Angel >> Alberta Yup, Alberta. The provincial government is entertaining the possibility of suing the pants off the likes of such giants as Microsoft, IBM and the like--over the Y2K computer bug. How clever is that? Thus far, the estimated cost of bringing the Alberta government's 14,000 computers up to Y2K-resistant standards comes to almost a quarter of a billion dollars. So the Alberta government will try to recoup some of the cost in court, laying the blame on the lazy-ass programmers responsible for miring the world in this hi-tech problem. We applaud the Albertans, while suppressing the shiver that comes with the realisation that the prairies are leading the world in innovative lawsuits.

Insect >> Telemarketing scum "Congratulations!" They say. "You've just won a prize!" Lucky lucky you. All you have to do is buy some pens for $500 and then you'll receive a coupon for a trip to a sunny destination and blah blah blah... Finally, some good news for those of us who hate these lecherous weasels: Montreal-based scam-machine Nationwide Clearing House was found guilty of deceptive advertising in court earlier this week, and fined a record $294,000. The company's owner, Jack Stroll (a pseudonym--he's also known as Jack Strulhovitch) was fined $10,000.