december 2001
>l36d
ncssm I the stentorian
Caffeine Pills
Continued from Page 1
effect and harsh effects on the
stomach lining, causing indi
gestion.
The current maximum
strength of caffeine in alertness
aids is 200 mg per serving.
Most coffee contains 50-150
mg, while Coca-Cola contains
45.6 mg. Mountain Dew con
tains 55 mg, and Jolt holds the
title with 100 mg.
Thus, it is not difficult to
achieve the same effects of caf
feine pills like No-Doz and
Vivarin with mainstream bev
erages. It is often said that the
caffeine content of each tablet
is about equal two cups of cof
fee. Indeed, it the ease of
intake and not the quantity of
caffeine that makes caffeine
pills so exceptional.
An overdose of caffeine,
also known as caffeine intoxi
cation, is usually in excess of
250 mg. Some symptoms
include restlessness, nervous
ness, excitement, insomnia,
muscle twitching and convul
sions.
Community Service
CONTINED FROM PAGE 1
the spring, and Becky said she
hopes many more people will
sign up to work on that day.
Also, there are many opportuni
ties to participate in all kinds of
community service activities
around Durham via service
clubs and organizations within
our school. Clubs at NCSSM
such as Habitat for Humanity,
Key Club, and Helping Paws all
send volunteers into the com
munity to do diverse kinds of
work. Also, E. K. Powe
Elementary School, located a
block away from NCSSM,
accepts volunteers for tutoring
and mentoring children
throughout the school week.
Candis Watts, a volunteer at E.
K. Powe, said, “Tutoring has
been a really positive experi
ence for me, because it has
shown me how important it is to
be a good role model for those
who are younger than me.”
Wherever your talents or
interests lie, there is a commu
nity service opportunity here at
NCSSM with your name on it.
For information about service
clubs, check the At-A-Glance
page for meeting times; you can
attend meetings and sign up to
work in your free time, such as
afternoons, free periods, or
weekends.
Sports UpdaU
Lovejoy, Tingler lead Second
Beall to Softball Title
Cassidy Cobbs
S arah Lovejoy was 3-3
with 4 RBIs and 2 runs
scored including a grand
slam in the second inning and
Moriah Tingler was 2-2 with
three runs scored in November
29’s Intramural Softball Final.
Fourth Bryan, after a close
semifinal victory over First
Beall, couldn’t summon the
IM Softball Final
Fourth Bryan
Second Beall
offense to win one more time.
They managed only 1 run over
four innings. Meanwhile,
Second Beall had no such dif
ficulties. They scored 12 runs
in three innings to dominate
the diamond. Fourth made it
hard on themselves, though,
committing 6 errors in their
three innings in the field. Of
the six players to reach base on
an error, four actually scored.
1 2 3 4 R H E
0 10 0 1 5 6
2 8 2 X 12 9 1
Windows XP
A toxic dose of caffeine
varies according to the weight
of the individual, but is usually
about 10 grams by oral admin
istration. This much caffeine
causes heart and breathing
problems and death from con
vulsion.
Tolerance to caffeine
increases with use. In this way,
chronic caffeine usage is an
everlasting himger. The more
one uses, the more one needs
to achieve its effects.
It’s no surprise that there is
a higher estimated usage of
caffeine pills at NCSSM than
at most other high schools.
Nevertheless, there are no
punitive policies for usage of
caffeine pills. School nurses
attempt to educate students
about effects of caffeine pills
rather than punishing.
Students who resort to
this drug are driven by a fer
vent quest for perfection and
fueled by the racy connota
tions of “caffeine pills”.
Because those motivations are
eternal, caffeine pills are and
will remain a problem among
students.
Albert Ren
I n October, Microsoft
released the latest compo
nent of their Windows
monopoly: Windows XB It
comes in Home or Professional
edition, and the uppade can be
purchased at i^res for about
$99 or $199, respectively. With
this new version, Microsoft
claims many new features,
including increased stability and
a new interface.
As far as stability goes, XP
builds on the Windows 2000
core, vrfiich was itself built on
the Windows NT core. Because
XP now enjoys stability previ
ously unseen in Windows 9x,
it’s finally possible to leave your
computer on for days and not
experience even a single crash.
As one of die most obvi
ously new features, the interface
has really big buttons, similar to
MSN Explorer. The default
look changes the title bars and
taskbar to blue, and the Start
button is now twice as large and
green. Almost all icons that
were previously on the desktop
have disappeared, leaving onfy
the Recycle Bin, placed in the
lower right comer (anyone
remember the Trash Can?).
Overall, it seems as if
Fisher-Price designed the inter-
fece. XP looks like a toy, with
its blue color scheme and large
buttons in warm colors. It is
possible to revert to a “Classic”
look that is similar to 2000, but
it is still diffemt enough to feel
strange.
While CD burning is inte
grated into Windows XP, it is
highly simplified and very lim
ited. In addition, the upgrade to
XP disables popular CD-burn
ing prtgrams, like Easy CD
Creator 4 (EQDC). To bum
CDs, ECDC must be upgraded
to version 5, which c»ts $99.
Additionally, Microsoft
has now integrated Windows
Messenger into XP. It is not
compatible with AOL Instant
Messenger or ICQ, and requires
enrollment into a service
Microsoft calls “.NET
Passport.” It cannot be unin
stalled and is set to load wifti
Windows by default. Most of
Windows Messenger’s features
are available in MSN
Messenger.
Windows Media Pltyer 8
has a redesigned interface. It
looks smotrther and not as ugly
as version 7. However, features
like MPT creation and DVD
playback cannot be unlocked
without the purchase of an addi
tional pack.
The Java Virtual Machine
(JVM) has also been removed
from Windows XP, now only
available as a separate down
load. However, the version
available for download fix)m
Microsoft is outdated and does
not take advant^e of the latest
Java technology. Fortunately,
Sun Microsystems provides a
new JVM for download from
http://iava.sun.com/getiava.
Should you upgrade to
Windows XP? If you’re using
Windows 95, 98, or ME and
want the stability, Windows XP
just might be worth it; as long as
the computer can handle the
extra power it requires.
Windows 2000 users probably
don’t need to upgrade, as they
already have the stable core
that is the main feature of XE
If you are an NCSSM student
strapped for cash, don’t bother
paying for Windows XP at all.
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