Alex Carrick’s Blog

Toronto City Council recently banned the use of plastic bags beginning January 1, 2013. It’s a tremendous source of comfort to me that our elected officials are always looking out for what’s in our best interests, whether we know it or not.   My family of five will no longer be able to tote home [...]

[Read more →]

I’ve come up with a parlour game that’s the mental equivalent of twiddling one’s thumbs. Think of an imaginary statement, proposition or news item that uses at least two popular song titles. Then consider what the reaction of an impartial observer might be. Is this confusing? Read a few examples and you’ll quickly catch the drift. [...]

[Read more →]

David and Maria made sure to arrive home on a Tuesday evening before 6 p.m. after long hard days at work for both of them. They were a married couple in their mid 40s, with three children – William aged 20, Walter 10 and Wendy 5. Later that evening, they would be meeting with Maria’s [...]

[Read more →]

There are three nations that have survived the recession quite well, thank you very much, due to their raw material riches – Australia, Brazil and Canada. It would seem to be a natural progression for these three countries to come together in a new economic bloc to be known as the ABC nations.   Canada [...]

[Read more →]

My family – wife and two daughters – had already re-located to Calgary. My job in the energy sector was taking me to where the action is, Alberta’s oil patch. I was staying behind temporarily to spend time with our real estate agent, trying to sell our townhome. It was mid-fall and we’d been conducting an [...]

[Read more →]

Now that the weather has turned a little cooler, it’s easy to grow nostalgic about the warm relaxing days of summer. But it’s worth remembering that those days weren’t perfect either.   I knew this day would come, so I wrote down a quick summary of some of the little annoyances that made me glad to [...]

[Read more →]

Whenever I hear a major celebrity has died, I am reminded that there is no such thing as time. Our most vivid memories of these individuals are when they were at their prime. Their vitality and life force made them seem indestructible.   Then suddenly, ten or 20 or 30 years later they are gone. It [...]

[Read more →]

Thanks for tuning in and paying attention to my ruminations since I started writing a Blog in February 2008. It’s been an interesting, exciting and fun time.   I’ve decided to mark this nearly year-and-a-half anniversary, which also happens to coincide with Canada Day (July 1), by considering a question that’s been intriguing me for some time.   Why are so many [...]

[Read more →]

Cities rise and fall. Currently in Canada, Calgary and Edmonton are bursting with commerce and energy as a result of the construction boom in the nearby Oil Sands. However, events can pass a city by more easily than might seem possible. The story of Venice presents a cautionary tale.

[Read more →]

The Olympic Games are a wonderful sporting and cultural event. There is no doubt that the athletes are the world’s elite.   However, the games could do with being opened up a bit more. And I’m not talking about simply adding some sports that would seem to be obvious contenders such as drag racing, ballroom [...]

[Read more →]