Urban Living ← The Urban Country ← Page 3

Rural Leader in an Urban Country

Oct

2008

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has perhaps not surprisingly been re-elected as Prime Minister in a $300 million election that really didn’t change anything. We still have a minority government, we still have the same leader; the only outcome that will change as a result is that the Liberal Party will rid themselves of Stephane Dion ...

Summer 2008 Video 1

Sep

2008

Yesterday I finished creating my Summer 2008 video. Every year for the past 4 years I’ve been creating a video showing the highlights of my summer. I always try to spend as much time as I can outdoors in the summer and after making the video, I quickly realized how much time I’ve spent on ...

Urban Dwelling for Suburban Folk 3

Jul

2008

A co-worker brought a new concept to my attention today. It’s a luxury condo that is planned to be built in Charlotte, North Carolina that includes an elevator where residents can drive their car literally right into their unit. The web site boasts that residents can park 2 to 4 cars in their unit so ...

$1.30/litre for gas? Who cares? 1

May

2008

Tonight I experienced a whole new side of Calgary previously uncharted by me. As you may have read in my previous post, my new (used, child) bicycle is my ticket to disengage me from the restricted claustrophobic feeling of being confined to an area of 4 city blocks and to explore this (new) city. I ...

Toronto’s $2.10 Gem 1

Apr

2008

This city has many hidden gems that I could talk about, but today I’m going to tell you about the 192 Airport Rocket bus from Kipling station to Pearson airport. Most people who are traveling for business will take a taxi or airport limo to get to the airport, since it’s on the company’s dime. ...

Sustainitiatives: Toronto Self Sustaining Home 12

Mar

2008

Imagine living in a large house that has all of the luxuries that normal houses have, such as a dishwasher, laundry machines, electronics, etc. except it’s almost completely self sustaining, without relying on city water or the electricity grid. Twelve years ago, inventor Rolf Paloheimo built a self-sufficient home in Toronto. He invented his own ...

Pollution vs. Greenhouse emissions

Feb

2008

For a while, I had always put pollution in the same category as greenhouse emissions, simply because to me, the cause and solution to both of these issues were the same. We’re addicted to driving, driving is a cause of pollution and driving causes greenhouse emissions. Some solutions to both of these problems are to ...

2007 Summer Video 2

Oct

2007

Last night Han left to visit her family in China on a 19-hour flight to Hong Kong. I will miss her dearly but I will be flying to China in November for a three-week vacation to visit. I promised her there would be an e-mail waiting for her when she gets to the hotel in ...

Toronto Island infatuation 1

Aug

2007

Today Han and I took our bikes on the Toronto island ferry and biked around the Toronto Islands. We toured extensively through the residential area of the Toronto islands (Algonquin and Ward’s island). I was immediately captivated by this quiet community that resembled something you would only see in a small town 1 or 2 ...

Give it up for a week 1

Jul

2007

I drove to Hamilton a couple times this weekend for a hockey tournament with my old Hamilton buddy Paul. During my visit in Hamilton I reflected on how much I’ve changed in the 5 years since I moved away from that city. Like many people I grew up with, we were raised as “car people”. ...