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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-11-25, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25,1992. PAGE 5. Magazine for convicts not such a dumb idea Why doesn't somebody invent a birth control pill for magazines? Have you been past a magazine stand lately? No wonder our forests are threatened. We've got magazines for women and magazines for men and magazines for children. We also have magazines for left­ handed hunters, near-sighted car mechanics, pansexual computer nerds, overweight home repair persons and club-footed skateboarders whose middle initial is “W.” We have so many different magazines these days that it's a challenge to imagine a title for a new one. An American humourist by the name of Robert Byrne gave it a shot of couple of years ago. He came up with: Gimme! The Magazine of Money. Poor Housekeeping (Ten times the circulation of Good Housekeeping.) And my favourite - The Shining (formerly Bald World). I guess there are a few magazine possibilities still floating around. Now that Dan Quayle's got a little more time on his ^International Scene ■BH_____________________________________ By Raymond Canon New forms of energy One of the things that I teach my classes is that during history we have had a number of major sources of energy but that each one of them has been replaced by another, not because we ran out but because there was another source which was better for one reason or another. Thus we started out with wood which was eventually replaced by coal. The latter, in turn, was abandoned in favour of oil, not due to any lack of coal but simply because of the greater efficiency of oil. Now the question arises whether we are going to see oil give way to something else, again not because of any shortage but simply due to our desire to clean up our atmosphere. To this end it is worth looking at the measure recently taken by the state of California. In Sept. 1990 the state's Air Resources Board decreed that something drastic had to be done to reduce the air pollution above Los Angeles; any of my readers who have been there can vouch for the fact that it is, given the vagaries of the weather, horrible, but then so are other cities such as Mexico City where the polluted air gets trapped in the valley in which the city is located. At any rate the board has set a standard that requires before 1998 that two per cent of all the cars sold in the state be categorizes as “zeroemission vehicles.” Five years later this will be increased to 10 per cent. This certainly opens up the market for all sorts of new vehicles. However, given the current level of technology in the auto industry, the only type of car that can hope to be available in sufficient numbers is an electric (i.e. battery powered) car. There are hands he might go into publishing. He could sign up Millie, the ex-White House mutt as a consultant for his first magazine venture - a yearly magazine for dogs. He could call it Daniel's Annual Spaniel Manual. But kidding aside, there is a new magazine out there that not even Robert Byrne could have dreamed up. It's called Prison Life. It's strictly for folks who are involuntary guests of the U.S. penitentiary system. Sounds like another joke, until you think about the numbers. There are more than a million convicts in state and federal prisons across America. There are another 3 million on probation or parole. What's more, the numbers are expanding because criminals are a growth industry. The U.S. prison roll call jumps by about seven per cent each year. So what kind of articles would you find in Prison Life? Well, what sort of things would you want to read about if you were doing seven-to-ten? There's a regular column called “The Chaplain Speaks” and another called “Ask The Law Professor”. There's even a feature entitled “In-Cell Cooking”. Not that Prison Life is just a kind of Chatelaine-With-Stripes. It's first issue featured American's least-favourite lifer on the cover under a headline that read: Charlie Manson: Get Off His Back! a lot of small companies attempting to do just that but so seriously is this new condition taken that even the giant cai manufacturers have gotten into the act. The drive towards an efficient electric car is taking place in other countries than the United States. A Japanese company claims to have a four-seater that will go over 480 kms. before having to have its battery recharged. The top speed is nothing to write home about - a leisurely 25 mph. but the range is certainly one of the best that I have read about to date. On almost the opposite side of the globe, in Denmark, a company has already sold about 6,000 of its machines which have three wheels, space for one adult and two small children. Compared to the Japanese machine these clip along at a spritely 37 mph (60 kph). Naturally this is not something you would take out on one of the express highways in another country, but they make a good vehicle for running around town. The price, too, is not bad - approx. $8,000 Canadian. Not surprisingly the Germans are in the act as well with one of the best examples to date being the one produced by BMW. It has a reported top speed of no less than 120 kph but a range of only 140 kms. It does, however, have a few notable features, one of which is called “regenerative braking” which means that the motor works like a generator to top up the battery when the car is going downhill or slowing down. Batteries do have one problem. It should not be forgotten that they, too, are capable of polluting the environment. Perhaps part of the answer is to be found in solar power. While there is, in all honesty, now enough power in sunlight to drive conventional electric powered vehicles, solar panels could be put on top of the cars to do such things as drive the air conditioning unit in the car or even to top off the battery. To show what can be done, an enterprising German inventor has installed solar panels on the Then too, there's the Prison Life centrefold - a fetching young thing in a wisp of bikini smiling back at the reader. This is the “Cellmate of the Month” - and since there are several hundred thousand women in the slammer, the Cellmate comes in both male and female varieties. But the factor that makes or breaks a magazine is the advertising it can attract - and who's going to advertise in a magazine for felons? Well, true - you won't find many Chase- Manhattan or Yale Lock ads in Prison Life, but you'd be surprised who has lined up to buy space. There's a full-page spread for health food supplements (a lot of cons get into weightlifting and body-building). There's even an ad paid for by Island Records flogging a new Tom Waits album. When you think of it, a magazine for convicts isn't a dumb idea at all. Prisoners just may be the last untapped consumer market on the continent. And unlike the old days, the new cons have lots of pocket money. In the U.S. they can earn up to $2,000 a year. Doesn’t sound like much, but don't forget - room, board and the company uniform are supplied free of charge. Plus, inmates have one precious freedom when it comes to magazines that you and I will never know. Plenty of time to read the damn things. roof of his house. These generate part of the electrical needs of his house but the bonus is that, when he is not using the power, the power generated is fed into the national grid and he receives a credit from the company. How will drivers take to battery powered cars? That is a good question; it will depend not only on price but on the performance of the car, not to mention the number of accessible places to plug them in for a recharge. It appears that the electric car, if it gains customer acceptance, will be, for most owners, a second car. The French have determined that every other car trip in that country is under 3 kms. and that a second car in a household is driven, on average, only 40 kms. a week. There is, therefore, quite a market for such cars. What all this will do to congestion on the roads is, of course, quite another matter. The Short of it I By Bonnie Gropp Getting a jump on holiday shopping I used to be a rarity, now I am becoming the norm. For my entire adult life I have been an early Christmas shopper, getting a jump on the crowds, the rush and the picked over selection. These days, however, I'm finding it harder and harder to get ahead of everyone else. Anyone who knows me well, knows I can hardly wait for Christmas, which is just part of the reason why I start getting into the spirit as soon as I can. The other part is simply a case of survival. Two decades ago, as a young married woman with a seasonly excited toddler, I had to begin early to lessen the burden on my budget, or at least that's the way it appeared. Unable to save money I used the layaway plan, beginning in September, and paid as I could. It was either that or sell my firstborn, which would defeat the purpose somewhat as he was the reason I spent so much in the first place. The trend intensified the year I was expecting my second child, due Dec. 4. While some suggested I hold off until after the baby was bom so I wouldn't have to go through the extra hassles while lugging around 20 extra pounds, my obsessiveness wouldn't go for it. Thankfully! One of the best Christmas presents I had ever received to that point (there's been another since) decided not to make her debut until a week before Christmas. I got home from the hospital on Christmas Eve, which would have made shopping time limited. As some may not share my obsession for shopping early, they may find it hard to believe that it's almost therapeutic for me. What began out of necessity and later became habit, I do now for the enjoyment. I like having the time to browse, to consider and reconsider. I am thrilled to find the perfect gift for those hard to buy for people; I love imagining their faces when they open it. Though the cost may niggle at my common sense, my frivolous side has time to convince it. When my presents come home, they are taken immediately to my room for the ceremonial dressing. They’re tom apart so quickly Christmas Day that I like to look at them for as long as I can decked out in shiny paper and bows. All of this is done, without the crowds, without the rushing and worrying and I'm left with plenty of time to finish up my other Christmas jobs and even relax. At least, that's the way it used to be. Nowadays, it seems everyone is trying to get a jump on the season. Two weekends ago, I went to visit my sister in Barrie. While there I wanted to hit a record store so we went to a nearby mall and found ourselves in the centre of mayhem. Apparently, it has been that way for weeks, my sister said. This is not exclusive to this year; it seems to intensify with every season. With the economy in such a sad state, perhaps merchants feel they need to act quickly to entice people into the stores. Many, in the urban areas anyway, say that this year they expect recession weary consumers to spend big. While here businesspeople unfortunately don't ex­ perience the same intensity as the cities, the ones I have talked to have noted people are shopping early for bargains. While many of these shoppers may have found this the least financially stressful way to get the task done, I hope, too, they are finding the same enjoyment from spreading out the season that I have.