I’ve spent much of my life asking questions. Sometimes professionally. Often out of curiosity. Occasionally because the answer everyone seems comfortable with doesn’t quite satisfy me.
My career began with Statistics Canada in 1976 and took me through polling and market research, including roles with Decima Research and Thompson Lightstone. Later, through my consultancy, Core Strategies, I helped clients in banking, transit, government, and other sectors make sense of what people thought—and why.
That last part has always interested me most. Numbers can tell you what happened. Understanding why usually requires a better question and a willingness to listen.
These days, I write from Sosúa in the Dominican Republic, with Canada still very much part of who I am. My interests haven’t narrowed with time. Technology, photography, politics, golf, hockey, family, and the peculiarities of everyday life all find their way into my thinking.
I share life here with my wife, Celia Baril, whose creativity finds a delicious outlet in her cake business, Celia Sweet Slice. Readers will occasionally meet her in these musings, too.
I’ve long been a technology enthusiast—an Apple fanboy, if we’re being honest—although enthusiasm doesn’t prevent disappointment, as readers will discover. In retirement, I am a photo-videographer, a golfer, a drone pilot, a candle-maker, and remain curious about how the world works, even when it appears determined not to.
A complicated lower lumbar fusion surgery in May 2025 nearly sidelined me. Today, I’m back to playing reasonably decent golf three times a week—something I no longer take for granted. The back has made a comeback; the scorecard remains a work in progress.
I fly drones — three different models to be precise, extending my interest in photography to places my feet can’t take me. Like most hobbies involving equipment, the distinction between what I need and what I can convincingly explain to Celia that I need also remains a work in progress.
Baril Musings is where those interests meet. Sometimes a piece begins with a news story. Sometimes it’s a conversation, a memory, or something that makes me stop and ask, “Does that actually make sense?” The illustrations offer another way into the subject, often with a little punch and humour.
I bring my experience, my biases, and a willingness to reconsider. I hope readers bring theirs too.
You don’t have to agree with me. A thoughtful disagreement is often where the interesting conversation begins.
— Dan