Grading Scale

Many private schools in the nation use an adjusted grading scale. The scales at public schools are a different letter grade for every 10 points. As for private schools, if you were to receive a 92 percent on that big final; yep, you guessed it, you would receive a B. This has many students talking as they think they should receive higher grades for their hard work, which in turn which translate to a higher GPA and give you a better chance at getting into better colleges. One of my friends lat year had gotten between a 90-92 in every class. in a public school with the honors classes, it would have been a 4.2 GPA. Instead, he got a 3.1 and was not very happy with the grading scale.

The grading scale, like everything, has its pros and cons. Despite the fact that you receive a B for working hard to get a 92 percent, when the colleges look at grades, that's what they will see. It may not be very pleasing when your parents yell at you for having a B in your catholic morality "class", but it will be rewarding when you work harder to get a 93, because that way it basically seals the grade and gives you a cushion.

The best thing about the harder grading scale is that it makes you work harder for your grades and makes you appreciate good grades and all the hard work that comes with it. If the scale was an A for a 90, kids would be satisfied with only a 90, and will not work as hard once they have it. This means that it is easier to slack off and hover around a 90, which heightens the chance of dropping into the high 80's after finals.  Getting a 93 means working that much harder, and when it comes down to finals, its not very promising when you have to get a 114 percent or higher to get an A. This is why it is smart to work harder earlier, that way you're in a good spot going into finals.


http://oakcreek.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/school-board-settles-on-new-grading-scale
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/va-beach-school-board-approves-change-grading-scale

Michael Sam

Michael Sam, the openly gay NFL prospect from Mizzou, stepped into the spotlight this week to answer all the questions the media has been just dying to bombard him with. The real question is; besides the media, who really cares?? Now days, whether we care about something or not, the media will sure seem to make people care about the most pointless things. If they wouldn't try to brainwash people with nonsense and useless information, nobody would care what Justin or Miley's "moron move of the week" was. So why make a bigger deal out of a gay football player than we really have to, but better yet, why is this kid making a big                   NOT FOOTBALL ^
deal about it himself? Seriously. SERIOUSLY. This isn't the Real Housewives of Orange County, this is football. The only show on television that's supposed to be one-hundred percent manly, American and drama-free one-hundred percent of the time. ESPN shouldn't even consider bringing up the topic, leave it for TMZ or another scripted "reality" show. Not only does it hurt their reputation by showing that they
are doing what they want them to do by publicizing the whole thing, but how many die-hard gay football fanatics do you know that come home from work, grab a beer, and sit down to watch Monday Night Football every week? If you answered correctly, the answer was slim to none. Ninety-nine percent of the people watching the show simply DO NOT CARE. And as for the other one percent, well you were never really a true fan anyway. So why would you get people all heated up about it? Next time, both ESPN and Sam just need to keep this on the low. Stop making a big deal out of it, we just want to see someone on the field get their lights                       
knocked out already, and some of us wouldn't be happier for it to be "Pioneer Sam". So, can we all just enjoy some drama-free football without this turning into a reality show? Hopefully TMZ doesn't buy out Monday Night Football after FOX Sports' contract runs out, and I think it's safe to say we can all keep our fingers crossed that Sam won't enter the draft with fake pair of pecs and lips the size of Russia.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/22/michael-sam-nfl-combine-press-conference_n_4838623.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA80jnJ-6Gk

Pre- Workout or Heart-Attack Powder?

Athletes and bodybuilders everywhere are doing anything to squeeze out that last rep when lifting, and if this means taking a pre-workout drink to get them through it, they'll risk a lot, in fact, everything, to train their body to the max. Last year, a kid in the Army took pre-workout before running with his squad for training and passed away after going into cardiac arrest. This caffeine and who-knows-what filled powder dilates your blood vessels and pumps blood harder and faster through your body, as well as giving you enough caffeine to fill about 3 cups of coffee. But is it safe? Most doctors would s*** a brick if you showed them what was under the ingredients list, filled with words you've never heard of, or much less can't even pronounce (see right).



 I see it in the weight room, before practice and games and even in the morning before kids are going to class to give them the energy they need to perform to their best, or in some cases, just to get through the school day. But is it really necessary? For all the potential risks these drinks have, there is a lot to risk just for just a small, extra push in muscle development, including strokes, cardiac arrest, liver problems, and even addiction if you are taking it to often. After continuous use, it starts to not have an effect on your body, so we can end up taking double dosage, which leads to twice the risk of all these side effects. I think as long as it is taken with the recommended dosage, not on an empty stomach and not regularly to avoid unintentional addiction, it it fine to take. However, I think most of us can still stick to the old-fashioned healthy diet full of carbs and lean proteins to give us the proper energy to boost us through these workouts.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/1003313-preworkouts-bad-you/

Jay Leno

Jay Leno retired Thursday night as the host of the "Tonight Show" after hosting the show for nearly 22 years after taking it over, and five years after leaving the show for the first time. Leno said "I don't need to be fired a third time, I get the hint." Jimmy Fallon takes over next week as the new host of the show; One that, according to the fans, will be hard to replace Leno. NBC's thoughts on the idea? Not so much. NBC has already basically fired him as the host of the show--twice. Five years ago, Leno had the number one rating among any other of his competitors, including Fallon, Letterman and Conan. So why fire him? If the key to show business is having a likeable, funny guy who the audience will consistently watch, then they're making money. So what is he doing wrong? Obviously NBC was just looking for a change, because not only was he rated number one five years ago when they booted him, but he was also rated number one up until his final episode last week until he "retired for good" he says. So what will he do now? Leno says that he won't end up on another show in a month to get back at NBC, but simply plans to "enjoy life."

The following is a conversation Leno had with Bill Maher during the show after Maher starting ripping on NBC and Jay Leno (all out of good fun, of course).

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-goes-on-tonight-show-and-rips-on-nbc-leno/

Too much tech?

Ten years ago, nobody knew how popular technology would become. As of 2009, about 2.5 Billion texts were sent from cell phones (the biggest and fastest advancement in technology) each day. This has dramatically increased since the first cell phone able to send a text non-commercially, and our technology is rapidly increasing every day. Texting and cell phones didn't become popular till about 2006, but in the span of only 8 years, we have gone from most people never even sending a text to having a robot listen to our voice and type the text in itself. Today, we are almost doing it unconsciously. It's sadly becoming second nature to us. So what does this mean for the future? Is technology advancing so fast that we are becoming lazy and too dependable on these magnificent metal boxes? They make every aspect of our daily lives a thousand times easier, but are they making it too easy? It seems like all of our parents and grandparents (or most of them anyway) got along perfectly fine without them. From the moment we wake up, we are checking texts, weather, emails, news updates, and today you can find an app for anything. ANYTHING. I mean, really, do we actually need a blood alcohol content calculator app? If you aren't aware if you are intoxicated or not, then chances are you're temporarily not going to know how to use your phone either. How about the "Restaurant Tip Calculator" app that has over a million downloads? Come on, if you cant take fifteen percent of ten dollars, you just didn't pay enough attention in algebra class. Tired? There's an app for that.

Super Bowl Ads

"Did you see the new Doritos commercial last night during the game?" This is a question that will be buzzing around the nation Monday morning because of the well-known, hilarious Super Bowl ads. Have you ever watched TV just for the sake of watching the commercials? Chances are, unless it was the Super Bowl, most likely not. Last year, more than 111 million people watched the 2012 Super Bowl, and many of them admit that they watch it for the funny advertisements. So not only is this game huge for the athletes, teams and fans whose teams are fortunate enough to play in it, but it is also a big opportunity for businesses. Since there are about 100 million people that will see your commercial, it gives the businesses a chance for some major exposure of their products, that is, if they can afford paying $4 million for a 30-second message. So whether you're one of the 111 million watching for the actual game or just for the commercials, get comfortable and enjoy the Doritos you're already eating; it's not like we're not already buying them.