It has been a long wait, but the University of Calgary finally has a women's centre of it's own. The Women's Resource Centre grand opening is Wed., Oct. 18, and students are invited to look at the new space and learn more about the centre's purpose.

As part of the deal of being the test group for Pink Flamingo, me and my nemesis were put through various physiological assessments to determine our level of fitness. These same tests are employed on Olympic-level athletes, to help their training program and to monitor their progress. In case you didn't watch the Turin 2006 Olympics, the bulk of Canada's winter olympic team trained at facilities around Calgary, and were probably all put through these very same tests.

Although the tests we'd received so far were challenging in their own ways­--apparently skills like being able to do consecutive push-ups deteriorate when not used for say, five years--what we were about to face was certainly more difficult and more fun than the strength exercises.

iPods ar cooler than beer and probably a better study tool, according to a recent study.

The Student Monitor, a survey analyzing what's in and out on college campuses, ranked iPods higher than perennial favourite beer, said Dr. Kathleen Scherf.

[Re: "Warped," cartoon, Sept. 21, 2006]

I have always been a firm believer of freedom of speech and the importance of being allowed to express our own opinions. I often looked to the publication of a school newspaper as a shining example of this freedom of speech.

Despite a host of other responsibilities, the challenge was too intriguing to turn down. A chance to try something new, write a few entertaining stories for the paper and sculpt this hunk of skinny flab I call my body into a chiseled piece of man meat. I could put my quarter century of hard livin' behind me and turn the page on fatty foods, excessive drink and my desk-pushing lay-about lifestyle.

[Re: "Selling sex," Micheal Kudlow, Sept. 21, 2006]

It is an extraordinary situation for a faculty member to sue the university where they are an employee, as Haskayne School of Business professor Peter Bowal well knows. This past January, Bowal launched a lawsuit accusing the University of Calgary of wrongfully withholding salary and of a breach of contract as a consequence of 'arbitrary abuse of power and discretion.' Bowal won the suit earlier this month in trial court.

Five bucks could be blown on a specialty coffee at Starbucks, or the same five bucks could help determine Alberta's next premier.

Canadians rarely get the opportunity to vote directly for their leader, but with Premier Ralph Klein's official resignation Wed., Sept. 20, the $5 investment it takes to purchase a Progressive Conservative Party membership, combined with a trip to the polling station on Nov. 25 means Albertans can directly pick the next ruler of this fair province.

Welcome to the age of ego-casting, where information is available when and where you want it, and the best part: you never have to hear anything with which you disagree.

On Tues. Sept. 26, Communications and Culture Dean Dr. Kathleen Scherf spoke about the revolutionary iPod and some of its cultural impacts as a part of the university's Ruby Tuesdays, a free lecture series presented monthly and open to the public.