I hadn't thought of this before. I seriously doubt it, though. The last thing I'm thinking about when I leave work at 5 is going to a mall whether it is light or dark. I just want to get home. I don't really care if chambers of commerce support it. Even if more people do shop in the early evening, it would be a safer trip to the mall in daylight than in darkness. Also, I think the energy savings have been proven, and it just stands to reason that more electic light will be saved in the evening than in the early morning.

He was not killed because of capitalism, or an absent father or living in a boring suburb. He was killed not for a "thrill", but because neither of the murderers wanted to "lose face". They couldn't back down and still retain their status as tough guys. They were adolescents with raging testosterone and immature pre-frontal lobes who lacked the ability to control their impulses. What is most disturbing is that this behavior is normal in the kind of social groups that humans evolved in over hundreds of thousands of years. In some hunter-gatherer tribes in the Amazon, most young males are murdered before reaching adulthood. Absent strong social controls, we see that man is, as Beckett put it "a bloody ignorant ape". The Bounty mutineers on Pitcairn Island offer a lesson in how easy it is to descend to a Hobbsian world where life is "nasty, brutish and short". This story is compelling because it illustrates just how thin the veneer of civilization is. It is compelling because it is true.

"This article, this crime, is the sort that just makes you shake your head. Who are these kids? Are they human? Do they share the same DNA as the rest of us?"

I think you are being a bit naive. As I tried to point out in my letter, murderous behaviour is very much written into human DNA. Have you ever noticed how many skeletons from the neolithic golden age of peaceful farmers living in harmony with nature have the unmistakeable signs of spear, club or arrow wounds? The world is more like "Lord of the Flies" than "Leave it to Beaver". Hence the need to develop civilization, which I still think would be a good thing for this country.

"What happened to the dog???"

He started a blog about airline travel. On the internet, no one knows he's a dog.

Patrick, I completely agree. Amazing though they are, flying is not about the machines that can take you to the other side of the world in 12 hours; it is about exploring different places and coming into contact with different cultures and languages. International travel is a mind-broadening experience and an education in tolerance and diversity. I am amazed that 80 percent of Americans do not even have a passport (and some are pround of that fact) There is a lot more to the world than Disneyland. I am also dismayed by the increasingly strident anti-flying movement, which seems particularly strong in Britain, that tries to make us feel guilty for the "carbon footprint" of flying. I care about the environment as much as anyone, but it is absurd to think that we should give up cars, give up flying and just stay at home. What a narrow and depressing view of human life. If that is all life has to offer, we might as well do the world a big favor and commit suicide. I drive a car, but it is a Prius, not an SUV. I will continue to fly as well, and I note that the Airbus A380, when fully loaded, delivers a fuel efficiency of 80 miles per gallon per person. Better than the 50 I get in the Prius. The nerd in me is interested in airplane technicalities, but my real interest is in the wonderful places planes can take you. You have become a lightening rod for a lot of anti-airline feeling out there, much of it justified. But I will continue to read your column because I share your interest in, and advocacy for international travel.

Ok, I give up. What is wrong with "As a writer, words matter to me"? I have a Master's in English and still don't see a problem; should a get a tuition refund?

If the writer had written "As I am a writer, words matter to me" that would have been correct according to the strictest standardards. But salon articles are not dissertations and I would say that they do not have to adhere to the strict standards in formal writing. In more casual writing, the "I am" in "As I am a writer" can be implicit. You could write "As a first-year student, beer-drinking matters to me". Would it be better to write "As I am a first-year student, beer-drinking matters to me"?. It just sounds pretentious. Tone is what matters here, so I don't see a problem.

I guess it is a "matter" of opinion. To me, the sentence "As a writer, words matter to me" is stronger than "As a writer, I care about words". The reason is that the former sentence puts the emphasis on "words", while the latter puts emphasis on "care". But isn't "care" an overused word? We "care" about global warming, we "care" about child rearing, we "care" about the war in Iraq. The first sentence puts "words" right in the center of the sentence, where the rhythm is strongest.

Remember, we are the adults, not the kids. They look to us for guidence. My son is 6. He takes piano lessons. It is not always "fun" - it is very hard work. It is also very beneficial for his mental development and for developing work habits. Sometimes he cries. But he never, ever wants to quit.