Get a Deal Sending Packages

BYU Secrets reader Doug recently clued us in on a good money saving secret.  Apparently BYU gets a discount with the major parcel services, and if you know where to go you can get in on the action.  The place is NOT (surprisingly) the BYU mail office in the Wilkinson Center, but instead the Mail Services office on University Parkway.  Doug says that the discount is available to anyone, not just BYU students and Faculty.  We haven't been able to verify this, but we personally know Doug and trust him as a source.

Speed up a Lecture

On Friday, I had to go make up a lecture for a seminar class.  They have recorded all of them, so all I needed to do was go to the LRC to check it out and watch.  While I was bored I started playing with the buttons on the DVD player, and I found something that everyone can benefit from.  If you hold down the "Next Chapter" ( >| ) button on the DVD player for a second or so, it speeds up to 1.4 times the normal speed!  The change was little enough that I hardly noticed the change in the speaker's voice, (he was actually more interesting because he'd picked up the pace a little) but my hour long lecture was done in 40 minutes.  Could life get any sweeter?

Tunnels under BYU Campus

We've all heard the rumors about mysterious caverns hidden around campus.  Are they there for protection in case of a nuclear holocaust?  Perhaps they are designed to allow campus personnel to travel great distances with little hassle?  Or maybe they have some other, more sinister purpose.  This seemed exactly the type of thing Y Secrets should be reporting on.

We found some good news and some bad news.  The good news is there really are tunnels.  The bad news is they are used mainly for pipes, wires, and other basic utilities- and students are not allowed down.

Si Min investigated the matter further, and this is what he found:

"First, BYU relies on steam and hot water for its entire heating system. Well over 100 buildings are heated from one central building (the Phys Plant) whose smoke stack is noticeable from quite a distance. These pipes run through tunnels which run under the sidewalks on campus. This explains why BYU is the only place in Utah County which has very few cracks in the sidewalks. The heat from the pipes keeps the sidewalks from freezing in the winter. This in turn attracts the skateboarders and rollerbladers who are forbidden from campus.

The real problem with getting down and exploring these tunnels is that they are still in use today and the campus police are serious about keeping people out. Rumours still persists of people who have figured out how to get down there, but no one knows anybody personally."

So it would seem that our mystery is solved, but is this information too convenient to be the truth?  We will leave that for our readers to decide.

Find a good place to Eat Out

If you are like me, then you have a few places where you always go out to eat.  Do you want to break out of the routine?  Yelp.com can help.   Yelp is a location-based social review site.  Thousands of people with profiles have written reviews for tons of locations.  Results can be filtered by price, rating, category, or distance.  For example, a search for restaurants near Provo, UT returned 292 possibilities.

If you consider yourself a connoisseur of the local scene,  just make a profile and you will have an instant fan-base.  Yelp makes your reviews instant and accessible.

The other great thing about Yelp is its mobility.  The site is simple enough that it will work on most mobile browsers, and they have a great app for the iPhone.

So give yourself a break, and yelp for something new.

Best. Facebook Group. EVER. (Relating to BYU)

The group is: Awkward Engagement Pictures Rock My Socks

[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignnone" width="295" caption="Making beautiful music together. They met at a guitar class"][/caption]

I stumbled upon this gem a little while ago, and have now spent many hours browsing the pictures posted there.  You also need to to read the comments people leave.

Very funny, very BYU.

How to Appeal a BYU Parking Ticket

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The BYU Parking office has a policy of dropping one parking ticket per Academic School Year, supposedly with no Questions asked.  Your appeal just needs to be within 14 days of the date of ticket issue.

The easiest way to appeal your citation is to go to the Secret BYU Citation Lookup and fill out the form.

We warn however, that sometimes talking politely to an actual person is the best way to work your way through these things.

You can visit the Parking Services office at 2120 JKB, or call (801) 422-3906.

Searching For A Caffeine Fix

Finding caffeine on campus can be a difficult endeavor. Past rumors of Brazilian drinks at the Twilight Zone haven't led to much. The Cougar Eat, Creamery, and all vending machines are dry of the good stuff. Or are they? Is there a place on campus to get some caffeine?

If you're a privileged employee or visitor to the Movie Studios near the Office of Information Technology (OIT), oddly enough most of their vending machines have caffeinated beverages. Sure, it may be easier to make a quick trip to Subway or Wendy's off campus, but technically, BYU has caffeinated beverages at the movie studios.