I'm really scared of the sniper. I can't help it. I know that they tell you the last thing you're supposed to do is succumb to your terror of people like this - I'm reminded of that same advisory when we were all talking about terrorists and hijackers and anthrax. The difference is, this guy has actually come out and said: I'm going after your children next, if you don't give me what I want.

I live only about a 15-minute walk away from where I work. The deciding factor in selecting an apartment downtown was its proximity to my office, enabling me to walk to work. However, for a number of reasons (the expectation to be to work before the rest of the waking world, perpetually running late, not being a morning person, having an irrational aversion to natural light and any aerobic activity which doesn't come with a pricey membership fee) I choose to take a cab to work just about every morning. It's my one (um?) vice, and amounts to about the same expense as smoking a pack a day. I'm not proud of it, but - y'know - I work hard, I walk home, and I'm not supporting the tobacco industry. Here is my story.

From today's Globe & Mail: "[Alberta's bicycle-helmet law] saddles parents with a $50 fine if their child, aged 15 years or younger, is caught riding a bike without a helmet. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds riding without protective headgear will be issued a fine themselves."

http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/04/10/f209.raw.html

I feel very strongly about this topic, and I'd appreciate some feedback so I don't just get more and more pissed off, and lose all perspective. :) But I AM going to rant a bit, so bear with me.