Style updates plus a few functional updates

#### Summary:

Just a test to give @akucukelbir an example of a pull request.

#### Intended Effect:

Cleaned up the style of the VB code and made a few tweaks to the implementation.

#### How to Verify:

@akucukelbir, we'll get to tests next.

#### Side Effects:

No user facing changes.

#### Documentation:

No documentation yet.

#### Reviewer Suggestions:

@akucukelbir