Living Life On The Whims Of Others

A young Chinese lady, Chen Xiao, decided in December that she was done making decisions for herself and has taken to the online community to decide how she should spend her days. Refusing only to do anything illegal, immoral or violent, Xiao charges about $3 per hour to carryout the requests of others. "If somebody asks you to do something, something simple, and you do it, it can make you very happy. You can change from a gloomy person to a very bright one. It can help give you a new sense of self-esteem," she told CNN. She's been asked to do all sorts of tasks from spending time with the homeless to photographing the birth of a child. Her motivation? "Every time I had a plan for what I wanted my life to be like, nothing would come of it. It was very disappointing. I figured if other people came up with things for me to do, I might stumble upon something new and better,"

Parents Vigilance Leads To Arrest Of Preditor

RCMP Const. Francine Hiebert said Wednesday that the vigilance of the parents of an Airdrie, Alberta child in their monitoring of internet use lead to the discovery of "concerning" material on the child's computer and a call to police. Their actions and an investigation by RCMP led to the arrest of a 51 year old Airdrie man on Tuesday, charged with using the internet to lure a child under the age of 16 for the purpose of facilitating a sexual offence. The RCMP offer these warning signs for parents:

• Your child spends lots of time online, especially at night.
• He or she receives phone calls long distance or from numbers you don’t recognize.
• Your child receives mail, gifts or packages from a stranger.
• Your child turns off the monitor or quickly changes what is on the screen when you enter the room.
• There is pornography on your child’s computer.

CBC story here.