do we do if we feel stuck with ourselves and feel like we need to go to one of these seminars to "expand our talents and possibilities"? Look at the talents and strengths you do have and use them! Don't know what they are? Get help from others to find your strengths and leverage them so that you can advance in your career or socially. By all means use your talents to really make a difference in your life, not look for others talents and trying to use them as your own.

Music and Movies

Technology for music and movies has been a little tricky because the laws now are more detective instead of preventive. Remember the short-lived days of downloading music for free. Now laws are in place to make that illegal to protect the artists and creators of their hard work. The problem is the system is not perfect and the solution is even worse.

Technology changes too quick for good solutions to be created and laws to protect. When music and movies first came out people didn't have the capabilities to record. They listened on the radio and went to the movies. No laws were needed. But things changed and soon people could record. In my growing up days, it was cassette tapes and VHS. Recording was fairly easy. However, better technology has brought the digital recording solution. That is the problem, the better technology makes data easier to share and store at an increased speed.

CDs allowed us to share data more easily and more quickly, including music and later movies. Then the internet allowed us to share the information and that created a bigger problem. The norm of going to a store and buying music and movies was changing. Now everything is available online and everyone has a portable media player that holds tons of music and videos.

So now the problem becomes access control as we are trying to copy, backup and storage all the digital media data. Copyright laws protect the information but is so frustrating. If I bought the song, why is my use of it limited, shouldn't I be able to copy it and back it up? Well the solution to the access control was DRM (Digital Rights Management).

But problems continue even with this solution of copy protection. Recently, RealPlayer created a backup program for DVDs. Download the program for $50 and you can backup your movies legally. Problem solved, right? Not quite, there are too many catches like only being able to use RealPlayer and questions still remain about the legality issues of copy protection. DRM is required by the media labels to sell their songs and movies.

I suggest it is time to break away from the DRM maddness and create a new system. DRM has yet to stop media piracy so it's time to find a solution that will work.

I think far too many college students are content with the campus eatery. I often wonder while I’m waiting in line behind the 15 people ahead of me, where are all the other choices? We move ahead at a snail’s pace, only to find that the item we were about to order is sold out for today. So what do you do?


I settled for plan B and paid seven dollars for a sandwich I really didn’t want in the first place, silently grumbled about the lack of service, and tried to find an open seat. I admit that I gripe a little more than I would like in sharing this story, but my experience brings up the question of the college eatery consensus. I confess that I'm a sucker for the Monday and Wednesday morning biscuits and gravy, but why do we settle for so little?

One solution to the problem is to try the alternative. Why not cross the street and eat somewhere else? I pay less money for more food, and spend less time waiting for the more important task of clogging my arteries- which is what I was really waiting for in the first place, right?


The better solution is, of course, to just bring a sack lunch to school and save myself the time and money. In the meantime though, why settle for the campus eatery experience?

Break This: Graduation Fees

I attend Brigham Young University, which admittedly has relatively low tuition. However, they do charge a $15 fee for graduation. A $15 fee just to graduate! They want us to graduate! They warn you when you begin getting too many credits that you need to hurry up and get out of here. And yet they want to charge you to do the very thing they are pressuring you into.

I did some quick calculations today and decided BYU makes about $128,000 per year from graduation fees. This is a large University that surely brings in tens of millions of dollars in tuition each year. Are they really that hard up for the $128,000? With all these fees it feels like I am going to school at a bank.

So what can be done? Probably not much. It's not like there's any way around it, and boycotting the fee will really only just keep you from graduating. However, there have been internal talks at BYU about getting rid of the fee. The division of Student Academic and Advisement Services are the ones who manage the graduation process. You could try submitting your opinions on the subject at http://saas.byu.edu. Go there and use their feedback system to voice your opposition to this pointless barrier to graduation.