Received a email that Jeff is retiring on Sept 1 this yr. Wish him well in his retirement and with his Parkinson challenge. IMO they are some pretty big shoes to fill. I think he did a good job of growing the Association. Even though I'm a long ways from a big donor he always had a handshake and a hello for me whenever I ran into him somewhere. It'll be interesting to see who gets that position as well as who gets selected as the next ISU president.

On That Note alert: Best-of music series heads up!

For advance notice only, do NOT post selections in this thread.

This week at “On That Note,” we begin our annual best-of series. We’ll explore favorite albums (or singles) from years with the same last digit as this year — 5.

On Tuesday, or possibly Wednesday, I will launch the first segment, with focus on 1965 and 1975. We’ll continue that theme for two subsequent weeks.

We want to provide a heads-up if anyone wants to do preliminary research on what music you like from those years.

Again: Do NOT post clips in this thread.

On That Note is hosted weekly by @cyclones500 @CycloneRulzzz and me.

Made this list last year. We will be judged based on our record against the rest of the P4 conferences. I like to watch these games outside of all the Iowa State games, need to root for our fellow Big 12 brethren. I'll update this with wins/loses throughout the season.

Week 1

Nebraska neutral Cincinnati
Auburn @ Baylor
Utah @ UCLA
Georgia Tech @ Colorado
TCU @ UNC

Week 2

Arizona State @ Mississippi St
Kansas @ Missouri
Iowa @ Iowa State
Oklahoma St @ Oregon
Baylor @ SMU
Stanford @ BYU

Week 3

Pitt @ WVU

Week 4

UNC @ UCF
SMU @ TCU

Number of games against other conferences:
Big10 - 4
SEC - 3
ACC - 7

7 Home/6 Road/1 Neutral

On Monday's CF Daily Update, Jake Brend kicks off the 2025 Iowa State position previews with a take on how high Rocco's legacy can reach this year. He also provides an update on Curtis Jones and Hason Ward in the NBA Summer League and previews Paul Shirley's event on Thursday.

CFTV: What can Rocco do for his legacy? Plus a Cyclones in the Summer League Update

On Monday's CF Daily Update, Jake Brend kicks off the 2025 Iowa State position previews with a take on how high Rocco Becht's legacy can reach this year. He also provides an update on Curtis Jones and Hason Ward in the NBA Summer League and previews Paul Shirley's event on Thursday. https://youtu

cyclonefanatic.com

I've pretty much had it with my extremely poorly constructed wooden privacy fence. Another couple of sections succumbed to the strong winds a few weeks ago. Seriously considering bucking up and putting in a nice vinyl one in its place. We'll likely be selling in the next few years and I figure it would be a big upgrade on curb appeal. Anyone done something similar and had a good experience with a company in the DSM area?

At the Big 12 press event last week, when asked to single out youngsters impressing, the first name out of CMC's mouth was Ryver Peppers. Personally, I've been wowed by Ryver since watching his film at the time of his commitment in the winter. CMC mentioned him during spring ball, too, iirc.

Jayden Jackson was on campus for spring ball as well. His h.s. achievements are highly praiseworthy, too. He's listed at 217 pounds, Montgomery-sized. Ryver is 190. Both pack a lot into sub-6 foot frames.

(Edit: I erred, it looks like. 247 reports that Jayden enrolled at ISU last month.)

Yep, Carson Hansen and Abu Sama are the RB bell cows, and frosh redshirt Dylan Lee - it was Blum I think who said that last fall the staff believed he has the highest ceiling in the RB room - is set to see his first action this fall. And no one, I hope, is forgetting the quick, powerful, savvy runner Aidan Flora, one of my fave Clones, for sure. But if you haven't, take a couple of minutes to watch Ryver and Jackson film.

Ryver Peppers (and the way this kid has sailed through troubles life has thrown at him is remarkable. Top-notch student, too, iirc. Nickname? How about Buster for seam buster!):

Jayden Jackson (again, iirc, standout in Texas's 3A h.s. class.)

Listened to the new Williams and Blum this morning and have some tips as a veteran European traveler. Went to Ireland for three weeks in 2016 (which is, sadly why we're not going next month). They referenced their sponsor, Northwest Bank, as a place to get Euros before you go. I recommend that you only get enough to get you from the airport to town as you will get a better exchange rate from a bank ATM in Ireland. Don't get more than 100 euros if getting them in advance.

Be sure to use a bank ATM only, either inside of a bank or just outside. Do not use Eurolink or Euronet or similar continent-wide companies as you will get hosed. Avoid airport ATMs or exchange kiosks unless its a dire emergency.

Always transact and pay for ATM or any credit card transactions in the local currency - that is the Euro. You will be asked either by the machine or the waiter etc, if you want to convert to the dollar - the answer is no. You can check with your local bank to see if their network is compatible with European banks, We've had no problems and we are small town.

It's a good idea to let your financial institution know when and where you will be traveling so your card isn't refused. Some credit card companies no longer require notification but it's a good idea to double check there as well.

Credit cards will be readily accepted in cities, maybe in rural areas, When we were in England last spring, we had to use cards, there were basically no cash transactions. Even a Euro or less for a pay toilet was by card.

If you are going to Northern Ireland you will use British pounds instead of Euros, although I think some places will take both. N Ireland is part of the United Kingdom along with England and Scotland and their currency is the British Pound.

Also if going into Northern Ireland, as of this past January you will need an ETA authorization to enter the country. Not Ireland, just Northern Ireland. You'll need to get it online in advance. It costs about $16 and is good for two years unless you passport expires before then. We connected at London Heathrow on our way home from Portugal in May and even though we never left the airport, we were advised to each have an ETA. You need your passport when you apply and the ETA is automatically added to the passport.

You can check TripAdvisor.com for specific info on Ireland by reading the forum page or checking on activities. The best place to get cash in Italy in 2022 was actually the Post Office.

Last thing, if you're renting a car in Ireland I'm sure you're aware that they drive on the wrong (they say right) side of the road. We were on a tour bus and the first morning as we approached a roundabout I leaned the wrong way and nearly ended up in the aisle. I didn't drive there, but my brother did once and he recommended taking all the insurance you can get. Double check with your personal insurance or any credit card support, but the shoulder on the very narrow rural roads is either a stone fence or thick hedgerows and trees. Lots of scratches.

Have a great time everybody. We'll be watching!! Go Cyclones!

Over the next two weeks, we will break down the 2025 Iowa State football team position by position. We start today with the quarterbacks. Enjoy.

Thought I would create a thread for Fargo this week. Is Coby Merrill the only guy we competing this week?

Farnsy Mafia

We are here to pay tribute to our beloved CF friend Farnsworth. If there is a CF Mafia Mount Rushmore he would definitely be one of the faces. He played in 117 games of mafia so I felt the best way to tribute him is a game full of roles he played in some of those 117 games.

Mafia's

Doug Mafia - Led by Lotso from Toy Story Mafia. He gets 1 instakill and the first time he's investigated he willshow as innocent.

The rest are mafia members Farnsy played in others mafia games.





Squints Mafia - Led by Steve Rhoades from Married with Children Mafia. He gets 1 instakill and the first time he's investigated he will show as innocent.

The rest are mafia members Farnsy played in others mafia games.


Innocents

Dr. Ian Malcom Jurassic Park Mafia - gets 1 investigation

Ace Ventura Ace Ventura Mafia and Chief Wiggum Simpsons Mafia - Detectives who will alternate nights getting to investigate. Ace starts then Wiggum. When one dies the other takes over on regular basis.

Bill Murray Space Jam Mafia and Adult Nala Lion King Mafia - Doctors who will alternate nights getting to save. Bill starts then Nala When one dies the other takes over on regular basis.

Jack of All Trades Each one get a kill, investigation and save. Only can use 1 per night

Fezzik Princess Bride Mafia

Leonardo TMNT Mafia


Naz Long ISU Basketball Mafia = One time 3 point vote, he can PM me and his vote will be counted as 3 votes when I do the final tally. He will have to publicly vote like normal.

Shosanna Dreyfus Inglorious Basterds Mafia: The avenger. If she is lynched by the mob during the day, she can choose one person who voted for her to be killed.


Jailor Town of Salem Mafia: The jailor gets to choose one person a night to imprison. The person they imprison will be safe from all attacks and will not be able to perform their night role.
Starting on night 2, the jailor may choose to execute the person they jailed, but only get three executions throughout the course of the game. If the jailor executes an innocent, they will lose their remaining executions.


Chris Traeger Park and Rec Mafia: He is a physical work of art. In such good shape he can't be killed by the mafia overnight for the first five days. He can be killed by lynching of the mob or an instakill though.

Duos - can pm each other but no powers

Calvin's Mom Calvin and Hobbes Mafia and Mickey Full House Mafia

Next Game Guy CF Pickup Mafia and Tommy Duncan Might Ducks Mafia



All the rest are regular innocents played by Farnsy!


GOOD LUCK!


GAME RULES:
1A. First Rule of Farnsy Mafia is only Farnsy will be clapped. Please try not to abuse this rule. I will pm after 2 consecutive missed days.
1. There will be no editing of posts.
2. The day will run from 7 a.m. Central through 9:05 p.m. Central, with the exception of Fridays, which will end at 7:05 p.m. Central.
3. Votes will count until 9:05 Central as stamped by the Cyclone Fanatic clock (7:05 p.m. Fridays).
4. Votes must be BOLDED or they will not count. If you are posting on mobile and don't get the formatting correct to bold the post, your post will not count.
5. No PM's between players unless your role allows it.
6. If you vote twice without rescinding, your first vote will count.
7. Specials will have an till 7am to get stuff in. If everything comes in early enough I will do a night report if not I will do a morning one.
8. I reserve the right to change the rules if I feel that it's necessary. Any changes will be clearly labeled.
9. In the case of ties in the lynching process, random.org will be used to make the final decision.
10. Ghost post using off-color font. Preferably gray.
11. If you have any questions about the game or didn't receive your role, PM the mayor.
12. HAVE FUN!

Rather than polluting/diluting other threads, I decided to start a new one to address another aspect of this years team. Yes, the way to win games is to put the ball through the hoop and to limit the opposition from doing the same, so the discussions have revolved around the improvements needed/expected by returning players and potential of the new additions to this years team. Being CFers, we're all gonna lose our minds the first time things don't go our way and with our schedule/competition those opportunities seem abundant.

As much as sheer basketball ability, I think the leadership of this team will be a major factor--the ability of this team's leaders to hold things together during the tough stretches until we gel into what I believe holds the components to be very successful.

In my eyes, this is Lipsey's team, possibly one of the last four year starters in this new era and with a passion for ISU that will be tough to match. Jefferson returned to make this his team. Milan and Nate are invested enough to help with leadership roles. Our opposition will all have key or "go to" players but we may have one of the upper hands with a core of returning players that have "been there, done that" together. Looking forward to an exciting season (after our CFP run, of course)

(edited for those who were concerned)

Bear with me, years ago (2016, to be specific), I remember being at dinner with my wife. It was maybe early July, like it is now. I said to her, "I really think this might be the year. I have a really good feeling about it." If you were a Cubs fan from way back, you know the line. We all said it many times. But that year was different.

I've watched the practice tapes of Pleta. Also, did you notice, he is listed as 235 pounds at 6' 11"? Did you also notice he is listed as a FORWARD?? They guy crashes the boards! I think, maybe (just maybe), this is the year! I think we might be better than last year, by quite a bit, too. This might be the year we hang a Final Four banner, and I'm not just being a homer.

Training camps right around the corner:

Fun interview with some cool insights.

Hi All,

I recently had a company address an issue with rotting OSB board (not flashed the begin with) under my deck, they put in new OSB, flashed above the deck and below it and put new siding up with drip edges. After this hard rain today, I see once again there is water behind the siding and dripping beneath the drip edge and on the top of the concreate foundation. They are at a loss. Any handymen here?

The first close up picture below is under the drip edge laying on the foundation where water is under it.

The second picture is the drippings on the foundation. Some of this is just dripping off the metal drip edge, others its under it.

This will settle a debate that could lead me into making $5, obviously this makes it incredibly important.

July 11 is a big anniversary for the WBB program.

New season kicked off last night. Thoughts on the cast and theme for this season? I would get Rachel out of there ASAP.

The Minnesota thread had me thinking - what musician would you like to have seen in their prime?

Prince or Bowie for me.

This week we are looking for following words in the title or lyrics: fail, failure, decline, breakdown, backslide, fizzle, flop, flounder, collapse and crumble.

"On That Note” is presented weekly by @MeanDean, @cyclones500 and myself.

Last Week: Open Grill

With Williams and Blum putting out a CF Preseason Ranking, I figured I would start putting together a conference record modeler. Obviously this is just for fun and I don't really think this is indicative of how the season will go. I started with their rankings, O/U from CBS, and the conference schedule. I used that information to create the distribution parameters from which I drew the random numbers that represent how well a team plays in a particular game. Whichever team gets the higher number "wins" the game, and the result of that game updates the distribution parameters. When you win, your random numbers skew higher and when you lose your random numbers skew lower. For everyone's first game, I equally weighted the preseason information. As games were played, I phased out the impact of preseason information. Then I simulated 5k seasons and plotted histograms of conference winning percentage. This way the unbalanced schedule gets modeled - who you play and when you play them matters.

I ran several different versions where the preseason-phase-out-period set to 1, 3, 6, and 9 games. Basically that means that by the end of the season only the records count, but how quickly the record overtakes the preseason information changes. I also ran one version with a "12 game phase out" which practically means even at the end of the season the preseason gets a 25% weight.

There wasn't much difference between the 6, 9 and 12 game phase outs - ASU, KSU, ISU and Tech were consistently towards the top. West Virginia and Arizona were at the bottom. As expected, phasing out the preseason information faster resulted in more variation.



With only 3 games of preseason influence, the impact of unbalanced schedules started to appear more strongly. Suddenly Kansas and BYU, who's first three games are against the bottom teams, are in the top 3 of the league. As they win those early games and their preseason ranking influence goes to 0, they look like great teams. Conversely, ISU, KSU and Tech take pretty big hits as ISU and KSU play each other in a toss-up and Tech plays three top-half teams. When the preseason information goes away so quickly, a single early loss can lead to a spiral.


And for you guys who think only results matter, here is the version where preseason info is only used for the first game. After that, it's all 100% driven by game results. Total chaos, with nearly every team capable of finishing almost anywhere. Again you can see the impact of schedule on Kansas and BYU, as well as Colorado and OSU.





As I have time I might try this again with other conferences. I can also try different weighting for both the CF Ranking and CBS O/U, or I can incorporate other sites' preseason information.