Answers I liked

[Marduk]

Maybe it was just this question, but this made me feel happy and full of dread at the same time. It's a much needed expansion—there is always congestion there, and it's the worst part of the Provo to Salt Lake commute—but the construction period will be terrible.

The last I-15 project started before I could even drive with a permit and only finished my last semester at BYU.

Where's yayful when you need him? I was pretty sure that the research about this sort of thing suggested that multiple lanes past a certain point had diminishing returns to the point of being basically negligible.

[Whistler]

yeah, isn't it 7 lanes?

[Marduk]

I dunno, that's why I was hoping yayful was around so I didn't have to, you know, actually do research.

[yayfulness]

Ask it as a Board question and I'll probably overcome my laziness/distraction long enough to get a definite answer.

Here's the problem, though--congestion isn't determined by how many lanes are available, it's determined by how much congestion people are willing to deal with before they get sick of it and move to someplace closer to their job/entertainment/shopping or switch to employment/entertainment/shopping closer to home. More lanes at Point of the Mountain means more development in Utah County means more people going to Salt Lake means more people driving through Point of the Mountain means more congestion at Point of the Mountain means more lanes at Point of the Mountain means...

One of my professors pointed out the other day that Los Angeles, half a century ago, looked just like the Wasatch Front looks today. That does not bode well for our future.

[Whistler]

One of my professors pointed out the other day that Los Angeles, half a century ago, looked just like the Wasatch Front looks today. That does not bode well for our future.

D-:

[Violet]

Whistler, there are stretches where it's 4 each way (which seems like so little compared to the rest of Utah County)

Here's the thing: the development's already happening. Lehi today is not the Lehi of even ten years ago. I think we're getting close to max freeway lanes, if we're not already there. Salt Lake flows smoothly on I-15—even at 8:45am. I didn't drive in the not under construction Utah County I-15, but I don't remember it being terrible. Even construction traffic wasn't the worst traffic I've been in. I dreaded coming up and over point of the mountain when commuting (I avoided driving as much as possible). The way traffic flows on and off is the biggest problem in the area. I'm not a traffic engineer, but if they can address not having exits back up onto the freeway, I'm a fan.

I have a lot of thoughts about these things, but not much research knowledge to back things up. Other off-hand suggestions include a North Provo exit, plus UTA actually being affordable (and extending the Farepay discount for always).

[Portia]

Whistler, there are stretches where it's 4 each way (which seems like so little compared to the rest of Utah County)

Here's the thing: the development's already happening. Lehi today is not the Lehi of even ten years ago. I think we're getting close to max freeway lanes, if we're not already there. Salt Lake flows smoothly on I-15—even at 8:45am. I didn't drive in the not under construction Utah County I-15, but I don't remember it being terrible. Even construction traffic wasn't the worst traffic I've been in. I dreaded coming up and over point of the mountain when commuting (I avoided driving as much as possible). The way traffic flows on and off is the biggest problem in the area. I'm not a traffic engineer, but if they can address not having exits back up onto the freeway, I'm a fan.

I have a lot of thoughts about these things, but not much research knowledge to back things up. Other off-hand suggestions include a North Provo exit, plus UTA actually being affordable (and extending the Farepay discount for always).

Farepay is so complicated and confusing, as it stands. Going back to a monthly pass, if nothing else, for a lower opportunity cost.

[Whistler]

yeah, I think it's definitely due for an expansion! I was talking about what I thought was the maximum freeway lane efficiency.

There's an equation over on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_en ... portation) which depends on speed, density, and lane flow. So it's more complicated than one answer (for example, where people slow down for a toll plaza it makes sense to have lots of lanes). interesting.

[Violet]

Farepay was far cheaper for me because I would have needed a premium pass. Add in the fact that I wouldn't have spent as much on FrontRunner fare as a pass cost (this was even before Farepay was introduced), and Farepay was a beautiful idea. I'll definitely say implementation is flawed. There should be a way to fill your card in the stations and a way to check your card's balance at minimum. Yet, overall, I think it's one of the better things UTA has decided do.

It still should be 20% off always.

Diverting the conversation: Taylor Swift lyrics made me laugh. Concorde's was especially great.

[NerdGirl]

Margarine vs butter: http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/80832/

I would just like to add that margarine isn't even better than butter if you are a vegan or have a dairy allergy, because most margarine still has some kind of bits of dairy byproducts in it.

It does, however, work very well as a cheap foot and elbow lotion, and I used it for that purpose frequently when I was a poor BYU student.

[wryness]

Okay, I don't want to create an entire thread devoted to this, but what on earth is Question 80895 about? What are "Hinckley's Banyans?"

[M.O.D.A.Q.]

Okay, I don't want to create an entire thread devoted to this, but what on earth is Question 80895 about? What are "Hinckley's Banyans?"

A reader previously mentioned his or her proclivity to placing small figurines in public places. That same reader decided to clue us in on one such location.

[Portia]

Squirrel. You know who I am. You once watched me sleep for, like, 90 minutes. Make me this, now.

"a nut pizza-- whole wheat, whole grain hazelnut crust with hazelnut, almond, and pecan butter spread, walnuts and pecans on top, drizzled in nutella, pure maple syrup, and powdered sugar."

[Portia]

Defenses of Merida. I hope this reader doesn't watch A Little Mermaid ...

Do people come down this harshly on Hiccup from HtTYD?

[Concorde]

Ironically, Portia, I adore The Little Mermaid. It's my all-time favorite Disney movie and I wanted nothing more than to be Ariel when I was little (not gonna lie, I still want to be her). But yet, I really disliked Merida. I don't know how that works. I honestly have my suspicions that it might be because I'm shallow. The other Disney princesses are sleek, have slender faces, carry themselves gracefully... Merida's face is round, moon-shaped and she's just a hellion. She's obviously more realistic, but I watch Disney movies to escape from reality and when I was a kid, the Disney princesses gave me people to emulate. I wanted to be graceful, lovely and the like. Merida is just too realistic and reminiscent of me (sans the poisoning her mother, etc) for me to enjoy it that much.

[Portia]

Ironically, Portia, I adore The Little Mermaid. It's my all-time favorite Disney movie and I wanted nothing more than to be Ariel when I was little (not gonna lie, I still want to be her). But yet, I really disliked Merida. I don't know how that works. I honestly have my suspicions that it might be because I'm shallow. The other Disney princesses are sleek, have slender faces, carry themselves gracefully... Merida's face is round, moon-shaped and she's just a hellion. She's obviously more realistic, but I watch Disney movies to escape from reality and when I was a kid, the Disney princesses gave me people to emulate. I wanted to be graceful, lovely and the like. Merida is just too realistic and reminiscent of me (sans the poisoning her mother, etc) for me to enjoy it that much.

But isn't Ariel MORE of a brat? "I'm sixteen, daddy!" On the personality front. Also, she literally gives up a major part of her identity for a dude.

[Portia]

Good answers by Tally and Owlet on body image and its HotOrNot-ification.

A counterfactual. Do people who rate themselves highly on the scale of good looks always have good mindsets and self-esteem? Sometimes, but not always.

I think I'm an 8 or 9, and I'm not complaining. I don't have to deal with the real, objective health problems that often accompany or even cause society to think someone's not as "hot:" orthodontic problems if your parents can't afford braces/regular cleanings, metabolic problems from a poor diet, often correlated with low status, having a chronic illness. Those things suck! They're hard! I knew that our culture had developed an unhealthy obsession with thinness when all these Church ladies were telling my mother how "good" she looked, and I was like, no, she's gaunt because she's dying.

So fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed women with no health problems reap unearned benefits merely by existing. They have "privilege" in the current discourse.

But I think a major trap of those who are "attractive," however you want to phrase that, is being obsessed with their looks in a way that is not healthy. My mom was stunning when young, easily a "perfect" 10, no makeup. But I know she was very insecure: her having a mother who was obsessive about food and weight doesn't help. I'm certainly guilty of obsessing over Instagram accounts of women I went to high school with, knowing I'll never be 5'10" and lounging on a beach in Bali. There's a word for "excessive pride in one's appearance:" vanity. Its synonyms aren't too promising on the mental health front.

I don't think this is a problem limited to women, as Owlet alluded to. One of the hottest guys I've ever met when he was circa age 22 is, I think (a) unhappy with how he looks now (he's put on weight, he's very self-critical, he was too poor growing up to get his teeth straightened) (b) in general, self-absorbed. Whereas another very hot gentleman I know isn't as concerned with his appearance (though he is, a little bit, that's life), and doesn't rate himself against other guys, and he tends to be more focused on the needs of others. These are both men who would probably get more swipe rights than otherwise even as they get older and who were easily 9 or 10 in their "prime." Doesn't mean they can't get depressed, or will easily find love. (In fact, that's the primary setback both have faced, is being unhappy in their love lives.)

This isn't a boohoo for the attractive people -- as I said, it's easier than the alternative in our shallow world -- but I think that vanity's antonym, modesty (loaded word!), actually makes people happier and more secure.

[The Happy Medium]

I agree with Concorde about Merida. Though I think my issue is more with the movie in general. I only saw it once and didn't enjoy it at all. I thought the humor was not up to Pixar's usual standard. All the animated butts seemed more suited for a Comedy Central cartoon than a Pixar movie. Perhaps I'm forgetting parts but from what I remember it just wasn't as good as most Pixar films.

[Emiliana]

The most important message of feminism isn't to put women on a pedestal, it is to treat women as people, with the same thorough mix of good, bad, and ugly motivations and outcomes as men.

https://theboard.byu.edu/questions/80872/

[Emiliana]

Also, awkward movie scenes: https://theboard.byu.edu/questions/80994/

On one of our very first sort-of-dates, Marx and I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We'd both seen it enough times that we were only 2/3 watching and 1/3 carrying on unrelated conversations. When a particular awkward scene came on, we both pretended we didn't notice and talked about our favorite type of cheese or something.

(I don't remember if it was just before or just after that that he tried to kiss me and I ducked. It's a miracle we ever got married...)