The Base mustang, along with the new look, now has an optional Brembo brake package and a V-6 Performance package, both of which were only offered in the past if you had a manual V-6. The 305hp, 3.7L V-6 is unchanged from the 2012 model. However, the GT’s 5.0L V-8 receives a boost of 8hp, which now marks it at 420 horsepower.

The Boss 302 package was rethought after a rather unimpressive debut last year. For 2013, the refined 444hp 5.0L remains, but that is about the only thing that got carried over. The interior was redesigned for a truer track-ready car, featuring a new instrument cluster and Recaro racing seats. A Brembo brake system comes standard with the package, along with a new exhaust, adjustable suspension, and upgraded engine cooler and radiator. The Boss trim package was redesigned, and now includes the distinctive hockey stick graphic that was made famous by the 1970 Boss 302.

But of all the new packages offered for 2013, the one that has everyone talking is the new Shelby GT500 option. Nearly one month after Chevrolet had a press release for their new Camaro ZL1, featuring a supercharged Corvette motor making 580hp, Ford introduced its improvements for the Shelby GT500, catching Chevrolet off guard. Chevrolet had designed its LZ1 Camaro to beat the 2012 GT500, knowing nothing of the planned upgrades to come for 2013. The 5.4L V-8 motor was bored, resulting in a new displacement of 5.8L. It was then fitted with a Eaton supercharger, which happens to be the exact one used on the ZL1 and ZR1 Corvette. The new motor has an output of 650hp, 600lb-ft of torque, and is capable of surpassing the 200mph mark. Thus, the new car was fitted with larger cooling fans, faster pumps, and heat dissipaters. But as many know, the problem in years past has not been a lack of power, but a lack of applied power. So for 2013, ford redesigned the transmission; changing everything except for fourth gear. The final drive ratio was dropped to 3.31, helping the mustang reach its 200mph mark. And with the new speed ratings, the braking was beefed up. The car now features a 6-piston brake system in the front, larger pads and rotors all the way around, all by Brembo. All the changes resulted in a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds. So much for that new ZL1 Camaro…..

If you applied for Early Decision, then chances are you have already heard back from the school. Also, some colleges, such as USC and Winthrop, have already released their first waves of acceptance letters.  However, the majority of schools have not yet given the verdict on potential students. So now seniors are forced to wait, holding their breaths, until colleges alleviate their anxiety. Then, they will either be excited at the prospects of a new year in a new place or disappointed that things didn’t work out. When asked about her experience of waiting for college admissions decisions, senior Hope Lewis said, “I always wondered if I was going to receive a thick packet that said YES! or if I would receive a rejection letter.” Most all of us have had that fear, the fear that a college will turn us down and all our plans will change. Senior Brad Wilson says, “It’s just like having your entire future in front of you… Did you do enough? Did you do it right, will it be good enough? All those things run through your mind as you wait for the letter to arrive in the mail, with your name on it, finally giving you some relief.” It gets especially nerve racking for many of us as time goes on. Senior Kourtney Chapman states, “For me it was worrying because I saw other students getting acceptance letters and I was left wondering, where was mine?” We worry that we’ll have to rebuild our ideas of the future if our dreams don’t come true. As dismal as that sounds, it is a possibility that we all have to face.

But things always happen for a reason and somehow you’ll end up where you need to be. Hopefully that will happen without the involvement of rejection letters, but if it does involve them just remember: if that school was really the right place for you to be, you would have been accepted. It is at this point in our lives that we need to remind ourselves to keep an open mind. Most seniors probably have a plan for their life, an ideal outcome, maybe even a dream. But don’t let yourself get so caught up in making you future turn out as planned that you miss the opportunity to receive something so much better. Just because you may not end up with exactly what you wanted doesn’t mean that your life will be any less amazing. Don’t ever think that a decision made by any college admissions board can hold you back. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself- don’t let it.

As the auction went on, Coach Gilstrap announced a rare item: winning a $26 million dollar lottery. After previously watching teacher cadets create a raucous bidding over a new car, a trip around the world, and getting an A in the course of your choice, I expected this to be a free-for-all. But once again, the class went silent and our hands remained by our side. “Everyone who wins the lottery ends up in debt!” Said someone from the other side of the classroom. Eventually, senior David Thirkell ventured his hand into the air and the lottery was auctioned off for only sixty dollars.

Although in reality, the odds of winning the lottery are 1 in about 14 million (or more depending on where you live and what type of lottery you choose to play), what are the odds that winning it eventually leaves you, or your parents, worse off than you were before?

First off, you have to consider how many people win the lottery every year. According to the TLC television show, “The Lottery Changed My Life,” more than 1600 people win at least a million dollars each year. And with odds at 1 in every 175,223,510 people, only a handful of people win the jackpot each year.  This isn’t a lot considering the millions of people in the world but it’s still not as rare as most people would like to think that winning the lottery is.

Next, you have to consider what kind of people play the lottery: most of them are financially unstable, have low-income jobs, and are looking for an easy way out of debt. This may sound callous and insensitive if not that, “In a 1999 survey by the Consumer Federation of America and financial services firm Primerica, 40% of Americans with incomes between $25,000 and $35,000 — and nearly one-half of respondents with an income of $15,000 to $25,000 — thought winning the lottery would give them their retirement nest egg.”

What’s more is that lottery players typically get addicted to winning and sometimes spend outrageous amounts of money on tickets, figuring that win they’ll play until they gain money or at least break even. What these hopeless romantics don’t consider is that they’re more likely to get struck by lightning or die in a car accident on the way to buy a lottery ticket than win enough money that will leave them financially stable. One man, in an experiment, bought a thousand tickets in hopes to win $970,000. Even though the odds of this lottery were relatively low, he realized that it was still pretty unlikely and expected to win $293.50. He ended up winning $271.50 which was twenty-two dollars short of what he expected and cost him $728.50. It’s not worth it.

Although less glamorous and lacking an immediate huge pay-off, it’s more beneficial to invest or put extra money into a savings account. But even when one of these hopeless romantics does win the $125 million jackpot, they don’t consider investing or saving their money in any way. If they didn’t know how to handle money before, more money won’t likely teach them how to either. Thus, they end up worse off than they were before. It’s fairly easy to find stories of lottery winners who ended up bankrupt, in jail, or living very meagerly. And if it’s not due to being financially irresponsible, it’s due to several other unfortunate stupidities. It’s due to telling everyone you know that you’ve won and then expecting them to treat you like normal like Jack Whittaker. It’s due to being freaking crazy and deciding to kill your girlfriend like Gordon Hieatt. It’s due to being surrounded by freaking crazy people and getting killed like Jeffrey Dampier. It’s due to drugs like Willie Hurt. Or it’s due to money-hungry loved ones that want to suck you dry. Is an example needed for that one?  In these instances, winning the lottery can be a curse that will ruin your life. After being robbed twice, drugged, arrested twice, divorced from, filing for bankruptcy, and losing his granddaughter and daughter all in relation to winning a $319 million lottery, Jack Whittaker easily stated when reached for a comment, “I wish I’d torn that ticket up.”

However, for people that are financially responsible and can handle the fame that fortune brings, winning the lottery is a blessing. Brad Duke, a winner of a $220 million Powerball jackpot in 2005 is still very wealthy after hiring a team of financial advisors and investing his money.  And Steve and Carolyn West, who won a $340 million Powerball jackpot in 2006, are living happily in a ranch home. In stark contrast to Jack Whittaker, Steve told People magazine, “I can’t believe how blessed we’ve been.” Contrary to the cynical belief that winning the lottery leaves you in the poor house, there are happy lottery endings. They’re just harder to find, which makes sense—most people find happy stories about wealthy people uninteresting and dry so the media doesn’t report it. Or most winners want their new fortune to remain a secret so they go into anonymity to keep from getting pestered by the media or their neighbors.

And even if winning the lottery isn’t a miraculously life-changing event, it can still be a small thrill when you have a little cash handy.

“I’ve only played it a couple of times and the feeling that you actually might win some money is exciting,” says senior Nathan Leopard.

Gareth Calk, who started playing when he turned eighteen, says, “I think it’s fun and it’s a cool feeling to win against the odds. I’ve won about twenty dollars.”

Coach Gilstrap auctioned the lottery ticket as a way to measure the morals of his students in Teacher Cadet by determining how much we were willing to pay for fortune. But in reality, it’s not as much as winning the lottery that measures a person’s morals than it is what they do with the money and how responsible they are. It can be a small bit of luck, a blessing for you and your family, or a curse that leads you to your doom. I’d say the odds of that vary person by person.

Almost all students here at North Augusta can say they have had to stay up to do some sort of assignment that they procrastinated on, myself included.  Then, the next day in class, they cannot concentrate because they are too tired.  So why do students just put off their assignments?  One reason is that they are just too lazy to get it done when they should be working on it.

Another reason could be that they have so much work due all around the same time that they just don’t have time to do all of it. Or, it could be that some students just don’t care about their grades.

Senior Tate Conrad thinks, “when I procrastinate I feel mellow and chill because I’m not working on anything.”  On the other hand, senior Rashaedah Lawrence added, “I feel as if I’m not going to get  my work done because I waited for so long to get it done.”

Candace Channel, freshman, says “when I procrastinate, I feel rushed and that I’m not going to do well.”  When students tend to procrastinate, they are stressed out the night before and then they rush to get their work done.  Normally their grades suffer when this happens.   Since they don’t have time to sit down and actually work on the assignment, they make careless errors in their rush to finish.  Freshman Jason Hays agreed saying, “when I procrastinate, I feel bad but I do it anyways.”

Most students who take their time to complete assignments feel as if their work is better because they have the time to sit down and make their work ingenious.  They can take their time with their work, and they can afford to make a mistake in their works because they can go back and fix their problems.  Learning takes place when you make a mistake and  you can realize your mistake.

Candace went to say, “when I don’t procrastinate, I feel better about my work.”

Rushaedah added, “When I don’t procrastinate, I feel good about my work because I can take my time and I’ll know what I’m doing.”

Not to mention when you don’t procrastinate and you take your time, you most likely will make a better grade because you’re able to be more productive with  your work.

Students shouldn’t procrastinate.  Will they keep procrastinating? Most likely.  The benefits of not procrastinating out weigh the consequences of procrastinating.  After all as our third president, Thomas Jefferson, said, “why put off today, what you can do tomorrow?”

In Austria, Hungary, and Bavaria, getting coal in your stocking is the least of a child’s worries. The kids are more concerned with being tortured by Santa Clause’s evil twin, Krampus Night, whose job is to punish all the children who misbehave.  On December 6^th, men from different towns don the scariest, most devil-like costumes they can find and run drunkenly around hitting people with sticks.

In Catalonia, you would commonly find Caga Tió, the pooping log, around the house. Caga Tió is set out, under a blanket, the night of December 8^th and is “fed” nightly until Christmas Eve. He is then placed in the fireplace and beaten with a stick until he “poops” out candies, nuts, and other treats. He is encouraged through chants and songs, and eventually completes his job by revealing a salt herring, onion, or head of garlic.

The small town of La Font de la Figuera in Spain takes a Spanish holiday tradition to the extreme. It is customary in Spain for everyone to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve. However, in La Font de la Figuera, there takes place a New Year’s Eve run in which the participants wear only red underwear. Imagine hundreds of Spaniards of all ages running around in nothing but red underwear: that might be more shocking than the pooping log.

Now imagine this: it’s Christmas Day in Japan and you’re waiting in a long line to enter the restaurant where you’ll have your holiday feast with the entire family. You’ve probably had to make reservations but still the line is long. You’re all anticipating the delicious and “classic” Christmas dinner of fried chicken. You finally get in the door and the waitress greets you saying, “Welcome to KFC.” Yes, in Japan it is extremely popular to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for your Christmas meal. Whoever markets for them should be making a TON of money.

After some of these crazy foreign traditions, our Christmas festivities no longer seem so far out. However, many people in our community still share in unique (and often funny) holiday traditions. North Augusta High School senior Emerson Coulibaly recently moved to America from the Ivory Coast in Africa. Though he admits that the traditions there are similar to ours here, he notes that in the Ivory Coast, “We go to church on December 24^th from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am. Then, the young people stay out to party together.”  Also, junior Shelby Kenrick’s family incorporates the magic of Disney into their holidays. “We always cook Mickey Mouse waffles on Christmas eve,” she remarks. Pancakes I’ve heard of, waffles not so much. Finally, senior Michael Price has an interesting and unique tradition taking place in his household on Christmas Day.  He says, “My grandma rings a cow bell while we are all in the kitchen and says it’s Santa, and that’s the signal that we can go into the living room and open presents.” So in the Price household, they really do need more cow bell.

Even though our strangest holiday traditions don’t hold a candle to some in other countries, we all have unique and personal ways of celebrating Christmas. But what we do doesn’t really matter; it’s who we do it with. The craziest things are always the most fun when you do them with those you love.

The Friday after Thanksgiving has long been considered the beginning of the Christmas season, but the shopping frenzy is a more recent phenomenon.  The first “Black Friday” to be called such was in 1966 in Philadelphia. The nickname was coined by Philadelphia policeman to express their less-than-merry outlook on the hectic day of mobbed sidewalks and jammed streets. The name stuck, but now the “black” in Black Friday is attributed to retail businesses going “in the black,” or turning a profit on the year’s sales. The 24 hour, no-holds-barred extravaganza we know and love today barely even existed a decade ago, but it sprung to prominence quickly. Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year every year since 2005. On a side note the procrastinators out there should appreciate, the day Black Friday unseated at the top of that list was the Saturday before Christmas.

As the big day approaches yet again, get ready for amazing deals and even more amazing lines. Most major retailers include Black Friday prices in the Thanksgiving newspaper, so be on the lookout if you plan to shop. Senior Rodricka Gooch is participating in her first Black Friday this year, saying “I plan to shop for clothes, mainly, but I’ll look for any good deals.” You have to be dedicated to compete with shoppers like Rodricka, who said she “probably won’t even sleep Thursday night.”

Senior Riddhi Patel shared her experiences from Black Friday shopping in New York City: “It was so crowded. There’s people that will literally shove you out of the way to get what they want. People are crazy.” However, Riddhi still plans to shop this year, saying, “It’s fun. I’m just seeing what’s out there, and I’ll get whatever I can find.”

Some aren’t so eager to repeat their Black Friday adventures. Mrs. Gambill said, “the worst part is dragging yourself out there only to find that everything you wanted is gone. If there’s a good deal I’ll go out for it; sometimes it’s still there and sometimes it’s gone.”

But despite the enticing deals Black Friday offers, it will never be a shopping day for many people. Says senior Arianna Pierner, “I’ve never tried it. I don’t see the point in waiting in lines because I’m not patient. And getting up early…You can forget about that!”

I’m with Ari on this one. If you’re like us and can’t fathom a day-long uphill battle to the register, there’s always Cyber Monday. The Monday after Black Friday has recently become a chance for online retailers to cash in on the Christmas cheer. And it’s working: Cyber Monday 2011 was history’s first $1 billion online shopping day. To attract that many customers, online retailers offer deals and promotions that can equal and even surpass the Black Friday specials of brick-and-mortar businesses. Check out Amazon and other sites to take advantage of  these great sales without the hassle of leaving your home.

Thanksgiving is in a few days. Enjoy the turkey and the traditions you share with your family. Give thanks for everything you have. Then, if you so desire, wake up early Friday morning and go get a lot more. Will you brave the cruel streets and mobbing hordes to take home a Black Friday special? If you do, I salute you, fearless shopper. Good luck, and have a Merry (75% off!!) Christmas.

Experts agree that no one has a reason to hate capitalism more than this man. Photo credit: 12geo.com

Another difference is that in lower level classes, the teachers move more slowly than the higher level classes. I took CP2 Chemistry last year. However, all of my friends took Honors Chemistry.  I noticed whenever they talked about their class, they were talking about things that I had no idea even existed yet.  Then in the following weeks, I was being taught what they had learned a few weeks before.

Now I have Honors Physics and my chemistry teacher from last year is my physics teacher.  I noticed that she doesn’t down talk to us like she did in chemistry.  She now uses “big people words,” something she didn’t do last year in chemistry class.

But if it’s just pace and workload, why do certain students take CP classes when they should be taking Honors classes?  When asked, students have said things from, “I just don’t feel like doing all the work,” to, “I just don’t have time to do the work in my busy schedule.” Junior Pete Sherlock said, “I take CP because it’s less work and I have a very tight schedule outside of school.”  Junior Christian Cox said in response, “I feel as though there’s more work to do in honors classes than in CP, and most people would want to take the easy way out.”

Some students use their extracurricular activities as an excuse to not be in a class because they don’t have time to do the work that is involved with that class. Other students look down on that particular student who really can’t handle that level class, they call them lazy.  “I feel that if students want to take CP classes even though they are smart enough to be in AP classes, because of sports then they are nothing more than lazy,” says freshman Ana Boyd.

It is a Braking system that will automatically “pump” the braking mechanism for the driver in emergency braking conditions. The “pumping” (a rapid locking and unlocking of the brake disc) prevents wheel lockup and allows the driver to retain steering capabilities during the braking period.

You might have heard of your parents talking about how “in their days” a car’s brakes would lock up, along with the steering, and they might skid into the back of another car. ABS prevents this from according and gives the driver more control over the vehicle under heavy braking periods.

*If you’ve never experienced this, I recommend you experiment with it by driving at a low speed (under 25 mph) in an open parking lot. Slam on brakes, and the pedal should quickly oscillate.

Alternator

A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy for the purpose of charging the car battery. It is attached the front of the engine, by means of the pulley system. Tightly bound coils inside surround a spinning wheel of opposite polarity (spun by the pulley as the engine runs), creating electricity and is tricked back into the battery.

*It typically is cast aluminum, and one can view the copper-colored wiring inside. Without this device working properly, your battery may not be getting replenished. It can cause your battery to “loose juice”. Keep an eye on this piece because it may not be your battery that is “dead”.

Carburetor

Found only on older vehicles, a carburetor is a device that mixes air with fuel, delivering the mixture into the engine’s combustion chambers. By the mid-1980s, new emissions standards led to the use of fuel-injection systems, which do not require frequent adjustment.

Clutch

The clutch is squeezed between the back of the engine, and the front of the transmission. It acts as a coupling device which is used to engage and disengage the transmission from the engine when shifting gears. The engine is turning at a high rate of speed, and the transmission’s job is to change the gear ratio (higher for low speeds, and lower for higher speeds), which mandates this engaging and disengaging.

Crankshaft

The main shaft of an engine through which the power produced during combustion is transferred to the transmission (and ultimately the wheels) as torque. Its rotation results from the up-and-down motion of the pistons.

Think of a typical crank on the side of a water wheel, with notches acting as handles.

Those notches are where the pistons attach to. The horizontal bar that the notches are based off of can be thought of as a crankshaft. (A shaft for cranking on)

Differential

Located on the axle, containing a set of gears transferring the spinning of the drive shaft (extending from the back of the transmission) into spinning the axle (to which the wheels are attached to).

Four-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive vehicles have two differentials- one for the rear axle and one for the front.

Displacement

The volume displaced by an engine’s cylinders. Formerly measured in cubic inches, it is now more commonly expressed in liters.

The amount of space within an engines combustion chambers where the pistons are.

Electrical horsepower

The horsepower used for electrical machines is defined as exactly 746 W. The nameplates on electrical motors show their power output, not their power input.

Electronic Fuel Injection System

Injects fuel into the engine’s cylinders with electronic control to time and measure the fuel flow.

Horsepower (hp, hp)

Designates power production in an engine. One horsepower is the power needed to lift a 550-pound weight one foot in one second. = 745.699872 W

Independent Suspension

A suspension design that allows each wheel to move up and down independently of the other.

Limited-Slip Differential

A device that helps prevent the drive wheels from skidding or losing traction by diverting power from the slipping wheel to the opposite wheel on the same axle.

A mechanical gearbox that allows wheels to rotate at different speeds. It is located within the differential, on an axle, allowing the outside wheels to turn faster than the inside wheels. This is important to understand because which ever wheel is considered to be on the outside during turning will spin in a larger circle than the inside wheel. In which case, the outside wheel will need to spin faster. How do you make two wheels on the same axle spin at different speeds? Allow the differential to “slip” on one side, but only limit it to when turning. Thus, “Limited” “Slip” Differential

Octane

The hydrocarbon substance in gasoline. The larger the number (ex. 93 vs. 87), the more explosive it is.

*Excluding Diesel, when you go to the gas station to fill up your car, you will typically see 3 different numbers (87, 89, and 93). 87 is used for “normal” cars, and 93 for a higher performance car (V8 Mustang for example).

I don’t recommend putting in 93 if your engine is not a high performance engine or has a high combustion ratio. This will NOT make your car faster, as some may think. It will actually clog your engine because the fuel will not be exploded properly (because your engine isn’t designed to explode this type), and you will be left with a chamber full of unburned gasoline and a fouled spark plug.

Likewise, if your car recommends 93, don’t put in 87 just because it is cheaper. Lower grade gasoline will deaden the explosion process within the engine and throw off the timing of the igniting process, potentially destroying an engine.

Powertrain

A generalization of what mechanical parts cause the car to move. From the beginning: Engine, Transmission, Driveshaft, Differential, Axle, Wheels

RPM

Abbreviation for Revolutions Per Minute. A count of how many revolutions and engine’s crankshaft spins in a minutes time.

Spark Plug

Converts voltage into an arc that passes between its electrodes; the arc ignites the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber. The mixture explodes, creating power by pushing down the piston. One spark plug per piston.

Sitting on top of the engine chamber (where the piston is), it will spark, exploding the gasoline. This explosion forces the piston down the chamber where it is attached to the crankshaft. As the pistons move up and down, the chamber is refilled with gasoline for the spark plug to explode over and over again. This occurs several times within a second.

Torque

A measure of twisting force, given in foot-pounds (abbreviated as lb.-ft.) or Newton-meters (N-m). In the case of an automobile, it is the twisting or rotational force the engine exerts on the crankshaft. Vehicle specifications often include the maximum torque an engine produces at a specific number of revolutions.

Think of Torque as inertia. It is the engines resistance to stop running. The higher the torque number, the more of a load you can put on the engine before it will stall.

                                Torque * RPM

        Horsepower      =       ------------

                                    5252

*This isn’t true for everything, but is the standardized formula for most things

Wheelbase

The distance between the center of the front wheels to the center of rear wheels.

Lastly, Faith Saxon, senior, wanted to learn more about gas mileage.

- Dubbed MPG, miles per gallon, essentially is the measure of miles a car can go on a gallon of gasoline. Different styles of cars have different MPG numbers for several reasons. Aerodynamics, the Weight of a vehicle, and engine power ratings, all are key factors. To improve fuel economy, run low RPMs. If the engine is spinning at a lower rate of speed, it is consuming less fuel. Ease onto the gas peddle when accelerating, don’t stomp on it. Also, be sure to keep your tires properly inflated. A pumped tire rolls easier than a flat one. You can typically find the amount of pressure each tire should have on the inside the drivers door or in the owners manual. Regularly test the pressure in your tires with a gauge. As the weather gets colder, tire pressure will decrease. If you are looking for aftermarket parts to improve your gas mileage, consider a cold air intake, and an exhaust system. If an engine can ‘breath’ better and rid exhaust gasses quicker and/or easier, it won’t have to work as hard.

Travis Vaughn, sophomore, wanted to know more about engine sizes.

- Well Travis, engines come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can have a “Straight-4”, where four pistons are in a horizontal line, one behind the other. You can have a “V-10”, where 10 pistons are separated into a V-shape, 5 on one side, 5 on the other. Modern engines are measured in liters, but older models (typically American) were measured in cubic inches. Both are valid ways of determining an engine’s displacement (see definition above). Common “cubic inch” motor sizes are 454 and 350 cubic inches. Common “liter” motor sizes are 2.5L and 5.4L. The larger the motor, the more work it can do. Engines come in all different styles to fit different needs and wants.

Destinee Wilson, senior, wanted to learn about basic maintenance on a vehicle.

- Maintaining a vehicle is very serious business. If things go overlooked, it can cause problems down road. Simple maintenance on a vehicle can prevent costly repairs from occurring. Changing the oil is a common and important thing to do to a vehicle. There is oil everywhere; in the engine, transmission, and differential and key spots. Oil in these locations is exposed to many moving parts giving off heat. The oil’s job is to keep these parts cool and lubed, to prevent excessive friction. Over time, the oil particles break down, and are not capable of doing they’re job properly. It would be time for an oil change. It’s recommended to change your engine’s oil every 5000 miles. Even though there are oils out there that say they protect up to 10,000 miles or more, I recommend using 5k miles synthetic, and not going longer than 6 months even if you haven’t reached 5k miles. Changing the oil in your car can be very simple, and can be done alone. Be sure to know which type of oil is best for your engine though (many different types for different styles and ages), and check on where you can take your used oil. Other basic maintenance items include: Rotate and Balancing Tires every 6000 miles (this will ensure an even wear down of tire tread, due to the fact that the front tires wear quicker than the rear), keeping all fluids (radiator, power steering, transmission) topped off, and Keeping the tires properly inflated to ensure proper wear.

The librarians start out the year by doing freshman orientation.  They teach freshmen about the library and how it’s set up, and introduce them to the computers and the proper usage.  They are also teach MLA to everyone.  When the English department assigns their research papers, teachers will bring their students to the media center and the librarians help to teach the students about MLA and how to cite their papers properly.  Freshman Jason Hays says, “Our library is bigger than any other library and helps me when I have a big research project.”

They also sponsor Banned Books Week.  This was during the week of September 24 and October 1 this year.  This is a nationally celebrated week and so the librarians go around and tell people all about the different reasons why books are banned, which basically boils down to banning books that go against someone’s morals.  The librarians also decorate the windows in the library and show some of the books we have in our media center that were banned in other places.  Sophomore Alicia Robinson said, “The library here has a good book selection.”

Next is the Halloween Spook-tacular, which is when any student can come and either tell their ghost stories or they can listen to others ghost stories.  This year, it was on Halloween in the media center during their lunch.

The book club also meets in the media center every month.  Students bring bagged lunches and a book they want to discuss.  It is closed to all the students except the ones who are in the club.  The librarians also supply refreshments.  “It’s a fun time to be had by all,” said Mrs. Wells.

In February, the SCASL, the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, nominate 20 books that are “really good”. The librarians host a party in the media center on a certain day and if you read three or more of them then you are invited and you go and vote on which book is the best.  The librarians give food, and you’re supposed to go during your English class.

In April, the librarians celebrate National Poetry Month by displaying poems everywhere around the school.  The librarians also team up with Mrs. DuFault’s drama classes for a dramatic poetry reading.

The last thing the librarians do at the end of the year is “Libraries Most Wanted.”  This is when the librarians post pictures of people in their windows of people who owe the library fines or books.

The librarians try very hard throughout the year to get students to come to the library and ultimately just read more.  You cannot become better educated if you do not read more and the librarians try to get more students to read and become better educated.  Freshman Seth Rozshyai thinks, “it’s a quiet place that  you can focus in.”

One of the changes that most users are upset about is the new ticker feature that takes stalking to a new level.  The ticker allows you to be nosy on your friends without them knowing. You can actively see what your friends do on Facebook right at this exact moment. Yeah that’s not creepy at all. So you’ll know when your friend adds Justin Bieber and  Britney Spears on their favorites, or when your ex is single again. Some website have advice to ways you can “kill” the ticker. By that they mean to make it disappear but that doesn’t always work out.

Another change you may or may not have noticed is your news feed, which is now called ” Top news “, is a mix of the old “Top-News” and “Most Recent.” If you don’t check your page frequently, it keeps you up to date with what Facebook “guesses” you would be interested in, from the last time you were on. When asked about the new changes, Junior Bradley Moody replied ” I wasn’t upset, but I don’t like it.”  Some users are more willing to move on than others. Senior Tate Conrad said, ” I don’t like the new changes but I’m going to stick with Facebook unless they  start charging.”  The same users that are complaining now are probably the same ones that were complaining about the past changes and the changes before that. Just like the past Facebook changes, users will either move on and forget about in two weeks or delete their account.

Well, the new changes are for their benefit. Now users don’t have  to do much unnecessary clicking because there are less places to click and most of everything is in the same place. Facebook is trying to make things easier for its users and steal back its users lost to Google+ and other social media websites.

Along with the classy new facelift comes rumors and chain letters.  People are making the assumption that if Facebook is changing then they will start charging users for their service.  Another thing that you may have noticed (if you have more than 50 friends) is that Facebook will be charging its users the next morning according to what people said on your news feed- hat’definitely not the most reliable source to believe. Yet another urban legend parents tell their kids to scare them into not getting on Facebook? I think so.  Even though it clearly says it on the homepage ” Free and always will be “,  some people still fell for the ” IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOU WALL BEFORE MIDNIGHT YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. ”  or even the more famous  threat ” PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED.”

Even though it is obvious that Facebook is the king of the social media at the moment, it still has to compete with Twitter and Google+ for respect.  They are trying to maintain their top-tier status by constantly changing but is that pushing more users away or back to MySpace? Sophomore Ryan Baileay replied ” If they left it alone no one would be upset.” With all the changes Facebook is doing, it may be in danger to losing some of its users to Google+ and other social media websites.