Condemned to an ice floe

The Toronto Star reported today that students in 30 cities across Canada protested today about the high cost of tuition, which is currently $5160 for an average undergraduate in Ontario. And, on the U of T campus, about 20 counter-protesters waved signs such as "Get back to class, you truant hippies!"

I've always been deeply troubled by the recent rise in tuition fees. When I was attending university - about 3 billion years ago, more or less - tuition fees were much lower. Because I was in the University of Waterloo's co-op program, I was able to graduate without accumulating any student debt at all. And shortly after I graduated, fees started to rise. It was as if people my age were helped up a ladder, and then pulled the ladder up after them.

I can't help but think that what goes around, comes around. If we aren't willing to help younger people now, will they be willing to help us when we get old and require more health care and other benefits? They might well be tempted to abandon all us oldsters on ice floes, and who can blame them?


The Globe reported earlier this week that a New York state senator wants to levy a $100 fine on anyone who crosses a city street while wearing an iPod. That's just about everybody these days, isn't it? I'm sure that most pedestrians are willing to look both ways before crossing a street, whether they're listening to music or not, so this law is silly.


Today, I got spam, addressed to me, with the header "Till Morning's Light". The body of the message was empty. Was this specifically intendedfor me, or what? (By the way: anybody who, after being introduced to me, thinks that responding "Till when?" is the height of wit should realize that they are wrong. Everybody's heard all puns related to their name over and over again. Trust me.)