As a skier, I have always viewed snowshoeing as the lame half-brother of cross-country skiing. It seemed slow, sort of boring and you look kind of silly with those big things on your feet. That was until I went out snowshoeing over the winter break.

The Dinos women's ice hockey team has been making headlines all season with the dramatic addition of Hailey Wickenheiser and the team's move from underdogs to fierce contenders. In the midst of all of the promising chaos, the woman behind the bench women's hockey head coach Danielle Goyette has attracted some attention.

The last month proved to be very good for several Dinos football players. With the season wrapped up, it might seem that all would be quiet, but this was not so. Four players found themselves receiving good news and special honours.

Three Dinos players featured on a list of top CFL draft prospects released in September have remained on the list. The new list published in December by the Canadian Football League's scouting bureau ranks the top 15 prospects of players eligible for the 2011 CFL Draft.

Campaigning has started for our next federal election and Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is showing us his true colours. This spring, the opposition will probably send us to the polls by not supporting the budget being released in March by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Currently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a seven point lead over Ignatieff in the latest EKOS poll. In an attempt to make up this deficit, Ignatieff has released a 12-page campaign report appealing to the non-partisan voting population.

That's it, I'm seriously done. This political correctness thing has gone too far.

I know it's not very Canadian of me. I know we're the Superman of toleration, the Mecca of diversity and respect and all that. But after last week's Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruling that the Dire Straits classic "Money for Nothing" has to be edited or cannot be played on Canadian radio, I'm giving up.

The adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was a mixed blessing for legislators. On the one hand, they no longer have to make major moral decisions on issues such as abortion and capital punishment. On the other, they are now forced to consider the judgment calls made by the courts binding. Typically, they have made sound rulings, as was the case when a Saskatchewan court ruled last week that it is unconstitutional for marriage commissioners to opt out of performing same-sex marriages.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bayer Pharmaceuticals regarding risks surrounding Yasmin and Yaz birth control. The drugs were approved by Heath Canada in 2003 and 2008, respectively, for the prevention of pregnancy. Last March, Siskinds LLP filed a suit, representing three women with safety concerns regarding their birth control.

Do you know someone who only eats pre-packed meals or Kraft Dinner? A Calgary food blogger might be able to help. Dan Clapson has created a free, 10-week program to teach 15 students how to cook. Applications for the program are due Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. and University of Calgary students can apply online. So far, Clapson has received about 50 applications.

"We go through all the applications and pick the 15 kids in most dire need of culinary assistance," said Clapson.

Unlike their Edmonton counterparts, Calgarians will not have to dig into their pocket for late-night taxi surcharges.

The periodic table, the bane of every first-year chemistry students' existence, is facing its first update in 150 years.

Several University of Calgary researchers worked with a team of international scientists to bring forward evidence changing the table of elements.