For those who don't know, come February next year, all over-the-air television programming will be broadcast in digital only as opposed to the typical analog signal. Currently, programs are being broadcast in both signals. By next February, though, anyone who doesn't have cable, satellite, or AT&T U-Verse won't be able to watch TV unless they have these new digital converter boxes, which convert the digital signal to an analog one that older TV's can read. Newer TV's (like in the past 3-4 years) already have a digital receiver. None of our TV's (newest was made in the late 1990's I think) have them, so all four will need this converter. Thankfully the government is stepping in and has offered vouchers to offset the cost, since the majority of people who will need them (those without a TV service) are poor. Each household is entitled to two $40 vouchers. Our two came the other day, so I decided that I'd go get one of the converters today to see how it works, plus the vouchers are only good until July.
Well, I got it (paid all of $24 for it with the voucher!) and hooked it up easily. Before I bought the one I did at Radio Shack (pretty much the only one available here right now) I was amazed to see that some people had problems setting it up, but once they got it set up, it worked fine. It took more time to move the few things out of the way to get to the antenna cable than it did to actually hook it up...I guess I have an understanding of how antennas hook up that others don't? It was pretty simple as it's just an additional place the antenna cable has to go through. It comes through the converter, then to my DVD/VCR and then to the TV. Also, the new box is the tuner, so it has its own remote to change channels. The problem with that is in the rare event I want to record a TV program, I have to make sure the new box is on the correct channel, not the VCR (which will stay on channel 4 as will the TV).
I had high hopes since the digital signal is supposed to provide a better viewing picture than analog, even for stations that are traditionally weak, plus the digital signal allows stations to broadcast more than one channel. For example, here in the Cleveland market both WKYC (channel 3) and WOIO (channel 19) broadcast their regular programming (channels 3-1 and 19-1) as well as a separate weather channel (channels 3-2 and 19-2), so that's cool. The bad side is that the digital signals aren't much stronger than the analog ones so far. Both 19 and 43 (which are in essence the same station) have weak signals. 43's was better, but it still wasn't stable and kept going in and out. 19's was worse. On their main channel (19-1) there was no sound and the picture was a constant mess of pixels and lines. Other stations like WVIZ (channel 25) and WNEO/WEAO (45/49), our PBS stations, aren't being picked up at all. Thankfully the all-Spanish channel (channel 61) and the home shopping channel (67) are being picked up just fine...oh wait...I never watch those. The thing with digital signals is that there's no in-between. If the signal isn't strong enough you either won't get anything or you'll get a broken picture and broken sound, so you can't really watch. It reminds me of watching satellite TV during a snowstorm when the signal starts to get bad and starts breaking up. So, although we "added" two channels that we couldn't get previously, we have lost two and two more are unstable. That's really disappointing. But seriously, we're one of the only households left in America that still doesn't have cable or satellite. RRRRR!!! On top of that, another humid summer without air conditioning is on its way. Yipee.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
More on education
It's that time of year where people really start to think about their education. Specifically, high school students get ready to graduate and head off to college and those like me get ready to (FINALLY) graduate from college and head to grad school. One thing that I've often thought about and commented here and there on is the choice of college. Growing up LDS in Ohio, the typical course for my fellow Latter-day Saints involved graduation from high school and then attending a church-owned school, usually BYU, and then somehow ending up out West either because of a job or a spouse. Of course not everyone ends up out there and not every LDS high school graduate chooses to attend BYU, BYU-Idaho, or any of the other church schools (BYU-Hawaii and LDS Business College). What concerns me is how most students seem to choose church schools based on very little information. Many never set foot on the campus before their first day of classes. Most seem to assume that because it is a church school, everything will be fine and there's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, my own experience has found those notions are not correct, nor is the notion that the church schools are automatically the best places for a particular student to attend.
Prior to Ricks College becoming a 4-year institution under the name BYU-Idaho, the "hierarchy" of Mormon education choices were 1. BYU, 2. Ricks College, 3. Snow College (not owned by the church) or a local school like Kent State. It is still largely like that, particularly for students in the east where Latter-day Saints are few and far in-between and living and learning amongst fellow Latter-day Saints seems like a dream. The difference now is the BYU-Idaho is much more of a "first choice" than it used to be (it was for me), though many in the church still seem to regard BYU-Idaho as a "minor league affiliate" or "little sister" to BYU or use BYU-Idaho as a way to get into BYU. More and more, however, choose to attend BYU-Idaho without giving BYU any thought. BYU-Hawaii, it seems, has always been much more apart from the whole process...meaning people choose BYU-Hawaii because of the opportunity to go to an LDS school in Hawaii, plus it offers many programs unique to the islands. In other words, I've never gotten the impression that members of the church go to BYU-Hawaii because they couldn't get into BYU (unless they happen to already live in Hawaii).
Sure, everyone has their specific reasons for going to a particular college or university. Most choose a school they are familiar with or were impressed by in some way. Probably the biggest reason I originally went to Kent State is because it's VERY close, even closer than my high school, though I don't think I would've come back if I didn't think this school had something quality to offer. But even then, I was familiar with the programs Kent offered and with the campus itself; I didn't come here having never set foot on the campus. Quite the opposite; I knew as much as or more about the campus and the community than most students do. I don't see a lot of LDS students from out here heading to BYU with very much knowledge of what BYU (or any other church school) is like or how good the programs are for their specific area. Most know that BYU is a "good school." As my last post talked about, simply being an overall "good school" doesn't always translate into "best school for you." Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying a church school is for sure wrong for everyone; I'm saying it's not right for everyone, even Latter-day Saints. My own experience confirms that. I was never a fan of church schools before I attended BYU-Idaho as a student and visited BYU several times for various things. My experiences with them confirmed what I already thought about the extreme cultures that exist at both schools and the high levels of pride (i.e. not good "school pride" either). There ARE a lot of good things at the church schools too. I know many people that have gone and have gotten a quality education and had very enjoyable experiences. I had many wonderful experiences and great teachers at BYU-Idaho in the three years I was there, but I also had many not-so-wonderful experiences at many different levels: from fellow students all the way to the top of the administration that will forever shape my view of the school. Further, they were experiences bad enough to seriously challenge my testimony in ways no anti-Mormon garbage has even gotten CLOSE to.
I guess my point here is not to talk down the church schools, but more to talk up the simple act of truly investigating a school before going there and not just going there based on what some people have said. Find some third party, objective reviews of the school and if possible, your particular program. It may very well be that the program you want to study in is really great at one of the church schools; it may also be true that you would be better served in your field somewhere else. Like I said, many people have had wonderful experiences attending church schools, but many have also had terrible experiences. And of course this doesn't apply to just church schools; it applies to any school. Church schools are my main focus here because they are the ones I see students go to the most often with very little actual info about the school other than that it's a church school. I don't regret going to BYU-Idaho despite how my time there ended (it's well documented if you don't know!). My reasons for going there were FAR deeper than simply "it's a church school." (In all actuality, I am the kind of person that would use "it's a church school" as a reason not to attend a particular school!). In closing, make a truly educated decision about your education!!
Prior to Ricks College becoming a 4-year institution under the name BYU-Idaho, the "hierarchy" of Mormon education choices were 1. BYU, 2. Ricks College, 3. Snow College (not owned by the church) or a local school like Kent State. It is still largely like that, particularly for students in the east where Latter-day Saints are few and far in-between and living and learning amongst fellow Latter-day Saints seems like a dream. The difference now is the BYU-Idaho is much more of a "first choice" than it used to be (it was for me), though many in the church still seem to regard BYU-Idaho as a "minor league affiliate" or "little sister" to BYU or use BYU-Idaho as a way to get into BYU. More and more, however, choose to attend BYU-Idaho without giving BYU any thought. BYU-Hawaii, it seems, has always been much more apart from the whole process...meaning people choose BYU-Hawaii because of the opportunity to go to an LDS school in Hawaii, plus it offers many programs unique to the islands. In other words, I've never gotten the impression that members of the church go to BYU-Hawaii because they couldn't get into BYU (unless they happen to already live in Hawaii).
Sure, everyone has their specific reasons for going to a particular college or university. Most choose a school they are familiar with or were impressed by in some way. Probably the biggest reason I originally went to Kent State is because it's VERY close, even closer than my high school, though I don't think I would've come back if I didn't think this school had something quality to offer. But even then, I was familiar with the programs Kent offered and with the campus itself; I didn't come here having never set foot on the campus. Quite the opposite; I knew as much as or more about the campus and the community than most students do. I don't see a lot of LDS students from out here heading to BYU with very much knowledge of what BYU (or any other church school) is like or how good the programs are for their specific area. Most know that BYU is a "good school." As my last post talked about, simply being an overall "good school" doesn't always translate into "best school for you." Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying a church school is for sure wrong for everyone; I'm saying it's not right for everyone, even Latter-day Saints. My own experience confirms that. I was never a fan of church schools before I attended BYU-Idaho as a student and visited BYU several times for various things. My experiences with them confirmed what I already thought about the extreme cultures that exist at both schools and the high levels of pride (i.e. not good "school pride" either). There ARE a lot of good things at the church schools too. I know many people that have gone and have gotten a quality education and had very enjoyable experiences. I had many wonderful experiences and great teachers at BYU-Idaho in the three years I was there, but I also had many not-so-wonderful experiences at many different levels: from fellow students all the way to the top of the administration that will forever shape my view of the school. Further, they were experiences bad enough to seriously challenge my testimony in ways no anti-Mormon garbage has even gotten CLOSE to.
I guess my point here is not to talk down the church schools, but more to talk up the simple act of truly investigating a school before going there and not just going there based on what some people have said. Find some third party, objective reviews of the school and if possible, your particular program. It may very well be that the program you want to study in is really great at one of the church schools; it may also be true that you would be better served in your field somewhere else. Like I said, many people have had wonderful experiences attending church schools, but many have also had terrible experiences. And of course this doesn't apply to just church schools; it applies to any school. Church schools are my main focus here because they are the ones I see students go to the most often with very little actual info about the school other than that it's a church school. I don't regret going to BYU-Idaho despite how my time there ended (it's well documented if you don't know!). My reasons for going there were FAR deeper than simply "it's a church school." (In all actuality, I am the kind of person that would use "it's a church school" as a reason not to attend a particular school!). In closing, make a truly educated decision about your education!!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Lots to talk about!
I'm not really sure where to start as there has been a lot going on here and certain things on my mind. I'll probably end up making multiple posts today. First I'll just mention a few things that have been on my mind recently.
Yesterday I was reading in the newspaper and online about a guy from Akron who donated $2 million to Kent State for scholarships for gay and lesbian students. OK aside from that part of the story, the surprising thing to me was that this guy, Harry Jackson, is an alumnus of the University of Akron, yet he donated his money to Akron's main rival. The Record-Courier made no mention of the fact that Mr. Jackson was an Akron alum, but the Beacon-Journal through its website http://www.ohio.com/ sure did. I thought it was interesting how both papers presented the same story in completely different tones and main points. The R-C (Kent's local paper), the headline was "$2 million to aid KSU gay group" with the article focusing on the fact that this is the first such donation ever made to KSU and one of the largest ever made in the country towards a gay and lesbian group. The only background on Harry Jackson was that he was a former tax attorney for B.F. Goodrich and owns the Odd Corner, "a tobacco and gift shop in downtown Akron." The R-C article states that Jackson selected KSU "because of the campus environment" and also said "Kent State is more gay-friendly and progressive than other area universities..." Meanwhile, the Beacon-Journal (Akron's paper) focused more on the fact that Jackson was an Akron alum disgruntled at the University of Akron for using eminent domain to get the property his store is located on for construction of the Zips' new football stadium ("Merchant's bequest will transfer to KSU"). It also mentioned that Jackson's store also sells "erotica," something the R-C left out. OK so what ON EARTH am I getting at here? While I have issues with the whole gay thing, that really wasn't what I was mainly thinking about. If someone wants to donate their money to that, fine. On ohio.com, I read the article and the comments that followed it. One of the things I really like about online news is how people can leave comments. Even though I've found that people will say some really nasty things since they can leave anonymous comments (so they don't have to actually face the person they are talking to), overall I like to read them because it gives me the sense of what the most vocal people are thinking in regards to this. Inevitably, conversations start via the comments as people respond to each other. Sometimes it's mean-spirited, other times educational, and at best comical. On this particular story, the debate came up as it always seems to when Kent State and Akron are talked about in the same story: which school is better? Of course the die-hards on either side had all the information in the world to "prove" that Akron was better or Kent State was better. While I certainly have a bias towards Kent State since I am a student there and I live in Kent, it is always my goal to look at arguments objectively and then to present my views as fairly as possible without riling anyone up.
I've found it's hard to say how one school is better than another because there are many factors in what makes a school great. True, not all schools are created equal, but a school that may be rated as a "great" school by some may not necessarily be the best fit for a particular student. It's not necessarily because they aren't a great student, but it may be that student doesn't like the environment or feels out of place or even something like doesn't mesh with that particular method (or methods) of teaching. In the whole Kent State vs. Akron debate, part of me says we're fighting over who is less mediocre than the other as neither school is well-known outside of the region other than Kent State for basketball and the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. Usually when people argue about which school is better, they immediately turn to the holy rankings of U.S. News & World Report, which rank colleges and universities in several categories, from overall to specific programs within each school on a yearly basis. In searching that lightly last night, I also discovered other groups which rank schools, including The Washington Monthly, The Princeton Review, and the Carnegie Foundation.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings probably get the most publicity and the average Joe really holds them high in comparing universities. Schools know this, so that's why they use them when they can. Comparing KSU and Akron with this ranking, however, doesn't do so much. Kent State is a "third tier" (third tier is the 25% of schools after the top 50%) institution according the the U.S. News rankings, while Akron is a fourth-tier. Hardly anything to brag about for either school, but at least one group thinks overall Kent State is slightly better than Akron. The Princeton Review lists both schools as a "Best Midwestern College," but it didn't seem to be much to that ranking or list at all. The one that surprised me was The Washington Monthly National Universities rankings which had Kent State ranked 56th in the nation and Akron 179th out of 245 schools. It was surprising to see KSU ranked that high nationally and way ahead of even Brigham Young University (121st) and other notable schools. The only in-state schools ahead of Kent were Case-Western Reserve (25th), Ohio State (27th), and Ohio U. (40th). Of course each group uses different critera to measure how good a school is. The Washington Monthly seemed to measure not only what a school was doing, but what their graduates are doing after they leave. They said it was measured by: "how well it performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well it does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well it promotes an ethic of service to country." So, at least in those aspects, they think Kent State is doing well. That was nice to read. U.S. News bases their rankings on: "Indicators used to measure academic quality fall into seven broad areas: peer assessment; retention and graduation of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and (for national universities and liberal arts colleges) "graduation rate performance," the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion that do. The indicators include both "input measures," which reflect the quality of students, faculty, and other resources used in education, and "outcome measures," which signal how well the institution educates its student body."
I guess in the end, people need to really study out where they want to go to school and not just assume that one is better because of a ranking. Even U.S. News states that readers should "use the rankings as one tool for selecting a college," rather than the only tool. Just because a school or program is highly ranked doesn't mean it will serve your specific needs the best or help you later on in life. Not all jobs are obtained solely because of the reputation of your school; many are made just by contacts or by evaluation of relevant experience. I see a lot of good things at Kent, from the world-class Liquid Crystal Institute to other things like an excellent nursing school, a business school that is frequently rated as one of the best in the country, a nationally known fashion school, a pretty good journalism school, library science program, physical education progarm, architecture school, as well as many other unique programs and opportunities and some really nice facilities. It's far from a perfect world, but I feel good about being here and being forever associated with the school and I feel like the experiences I've gained here (along with my time at BYU-Idaho) are going to help me out beyond my time in college.
So, do I think Kent State is a better school overall than Akron? OF COURSE I DO! That's not to say, though, Akron is a bad school or that Kent State is better in everything than Akron (Akron has some really good programs like their polymer science program and some great new facilities), but it didn't fit what I was looking for in an education. It's nice to see that some objective third parties agree with my biased assessment! :)
Check each school's website out for yourself!
Kent State University
University of Akron
Yesterday I was reading in the newspaper and online about a guy from Akron who donated $2 million to Kent State for scholarships for gay and lesbian students. OK aside from that part of the story, the surprising thing to me was that this guy, Harry Jackson, is an alumnus of the University of Akron, yet he donated his money to Akron's main rival. The Record-Courier made no mention of the fact that Mr. Jackson was an Akron alum, but the Beacon-Journal through its website http://www.ohio.com/ sure did. I thought it was interesting how both papers presented the same story in completely different tones and main points. The R-C (Kent's local paper), the headline was "$2 million to aid KSU gay group" with the article focusing on the fact that this is the first such donation ever made to KSU and one of the largest ever made in the country towards a gay and lesbian group. The only background on Harry Jackson was that he was a former tax attorney for B.F. Goodrich and owns the Odd Corner, "a tobacco and gift shop in downtown Akron." The R-C article states that Jackson selected KSU "because of the campus environment" and also said "Kent State is more gay-friendly and progressive than other area universities..." Meanwhile, the Beacon-Journal (Akron's paper) focused more on the fact that Jackson was an Akron alum disgruntled at the University of Akron for using eminent domain to get the property his store is located on for construction of the Zips' new football stadium ("Merchant's bequest will transfer to KSU"). It also mentioned that Jackson's store also sells "erotica," something the R-C left out. OK so what ON EARTH am I getting at here? While I have issues with the whole gay thing, that really wasn't what I was mainly thinking about. If someone wants to donate their money to that, fine. On ohio.com, I read the article and the comments that followed it. One of the things I really like about online news is how people can leave comments. Even though I've found that people will say some really nasty things since they can leave anonymous comments (so they don't have to actually face the person they are talking to), overall I like to read them because it gives me the sense of what the most vocal people are thinking in regards to this. Inevitably, conversations start via the comments as people respond to each other. Sometimes it's mean-spirited, other times educational, and at best comical. On this particular story, the debate came up as it always seems to when Kent State and Akron are talked about in the same story: which school is better? Of course the die-hards on either side had all the information in the world to "prove" that Akron was better or Kent State was better. While I certainly have a bias towards Kent State since I am a student there and I live in Kent, it is always my goal to look at arguments objectively and then to present my views as fairly as possible without riling anyone up.
I've found it's hard to say how one school is better than another because there are many factors in what makes a school great. True, not all schools are created equal, but a school that may be rated as a "great" school by some may not necessarily be the best fit for a particular student. It's not necessarily because they aren't a great student, but it may be that student doesn't like the environment or feels out of place or even something like doesn't mesh with that particular method (or methods) of teaching. In the whole Kent State vs. Akron debate, part of me says we're fighting over who is less mediocre than the other as neither school is well-known outside of the region other than Kent State for basketball and the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. Usually when people argue about which school is better, they immediately turn to the holy rankings of U.S. News & World Report, which rank colleges and universities in several categories, from overall to specific programs within each school on a yearly basis. In searching that lightly last night, I also discovered other groups which rank schools, including The Washington Monthly, The Princeton Review, and the Carnegie Foundation.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings probably get the most publicity and the average Joe really holds them high in comparing universities. Schools know this, so that's why they use them when they can. Comparing KSU and Akron with this ranking, however, doesn't do so much. Kent State is a "third tier" (third tier is the 25% of schools after the top 50%) institution according the the U.S. News rankings, while Akron is a fourth-tier. Hardly anything to brag about for either school, but at least one group thinks overall Kent State is slightly better than Akron. The Princeton Review lists both schools as a "Best Midwestern College," but it didn't seem to be much to that ranking or list at all. The one that surprised me was The Washington Monthly National Universities rankings which had Kent State ranked 56th in the nation and Akron 179th out of 245 schools. It was surprising to see KSU ranked that high nationally and way ahead of even Brigham Young University (121st) and other notable schools. The only in-state schools ahead of Kent were Case-Western Reserve (25th), Ohio State (27th), and Ohio U. (40th). Of course each group uses different critera to measure how good a school is. The Washington Monthly seemed to measure not only what a school was doing, but what their graduates are doing after they leave. They said it was measured by: "how well it performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well it does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well it promotes an ethic of service to country." So, at least in those aspects, they think Kent State is doing well. That was nice to read. U.S. News bases their rankings on: "Indicators used to measure academic quality fall into seven broad areas: peer assessment; retention and graduation of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and (for national universities and liberal arts colleges) "graduation rate performance," the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion that do. The indicators include both "input measures," which reflect the quality of students, faculty, and other resources used in education, and "outcome measures," which signal how well the institution educates its student body."
I guess in the end, people need to really study out where they want to go to school and not just assume that one is better because of a ranking. Even U.S. News states that readers should "use the rankings as one tool for selecting a college," rather than the only tool. Just because a school or program is highly ranked doesn't mean it will serve your specific needs the best or help you later on in life. Not all jobs are obtained solely because of the reputation of your school; many are made just by contacts or by evaluation of relevant experience. I see a lot of good things at Kent, from the world-class Liquid Crystal Institute to other things like an excellent nursing school, a business school that is frequently rated as one of the best in the country, a nationally known fashion school, a pretty good journalism school, library science program, physical education progarm, architecture school, as well as many other unique programs and opportunities and some really nice facilities. It's far from a perfect world, but I feel good about being here and being forever associated with the school and I feel like the experiences I've gained here (along with my time at BYU-Idaho) are going to help me out beyond my time in college.
So, do I think Kent State is a better school overall than Akron? OF COURSE I DO! That's not to say, though, Akron is a bad school or that Kent State is better in everything than Akron (Akron has some really good programs like their polymer science program and some great new facilities), but it didn't fit what I was looking for in an education. It's nice to see that some objective third parties agree with my biased assessment! :)
Check each school's website out for yourself!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Congrats Lynn and Happy Birthday Jesus!
OK now that I have your attention...
On a totally different note, I had a great experience last night with my Ridinger side of the family. My aunt Lynn was formally inducted into the Kent City Schools Hall of Fame along with nine others from the 2007 and 2008 classes. It all got started over four years ago when my mom was talking to Roosevelt activities director Emma Owen (Lynn's former high school field hockey coach) about nominating Lynn. It certainly wasn't an overnight process. My sister Becky took the lead in it (mostly by default as she was still at Roosevelt when the whole process started). She kept at it, doing some behind the scenes research on Lynn's career both at and after Roosevelt. My part was limited as I did some "undercover" work getting information straight from Lynn herself to include in the bio. Lynn's name had been in the nomination process a few times, but she did not make it to the "final round" until 2007, so it was during last summer that Becky was writing the paper about her and I did my covert questioning (I'd make a great spy!). We found out some time in June I think that Lynn had received the nomination and we were both thrilled, of course! The induction ceremonies are done now on a two-year basis, so Lynn was inducted in 2007, but the formal ceremony included both 2007 and 2008. The dinner before and the dessert after was wonderful (better have been for $35 a ticket!) and the ceremony itself was a lot of fun with Coach Nemec being the MC. He was hillarious.
Lynn was inducted along with nine other honorees, six of whom are still alive. All have accomplished great things during and/or since their days in Kent and almost all are graduates of Roosevelt. I found it interesting that most of the honorees mentioned how the Kent community played a key role in their development and ultimate success. It certainly made me wonder what Kent would be like if more of our success stories were still in the community or returned. It's a great place to raise a family and go to college, but in between there is little that keeps the post-college graduates and pre-settled family people here, so many leave and settle elsewhere in nearby or distant communities, in search of a good job and/or a more active lifestyle that fits them better. That seems to be a problem throughout the state that we have a problem keeping our younger people, particularly in my age group.
For starters, yes, April 6th is believed by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the actual date of Christ's birth in Bethlehem, though you will find little obervances of it anywhere in the Church. We still celebrate Christmas along with everyone else, even though we recognize that December 25 is not his actual date of birth. I think this falls into "spirit of the law" vs. "letter of the law," as it's not so much when we celebrate his birth but more that we do celebrate and remember it. Christmas is so much a part of world culture, it just makes sense to celebrate it then along with everyone else. Mormons aren't unique in our view of Christ being born on days other than December 25th as it is relatively common knowledge nowadays that the date of Christmas was fixed in December in the early Christian Church (earliest records show it sometime in the 3rd century AD) in order to replace the pagan winter solstice holiday that existed near then (the winter solstice is around December 21). In the LDS (Mormon) Church today, April 6th being the actual birthdate is more of a trivia answer than anything, though it is significant in the early history of the Church. April 6, 1830 was the day the Church was officially organized in Fayette Township, New York, near Waterloo. It is also the day the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893. The Church's annual General Conference is held on or near April 6th as well every year and then six months later in October (semi-annual conference). We just finished conference for April today, and it was a little different since it is the first conference with a new Prophet (Thomas S. Monson) and an entirely new First Presidency, plus a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was a wonderful conference and a historic one at that with all the changes.
On a totally different note, I had a great experience last night with my Ridinger side of the family. My aunt Lynn was formally inducted into the Kent City Schools Hall of Fame along with nine others from the 2007 and 2008 classes. It all got started over four years ago when my mom was talking to Roosevelt activities director Emma Owen (Lynn's former high school field hockey coach) about nominating Lynn. It certainly wasn't an overnight process. My sister Becky took the lead in it (mostly by default as she was still at Roosevelt when the whole process started). She kept at it, doing some behind the scenes research on Lynn's career both at and after Roosevelt. My part was limited as I did some "undercover" work getting information straight from Lynn herself to include in the bio. Lynn's name had been in the nomination process a few times, but she did not make it to the "final round" until 2007, so it was during last summer that Becky was writing the paper about her and I did my covert questioning (I'd make a great spy!). We found out some time in June I think that Lynn had received the nomination and we were both thrilled, of course! The induction ceremonies are done now on a two-year basis, so Lynn was inducted in 2007, but the formal ceremony included both 2007 and 2008. The dinner before and the dessert after was wonderful (better have been for $35 a ticket!) and the ceremony itself was a lot of fun with Coach Nemec being the MC. He was hillarious. 
Lynn was inducted along with nine other honorees, six of whom are still alive. All have accomplished great things during and/or since their days in Kent and almost all are graduates of Roosevelt. I found it interesting that most of the honorees mentioned how the Kent community played a key role in their development and ultimate success. It certainly made me wonder what Kent would be like if more of our success stories were still in the community or returned. It's a great place to raise a family and go to college, but in between there is little that keeps the post-college graduates and pre-settled family people here, so many leave and settle elsewhere in nearby or distant communities, in search of a good job and/or a more active lifestyle that fits them better. That seems to be a problem throughout the state that we have a problem keeping our younger people, particularly in my age group. 
Anyway, the whole process of getting Lynn nominated actually originated with my mom several years ago. We always knew that Lynn was the first female athlete in school history to receive a full-ride scholarship to a division I school (Central Michigan University), so we figured that would be a good place to start. We got the ball rolling by talking to Emma Owen, the current activities director at Roosevelt (retiring this year) and Lynn's former field hockey coach. I remember the initial talk about that, but I dodn't remember exactly when it was. In any case, by the time it actually started getting serious with paperwork and the like, Becky was the only one left at Roosevelt, so she became the default ring leader of the nomination process. It didn't seem to get serious until this past summer, 2007, when Lynn made it to the "final round" so Becky had to write up a longer paper detailing Lynn's accomplishments. This involved some research from Grandma and Grandpa Ridinger and what was at the house, as well as my part in the "undercover operation" where I asked Lynn some stuff without her having any idea as to why I was asking, other than me being me. It worked perfectly and she made the cut for the class of 2007, which we found out after a rehearsal in Kirtland for the show we did last summer. In researching Lynn's accomplishments, we also discovered many things we didn't know, like how she coached a gold-medal winning team at the 1983 National Junior Olympics.
Notes on pictures: 1. Katie and me with Lynn in front of the Hall of Fame after the ceremony on April 5th at Roosevelt High School in Kent; 2. Lynn giving her acceptance speech with her display at the ceremony; 3. Record-Courier page which had short bios on each of the inductees; 4. Record-Courier article in the April 7th issue about the ceremony.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Unexpected Occurrances
I had an unexpected chance to sing the National Anthem at Kent State again this past weekend. I sang for Mid-American Conference women's gymnastics championship, which Kent State hosted for the fifth time on Saturday, March 29. It was certainly a different experience singing for the meet versus a basketball game for several reasons: first, when I sang at the men's basketball games, as I mentioned before I sang at center court with no one else on the floor; not even the teams. At this meet, I was on the floor with seven teams. I wish I could've gotten a picture of it. I'll have to check with the University Photographer to see if he got any. Because all seven teams were on the floor, I couldn't stand in the middle, so I stood just in front and to the left of the area used for the floor exercise (near the bottom left corner of the picture of myself!). Second, not only were the teams already on the floor, but all seven had been introduced as well, something that never happened at any of the basketball games I sang at except the Roosevelt game. If I sang with the teams on the floor (which I did at KSU women's games and all Lake Erie College games), I sang before the teams were introduced. I think I like singing after the player introductions just because it flows into the game better. I'm not sure how I can explain that, but it just seems like a better place to fit it all in, plus the home fans are standing anyway due to player introductions.As for my singing, I thought it went pretty well. It wasn't my best, but certainly not bad. I was just thrilled to get the chance to sing at a conference championship. I got an e-mail from Chris, the guy in charge of special events at the MAC Center, earlier in the week. I was a bit surprised to see an e-mail from him at all, but once I read it, I sent an immediate YES response back. Not only was it a conference championship, but I've never sung for a gymnastics meet ever, so I guess now I can add it to the list of sporting events I've sung at!
The only other news of the day was Kent State men's basketball coach Jim Christian resigning to take the job at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth. I was surprised it was to TCU, but not at all surprised he left. We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Guess he's going to get paid over twice the amount he was getting paid at Kent ($250,000 per year, highest in the Mid-American Conference) and TCU has better facilities than KSU. It won't be an easy job though. TCU is one of the Mountain West Conference's also-rans and hasn't done squat since 1998, not to mention the fact that it's a major "football school" in football-crazy Texas. Hopefully Jim Christian will have better success turning TCU into a contender than his predecessors at Kent State did at the first post-KSU jobs. Both went to big-name schools (Rutgers and Arkansas) only to end up getting fired at the end. Although coach Christian did great things in maintaining the high level here at Kent, he never had to build a team up from scratch like he will at TCU. Good luck!! Thanks for all the great times at KSU!
Another "good" thing about this is that it's early enough that Kent State can get a new coach and get recruiting without much of a break. Really, the season isn't even over yet, so at least we're not well into the recruiting season when this happened. Also, whenever a school loses a coach like this, it gives them a chance to evaluate the program and where it is and serves as an impetus for improvements in facilities and other ameneties. One thing coach Christian said about TCU that he really liked was their brand-new practice facility for basketball. At KSU, practice is held at the MAC Center, so if the MAC Center is being used for other sports (five teams use the MAC Center during the school year), there really isn't anywhere to hold a true practice. Earlier in March, when the MAC Center hosted the Mid-American Conference wrestling tournament, the men's basketball team had to practice at the KSU Rec & Wellness Center, hardly an ideal place to hold a practice (though it IS a nice facility, don't get me wrong!)! The KSU athletic director has stated he would like to build a practice facility on campus, so maybe this is the thing that gets it rolling. We aren't just competing with MAC schools, but all division I schools. As much as I like the MAC Center as a place to play basketball, it is due for an upgrade or replacement at least for basketball. I'd like to see a new arena/convocation center built and the MAC Center become the home for the volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling teams. Then it could just be the MAC (Memorial Athletic Center). With a renovation, it could be a great place for those three sports and even women's basketball. I'd like to see a new arena built at the corner of Loop Road and Summit Street where several dorms are currently located. They're scheduled to be torn down this summer (small group dorms), so the area would be available. Not only would it be a highly visible location on campus, but it would also be adjacent to several large parking lots. I just don't want them to build a new center out by Dix Stadium. Keep in near the heart of campus!
**Well, I didn't even get to post this and Kent State already has a new coach! Top assistant Geno Ford got promoted on April 2, so it should keep things moving smoothly for KSU!
Notes on pictures: 1. Just me behind the press area at the MAC Center just prior to the Mid-American Conference meet on March 29. 2. Layout of the MAC Center during the gymnastics championship. Can you see where the Kent fans were sitting?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Trippin' in DC
It's Spring Break at Kent State this week, so Katie and I took a few days to get out of town and visit our brother and sister-in-law in suburban Washington, DC. My brother Andy is, of course, still working and Heather has Spring Break next week (she's in medical school), so Katie and I have had the last two days to go off and visit the sights downtown DC. Of course, we did as much FREE stuff as we could, but anyone who's been to DC before knows that there is TONS of free stuff to do and see! Thankfully too, DC has a pretty reliable and extensive subway system (the Metro), so getting into and around town was not hard at all. I did get in my fair share of walking yesterday, though!
In reality, we actually didn't do much...we mostly saw the outside of buildings. On Monday we visited the Smithsonian Air & Space museum, which we both enjoyed, though like most things in DC, it was pretty crowded. I was happy to finally see the original TV model of the starship Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series. It's located in the basement of the museum in their toy store section of the main gift shop. I wouldn't call myself a "Trekkie", but I do enjoy the Star Trek franchise. Seeing the Wright Brothers' original plane was pretty cool too as well as the displays from World Wars I and II. One of my classes I'm taking at KSU is called "Politics of War," so it was nice to see some application of what I've been learning in class about the history of warfare and strategy. One thing I found rather interesting was the Vin Fiz Flyer. It was the first aircraft to fly across North America back in 1911. The actual flyer is hanging in the ceiling, but right below it is a map of its 1911 flightplan. Turns out it landed in none other than Kent, Ohio on September 28, 1911 and stayed there until the 30th due to high winds. Today, the only airport near Kent is the Kent State University airport in neighboring Stow, but that wasn't built until the 1940's and obviously airports wouldn't exist ANYWHERE in 
the 1910's since air travel was brand new. Some other cool stuff (well, cool to me) at the Smithsonian Air & Space was a section of the original Skylab space station and the original Apollo 11 command module. One of the displays I really liked was like you were on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. I could never land a plane on a moving runway like that (I could never land a plane on anything for that matter!)...it amazes me that anyone can!On Tuesday we mostly just wandered around downtown. The only thing we actually visited was the Holocaust Memorial and Museum and since we didn't have tickets, there wasn't a whole lot to see. Without tickets, you can only see the special exhibits (not the permanent ones). I enjoyed what I saw, but wish I could've seen more. The main special exhibit Katie and I went to was called Daniel's Story and basically it's a walkthrough of the life of a child named Daniel, who was a Jewish child in Germany who survived the Holocaust along with his father. The viewer walks through his "house" and then moves to the ghetto, then the concentration camp and there are little pages of Daniel's diary in each place giving the viewer an idea of what's going on. The only drawback was that it was VERY crowded and slow tp go through, but it still had a powerful message. Hard to 
believe something like that happened in modern times, but it did.
believe something like that happened in modern times, but it did. We had also tried to go up inside the Washington Monument, but again, that needs free tickets and we got there too late. We got some good pictures of the outside, though! We also saw the outside of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court (where we saw the media all set up for live newscasts!). Of course we saw the outside of the Capitol, but we have been on a tour of that before (2005). Katie and I still had fun walking around and the weather wasn't too bad...just cloudy! Today we didn't have much planned (Katie visited a friend), so I have some time to get online! It's a good thing because it's been raining pretty hard much of the day...not a day to be wandering downtown!
On Monday I also was able to visit with my good friend and former missionary companion Will Graff and his wonderful wife Sarah, who live nearby in College Park, Maryland where Will is working on his master's degree at the University of Maryland. It was great to see them again and was the first time I'd seen them since their wedding in Salt Lake back in June 2006. Both times I've visited this area recently (June and September of 2007) they were out of town, so I was glad to be able to visit with them before they head off to Texas this Spring for Will's flight school. Will and I served as LDS (Mormon) missionaries together in Las Cruces, New Mexico from December 2002-February 2003. We had a lot of crazy and good times together and he is currently one of the few missionary companions I'm still in contact with and by far the only one I'm in regular contact with. We also seem to see things pretty similarly, particularly missionary work and the way the Church operates and the "Mormon culture." I had a wonderful dinner and visit with them! 
Katie, Andy, Heather, and I had a lot of fun decorating Easter eggs last night. I made this one egg covered in silver glitter...it looks like a freakin' disco ball. It was a lot of fun though...we're planning on going to Dave & Buster's tonight for dinner and general fun. The last time I went to Dave & Buster's was the night before Andy & Heather's wedding and I had some of the most fun I'd ever had in my life! In typical fashion, Katie, Andy, and I stayed up until like 4:30 AM this morning talking. It was great! Stuff like that happens every time we get together since we don't have many chances to just talk being all spread out.Notes on pictures: 1. Me in front of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 18, 2008; 2. Katie and me on the National Mall in DC on March 17; 3. Victory at the Supreme Court!; 4. Waiting in line at the Skylab station at the Smithsonian Air & Space museum; 5. Andy, Katie, and I coloring Easter eggs; 6. showing off my awesome silver Easter egg!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
"Rematch a Mismatch!"
Well, in case you didn't hear, yes, Kent State was able to not only win the MAC tournament title this year, but sweep Akron in three straight in the process. I attended the MAC tournament championship game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and even I was surprised just how big a margin of victory Kent State won by. After winning 75-69 in Kent in January and then surviving that near-collapse with a 61-58 win March 9 in Akron, I expected a close game if not an Akron win. A lot of the Akron players and fans expected Akron to win as well, mostly because Akron had a lot more to play for. The thought, at least, was that since Kent State was virtually guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament and Akron needed t
o win the MAC tournament to get in that Kent would just not play as hard, blah blah blah. Well, Kent came to play and Akron did not. I admit, I was worried given the recent close games and the fact that Kent barely beat Miami (Ohio) in a very physical game last night 49-47, while Akron had little trouble beating #2 seed Western Michigan, a team that had beaten the Zips by 20 when they played during the regular season. I would find I had little to worry about. Akron only led briefly during the first half, but only by four at the most (13-9) as they got some three-pointers to fall. Kent ended the first half on a 16-1 run to go up 33-20 at the half. Akron was never closer than ten the entire rest of the game. I was happily stunned by the outcome. Sure, winning the MAC tournament is always fun and now we get to play in the NCAA tournament, but beating Akron in the process makes it even sweeter, not to mention we returned the favor of winning all three games against them this year. They did that to us last year.This was my first trip to Quicken Loans Arena ("the Q", formerly known as Gund Arena) since the 2004 MAC tournament championship game when Kent State lost to Western Michigan. The Q looks even better than I remember as it now has a better scoreboard (though it took some getting used to in reading it) and really nice seats. All of the seats at the Q are cushioned and actually pretty comfortable. They're also that wine color now instead of the old "Cavalier blue" (a shade of bright blue used in the Cavs' old logo) they were when the building opened in 1994. I've only been in a few NBA arenas, so I can't really compare it to the others. The o
nly other arenas I've been in are the old Richfield Coliseum (which the Q replaced) and Salt Lake City's Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center). I can definitely say the Q is WAY nicer than the Energy Solutions Arena, that's for sure! Energy Solutions Arena isn't bad; the Q is just way nicer and it's a much more interesting building, plus almost all the seats in the Energy Solutions Arena aren't cushioned; they're just plastic. Anyway, I enjoyed my visit to the Q tonight, though it would've been more fun if I had had someone to go with. I seriously need a sports-minded friend who actually lives nearby!I was a little disappointed in the size of the crowd. The listed attendance was just short of 13,000, which isn't that bad considering a sellout at KSU is 6,327 and 5,500 at Akron, but I always figured that a Kent State vs. Akron championship game would draw close to a sellout at the Q (which holds 20,520). Not even close as the third level of seating was curtained off. The game didn't even set the MAC record for attendance, which is over 14,000 at the 2002 championship when Kent State beat Bowling Green. I got to
the game an hour early because I thought it might sell out. Oh well. I'd say the crowd itself was about 50-50 or maybe a slight majority of Kent State fans, at least from my vantage point and looking around when each team scored. If we did have a majority, it wasn't by very much.I ended up sitting in one of the unofficial KSU student sections, in the middle level in the corner. They weren't bad seats at all, except the bulky shot clock blocks a little bit of the view. I wish the MAC would have the students sit in the end zone sections, especially in a game featuring local rivals like this where both schools could easily bring large student sections. Sadly, I doubt such a thing will happen as the ticket prices prove that the tournament isn't about the students, it's about the money. There were some fun signs from the section and thankfully someone got pictures of them and posted them on 
Facebook. The best one was the "Fea the oo" sign, which was mocking the "WE DON'T THOW STUFF" sign from the March 9th game. I still can't believe that first sign was even made. I can understand typing mistakes, but a spelling mistake on a huge painted sign? Must've been done in a huge hurry is all I can imagine...glad it wasn't me. I had enough problems going to Cleveland feeling stupid after I missed the parking garage ticket machine and had to get out of my car and walk up to it (usually downtown for games you just pay upfront, so that's what I expected), and then when I bought my ticket I had the hardest time figuring out where to sign the receipt because it was under my thumb. The lady at the ticket counter was very nice and showed me. I felt like quite the idiot...oh well, you know...Kent read, Kent right, Kent State!
Speaking of Kent State, though, I got home last evening after the game to find the official paperwork welcoming me into the Master of Arts in Teaching program, so it's now official: I will be a grad student at Kent this summer. I just need to fill out some more paperwork and send it back, basically showing that I accept. Most of what came was stuff to help me get familiarized with Kent State (instructions on registration, campus map, etc.) so I'm ahead of the game there! I will start classes sometime in June.
Now, though, it's Spring Break, so I'm off to the Washington, DC area with my sister Katie to visit my brother Andy, sister-in-law Heather, and some friends and just to get out of town for a few days!
Notes on pictures: 1. Top half of the sports page of the local Record-Courier here in Kent for Sunday; 2. Me at Quicken Loans Arena just before the start of the second half; 3. Picture of two of the signs from the KSU students "Fea the oo" and "Hey Akron, "throw" has an "R" in it!". I was sitting just in front of this, just out of the bottom left corner of the picture; 4. The final seconds tick off the clock of Kent State's 74-55 win!
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