The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Small lakes should be kept on-stream Ihave been reading with interest the proposals to take Clair Lake and Silver lake off-stream. There is a small pond on Colum» bia Street between Gatestone Boule- vard and Chancery Lane that demonstrates what can go wrong with these proposals. About 12 years ago, the flow of Clair Creek was altered by the City of Waterloo, effectively reducing the flow of water through this pond. T u This porid was éssentially taken off-stream. Swarms of mosquitoes restrict access toyeighbouripgyapis - A As well, Jie numbe'r'or birds and the amount of wildlife visiting the pond has dramatically decreased. As a result. this pond has become a stagnant smelly pool of water that is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and possibly West Nile The City of Waterloo has consis- tently refused to clean this pond of fallen trees and large downed branches. thereby increasing the stagnation of the pond. The reasons It turned out to be a hardware store and garden centre, along with Pappy's Outlet. Seriously. I have a more-than-healthy appetite and Ican't possiblyeat that much food _ _ _ - Case In point, the "World's Largest General Store." This caught my wife's eye as we sat in possibly the worst diner in the world, and it was all she looked forward to for three days, The ad said, "Make sure to bring your camera," After a SO-km drive. and Corr slantly growing signs promising wonders never before seen. we arrived. We met Peppy. who told us there were great deals inside his store. - - Always on the lookout for a bargain. we found mostly stuff which I can only assume Pappy had failed to sell at his garage sale in 1996, wr oa, of his “SI hats" was from the Ryder Truck company appreciation day in l993. . Itlt there is a bigger problem with obesity in the US. than here. And I think I know why. mammoth restaurant portions. _ _ Everything is Big - except, oddly. the salads. I think that might be part of the problem. _ It seemed a hit bizarre ti, have that sign up in a tavern - right beside the "Don't drink and drive" banner -- but maybe that's just me. A good rule to follow: The more garish the adver- tising. the more likely the item will be a gigantic waste oftime k Aha iheGniy reason io bring a camera wUs to take a picture recording. first. my wife's disappoint- ment. and then her anger, Never mislead a [mime when it comes to shop ping, _ . thr spending two days on interstate and state highways. you can't help but notice a definite differ- "we in driving between Americans and Canadians. Six packs in go: it's a rather" common sign in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. Not once did anyone cut me off or shoot me the finger In the ll S There's no place like home given have been that the city cannot afford to do this. I believe that these plans regard- ing Silver lake and Clair Lake have more to do with the economics than what is appropriate for the environ- ment and enjoyment of the citizens. Whit about the health of neigh- bouring residents and visiting wildlife? These smigi lakes should be kept on-stream and cost should not be the only factor in this dttisiop. _ _ As well. the Columbia Street pond should be re-visited and restored to health once again. Sports have received enough funding Before the city spends another dime on sports rrelds, I would like to see a study that shows what percentage of the population bene- fits by it. I hrnuy believe that the general population should not be footing any more bills for sports and leisure Barttarauaakwyrtpe COMMENT ., Since" vie were spending tirrie in the Pocono Mountains. it was exciting to rmd a sign that wel- comed us to "The land of love." l was back on the QEW for five minutes when each of those things happened. And we're supposed to be the polite ones? American drivers also seem to stay in the right- hand lane unless they're passing. And they stick closer to the speed limit. That might be because of the constant sight of state troopers. m I We were told. on several occasions, that since we were from out of state. we could shop in the firework outlets Since there was one on every corner, there seemed to be no rush. Plus, although I do like to see things blow up. I generally try to avoid doing it to myself. _ _ I pointed this out to my wife; she reminded me was just a rental. Sigh. New York City is a fascinating place. We went for a day. We will be back for longer. _ Having already visited Tokyo. it was hm to get a chance to see a small part of another great city of the world. I would like to see a lot more of it. lust listening to the accents on the street is an experience. You should go if you get the chance. . Hear more of Brian's thoughts on life with the K001, Morning ( 'rrw ewry “whiny morning fom 6 to 9 am. on Waterloo radio station ”)5 3 KOOI, FM I think southern Ontario is said to have one of the largest populations of deer in North America. Yet, I have rarely seen a deer here. On the other hand, we saw all kinds of deer in the United States, Many appeared to he sleeping at the side of the road. Perhaps it's a different species . What is the fascination with nre works? I've seen this before. In Myrtle Beach, SC., it's illegal to set off ttreworks in the city limit; _ However. it is. apparaatr. legal to sell them by the ton. A . It's disgusting that this council has once again ignored the majority who would much rather have a break in their taxes than see another Millennium (RIM) Park, How many Millennium (RIM) Park fiascos must we endure before it gets through their thick. thick skulls? City hall still has no credibility when it comes to being good stew- ards of our money. __ fl _ Stop wasting our money! Stop funding orchestras! Stop funding special interests! lust stop it already! Can we be any more clear? No one give you a mandate to waste our cash, so please stop it! _ When you must spend our cash, be sure it benefits a large segment of the population, not the small but loud group of fun seekers who wants to bankrupt us all with their insane recreational needs. If you want to be on a soccer team. pay for it. If you want to see the symphony, pay for it because I'm sick and tired of footing the bill. in the city. Scott LAM-um Waterloo it Are people born rotten? "I wrote Evil Genes to bring people up-to-date with extraor- dinary recent research that can make a tremendous difference in their lives," said Oakley. “I was inspired in part because my sister really did steal my mother's boyfriend. Her ability to manipulate and deceive others was uncanny. Growing up around that kind of behaviour, I couldn't help but wonder what caused it." "What I found was shocking," said Oakley. "In the past few years, hard science has discovered a lot about why sinister people think and act theway theydo. Togivejusta fl, INS) , Il 1 little example, your boss may be pre- - J _ disposed to act like a jerk because, in Mill) I some sense, he may be hardwired to _ act thatway." , ., "Identical twins are more alike genetically than fraternal twins, and researchers studying twins have shown that if one twin shows psy- chopath-like traits, the other twin is ‘ much more likely to also show those MARSHALL _ traits if it's an identical, rather than WARD fraternal, twin," said ()aldey. "in other words, there appears to be something m some people's genes that predisposes them to psychopathic hehaviour" t's been one month since Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people Iand wounded many more before committing suicide on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg Va., and I find myself still struggling with questions: How can some people be so evil? What in the world can we do about it? vWe iikke recenin abodt hier forthcoming bobk. Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell: Hitler Rose. Enron Failed and My Sister Stole My Mother's Btfyhiend. - _ _ _ _ She alsb looked at research con- cerning psychopathic traits among "We professors are not trained to handle the deeply dir turbed students we sometimes encounter, I think the best we can do is to lend an ear and help guide those students who have dimculties because of unusual life circumstances. but draw a line to avoid getting drawn into the endlessly needy lives of the emotionally disturbed." Oakley says those Gent on murder know schools are full of defenseless prey. I asked her what protective measures schools can ugh typtinst, psrhopltthic killers liktfeunrl4ui Cho. _ "The tttst administrative response I heard about was that Yale banned lifelike weapons in theatrical productions. This type of symbolic reaction is a joke that does nothing ta.make an ordinary student or professor's life safer," said Oakley. “On the other hahd, one school district in Texas is now teaching students how to swarm together and fight back in response to armed intruders. This is an intelligent approach that far more schools and universities should be ieaming" Dr. Barbara Oakley, an author and professor of engineering at Oakland University, teaches» a class called evil genes. -- -- It's a cutting-edge'course that covers how thehtest findings in genetics and modem medical imaging can provide fascinat- ing insight_ into whtsot.ne ptopit can be dgwnrignt Evil: A In her research. Oakley looked at genetics and what research literature had T say about mflrtolent people. - Oakley added, "Virtually every personality trait has been found to be influenced by genetics. People don't like to admit that there might be innately rotten character traits in certain individuals, because not much can he done about it." . The Virginia Tech killings were another shocking reminder that a murderer can strike anywhere, _ _ V As an educator myself, [asked Oakley what teachers can learn from this horrific event. "l think those professors who are naturally sweet-natured and who care about their students tend to attraét unbalanced types," explained Oakley "ltls a hit of a high for such a student if their professor is paying attention to them. but unfortunate- ly, no matter how much attention a professor might give (them). it is never enough. Oakley concluded. "Cho apparently lined some students up and methodically shot them as others watched, If students (are) given some brief training as to what to do in those types of situations. it could save lives." For me. there's comfort in knowing that, while some people are gerteticalry "evil." many are genetically good too Marshall Ward k a visual artist and independent filmmaker, Email is urlnnmp at muordewlu,ra. WATERU30 CH't0NKU5 . Wednesday. May Hi, 2007 . I I