Y.C.J.A.

Youth crime has always been a high profile topic in the media. You see news articles title Youth Crime On The Rise. The media focuses on stories that involve youth crime because thats what people are afraid of. Today, despite the fact that youth crime rates have been steadily dropping for nearly a decade, Canadians still view youth crime as a serious problem. These days it's the Youth Criminal Justice Act that is to blame for our criminal youth. Before the Y.C.J.A. came into effect it was the Young Offenders Act that was the problem.

I have a problem with people who think that we need to get tougher on youth crime. They call for longer sentences and more incarceration. I thought thats what we getting away from. Under the Y.O.A. Canada was incarcerating youth at a highest rate in the developed world. I am not against incarceration of dangerous violent offenders but for less serious offenders we need to focus on altering behavior. The Y.C.J.A. is attempting to do just that, it has made clear that for less serious offences like vandalism, and theft there are more sentencing options, such as the use of restorative justice and diversion programs designed to integrate troubled youth into society productively. The Act also is attempting to make it easier to allow courts to sentence youth as adults in cases involving more serious offences.

The Y.C.J.A. is not yet two years old and its key mandate is to divert youth that has conflicts with the law before they commit more serious offences. Lets give it a chance to work before we start to demand tougher legislation.

Korn gives birth to Pirate?

Jonathan Davis and wife/porn star Deven Davis welcomed a son, Pirate Howsmon Davis, on March 18. That's right, Pirate, as in swab the deck style pirate. I wonder if this has anything to do with the episode of South Park featuring the members of Korn and... what.. could it be... a ghost "Pirate"?


Pirate joins Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple, Demi Moore's Rumer and Scout, Frank Zappa's Dweezil and Moon Unit and Julia Roberts' Phinnaeus and Hazel among other poorly named children of celebrities.

The recording sessions for Korn's as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" are scheduled to begin on April 11. A September release is expected.

Friends don't let friends use IE

I have been using Firefox for some time now and think it just great. I love the Tab browsing features and pop up blocker. Firefox makes browsing the web easier and safer and its faster too! Because of the many security risks present in Internet Explorer many experts recommend that Windows users move away from Microsoft's Internet browser.

It is becoming clear that Mozilla's Firefox is the alternative browser of choice. I felt bad I have not given them anything in return. Well thats all changed I have add a link button to all my pages. If you haven't checked it already you should now. If you use Firefox spread the word. I can't recommend Firefox enough!

Red Bull Mini Cooper

I saw this on my morning jog and couldn't resist the photo op.

Constantine

I went to see Constantine the other day. It was a good film to see in the theater there were a lot of good special effects that would not be as good at home. But even the greatest special effects can't save a movie if it does not have a good story. The movie fell short in the story line department, but if you're not a hard core Hellblazer fan you may like it. A lot of the dialog was lifted from other movies such as The Prophecy and Dogma.

Keanu Reeves gave his typical good, but Keanu, performance. I really enjoyed Pruitt Taylor Vince's performance he is always excellent. Rachel Weisz was a bit of a bore playing both the role of Angela Dodson a, not quite skeptical enough for me, cop and Isabel Dodson the twin sister that has committed suicide. I would let this slide if she had a bit more eye candy appeal, but she's a butterface that stays fully clothed for the entire movie. All told this was a pretty good movie. With a little more effort it could have been excellent. Go see it at a matinee and you will not be disappointed.

Road Trip

I went on a road trip on the weekend with the wife and kid. We really are lucky He barely makes a noise in a car... Or on a plane for that matter. We rented a Ford Explorer and I liked it, despite its malfunctioning traction control system.

We went to New Harbour to visit friends there. We didn't stay long though but I had a good time none the less. I spent most of the day driving but that's the way I like it... More so now that I rent when I go on a road trip. Its a different set of wheels every time.

Casino

I went to the casino last week and no I didn't lose all my money. Although it wouldn't take long to do so. It was fun I went with my father in law Bill and friend Lee, Bill has a horse shoe up his ass I swear. Lee not so much with the horse shoe. I found it amusing that there is a little screen at every machine that says "if you have a problem with gambling call..." Then the next message is "please insert your players club card to earn valuable points". It should say if you have a players club card call the problem gamblers hotline!

Hacky Birthday

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h@pPy bIr7hD@Y tO m3.

H0W cOoL iZ 7hI5, 7H@7 y0ur d@d hAcKs In70 y0uR bL0G To wI5H U H@PpY bir7hd@y.

h0p3 iT's @ g00d 0n3!

Photos

I have added some new photos to Clutterbuck Photography. Love, Untitled 2, Baby Feet, and Hawksley. I hope you can take some time to have a look. I have added comments links, just like I did in ClutterBooks, so feel free to share your thoughts about these new photos.

Small cars test poorly for side impact

Recently the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested 13 small cars for safety in a side impact crash. Among the lowest were Ford's Focus, Volkswagen's New beetle, Kia's Spectra, and Hyundai's Elantra. They, along with seven other vehicles, all received a rating of "poor" which is the lowest possible rating the institute has.

The bar has been raised for side impact safety in smaller vehicles due to the rise number of lager vehicles on the road particularly S.U.V.'s. The test conducted by the institute simulated the impact of a larger vehicle on each of the smaller vehicles at a speed of 31 mph.

What exactly is "poor"? It means, high chance of serious injury in a similar crash!

Doge Neon was the worst tested.

General Motors Cobalt and Toyota's Corolla tested higher in models tested with side impact airbags, but received a rating of "poor" in models tested without.

You may at this time be asking why aren't these cars being made safer. It is because we the consumers have not demanded this of the manufacturers. Buyers of smaller vehicles tend, for the most part, to be motivated by the cost of the vehicle. The manufacturers have eliminated safety features commonly found in lager vehicles because the consumer is not looking for, or does not expect to find them, in these smaller vehicles.

As well as making smaller cars safer manufacturers should be looking at ways to reduce the damage cause buy S.U.V.'s and other larger vehicles when they have an impact with a smaller vehicle.

Clutterbuck Computer Clutter Challenge

I was reading about the Clutterbuck computer clutter challenge on the Clutterbuck Blog and thought I might have a winner here.


Update: The contest administrator has looked carefully at my submission to this challenge, and has made some preliminary observations:

Lets see... mysterious fluffy items on desktop - CHECK. Minimal bare desk space - CHECK. Assorted pens and papers - CHECK. Plastic bags - CHECK. Briefcase from Pulp Fiction - CHECK. And as a bonus, what looks like either a baby's bottle or a penis-enlarger pump. Not bad. Not bad at all - the jury is out, and hopefully it won't be well hung.

Living Greener and Doing More

I have always tried to do what I can for the environment; reducing my personal waste, using less energy, walking instead of driving, and most recently using cotton diapers (on the baby). It's no secret that if we don't act now to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG's) we are all in serious trouble. There is so much that can be done to help. They say it's simple changes that can have the biggest impact if everyone pitches in.

Reducing GHG's is good for your bank account. Take for instance lowering the temperature in your home by 2-3 degrees. For every degree lowered you save 2% on your heating bill. You would have similar results for doing the opposite in the summer with your air conditioner. Other ideas for reducing GHG's can be found here. These are a great start but we need to do more.

We need to start demanding green power! We need to demand legislation that requires cleaner fuels for our vehicles, like ethanol blends and bio-diesel, at fuel pumps. There needs to government incentives to large companies that choose green energy or operate fleets on Bio-diesel. Municipalities need to pass bi-laws requiring that all new commercial construction have square footage dedicated to green space. For instance, large buildings could have green space on there rooftops. We need to put pressure on the Federal Government to adopt a green budget. Developing countries, such as China, India, and Indonesia need help to implement green policies. Email your MP here and let them know these are important issues to you.

There is hope and the future is not bleak. Our children will do more then we have, as we have done more than our parents.