The actual recipe is:
Fluid extract of Coca: 3 drams USP
Citric acid: 3 oz
Caffeine: 1 oz
Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity)
Water: 2.5 gal
Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
Vanilla: 1 oz
Caramel: 1.5 oz or more for color
The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol: 8 oz
Orange oil: 20 drops
Lemon oil: 30 drops
Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
Coriander: 5 drops
Neroli: 10 drops
Cinnamon: 10 drops

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110215/ts_yblog_thelookout/did-nprs-this-american-life-discover-cokes-secret-formula
The recipe may be a bit old as it contains alcohol. However, the finished result is quite close to the actual taste of Coke.

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Butler versus Pittsburgh:

Cinderella. These are the upstarts, the high single digit or double digit seeds to somehow manage to make it to the Elite Eight or Final Four. This year, the most grief-causing of these Cinderella stories was Butler, who edged out Pittsburgh to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. This hardy band of ruffians fought tooth and nail with the Panthers, eventually beating them in the final seconds
The game started out with Butler leading Pittsburgh, their fearsome opponent in the second round, by 7 at the half. Butler had gone on an 11-2 spurt in the middle of the half to gain a 30-18 lead and kept that lead going into the second half. In the second half, Pittsburgh regained the lead early, going up 53-48. However, Butler just wouldn’t go away. With 1.4 seconds, Butler was up 70-69. Then, Butler’s Shelvin Mack oddly fouled Gilbert Brown. Brown made the first free throw attempt but missed the second. Matt Howard of Butler, who rebounded the ball, was the victim of yet another unexpected foul by Nasir Robinson. Howard made the first free throw and intentionally missed the next, winning the game for Butler. Although this finish was controversial, Butler had knocked off the top seed in their region and fans flooded the court celebrating.
To get to the Elite Eight, Butler will have to get through Wisconsin, who edged out number 5 seed Kansas State to get to the Sweet 16. Then, it will either face number 3 seed BYU or number 2 seed Florida. However, even if they end their run against Wisconsin, they still will have the satisfaction of knocking out a number 1 seed run.

VCU versus Purdue:

After a weekend of devastating upsets that left millions reeling with their brackets torn apart, a single college celebrates their victory in Ram style: VCU. Currently, the top ranked member on ESPN got 5 predictions wrong in the first round and 1 in the second. On Yahoo, the top member incorrectly predicted 6 teams throughout the first and second round. Less than 0.05 percent of brackets on ESPN have a VCU versus Richmond matchup. VCU, an upstart team near Richmond, Virginia, blew away USC, Georgetown, and is now facing Florida State.
In the USC game, VCU blew away its competition, 59-46. Although their first half was mediocre, VCU dominated the second half, creating an unbeatable lead within minutes. Their top players were Jamie Skeen with 16 points and nine rebounds and Bradford Burgess with nine points and ten rebounds. The Trojans were unable to muster any sort of defense against VCU’s relentless attack in this upset.
In the Georgetown game, VCU left the remains of its opponent for the vultures. This hardy college rolled over Georgetown 74-56, with Brandon Rozzell scoring 26 points. By halftime, VCU led 35-24 and they never looked back. Georgetown had 17 turnovers and VCU shot almost 41 percent; this played a key part in their victory.
In the Purdue game, VCU slaughtered an unworthy #3 seed. Beating Purdue 94-76, VCU was led by Bradford Burgess who scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds. This was the first time in school history that VCU had reached the Sweet Sixteen; their rowdy fans loved every minute of it. All of VCU’s players contributed; Joey Rodriguez scored 12 points, Jamie Skeen scored 13 points, and Juvonte Reddic scored 12 points. Although both Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson and Ryne Smith played well, the combined assault of four VCU players left Purdue helpless and beaten.
To get to the Elite Eight, VCU will have to get through Florida State, who blew away number 2 seed Florida to get to the Sweet 16. Then, it will either face Kansas or Richmond to reach the Final Four. However, even if they burn out against Florida State, they still will have had an amazing March Madness run and were a great addition to an already chaotic tournament.

Ever since Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, military strategists have plotted to create the perfect battle plan. In recent years, new video games called Real Time Strategy (RTS) games made it possible for all of us to be armchair generals. In these games, you can control thousands of soldiers and citizens, how they are trained, where they go, how/when they attack, buildings they defend, and the resources they collect. In these games, a player must use his/ her mind to succeed and must learn to balance the army with the general welfare of the people, buildings, and city to win the battle.

In many Real Time Strategy games, the player maneuvers troops and constructs buildings to control specific areas of the map. In addition, they can use their troops to destroy enemy buildings and troops. The formations and morale of the soldiers can sometimes be a factor in how well they fight. To train soldiers, the player must gather resources by building a base and constructing farms, lumber camps, and mining facilities. In addition, the user, in most games, must advance their technology to enable them to construct more advanced buildings, buy more advanced weapons, and train more advance troops.

Some examples of RTS games are Command and Conquer, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and, of course, StarCraft. Command and Conquer was the first RTS game to allow multiple players to compete online. Age of Empires utilized a 3D engine to allow movement in every direction. It also allowed players to complete several campaigns and construct their own maps. Age of Mythology was similar, also utilizing so-called god powers. However, the most innovative and popular game was StarCraft. Why was it is so popular? As Phil Jamsri said, “it is basically a war and defense game.” Let’s find out.

In the first StarCraft, the plot revolved around three different species that were fighting for dominance in a sector of the Milky Way Galaxy. The three races are the Terrans, the Zerg, and the Protoss. The Terrans are exiled Earthlings that can adapt quickly in any environment whereas the Zerg are aliens whose sole goal is to achieve genetic perfection. Lastly, the Protoss are a humanoid race with a philosophical way of life. They have advanced technology and mental abilities. In the three part campaign, the player acts as a member of all three species and attempts to reach objectives that are, truth be told, sometimes hard to achieve.
Now, you may ask, why is this game so compelling? “I love how gruesome it is,” said Jamsri. There are several factors that make StarCraft stand out. David Lim commented that “the graphics are good and it has a [cool] monster.” First, and most importantly, the species are incredibly diverse. The units move in unique ways, have different levels of attack, and have to be used in distinct ways. A master of using one race may be a novice at another. In addition, the races are balanced; no one race is better than another. Furthermore, the graphics in StarCraft are incredibly good for a 3D RTS, even though they’re pure pixel. Additionally, no troop ever becomes superseded throughout the course of the game, a benefit that many games lack. Finally, StarCraft requires much more strategy than other RTS games; scouting is very important and conservation of troops and resources is necessary for success.

RTS games are considered by many to be the future of the video games. They unlock the inner strategist in all of us while still allowing us to kill and destroy. Overall, if you’re an avid video game player who has become sick of the endless shoot-em-up in Call of Duty and similar games, you should try StarCraft and other similar games; their fast-paced, strategic gameplay is the perfect exercise for both the mind and the killer instinct in all of us.

R.E.M’s new album, Collapse Into Now, is all about immersion; my advice is to play it in surround sound because the guitar, synth, and singing blend to make a beautiful, flowing track. The songs that were out are below:

1: Uberlin is a great song with quiet yet exhilarating guitar and cryptic lyrics that lead up to an awesome chorus; this song can make you think. This song is similar to an earlier R.E.M album, “Out of Time,” and it is definitely one of my favorites.

2: It Happened Today, one of my favorite songs of the album, has harmonic singing and driving, loud guitar that blends to make a brilliant sound. With classic R.E.M-style cryptic lyrics and Michael Stipe’s wordless “aaahhhs,” this is the most immersing song yet of the album.

3: Discoverer has definitely taken a leaf from the pages of “Accelerate” and “star 69” with fast, loud, aggressive lyrics and short bursts of guitar supported by a beautiful drumbeat. The lyrics are not well-pronounced, which adds a flowing feel.

4: Oh My Heart has a good synth accompaniment. This song features Michael Stipe’s haunting lyrics that tell the story of post-Katrina New Orleans. In addition the guitar interludes are brilliant and the chorus is stunning.

5: Mine Smell Like Honey is a fun, bright song with a darkening chorus that immerses the listener. The drums are jumpy and fast and the verses are witty and thought provoking. Furthermore, the backup vocals add a dark side to the singing.

This album is revolutionary; the surround sound is breathtaking. In addition, I love the album and its stories, guitars, and videos. Overall, if you like alternative rock, this album is a must-have. After much consideration, I award this 9 out of 10 stars, landing it in the excellent category.

Two of Jeopardy’s most renowned champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter recently took on Watson, the most intuitive supercomputer to date. Made by IBM, Watson is reminiscent of Deep Blue, a supercomputer that IBM constructed to compete against Gary Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players ever. However, there are significant differences between Watson and Deep Blue because of the inherent differences between Jeopardy and chess. In chess, although there are a huge amount of possible games, the number is finite and within the power of a machine operating on 0s and 1s. Jeopardy, in contrast, is a whole different story because it deals with language and human phrasing. Watson needed to not only have incredible computing power; he also needed the ability to analyze human language.

IBM spent years working on this project, teaching Watson the seemingly infinite nuances of the English language. They had to not only make him smart, they had to make him human. To do this, IBM’s top research scientists utilized raw computing and a string of algorithms, powered by 10 racks of IBM Power 750 servers with 2880 processor cores and 15 terabytes of RAM. With this tremendous amount of power, Watson is able to examine millions of book’s worth of knowledge within seconds, confidently finding an answer before a human finishes processing the question.

After all of this work, it appears Watson is successful and the work has paid off. Watson beat former Jeopardy champions in a trial round and even made a joke when answering one of the questions. In the real thing, however, he tied the champions, although he took an early lead. His major fault was wordplay and the inability to recognize that an earlier contestant had already said an answer. In one case, one of his competitors answered a decade questions with the 1920s and got it wrong. Watson immediately answered the question by saying the 1920s.

However, although there are still some glitches and faults that need to be fixed, Watson is a true feat of technology. It proves that robots are not only raw computing; they can even beat us at our favorite game: trivia.

Being a world superpower, it might be assumed that the US would score well in education compared to the rest of the world. But the reality is that America only received a 500 out of 1000 points for education, which puts us in the “average” zone for education.

“I’m not surprised, I’ve heard this before,” said Indigo math teacher Sam Kobayashi. “I think the math program at Day is very strong. I think one problem is as a country, we think of math just as a skill subject instead of a way of thinking.”

“Overall, Newton students really like reading, and that makes our schools reading skills strong. Newton, as a whole, does well,” said 6th grade Azure English teacher Michael Pfaff.

“From what I’ve heard, Massachusetts has a strong standing, and Newton has a strong standing within Massachusetts, which is good,” said Indigo science teacher Jamie Gresser. “Our curriculum is strong, and as a resident and teacher, that feels good. Newton takes education seriously, not to say other places don’t take education seriously. Taking education seriously and having a supportive community makes a productive environment,”

Say students tend to agree that the high standards and expectations at Day don’t reflect an “average” school system. But some feel that even higher-level courses could be offered and taken advantage of by students seeking top-level rigor.

“We should be learning more advanced math,” said Mark Zhang, a 6th grader on Azure who has lived and gone to school in China. “In China, the schools are stricter and have high standards (in mathematics).”

After reading the Daytime article, “U.S. students outperformed in school,” I felt good news was in order. If you read beyond the headlines you will find that the US produces more of the highest-performing students than any other country in the world. Averages, which the headlines are based on, don’t tell the whole story.
There are two tests that caused the headlines all across the country as to out failing schools. These tests are the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Each of these assessments test students in several countries and compare the results. There are two problems with the tests. One is the tests themselves are the other is the interpretation of the results.

The tests compare countries like the US, with a very large and diverse population, with cities like Shanghi and small homogeneous countries like Finland. The US educates and tests all children unlike many other countries. Each country has a very different approach to education, embedded in a specific culture. In Japan, for example almost all children speak Japanese as their first language, the language the test is given in. However many students in the US do not speak English as their first language and the test is in English. In different countries children are in the ‘same grade’ at different ages. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.
Most current research shows that poverty is the largest indicator of academic success. In Finland the number of student living inn poverty is around 2-percent. In the US it’s 22-percent. In fact, if the results are adjusted for poverty rates, the US students come out on top.

What’s not always reported is that the US produces more of the highest-performing students than any other country. This means that we have a major advantage over other countries in the numbers of highly qualified workers. There is, however some bad news here. We also produce more low-performing students that other countries.

Though our averages place us in the same group as England, Germany and Russia, after Singapore and Japan, the differences are statistically insignificant. As Ina V.S. Millis, a Boston College research professor and co-director of the TIMSS said, “Certainly, our results do not show the United States trailing the developed world by any stretch of the imagination.”

”My car is good on mileage but I should start driving less because it will effect my commute,” said Ashley McClure, the crossing guard for Day. On average every year the prices go up 45 cents each week. The expected price in the summer is predicted to be $5 and currently the prices per gallon currently is about $3.58.

That is high compared top 2009’s prices, which were expected to be $2.03 per gallon and it ended up to be $2.37 so expect a higher price than what is predicated. A barrel of oil in 2009 was a minuscule amount of $51 and now in 2011 the price nearly doubles to an outstanding $100 per barrel. The energy is also a problem in today’s society dropping after the government said the oil supplies is expected to fall. If a car had a 10-gallon tank it would cost $50 to completely fill it up and most cars have a 12- gallon tank. Most SUV’s have a 15- gallon tank so to fill it up; it needs $75 of gas.

“I will ride a bike or walk places and maybe buy a motorcycle because it is so good on gas,” said Andy Comings the sixth grade history teacher at Day. “Large trucks need much more, about 100 dollars to fill it up completely.”