Anonymous 911?

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So about half an hour ago driving down Whyte Ave I phoned 911 for the first time in my life, to inform police about a black Honda Civic (licence plate CYM-5 something-something) that was weaving all over the road. He never went fully into the right lane, but he sure made it halfway across a couple of times. I tailed them until the 75th street and 82nd avenue corner where they ran the red and I ended up falling behind. All fine and good, they were sending a car to intercept the guy at his house. What I found as odd was they asked for my name and phone number whilst I'm busy chasing this retard. I thought 911 was anonymous or something. Maybe I'm thinking of CrimeStoppers. I suppose the sickeningly large number of 911 calls made accidentally or as pranks might factor into this, isn't it sort of possible to just, you know.. lie? Claim a missing phone or something, I dunno.

The other big excitement today is in my hockey pool. One of our friends um.....friend's friend friend's acquaintance (for the sake of argument, lets call him Chang) decided he's dropping out. His $10 promised to the kitty going to the winner? He's not putting it in. His $100 sidebet with the owner of the pool (let's call him Martok) over who would finish higher? Backed out of. Why, you may ask? Well, one guy in the pool (we shall dub him Kang) ran out of moves. Martok has lots, so they worked out a lopsided deal in return for letting him acquire a player off free agency. A little sneaky, but nothing too major, right? Wrong. You see, Chang was in first place since the start of the pool, Martok a distant second for the longest time (Chang had a lot of Ottawa Senators). Well, Chang has been losing ground for a while, and just after this "blockbuster" deal (namely Briere and Khabibulin for Boyle and Tellqvist) he fell from first place to a tie for first place. As a result, he backs out. Oddly enough, I started the pool in last place (well, excepting the first week which doesn't count) yet I agreed to the $10 even though it was suggested AFTER 2-3 weeks of play had already been undertaken. Well now suddenly he wanted out of it all. It was more than a little ridiculous, regardless of one's opinion of the deal. Hell, Kang was extremely upset earlier this year that Chang was able to pick up Ovechkin on waivers (due to Yahoo quirks), and then was part of a group of three who were furious that I obtained Ovechkin and Lupal for Marian Hossa (later changed to Ovechkin/Marleau for Hossa, which was still angrily debated). Yet now suddenly its Chang wanting to drop all his cards and go home? I swear, I intended to join a pool full of men. Instead, I get a bunch of drama-loving women I made an angry post about an hour ago, we shall see what comes of it.

Over at the Shotgun, Steve Janke is not impressed with the Francophonie.

A followup to an earlier story, the B.C. government has laid off Costco shoppers who dare go to Alberta. The best newspaper quotes on the matter? "Thorpe said British Columbia will develop a public awareness campaign that educates people about tax obligations." You think people aren't aware that the government claims a rather large tithe on all that is known to man? Also good was "It's cheaper to shop at a grocery store in Banff than it is to shop in Invermere". Dear Lord, where do B.C. residents go to really get their bargains? The shops and services in the Calgary International Airport? There shouldn't be a place on the planet more expensive than Banff. The best about the story has to be that its possible B.C. violated its own privacy laws by trying to ham-fist the data out of Costco. Black eyes all around Victoria this week, I think.

From /.:

• Craigslist is getting charged with violation of fair housing laws because members can filter for age/sex/race/gender/orientation/religion/smell/etc. So when the feds make Craigslist a cesspool for lousy renters like non-internet options are already forced into, and Craigslist loses its primary appeal, do you think Craig Newmark can get el federales to cut him a cheque for lost income?
• I was never fired for playing Solitare. But I was once not re-hired for playing FreeCell, so I can empathize.
• The global warming nutsos are at it again. They haven't said squat yet in Edmonton despite an autumn-like snow-free winter, maybe because somebody is ready to remind them that Europe is freezing to death.
• Internet radio is losing ground. This is really no big shock. After all, the number of people doing internet radio is skyrocketing, as the number of people who care about radio at all (terrestial or internet or satellite) is dropping. Oh, I might as well take the time to advertise my friend DJ ShyGirl even though her radio station's site is currently down (ouch!).

From fark.com:

• Vietnamese websites can't use words that look similar to penis. They say that it's because the Vietnamese alphabet gets condensed when used to make URLs, and that penis is "not in accordance with social ethics, lifestyle and national culture". Geesh guys, just because they're small doesn't mean they aren't still part of your culture!
• What's wrong with public healthcare? Well, for starters, you might not like your tax dollars funding blood transfusions. Or abortions. Or sex changes.
• What else is wrong with public healthcare? Long lines for essential services. Or worse, not even being allowed to be in a long line for essential services.
  
• Kristin Chenowth is in FHM! Is this the same girl I saw on the cover of some makeup magazine in Wal-Mart yesterday? No idea. Hey, she's fun to look at though.
• I emphasize with this guy: last week somebody at work stole a delicious turkey sandwich I had lovingly made at home. At least I got him back with an evil note:
  
  To whoever STOLE my turkey sandwich today, thanks a lot.
  

  -(my name)
  

  P.S. You know I don't wash my hands before I make those
• Jose Theodore isn't the only one: now a U.S. "slider" (is that a fancy name for a Luger?) isn't hitting the Olympics due to anti-hair-loss meds. So now might be a good time to ask: if we didn't have the Olympics would anybody care? I mean, Vancouver is poised to be another Montreal-style taxpayer bilking, and with all the doping issues and judging issues you can't believe any of the numbers anymore. What if some brave nation (say, England) decided to just stop going...no boycott, no nothing, just stop going. Don't care. Say what a waste it is to do care. And then don't care. Don't claim to not care and then care...just....don't bloody care!
• Especially don't care now that the Olympic Committee bans you for having blood that's too good.
• Reuters is warning that the Canadian and American dollars may reach near-parity again next year. Well, that only took 30 years to recoup.
• America won't let God vote. Ohh, the Muslims are gonna hate us for this.
• Harper may have done a lot of boneheaded things in his career this week, but at least we can be proud of him for something.
• Valentines Day is a boon for flowershops, teddy bear manufacturers, candy stores, and restaurants. Oh, and Private Eyes. Er, what's with that last one?
• At least this guy knows how to celebrate Valentine's Day!
• They still don't tell us what dacking is!

The Wayne Gretzky scandal is going out of control. You can link to it yourself, I'm still processing the rumours that this guy is sleeping with this actress.

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