• Poll Poll
Do you still listen to music from your high school years? Neural Nostalgia

Do you still listen to your high school era music as your primary music playlist?

  • Yes - my high school music is my favorite and listen to it regularly

    Votes: 97 44.3%
  • No - I prefer new music

    Votes: 6 2.7%
  • Sometimes - it's my go-to music when I need comfort

    Votes: 53 24.2%
  • Sometimes - it's fun but not my favorite anymore

    Votes: 77 35.2%

I saw an article from Slate.com that got bumped recently that discussed "Musical nostalgia". A lot of people my age listen to oldies music exclusively and it gets tiring to me. Whenever we have a bonfire or are in the car together, they play only play music from their youth. To me, it's ok, but I prefer newer music that I haven't heard so many times over and over.

Turns out that there is science confirming that it is a effect they are calling "Neural Nostalgia".

"In recent years, psychologists and neuroscientists have confirmed that these songs hold disproportionate power over our emotions. And researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests our brains bind us to the music we heard as teenagers more tightly than anything we’ll hear as adults—a connection that doesn’t weaken as we age. Musical nostalgia, in other words, isn’t just a cultural phenomenon: It’s a neuronic command. And no matter how sophisticated our tastes might otherwise grow to be, our brains may stay jammed on those songs we obsessed over during the high drama of adolescence."

What you all think about this?

https://slate.com/technology/2014/0...ong-preference-and-the-reminiscence-bump.html

Shooty Hoops

Iowa State is currently ranked 4th in the nation in the Shooty Hoops Living Top 25. This is a new website with very detailed NBA 2K type ratings. Interesting to see that they have Johnson rated as our best rated player for next year.

As a bonus, I have already gotten Iowa State up to 3rd in the nation in the Shooty Hoops game which is a basketball video game playable on web app and mobile featuring Flappy Bird style graphics. I need someone to take the torch and get us to 1st. Mississippi Valley is somehow over 16000 points higher than the next highest team.

Iowa State gets a commitment from 2027 TE Joe Vinyard

Iowa State earned another commitment to its 2027 recruiting class in Waukee Northwest 3-star TE Joe Vinyard.


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Current RB Room HUDL Highlights

Since there is little to go off of for production as far as college, I have linked all of our current RB room's (Senior Year/Most Recent) highlights from HUDL. While a lot has changed, it's really cool to see their different play styles in action. I'm sure a lot have already seen these highlights, but with spring ball leaving more questions than answers, it might help to see them all in one place.


Cameron Pettaway #0 (Projected Started)​

PositionRB Academic Year R-So.Height 5' 10'' Weight 175 lbs

Cameron Pettaway Highlights

Notes: Great hands, shifty, great speed.

Jayden Jackson #2 or #47​

PositionRB Academic Year R-Fr.Height 5' 11'' Weight 190 lbs

Jayden Jackson Highlights

Notes: Bowling ball, okay speed, good vision.

Salahadin Allah #7​

PositionRB Academic Year Jr.Height 5' 11'' Weight 222 lbs

Salahadin Allah Highlights

Notes: Fairly quick, (Tall) downhill runner.

Aiden Flora #21 (Projected Starter)​

PositionRB Academic Year R-So.Height 6' 0'' Weight 190 lbs

Aiden Flora Highlights

Notes: Great vision, shifty, breakaway speed.

Ryver Peppers #22 (Injured)​

PositionRB Academic Year R-Fr.Height 5' 11'' Weight 205 lbs

Ryver Peppers Highlights

Notes: Good speed, good vision, downhill runner.

Easton Miller #25​

PositionRB Academic Year R-Jr.Height 6' 1'' Weight 225 lbs

Easton Miller Highlights

Notes: Okay Speed, downhill runner, bowling ball. (Short Highlights)​
Feel free to comment your thoughts. I tried to keep notes short and free of cons since they were high schoolers and outside of raw talent a lot has changed.

Must read article on Nate Carr

This will pump you up.

What’s growing - 2025 Garden Thread

What are you growing this year?

I just got done pruning my seedlings after some prolific germination this year. I usually do a few seeds per pod to help germination rates but I had multiple pop through in nearly every pod.

My seed planting this year:

Peppers
Biquinho
Hungarian Hot Wax
Zapotec Jalapeño
Chocolate Beauty
Mini Bell
Piri Piri
Moruga Trinidad Scorpion
Carolina Reaper
NuMex 6-4 Hatch
Sandia Hatch

Tomatoes
Wooly Kate Yellow
Rio Grande Valley Tomatillo
Queen of the Night
Peron
Blush Tiger
Chadwick Cherry

Fruits
Alexandria (Alpine) Strawberry
Schwartzenbeeren Blackberries(aka Huckleberries)

After trimming:

IMG_1538.jpeg

I have some quite leggy tomatoes at the bottom which concerns me a little but I’ll go the burying the stem route when I repot to the next container and likely again when I move them to the final container.

Also as you can see, only 3 pods didn’t germinate out of 72. All the same plant, the Carolina Reaper, which were free seeds from the pepper seed haul AND they’re known for taking up to 45 days to germinate so having one healthy looking guy after less than 2 weeks is pretty decent in my book. Maybe the rest will come through.

I absolutely do not have the space for all these to go to full maturity since I am balcony gardening in downtown Chicago. The plan was gonna be 5ish of the best looking plants as more of a testing season. But I might try for 10 now, don’t think I can fit 1 of each type (18) out there but maybe we’ll create an urban jungle.

What have you got this year CF?

The Beat Reporters: Otzelberger Extension, Will Slagle’s interview and more

Jake Brend, Rob Gray, and Ben Hutchens break down all there is to know about T.J. Otzelberger’s newest extension and what it means for Iowa State Athletics. The three discuss the impact of the $4 million buyout and where it ranks among other top coaches. Plus, they dive into Brend’s interview with OL commit Will Slagle and what it says about the future of Iowa State football. Presented by Kelderman Manufacturing.


Friday Off Topic Celeb Passing

I submitted an ot suggestion to Angie, and she asked if I could go ahead and post since she was going to be busy today.

My suggestion will be lame to some but it's kind of topical with recent celebrity passings we have had. The topic is a celebrity passing that affected you the most.

The one for me that comes to mind is George Carlin. One of my favorite comedians.

2026-27 Big 12 Football vs P4 non-con

I did this the last couple years. Its now more important than ever to win these games for the conference. If the Big 12 wants to be taken serious we have to have an impressive non-con record.

Week 0/1:

TCU N UNC (Dublin week 0)
Colorado @ Georgia Tech
Baylor N Auburn (Atlanta)
Cincinnati vs Boston College

Week 2:

Utah vs Arkansas
Kansas vs Missouri
Arizona State @ Texas A&M
Oklahoma State vs Oregon
Iowa State @ Iowa
UCF @ Pitt

Week 3:

Colorado @ Northwestern
West Virginia N Virginia (Charlotte)

Week 7:

BYU vs Notre Dame

Teams not playing a P4 team (SHAME, SHAME, SHAME):

Texas Tech - no P4 scheduled until 2030
Kansas State - no P4 scheduled until 2028
Arizona
Houston
*having three of our upper half teams not playing a major non-con game really hurts

Conference splits:

Big10: 3
SEC: 4
ACC: 5
Indy: 1

Kid History, Llamas with Hats, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

These are YouTube shows from around 2000-2012, that my family was introduced to by my daughter. We laughed so much watching them. We lost my girl in October of 2025, and for some reason I thought about them. I knew I could find Marcel because he's a world wide sensation with a book and a movie, and I thought Llamas with Hats wouldn't be too hard and it wasn't, but I couldn't remember the name of Kid History, and the only one I knew would know it immediately isn't with us anymore. It took a while but I finally hit the correct set of clues and Google provided the answer. My girl always made me happy. I'm glad I got to relive some of that today.
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Williams & Blum: Sorsby Situation, NBA Mock Draft, & ESPN’s mighty plan

Chris Williams and Brent Blum react to Brendan Sorsby’s gambling allegations. What does it mean for the rest of the Big 12? Kansas lands the nation’s top player while Otzelberger brings a huge recruit to campus. Diving into the latest NBA mock draft and more courtesy of Mechdyne.


Yuengling expanding distribution


Molson Coors Beverage Company and D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. have formed a joint venture to oversee and execute the westward expansion of Yuengling beer into states beyond its existing 22-state footprint and New England, the two companies said today.

The partnership will bring beers from America’s Oldest Brewery to millions more drinkers in 25 states outside its mostly East Coast distribution territory. Brands like Yuengling Traditional Lager, Black & Tan and Flight are expected to reach into new markets in the second half of 2021.

“Yuengling’s iconic beers are beloved by those who live in a state fortunate enough to have their brands and desired by those who are visiting. And just as was the case with a certain brand out of Golden, Colo., more than a few people have smuggled Yuengling across state lines in the trunk of their car. But soon, millions of fans won’t have to resort to such tactics,” said Gavin Hattersley, president and chief executive officer at Molson Coors.

“Our new partnership is a huge growth opportunity for Yuengling. It’s a huge growth opportunity for Molson Coors. And at the end of the day, we’re going to make a whole lot of Yuengling fans out west really happy,” he said.

The new entity will be governed by a six-member board of directors evenly split between Yuengling and Molson Coors family members and executives, with Yuengling holding the chairmanship. A leader for the new enterprise has not yet been named. Yuengling will retain the rights to its brands and trademarks and remain a family-owned business. Its existing 191-year-old company will operate separately from its joint venture with Molson Coors.

Under terms of the deal, Yuengling beers will be brewed and packaged in select Molson Coors’ breweries under Yuengling brewers’ supervision, and distributed into new markets — largely in the western half of the United States.

The pace of expansion is expected to be measured and methodical, following the disciplined and steady approach the company has followed for more than 190 years, said Wendy Yuengling, a sixth-generation family member and chief administrative officer of Pottsville, Pa.-based D.G. Yuengling & Son.

“We are excited to launch this partnership with the team at Molson Coors. Like Yuengling, Molson Coors has an established commitment to quality and rich history of family brewing excellence,” Wendy Yuengling said. “This partnership is a great opportunity for us to grow our distribution footprint for the long-term, while continuing to support our existing markets and the communities in which we operate.”

The additional capacity offered by Molson Coors breweries will allow for Yuengling to expand into additional states while continuing to operate its breweries in Pottsville, Pa., Mill Creek, Pa., and Tampa. The joint venture does not change Yuengling’s existing operations, breweries, family of employees, or distributor partnerships within its 22-state footprint.

“Fans can expect the same Yuengling recipes and great taste they have come to love for more than 190 years,” said Jennifer Yuengling, sixth-generation family member and vice president of operations of D.G. Yuengling & Son. “But remember, it took our company 190 years to open 22 states along the East Coast. This new venture will follow the same steady pace and discipline that has brought our family brewery success for all these years, opening one market at a time.”

For Molson Coors, the deal is the latest in a string of moves aimed to solidify and fortify its core of American lagers. Since embarking on a sweeping restructuring and revitalization plan late last year, the company has made several noteworthy moves, including taking a significant minority stake in non-alcohol beverage incubator and developer L.A. Libations; launching a slate of new products, including the top new beer innovation in 2020 and one of the fastest-growing hard seltzers in the U.S.; and a line of cannabis beverages in Canada via a joint venture called Truss; and new campaigns behind its biggest brands, Miller Lite and Coors Light.

Yuengling is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States. Established in rural Pennsylvania in 1829 by German immigrant David Yuengling, the company has grown to become America’s largest craft brewer, according to the Brewers Association definition.

Much of its growth has taken place under the watch of **** Yuengling, who took over as president in 1985. Two years later, the brewery reintroduced an amber lager, Yuengling Traditional Lager, that has grown to become Yuengling’s flagship beer and accounts for the majority of the company’s sales.

To help meet growing demand for its beers along the East Coast and beyond, Yuengling would go on to add a brewery in Tampa in 1999 and a second production brewery in Mill Creek, Pa., which is near its home in Pottsville. It now ships more than 2.5 million barrels of beer annually.

The company’s new partnership with Molson Coors will allow it to continue marching west with distribution, and both companies are betting that pent-up demand beyond Yuengling’s existing footprint will be just as fruitful.

“There are millions of fans who regularly ask when they’ll be able to enjoy Yuengling’s great beers without having to hop on an airplane or smuggle them across state lines,” said Wendy Yuengling. “Launching this partnership will allow us to bring our portfolio of iconic American beer to even more consumers and markets.”

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