Over the past several years I have managed to (thankfully) arrange a side trip up north during my summer vacation. To be honest, doing this isn't as easy as it sounds. As an expat when you come back for summer or Christmas vacations, time is short and demands on your time are high. As our children have grown older, it is a bit easier to carve out some time...but largely my trips north have been a result of taking longer holidays. I used to take 12-14 days but now have stretched it to 3…

One of the many benefits of being Canadian, is the amazing variety and beauty of the geography and the diversity of people that populate it. In September I had the opportunity to visit the far north of Canada...specifically Iqaluit on Baffin Island...for the first time and was blown away by the haunting beauty of the landscape, the thriving wildlife and multi-cultural nature of the community of Iqaluit itself. My longtime friend Steve Polak put the plan to visit Baffin Island in motion last…

Let me start by saying I am no expert in this culinary art form. Quite the opposite. I am still quite rough around the edges despite having fished for decades. That said I have enjoyed the outcomes of those with far more prowess. There are a few variations on the theme and favourite fish meals that I would like to explore before opening the floor for comments.

1. Let's start  with the 'shore lunch'. Shore lunch is a term for an often unplanned meal on the side of the lake or…

I am a dog person. Not a cat person.  I never really could trust cats. Two events turned me off  of them early in life. First, when I was about 5 or 6 I was scratched by one that I tried to pet while it was perched on our fence. The second attitude shifting event was watching our neighbour's cat Snowball toy with a mouse until she killed and ate it. And there you have it...cats are cold blooded violent beasts. Later experiences of the needy mewling, leg rubbing and aloofness only tainted…

A good friend sent me this and I absolutely had to share. Enjoy!

The Fermi Paradox

May 21, 2014

Everyone feels something when they’re in a really good starry place on a really good starry night and they look up…

Tomorrow night in Dubai, my youngest daughter Sierra...my peaches and plums...will graduate with an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Dubai International Academy. Like her elder sister Bianca (aka Bumble Bee) she has been entirely educated in an international school system. I remember her first day of school at the village 'kindergarten' in Schlossborn (near Frankfurt) Germany. Thirteen years and three schools later (Frankfurt International School, La Châtaigneraie Geneva…

So, back to the music again. Sorry I must seem to go on and on about this but it is a passion and I can't help it. We confirmed this week that our former lead guitarist Jim "Snowflake" Robinson is bowing out due to time pressures and extensive travel involved in his new job. I am sure we will continue to jam together if and as we can but Jim's availability will be limited.…

Now that the CD has been out for a while and we continue to stream out songs digitally via facebook and on our soundcloud channel, work has begun on the next project for 'stereotypes'. To be more accurate, we are feeling our way through the next project based on a few guidelines. We are also using 'penny earned' to get a better understanding of how difficult it is to market/distribute music...the leading song so far is "Cry Me a River" with around 1600 listens from around the…

After 18 months of joyful toil, stereotypes released its debut CD "penny earned" just prior to Christmas. As I have documented the evolution of the project I wanted to pen one closing submission to capture some of the final impressions of the experience.

When I last left off, we were entering the final stage of recording and production. What I…

As an old school kind of guy, I  tend to forget that a virtually endless library of music is literally at our fingertips on youtube. When I was a young lad, music came in the form of AM radio (usually at night when the air inversion layer helped bounce signals from the northern US states) and listening to vinyl albums at friends houses...and subsequently saving up the cash required to buy the ones that caught your attention at Stedmans.

The other day I ran a search for an old Deep…

Dubai is making a bid to host the 2020 Expo. I think most Canadians of a relatively advanced age will remember our Expo in 1967 in Montreal. I was too young to recall the event itself but the iconic geodesic dome that was erected in Montreal remains a familiar landmark for all Canadians. Expos are designed to present the latest thinking and innovations that inspire those who visit and participate. Bill Gates was apparently inspired by such an event. In any case, Dubai is making a compelling…

As you may recall just over a year ago I set out on a bit of a bucket list quest...specifically to produce a music CD with my then newly-formed band stereotypes. At the time of my last blog we had just started our early recordings and were experimenting with the process. Similarly I had reached out to my good friends Steve Polak (photographer) and Rich McCausland (designer) to cook up some interesting artwork for the CD. The goal was to produce a CD in time for Christmas 2013 and I am…

I recently had the great pleasure of heading back to Canada for an unexpected two-week vacation. Typically we return home for a summer visit but, as my eldest daughter Bianca had moved to Dubai, we originally decided to stay in the UAE. Fortunately my nephew Paolo paid us a fantastic visit and I had the distinct pleasure of not only spending some quality time with him while he was in Dubai, but accompanying him on his flight home.

 …

The wonderful thing about social media is that it has widened and broadened the influence of the average person. Equally importantly, it has provided a virtual environment to build and retain friendships that otherwise would ultimately wither and fade away.

This newfound 'power' of networking provides all of us with an opportunity to promote causes, share inspirational words, popular music or generate a laugh that can ripple around the globe in minutes.

It is in that spirit of…

First my apologies as this is not a blog as much as it is a collection of images from my recent visit to Cape Town (or as it is known in the aviation world - CPT). I had the pleasure of visiting this jewel of South Africa during the 69th IATA Annual General Meeting which gathers hundreds of airline CEOs, suppliers and global media.

Dubai Airports sponsors the…

Working in aviation has its advantages. First, it lends itself to travel and over the past 30 years I have had the good fortune of visting, living and working in a number of great cities across the globe. Second, although its image has been battered by environmentalists (even though modern day jet aircraft are far more fuel efficient than automobiles!) and politicians (who fail recognise its considerable social and economic value and tax the heck out of it as a result), aviation still…

By now you may have noticed I enjoy fishing. What you may not know is that has not always been case. When I was a young lad, fishing wasn't the technicolour, globe-trotting pastime it is today.

Sitting in a downpour on the Kebesquashashing River for hours on end waiting for the pickerel to hit as blackflies and mosquitos gnaw away at ankles and the apparently…

My Mom is the best. That's why, on this Mother's Day, I would like to pay tribute to her with my own personal Top Ten List of Favourite 'Mom' Moments

10. Getting one or more of my favourite desserts everytime I come home (butter tarts, blueberry and/or flapper pie)

9. Our trip to Lourdes, particularly the drive through the French countryside

8. Sitting in the porch on a summer's day in Chapleau, the breeze blowing in from the back yard as we catch up over a glass (ok…

For a Canadian, even one who has been out of the country for over a decade, NHL playoffs are a special time of the year. As a child, I fondly recall the ceremony and ritual that revolved around playoff hockey. My Dad, Boo (aka Alain Bouillon) and I would retreat to the 'rec room' downstairs, take out the TV tables and load them up with whatever sumptuous assortment of goodies my Mom had been kind enough to prepare. We would then settle in for several hours of intense oohing, aahing and,…

I am very selective when it comes to conferences. As anyone in a corporate environment can attest, the market is flooded with organizations that poach resources and people's time to populate content and attendance at their events...all at a tidy profit and rarely with adequate return value.

Such was not the case at the World Travel and Tourism Council Annual Global Summit, part of which I attended earlier this week in Abu Dhabi (which is about an hour or so south of Dubai by…