Obese people who are flying internationally will have to wait a while until U.S. courts decide to pick up any similar issues. But for now, in Canada, functionally disabled obese people will have the right to a free extra seat when flying inside Canada. The ruling by Canada's Supreme Court brought an end to appeals that were brought forth by Canadian airlines, in response to the Canadian Transportation Agency's (CTA) ruling on seat policies for people who are functionally disabled.

The ruling by the CTA primarily required that airlines provide a free extra seat for a functionally disabled person's caregiver or personal assistant. But then the ruling was expanded to include, "functionally disabled by obesity for purposes of air travel", which is a significantly different definition of obese than is used in the medical world.

For medical purposes a person is considered obese if they have a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher or are 20% over their target weight. The CTA doesn't provide a clear definition of obese for air travel; only suggesting that airlines follow Southwest's policy of determining "passengers of size" based on whether or not the arm rest will go down.

Last week I was up in New Brunswick, Canada and got a chance to try out a novel bear-viewing attraction. At the Little, Big Bear Safari, hunting guide, Richard Goguen has built a tower on his family land to watch black bears. The success of the operation makes me think that bear-viewing has some future as a way people in rural areas can make money off bears without hunting them -- as long as a few safety concerns are covered.

Goguen built a road into land that once belonged to his grandfather in Acadieville, in northeast New Brunswick, about 150 miles east of Maine. In the late '90s Richard worked for a season guiding American bear hunters, but didn't like the killing. One day he took a hunter who had already been successful out just to take pictures of bear and moose. Both had more fun doing that than hunting and Richard decided then he wanted to start a bear-viewing operation.

Richard built a trial six-person tower a decade ago, then a 15-person giant tree house in 2000. Having to turn people away, he expanded again last year to a two-story, two-staircase, wood and metal mesh tower that includes a wood-burning stove. They offer the tour every night and have his friendly forest ranger neighbors fill in when he wants a night off.

Richard and his wife Vivienne, a multi-lingual Acadian couple, get busloads of German tourists and visitors from all over the world. The neighbors are proud so many people come to see their natural wonder.

Well, here's a cool idea. I can't believe the federal government thought of it and actually made it happen.

For Americans who travel a lot across borders by land or sea, say to Canada, Mexico, or on Caribbean cruises, the State Department is now issuing zippy little Passport Cards, which are sized for wallets and contain the mandated (and controversial) RFID chip that makes crossing borders much breezier.

Makes sense to me. Booklet-size passports are vestiges of an earlier age, back when we traveled with steamer trunks and dollar notes were as big as hankies. Passports are also easy to lose, partly because they don't fit in wallets and partly because crooks can easily spot them. Having a high-level federal I.D. in your wallet at all times can also be mighty handy. Bouncers and postal clerks may quibble over accepting that gym membership card, but it's hard to argue with a passport.

According to the U.S. Department of State, you use the same supporting I.D. documentation for apply for a passport card as you do for a traditional passport, which means once you've got one, you're vetted, and you can use it to apply for a booklet passport later on if you want. You can even apply for both the booklet and the card at the same time without having to pay an extra execution fee or send more photos (just two will do the trick for both).

As I may have pointed out once or twice, I am a former smoker. As such, I would have to argue that I'm a little more sensitive to cigarettes than most. Whereas the average non-smoker merely has to deal with a little unwanted smoke, I have to deal with unwanted smoke while attempting to quell the demon inside that is telling me to steal the cigarette, suck it down, and go on a nicotine bender. In spite of this, however, I try to be a nice non-smoker. I don't fake cough, I try to avoid getting into preachy discussions about the dangers of the evil weed, and I generally do my best to live and let live. With this in mind, I can't help but feel that anti-smoking laws in Canada may have jumped the shark...

The first thing is the anti-smoking warnings. Since 2000, the Canadian government has mandated that cigarette packages must sport large warnings that take up roughly 50% of the available display space. These warnings, which have to appear in both French and English, feature highly specific information about the means by which cigarettes harm health. Best of all, they come with flashy and disturbing pictures.

Canada's latest tool in its war against nicotine delivery devices is a law requiring that stores cannot openly display cigarettes. By the end of this year, all Canadian cigarette retailers must either keep their cancer sticks in drawers or hide them behind gray wall hangings that cost approximately $1,000 US. The idea is that, if children cannot see cigarettes, then they will not be inclined to begin smoking. On the other hand, speaking as someone who started smoking in his early 20's, I'd have to say that there's a slight flaw in the plan.

Have you heard this joke:

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Don't worry sir, the spider on the breadroll will get him!

How about this one:

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Force of habit, sir. Our chef used to be a tailor.

Or maybe this one:

Waiter, why is there a bee in my soup?
Sorry, sir. It's the fly's day off.

When I was a kid, I used to be a huge fan of cheesy jokes (I grew out of the tendency sometime last week, although I acknowledge that a relapse is possible). I collected all sorts of bad puns, double-entendres, and borsht-belt groaners. I knew dozens of knock-knocks, Tom Swifties, and, yes, fly jokes. Yet, for all the jokes I remember, here's one that I never heard:

Judge, judge, there are two flies in my bottled water!
Yes sir, now here's your $343,000.

Maybe I should be writing this from an underground bunker. It's true that I have an overactive imagination, but I can't help but half-wonder if the American pharmaceutical industry will read this post and then send some overgrown thug named Knuckles to have a talk with me.

Because, you know, they tend to not like it when Americans go get their medications from Canada. But, oh, well, here it is.

I recently learned about eDrugSearch, a free search engine where you can shop for medications with vetted pharmacies in Canada and other nations.

These pharmacies are all licensed and accredited, and of course, the appeal to going to a web site like this is, as spokesperson Melissa Syphrett told me, "so you can be sure you're dealing with a true pharmacy and not a storefront selling fake drugs."

It does sound like a smart place for consumers to go, given all the confusion that can result from looking on your own for a pharmacy that has a non-American address. But if you do explore the Internet on your own, looking for prescription drugs sold internationally, eDrugSearch.com's founder Cary Byrd, who is based in San Antonio, has the following five tips:

Less than 14% of Canadians are financially prepared for retirement, according to Robert Abboud, an Ottawa-based CFP and author of "No Regrets: A Common Sense Guide to Achieving and Affording Your Life Goals." Savings rates for Canadians have fallen to historic lows while spending rates have hit all-time highs -- a combination that Abboud says is "economically lethal."

Am I the only one just a wee bit tickled by this information? For too long, my retirement age friends have considered moving up to the Great White North, where the streets are clean and safe, the healthcare insurance plans are simple, and prescription drugs grow on trees. (Come to think of it, there's a chance these are the same friends who considered moving to Canada during the draft.) Pardon the schadenfreude, but it's kind of nice to know our neighbors are as unprepared as the rest of us.

It's called Big Tusket Island, and it's nestled just off the coast of Nova Scotia. For a mere $65,000 dollars you can own this bit of private paradise, all 37 acres of it. I discovered this little beauty at The Official Private Islands blog, and they refer you to Private Islands Online to research the details and to make an offer.

The listing claims that the Island already has power available to it, and all the amenities of comfortable living are said to be close by. The listing also indicates that multiple anchorage points make the island ideal for development. Personally, I'd keep the whole darn thing to myself.

Considering that 40 acres of undeveloped real estate here in Northern Wisconsin can cost well in excess of $40,000, I think that just $65,000 for a private island is pretty darn cheap. In fact, the people who can afford the yacht to get back and forth from an island on a regular basis would probably consider this price mere chump change.