| Banks cashing in on border crossers
The big banks must be loving the recent surge in cross-border shopping.Almost every time you buy something in the United States, your bank makes a few bucks in fees of one sort or another. Expect to pay far more in fees than if you bought something here at home. While the Canadian dollar had a bad day yesterday, it's high enough compared to the U.S. dollar that people are pouring across the border to shop. .
Brad Pitt is Motorcycle Man
You'll find lots of intelligent, informative and friendly fans here from all over the world. Would it be too forward of me to ask what part of the world you live in (presumably North America)? I always find it easier to remember people when I know their home country, province, city or state, plus it's fun to chat about what's going on where each of us is. And don't be surprised if Missouri Fan asks what day you were born for the birthday calendar We like to send good wishes to the fans on their birthdays. .
Do the Patriots need to run more to win it all?
The postseason brackets should reward the teams that perform best, and the best Super Bowl pairing -- Indianapolis versus New England -- should at least be possible when the countdown begins. The NFL could retain conference and division structure for the purpose of organizing regular-season play, then make the playoffs a 12-team seeded tourney. Performance would be rewarded, and pairings would be better. What's not to like? In leaguewide news, although the best part now begins -- the games an entire season of nonsense has built up to -- paradoxically, interest declines at this point in each NFL season. Only 12 of 32 teams remain standing, which means two-thirds of the fan bases are already dreaming of September 2008. In the regular season, even if your team stinks, you can always hope it'll have a good game the next week.
Rent-a-bike scheme could cut queues
OXFORD could soon have its own low-cost, 24-hour rent-a-bike scheme in an effort to cut traffic congestion, as seen in several European cities. Oxfordshire County Council has pledged £100,000 to pay for a feasibility study. The scheme could see a network of cycle stations set up at key points in the city, including the train station, Westgate Centre, park-and-ride sites and city hospitals. Although plans are at an early stage, council chiefs hope a credit card-payable rent-a-bike scheme would take a significant number of cars off the city's roads. They say they want to make any scheme cheap and convenient. A rent-a-bike scheme started in Paris last July recorded more than seven million cycle trips by the end of the year. It is believed the county council wants to replicate the French capital's blueprint of providing robust cycles, which weigh about 20kg, to make them unattractive to thieves and sturdy enough to withstand damage from vandals.
Local group's bid to save Sonics up to Olympia
A high-powered local ownership group says its $300 million plan to renovate KeyArena could convince the NBA to keep the Sonics in Seattle. Now all they have to do is convince state lawmakers to approve the idea before they adjourn next week. .
|
