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Ta-ta For Now: The Digital Devil is pretty much already on summer vacation. We leave you with best wishes for a happy and safe summer…..and these photos, which should convince you (if you are not already convinced) that you should join our staff.

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All of the preparation and studying has led up to this point in the school year. Even though most of the students can agree that testing is probably the worst thing that has happened to mankind ever. Though it is horrible, it is very important.  We have the finals, end of course exams, on-demand, Plan testing, and other tests that must be taken at the end of the school year.  Even though all of these things are very stressful, there are some good things that can happen to make things easier.

One thing would be exam exemptions.  With exam exemptions, you can exempt all of your elective class finals and, depending on your grade, you can exempt core content class finals.  This may sound good, but you might want to take the final in a class if you are failing to help your grade.  If you want to skip it, you must have your fees paid, no Ds or Fs on your 1^st semester report card, and you can’t have any referrals.

Another thing that makes the end of the school year testing easier is, believe it or not, end of course exams.  If you have an end of course exam in a class, you don’t have to take a final for that class.  Sophomores only have end of course exams in Biology, Algebra II, and English II.  For some, they only have to take 1 or 2 of those end of course exams.

These tips can help you relieve some stress.  You could also bite pencils, rip your hair out, or even kick a door down to relieve some stress.  The most logical and less violent way of relieving stress is getting sleep and studying periodically.  Don’t wait till the last minute and cram your notes into your head because if you do then your head might blow up.  Just kidding, but it’s not a good idea to study at the last minute.  Follow these tips and you have a strong chance of doing great on the finals or end of course exams.

If you’re like millions of people in America you like to listen to music daily. There is one major thing that people always want whilst listening to music and that is having all of the music you like at your fingertips. Many of people turn to downloading illegally to get the “extreme” rush and to listen to any song you want, when you want (and for free!!). Others turn to music streaming companies, such as: Pandora, Spotify, Rhapsody, Last.fm, or online radios. Some people just listen to the, usually poor quality, music on YouTube, while the remainder of the group stills buys CD’s and MP3’s. Well, the online radio service Spotify plans to launch an ad-based U.S. Internet radio service that would take Pandora head-on. The new format would veer away from Spotify’s current approach, which is like ITunes but more based on creating playlists from individual tracks and albums. Pandora’s approach is cheaper to operate because radio royalty rates are lower under rules set by Congress. The new service would launch by year end. Spotify told the press that currently has “no announcements to share at this time. Spotify has 10 million registered users, 3 million of them paying by having a “premium” account. Pandora has 150 million registered users, 49 million of them who have used the service in the last 30 days. I’d note that Pandora also is seeing direct competition from other services, in particular from iHeartRadio, Last.fm, and online streaming radio service from Clear Channel, the largest U.S. operator of broadcast radio stations.

I can think of at least 1,000 reasons why boys live easier lives than girls. If it wasn’t for the fact that being a girl allows me to wear cute clothes and make-up. There is no doubt in my mind that I’d rather be a boy. Seriously, they have it so good.

They don’t have to give birth. They don’t have to be skinny. They don’t have to wake up nearly as early to get ready. However, one of the most absolutely unfair advantages men have over women is in the gift category.

Men can buy their girlfriends jewelry, stuffed animals, and flowers without worrying in the slightest what they’ll think. These gifts are pre-approved, with guaranteed satisfaction. Not to mention that they all represent love and sensitivity, but what can a girl buy for her man that holds the same desired sentiment?

As a girlfriend I want to buy my boyfriend something reasonably priced that says, “I love you.” I want to purchase something that he will see and think, “wow, she really appreciates me!”

At first I thought the best idea was to get him a watch, but then he showed up at school sporting a brand new G-shock so that was out of the question.

Then I figured a new shirt would do perfectly. It was then that I remembered my boyfriend owns possibly every shade of polo in the entire world and works at American Eagle (the only two brands he ever wears). So once again I was back to square 1.

What to buy him that screams, “We are more than friends,” was the question, and I had yet to find an answer. I had reached the peak of desperation and resorted to doing something I had sworn to myself I would never do.

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. Horrible… I know.

I expected him to mention several reasonable romantic options that I would then narrow down and choose from. Instead he responded…

“The Sports Illustrated special edition for the UK Championship.”

What a romantic gift! Replace the candlelit dinner with the both of us in UK jerseys and sweats discussing draft picks at Buffalo Wild Wings! I would be the perfect friend with the perfect friend gift. He would look at the magazine thinking of me as a girl-friend rather than a girlfriend, which is exactly what I DID’NT want!

I had finally reached the end of my rope. The only sentimental “girlfriend,” gifts I could think of were too small and cheap to dazzle him. What on this godly green earth could I give him that sent the message I wanted to send without being too simple?

Apparently nothing. There is no material good that is good enough for me, but I don’t blame myself. I am not incapable of finding the perfect gift. I’ve done it before with my friends and with my relatives. My only fault in this failed effort is that I pursued an impossible task; Attempting to buy my boyfriend a perfect birthday present.

Girls don’t have it easy, there is no gift we can give that sends the right message. Shopping for a boyfriend’s birthday is like Mission Impossible minus the action. There is no way to buy him anything without settling, unless of course he loves heart-shaped jewelry.

2012 NBA Draft

This year’s draft is going to be a good one, with players of different skills and sizes. There is the top draft pick Anthony Davis that is sure to be an asset to any team. Thomas Robinson, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, and Andre Drummond are also potential top 5 draft picks this year. All of these players are destined to change the game as we know it in their future, but what about the other players in the draft? Everyone is always so focused on the top draft picks that the other players don’t get noticed. In basketball there are so many great players that some don’t even get a chance to showcase their talents on the big screen. For example, Jeremy Lin did not get a chance to play until injuries and personal issues kept starters on his team from playing. When he got on the court he did wonders for that team. In this years draft I see three players that are overlooked and will be the Jeremy Lins of the future. These players are Dion Waiters, Royce White, and Jae Crowder.

Dion Waiters is a sophomore guard for Syracuse that came off the bench, but once he came off the bench there is no doubt that he had a big impact on the court. His size, defense, and ability to handle the ball give him all of the assets to be a great point guard at the next level.

Royce White is a 6’8” sophomore for Iowa State with the ability of a point guard. White led his team in points, blocks, steals, assists, and rebounds. He is ultimately one of the best all-around players in the country. When given a chance to play, White will give his team everything he has in order to win.

There are few things that Marquette’s Jae Crowder can’t do. He can defend, get to the rim, and he has a decent shot from outside. He is a great leader and his solid size will help him have a successful career in the NBA.

These 3 players will definitely be people to watch in the future. Any team would be lucky to have them and I wish them luck in the draft.

On the Forbes’ new Real-Time Billionaires list the Walton family (Wal-Mart heirs) lost over $5 billion dollars in holdings due to a bribery scandal. This made a change in the Forbes Top 10 Billionaires with Christy Walton & Family falling to #11. According to Forbes here are the new top 10 billionaires in the world.
1. Carlos Slim Helu & Family- $68 billion, Telecom. His fortune is self-made and is $5 billion less than what he had last year.
2. Bill Gates-$61 billion, Microsoft. Gates’ fortune is self-made and his creation is used by millions of people every day.
3. Warren Buffet-$44 billion, Berkshire Hathaway. He is soon to retire and giving his company to his son Howard.
4. Bernard Arnault-$41 billion, LVMH. He is the richest man in Europe with the ownership of Louis Vuitton apparel.
5. Amancio Ortega-$37.5 billion, Zara. He has just recently moved into the top 5 billionaires due to the $6.5 billion brought in by his global fashion firm, Inditex.
6. Larry Ellison-$36 billion, Oracle. He has just recently bought the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
7. Eike Batista- $30 billion, Mining & Oil. He is Brazil’s richest man off of oil.
8. Stefan Persson-$26 billion, H&M. His cheap-chic apparel has made him billions in the past years.
9. Li Ka-shing-$25.5 billion, Diversified. Li Ka-Shing has just recently moved into Forbes top 10 billionaires and is currently Asia’s richest man.
10. Karl Albrecht-$25.4, billion, Aldi. His supermarket giant has 4,500 stores worldwide beating out the Wal-Mart family for the number ten spot due to Wal-Mart’s scandal.

OHS has its fair share of problems that differentiate it from other schools. Throughout the halls you can hear the students complain about many things that all seem very familiar. All students that attend Owensboro High School struggle with the same issues because of the environment they share. Below are listed the many complaints of OHS students, and trust me, these statements are made a LOT!

*It snowed like crazy but I don’t know whether or not to set my alarm because school hasn’t been called off!
• Someone unbuckled my backpack on the stairwell!
• I lost my charger!
• Mr. Shelton just exited me out of my game!
• We have to MAPS test today!
• My Internet connection isn’t working!
• I didn’t sell market day so I can’t leave for prom!
• Mrs. Taylor is our sub!!
• I didn’t meet my benchmarks so I have to use Aleks in AE
• I can’t get on Aleks so I don’t know what to do with myself for 30 minutes!
• There’s only bar soap in the bathroom!
• Basketball season is over!
• It’s fajita day!
• If I get any more tardies I have AP!
• I need to go to my locker but I’m not allowed to until 8:15!
• I have to make up a test in the library!
• The Spanish students won’t share their baked goods with me!
• We didn’t get any singing valentines in math!
• I don’t know anybody in my testing group!
• The school blocked Twitter!
• I can get on Facebook, but I’m worried I’ll get caught and get re-imaged!
• My Internet connection isn’t working!
• I plugged my computer in for an hour before I noticed that the light was still green!
• The cookies are burnt today!
• There isn’t a talent show this week!
• Mr. McCollum isn’t in the student faculty game!
• I have to leave my laptop in the Help desk all period!
• I have to take all my finals because I owe15 cents in the library!
• I missed the fight this morning!
• I bought something at American Eagle and now I match 5 other girls today!
• There’s only 1 minute left in class but I have to sit in my seat because we aren’t allowed to get up until the bell rings!
• I left my laptop in my last class!
• I left my headphones at home!
• I left my charger at home and my laptop is on 4%
• No one ever wears red and black on Fridays so we never get doughnuts!
• There’s no pool and no track!

There you have it! The many celebrated “problems,” of OHS! Maybe some are more relatable than others, but you’ve got to admit, we’ve all heard them all at least once!