Only a few years ago I remember being frustrated by the lack of a good online flight-tracking site. All were either too slow, too complicated, too in love with their graphics, or too full of ads.

So now I am happy that I found FlyteComm. The interface allows you to select an airline and input a flight number, or jump straight to your flight via the flight code (e.g., "UAL1020"). All useful information is presented as text, and if the plane is in flight there's a pretty picture -- but fast to load. And there are no ads.

A site to remember.

I don't know exactly why, but now when I have very little time to waste on reading web stuff, I'm still reading Colby Cosh. If I have time, I check e-mail, Google News, den Beste, and Colby Cosh. If there's more time left over I spread it around more-or-less at random.

I suppose it's a mix of the local news (the Whyte Ave. fire) and the sharp Canadian commentary. Somehow that outbalances his empire fixation.

So I've decided to do my part to help subsidize the font of Colby Coshery: when we get home, whenever that is, we're going to subscribe to Citizens Centre Report (aka Alberta Report). Actually, it's mainly because I enjoyed the re-federation issue that came out a while back (remember the Switzerland bleg?) I read it off the newsstand in Border's-I-mean-Chapter's, and I feel vaguely guilty about that.

Speaking of (something) Report magazine, I have a funny story about it. The charity where we volunteer has a left-wing shell, but is secretly run by conservative small business owners. There are probably some left-wing true believers at the meetings, but there are a lot the other kind in the elected positions -- like us, for instance.

Anyway, a couple meetings ago, someone was talking about belly-casting, and someone else said, "Oh yes, there was an article about it in The Alberta Report." Silence reigned. Then this person started to backpedal: "Of course I don't read it, my husband read it -- er, they get it at his work...."