The unaffordable cost of high adrenaline

On Tuesday, I was reading a strange first-page story in the Washington Post about what happened on March 21, 2023, to the Colorado-born Emily Franciose, a senior at a pricey Swiss boarding school, Ecole d'Humanité, that died trapped under the 2,000ft-wide avalanche on the Gstelliwang slope in the Bern canton of Switzerland.

The parent of this only child went along with her wish to spend her last year in High School in that perfect Ecole d'Humanité instead of staying in the uppity Vail environment at a cost of $60,000 per year in tuition and boarding alone. 

One would think that she would be safe there, but she wasn’t as the activity masters and guide took the teenager and her classmates in a place where avalanche danger had been forecast, was higher than usual, just to offer the students a unique experience. 

I bring up this sad accident to show that in these times, “unique experience” seem to be what’s most important regardless of the risk involved and it’s perhaps time to slow down a bit, think at what result when we chase the extreme and see the folly in going for adrenaline at all cost. 

This, whether it’s on snow or anywhere else for this matter, finding heroic, extreme and remarkable feats has become the name of the game in leading a life well lived. Yeah, let’s forget the mundane alternatives and push as far as humanely possible to the extreme and the ultra-thin margins of safety!

Will John Robert’s become a Kangaroo Court?

Today was the Supreme Court’s hearing Donald Trump’s claim that the federal charges accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election must be thrown out because he is immune from being prosecuted for any official act he took as president.

I listened to part of it, and after reading the first opinions from various pundits, I can sense plenty of sympathy for Trump on the part of some conservative Supreme Court Justices. While we have no idea as to how and when this claim will be adjudicated, I fear that our top Judges will kick the can down the road as much as possible and make it difficult for the case to be done before the November election. 

Why do I think that way? Deep inside, the conservative majority doesn’t want their decision on abortion be annulled following a Biden and Democrat victory in both Chambers, that might suggest that the 9 current judges could be diluted to 13 to permit such a turnaround. 

So, theses Judges might secretly hope Trump stays in power to prove them right and maintain their feeble credibility among the Nation. If I’m right, we might be as I fear it, faced with a Kangaroo Court, for lack of a better qualifier...

The ways we sometime remember...

Some 39 years ago, my wife and I paid a visit to Park City together in order to look for a house to buy. It was my spouse’s first visit to the area. 

For some strange reasons and over the years, I had always been convinced that this visit happened around the beginning of May, as if there was a weekend falling just around the first day of that month.

We also both remembered that it was particularly cold at that time of the year and that Park City Ski Area was still in operation on what looked to be its last weekend. We had left our two children to the care of a good friend and had made the trip over a typical Saturday and Sunday. 

We were staying at the old Yarrow Hotel, now the DoubleTree, and didn’t find a house we both really liked. I was excited though, while my wife wasn’t really. 

In reality, it didn’t happen around the first of May, instead, it was on April 13 and 14, as written on the photos I took for the occasion. I would have bet big that it was the date I thought it was… 

Another proof that we should always be skeptical of certain of our strongly-held memories!

Another ski season is over…

Not only was yesterday Earth Day, but it was the last day for skiing in Park City. Since I’m not one to miss closing day, I was there and did all my turns plus some, to conclude my 71st ski season, a light one in terms of days skied (91) and total vertical (just over 1.6 million feet). 

It was a winter of “Quality” instead of “Quantity” skiing, and beyond our terrible months of November and December that only offered very scant cover and mediocre skiing, the rest of the winter was just fabulous with plenty of regular and quality snow falls. I stayed in shape, skied all my favorite runs and didn’t get hurt after my December 18 slide. 

For that ultimate day, I ran laps under the crescent chair, skied very well (at least, I thought), even though the snow began to become heavy very early as the night temperatures stayed over freezing. I came home healthy, with nothing either twisted or broken, thus keeping the promise I made my wife when I left home this morning. I’m officially done with skiing for 2023-2024!

Less plastics on Earth Day…

Today is Earth Day, and it’s one of the year’s most important celebrations to me. I love and appreciate the planet upon which I stand, and I feel that it deserves all the tender love and care we can give her. I wish political leaders of all stripes would begin paying more attention to protecting her, but they won’t. They are too short-term oriented as their time horizon is, in most cases, limited to their next mandate.

This year, the theme is all about plastics, their meteoric spread and the dangers they bring. I’ve always been in love with plastic, but the present day is proving me dead wrong. The question is, what can sustainably replace the plethora of plastics humanity is now using? Possibly more plastic-like materials derived from renewable biomass sources like corn starch or sugarcane? 

While those aren’t perfect, (they still need processing and won’t biodegrade in all environments), they could be composted in industrial facilities under specific conditions. Polylactic Acid (PLA) is one of them, made from corn starch, used for packaging, utensils, and even 3D printing filaments. There are also cellulose-based materials derived from wood pulp or other plant sources that can be molded into packaging trays, cups, and various items. 

Finally there are mushroom based solutions, with the fiber network fungi grows, it could be used to create packaging materials, even leather alternatives. These solutions aren’t widespread yet and in the meantime we should focus on reusable and refillable solutions (containers, bottles, bags), reduce plastic materials whenever possible, design easy disassembly and improve recycling technology. 

In terms of future research, we must get inspiration from nature (spider silk, seashells, etc.) or devise entirely new materials. Let’s wish that we can get rid of that pesky plastic and Happy Earth Day 2024 to all!

Temperatures and comfort in ski boots…

My wife loves skiing but doesn’t enjoy having her feet prisoner of her ski boots. Her relationship with that stiff footwear has never been idyllic. Things like cold feet to which women are more prone than men. 

Their higher percentage of body fat compared to men provides less insulation than muscle tissue, which generates more heat. Estrogen levels can also affect how the body regulates temperature and can contribute to feelings of coldness. 

This of course is exacerbated by a smaller body size along with a larger surface area to volume ratio. Finally, when it's cold, the body prioritizes keeping vital organs warm by constricting blood vessels in the extremities. Women generally have a more pronounced response in blood vessel constriction, leading to colder extremities. 

We finally vanquished the cold feet situation two seasons ago when I equipped her ski boots with the Hotronic heating devices. This left us however with another problem, a form of heat edema, which in the context of ski boots refers to a condition caused by a combination of factors related to wearing ski boots for extended periods. 

The edema refers to fluid buildup in the tissues, often causing swelling. In the case of ski boots, this swelling might occur in your feet and ankles due to restricted circulation and pressure. Also ski boots can trap heat, especially during intense activity or during spring skiing conditions. This can contribute to increased sweating and further fluid accumulation.

We’ve also begun to resolve that problem by “punching” bumps in the outer shell of my wife’s ski boots (photo), and I still have to make room under her navicular bones, in the instep area and right where the tongue is attached to the liner. 

You could say that it’s work in progress. But what is not? 

My progress in tapping into cosmic energy…

When I meditate these days, I believe that I am managing to connect with the cosmic energy each and every time. The results, in terms of intensity and perceived benefits vary with each individual session. It always takes time to get “in the groove” that also varies widely everyday. 

To achieve this, I follow a process that is hard to describe and is something that is still evolving, session after session. The day I feel more secure with the approach and can systematize it with precision, will be the time when it can be explained to third parties.

For the moment, my method of getting there is far from being fully understood, systematized and controlled. It’s still work in progress, to say the least. When I do connect, I feel a pleasurable and powerful signal that suggests that I’m gaining energy, mental clarity and creativity. 

Yet, I still have a very long way to go, but still continue to believe that I’m on to something powerful and beneficial and this conviction seems to reinforce itself as my practice goes on. As I always say: “Stay tuned for more...”

Does cosmic energy exit?

Personally, I believe that there is a some kind of force or energy in the universe or the cosmos. I have no facts or proofs to support my belief, but the intense, tumultuous and continued activity in the universe is enough for me to see that there’s energy going on, and plenty of it. Sure, to prove this, or anything for that matter, science relies on evidence that can be observed, measured, and tested repeatedly.

There certainly are scientific phenomena that no one fully understand yet, which has led others than myself to believe they might be evidence of a cosmic force. Things like Dark Matter and Dark Energy, these mysterious substances making up most of the universe's mass and energy. 

While we can't directly observe them, their gravitational effects are quite real and their mystery has led some to proposed theories about forces beyond science’s current understanding of physics. In addition, the nature of the universe has to be fine-tuned for life to exist. 

For instance, if the strength of the electromagnetic force were to change, stars wouldn't be able to survive and their ability to fine-tune has led some to believe in a special force. Finally, the nature of consciousness is still a scientific mystery. How does physical matter give rise to subjective experience? Some scientists believe that consciousness could be a fundamental property of the universe, suggesting a deeper reality. 

Just like for religious issues, scientists hold their own view on these points. Their understanding of the universe is constantly expanding, yet what they don't know today might be explained by future scientific discoveries. They also prefer naturally based explanations and would only bring a cosmic force as a last resort when all other explanations have been exhausted. 

This means that the existence of a cosmic force or energy can’t be proved or disproved it at this point by scientists. However, as we continues to explore the universe's mysteries and discover new insights, we will continue to gain a better understanding of these questions in the future...

Rough times at Scott…

Since 1958, back in Sun Valley, Idaho, when Ed Scott, launched an aluminum ski pole to replace good old bamboo, change has always been the order of the day. In 1970, the firm entered the motocross goggle market with the first ever motocross specific product, before introduced motocross boots, grips and accessories. 

The following year, it added the world's lightest ski boot along with first ski goggles using foam ventilation. In 1981, Ed Scott was replaced at the helm of the company by Chuck Ferries, a former US Ski Team member from 1960 through 1964 who made two Olympic teams in ‘60 and ’64, and became the first American to ever win Austria’s famous Hahnenkamm slalom. 

In the meantime, Scott opened its European headquarters in 1978 near Fribourg, Switzerland where eventually Tom Stendahl became Ferries business partner. Then progressively, the European branch of the company took over the lead as it got deeper into bicycling and Beat Feugg became the big boss as Ferries and Stendahl walked into the sunset with cash after relinquishing their interests and “Scott USA” became “Scott Sports” indicated a shift into Swiss-based management.

Soon, the firm added sport clothing, skis and e-bike with varying degrees of success as it was spreading itself too thin, leaving major openings for Leki, Oakley and the legacy bike companies. This is probably what led the Korean Youngone Corporation to purchase a 50.1% stake in the company in 2015, while Beat Zaugg retained the remaining 49.9% but lost financial control. 

Youngone employs 90,000 people worldwide. It supplies brands like Patagonia, Adidas, Lululemon, Outdoor Research, and The North Face, with factories in Korea, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. It also is a majority share owner of Outdoor Research. 

A few days ago, Scott Sports Board of Directors replaced CEO Beat Zaugg "to refresh Scott's development to become a world-class manufacturer in bikes and other outdoor sport categories." Sales have not been good for Scott that fell victim to its over-diversification and loss of focus. 

This didn’t play well with the 66 year old Zaugg who claims that the move was improperly initiated and doesn’t feel good at the idea that he may have to sell his remaining 47% interest in the company, but that’s what eventually happens when you exchange controlling interests for hard cash...

Tesla sings the blues

As Tesla just announced the lay off of more than 10% of its global workforce, 

Elon Musk is explaining away that he’s “Preparing the company for its next phase of growth, and it’s extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity, and as part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally”.

The fact is that his acting like a jerk over the past two years has not endeared him with his core clientele that is educated, progressive and doesn’t appreciate Musk’s political statements. As a result, it has decided to quit buying its electric car from Tesla. 

This is as simple as that, but no Wall Street analyst has the imagination nor the courage to tell that kind of painful truth. It certainly isn’t the “medieval”, Republican, Trump-supporting public that will buy EVs, they love to breathe gasoline and diesel fumes too much for that. 

Would I purchase a Tesla today? No, I’d get it from someone else. Do I still love my Tesla? Absolutely! I simply wish Toyota would buy this great company and get Elon Musk and his self-righteousness out of my world!

A wasted opportunity?

How should resorts promote skiing? Seemingly by attracting unlikely customers that are spooked by the perception – also a dire reality – that skiing is a sport for the ultra-rich as well as tough folks that aren’t afraid of extreme cold and harsh weather? 

Probably, in addition, ranked beginners don’t need to spend 7 hours each day on the slope as 2 or 3 hours suffice to teach them the rudiments of the sport and exhaust them. Instead, resorts extend their season because there’s still plenty of snow around (typically) and when they do, no one shows up, simply because their clientele is tired of skiing and would-be skiers didn’t know that a great deal was waiting for them to come.

Spring skiing used to be a big deal in the 70s and 80s, but has been largely forgotten, because it was never promoted as it should have been, was an afterthought and wasn’t part of a cohesive and well-thought marketing plan for the entire season crowning its last weeks. 

Something that ski resorts operators should revisit instead of losing money by staying open just to please a few season pass holders still into making turns on snow. At least I believe so, if done well and with a full commitment, not a half-pregnant one as it has always been for as long as I can remember. 

Perhaps, however, ski resorts don’t need to promote their business anymore, after all!

On Friday, April 14, 2024, I was minding my own business while skiing on my way on the White Pine run, I ran into a female moose. 

She was big, the run was narrow, so I didn't take a chance and stopped. To my surprise, my sudden stop spooked the animal that turned around and ran in the opposite direction. 

I followed her on my skis, rode the chairlift and quickly the moose was under my chair, running uphill against the skiers' traffic. 

At some point, towards the end of the video, a skier arriving from the Copperhead trail saw the moose coming towards him and stopped. Spooked again, the animal made a quick turn to her left into the trees. 

Poor moose! 

Are my taxes killing Gazans?

In the United States, Tax Day is when individual income tax returns must be submitted to the federal government and since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on or just after April 15. 

Unlike most Americans, I don’t mind paying taxes, in fact, I’d love to have to pay one million dollars each and every year, as this would mean that I enjoy a huge income. 

What I despise, however, is that some of that money will be used to fund Israel under the form of armament in its pursuit to annihilate Palestinians and I feel totally justified in feeling that way. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Israel's GDP per capita at US$50,060 for 2024, a figure comparable to other highly developed countries, and even ahead of the UK and France. 

That alone is enough of a reason for not giving a red cent to a government that doesn’t listen to the international community, ignores what America says and makes each of us its accomplice to its genocidal crimes.

Hi neighbor, can I sell you something?

The other afternoon as we happened to be coming home and while standing in our driveway, a neighbor stopped by, asked me how many days I had skied this season and told us he a great day of powder skiing in Deer Valley this past Sunday. 

Then he asked, “What are your vacations plans for the summer”. I answered that we had not done any planning yet and that we preferred the off-season to the busy summer months. 

He then asked again: “Have you ever been to Redfish Lake, in Idaho, it’s one hour away from Sun Valley, in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and it’s just wonderful?” I said we had driven several time through that area, but we didn’t know that particular spot.

Then he came back and try to close the deal (he is a real-estate agent) saying: “We had two weeks reserved for July and cannot go, so you might take that reservation and enjoy it, it’s just $1,300 for the four nights!” 

Without missing a beat, I answered: “Sorry, but as I told you we don’t travel during the busy summer tourist season, thanks anyway!” Some people cannot listen.

What do you see?

What do you see? 

A chairlift running with two passengers sitting in a chair? 

How was it filmed? 

What do you really see? 

Write your answers in the comments section, thanks! 

Herding deer in Park City

Like with cats, it’s not easy to herd deer, especially after a long Park City winter. They love to loiter in subdivisions, feast on fancy trees or shrubs and leave the homeowner with the left-overs. 

It takes a special set of skills to send them running in the right direction and my wife has that gift and can direct these four-legged creatures wherever she wants. 

She should probably get a job with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and get involved with managing the Cervidae family in an effort to get them out of our neighborhood and back into nature, where they belong. 

I should probably talk to her before and see if she’d be interested, but she’s a natural for that job! 

Tracking a leak down

This week will have been almost entirely consumed looking for the origin of a leak that has messed up everything contained inside the closet, under our kitchen sink. Nothing glorious or exciting about a quest that almost drove me insane. 

If you see what’s going under our kitchen sink, you would agree; how is it even possible to locate a leak in this confused and cluttered space where a full reverse-osmosis (RO) filtration system has to cohabit with a trash compactor, a pull out faucet and a few other technical accessories. You might be hard pressed to know where to begin.

A bit like opening up a patient’s belly yourself and glancing at the task at hand if you’re not quite a bona fide surgeon. At first, I assumed it was a leak from our RO. I called Paul, our plumber whom we trust and he kindly guided me via texts on how to proceed as I was placed on his waiting list. 

I did what he suggested and then some more, to the point that I learned quickly about servicing and trouble-shooting our RO system. Yet, days went by and the leak was stubbornly still there. It’s only after the 5th day that I had the brilliant idea to film with my phone what was going on inside that closet. 

As we were manually doing the dishes that night, the camera was rolling and when all was said and done, we previewed the video and discovered that the elusive leak was coming from the flexible tube of the pull-out main faucet that was frayed and, when pulled, was spraying water all around the closet and into the various components of our RO. 

When the plumber finally came this afternoon to change the defective hose, he was welcome like a savior. Well, he was our savior!

Jupiter’s skiing nostalgia

At Park City Mountain, Jupiter’s old chairlift and original terrain remain iconic of skiing of the past. The lift is slow, the area isolated and even though it sits at the top of our local resort, very few skiers ever set foot there. 

For many years, I have complained about the two-seat, slow lift and wished it were modern. Now, though, as modern lift infrastructure and too many riders have invaded our mountain space, I surprise myself by drastically changing my tune and seeming to prefer yesteryear’s way. 

Slow, genuine and natural suits me better. Old age, maturity or at long last, better balance… 

Just a (tiny) bit OCD…

Recently, we suffered a leak inside our water purification system that, while being a minor incident, created some major havoc in our household since the time it happened on Saturday when my wife noticed it.

As of today, it hasn’t been resolved yet. Considering the minor aspect of the problem in the grand scheme of things, I blame the upheaval it created on my obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a behavior characterized by obsessive thoughts and concerns that lead to compulsive behaviors. 

Symptoms for that trait usually begin gradually and vary throughout life. I’m not yet to the point that my condition needs talk therapy, medications, or both, but it makes me restless and needy to keep looking for a solution until I can find it. 

For the moment, our plumber has put us on what I fear is a long wait-list. In the meantime, my mind is boiling with thoughts, ideas or solutions aimed at shortening the wait time this mini-crisis is forcing on us. 

At the very least this situation might presents me with a unique opportunity to successfully manage my compulsion before the pervasive leak is stopped!

Aging: Stiff body, flexible mind?

As people get older, their limbs get much stiffer and for skiers it can be hard to bend over to put on and take off ski boots, not to mention exerting sufficient force to be able to buckle up, at least for me. 

Everything seems to become more difficult. From picking up skis on the ground after skiing and of course getting back up after falling? Past the magic age of 70 it can become an impossible task and many a septuagenarian will cho0se to release from the ski bindings (if they can) before they attempt to raise their old body up. That’s the orthopedic and very physical aspect of aging as it affects skiers. In truth, there isn’t much we can do about it except trying to do some stretching and flexing to slow the damage down. 

Then there’s also our minds that aren’t exempt too from stiffening up, and there, I see more opportunities, as keeping flexible and fluid thoughts as we age requires us to focus some key strategies, like engaging in learning new techniques, like ski carving, taking more challenging runs, still skiing bumps now and then, albeit more slowly. 

 We can also try some new equipment with shorter and wider skis, safer accessories like exchanging a flimsy wool hat for a warm and comfortable helmet, try to stop less often on easy runs, and so on. We also need to keep skiing with younger folks, not pass an invitation to ski with junior family numbers, visit a snow park for beginners and ride a few rolling bumps here and there to keep our brains engaged and adaptable. 

Also, travel to an unknown ski resort and figure out its network of ski runs and lifts to experience something totally new. Obviously, keeping a positive mindset, with an optimistic outlook, a sense of curiosity and an openness to do things we have never done before that may benefit both our physical and mental well-being. 

Appreciate fully what we still can do and by incorporating these simple strategies into our remaining ski lives, we’ll promote mental flexibility, improve cognitive function, and maintain a sharp and adaptable mind as years pile on…

Eclipse Day?

Today was a big day in America with a total eclipse running on a narrow band between Maine and coastal Mexico. 

It attracted thousands of people who traveled to be in its path, contributed to local businesses which was offset by loss of wages and production from those who wanted to see this “one in a lifetime event”. 

I didn’t not. I had a leak related to our water filtration system under the kitchen sink that I had to fix, and besides, Park City was only in the 40% coverage of the sun by our own moon. Too bad. 

I console myself by thinking we’ll have several other total solar eclipses between now and Aug. 12, 2045, which will be the next one visible across most of the contiguous United States if I’m still around! 

For the moment, I missed today’s experience and still couldn’t fix the damned leak!

Warmer winters costly to ski towns

Recently, I learned of a recent study by researchers Daniel Scott and Robert Steiger who claim that climate change is creating major damage to the American ski industry. Nothing unexpected, as I have been expressing my concern on the matter in recent blogs. 

Based on 226 US ski resorts, they’ve found out that ski seasons are getting shorter by about a week, on average. While this isn’t good news for skiers, it’s also costing the industry some $252 million every year as fewer people ski and more artificial snow is needed. This, however, is just a harbinger of things to come in coming years. 

Depending on how much global emissions are reduced, which is something that doesn’t look good at the moment, ski seasons could be two months shorter by mid century, with financial losses increasing from $657 million to $1.352 billion annually. To make things worst, the study says snow cover and season length will decrease at lower elevations. 

Since the 1970s, climate change has been rearing its ugly head. Now it’s quite clear that the trend is for real. Since 1981, there’s been an average global increase by about 0.18°C every decade. This was a reversal from the slow cooling trend observed over the previous 7,000 years, where temperatures fell by 0.01°C every century. 

In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), affirms that these changes are directly caused by human activities. Clearly, the ski industry is running out of ammunition and even improvements in snow-making won’t suffice. 

Today, some Colorado communities that live from ski tourism, like Boulder County, San Miguel County, and the City of Boulder have sued ExxonMobil and Suncor, accusing them of contributing to climate change and causing them harm. The communities demand compensation for the harm already done and for future adaptation costs. Even the conservative US Supreme Court decided not to step in, allowing the case to continue in state court. 

The above-mentioned financial losses due to climate change are based on two main factors, decreased revenue from fewer skier visits and higher costs for producing snow. Obviously, these figures don’t account for the true economic impact as skiers’ spending goes far beyond the slopes and include a variety of goods and services at their destinations. 

At that level, this spending stimulates more business, increases personal income, creates jobs, and boosts government revenue. Factoring in these broader economic effects, especially with an economic multiplier for ski tourism spending, would increase the loss to these communities. My take on that study is that it still underestimate the severity of global warming on the future of skiing...

Another personal record?

If this may sound like bragging to you, so be it, I feel that at my age, I’m entitled to boast every now and then! 

On Thursday, I skied the Super Condor hill for about three and a half hours, did 25 laps non-stop and accumulated 46,023 feet (14,028 meters) of vertical. The typical spring snow was hard at first, but after one hour, it softened up before turning into slush, particularly near the bottom. 

That lift’s vertical drop is 1,780 feet (620 meters) and gets skiers to the top in less than 8 minutes. I skied each one of my 25 laps in less than 10 minutes. 

There were few skiers that day and only very good ones, so no line and there was the possibility of skiing very fast in relative safety. 

Many were carving in the mushy snow which, besides digging huge rails on the slope, and contributing to the mushy conditions, wasn’t the fastest way to handle the snow. Instead, it was better to edge softly in a shallow carve and let the skis slide fully. 

That was fun, there were many fast skiers on the hill, but no one passed the 76 year old grandpa...

“I’m a skier!”

Who are we really? Some of us are fine carpenters, other supreme chefs, great journalists and for me, I’m just a skier. Yeah, I’m the quintessential skier. I could have turned differently.

As a child, I loved to draw, imagine, think and ski. I chose the latter because it was much easier for me to succeed in it than the other two or three. It was also a lot easier to get fast gratification from it with tons of fun from the get go. 

So it became my sport of predilection (in fact, aside from hiking, the only one I knew and had been exposed to, as a child) and I made it my life, including my career. 

An easy and pleasant way into life, that didn’t change the world and certainly didn’t improve it. It just gave the richer folks that populate the richest countries an extra recreation outlet for enjoying their plush life, and that’s about it. 

If there were another turn or kind of reincarnation, I might choose to become a philosopher!

When appetite for the future wanes…

When I’m looking into the future, I realize that aging isn’t gentle for most people as desires, plans for the future and eagerness to create and undertake seem to diminish at an alarming speed and I wonder sometimes if we must sheepishly accept it or find ways to fight that dismal trend. Do you agree with that reality and if you too, are faced with it, what are your plans? 

I must admit that I have nothing specific and ready to battle that trend that I loath. Besides the transitional change that occurs when most of us become retired, general motivation is one of these declining markers and it’s often caused by physical limitations or chronic health problems that suck energy up and make it harder to engage in activities we once enjoyed. 

As we advance in age, we experience the loss of friends or family members, which can be emotionally draining and make it harder to feel good about the future. Finally, we also become more risk-averse and less willing to take on new challenges for fear of not succeeding. As a result, we fall into a downward spiral of routines and habits making us less inclined to seek out new experiences… 

It’s hard to argue with these realities, yet “experts” suggest we can counteract these negative factors by prioritizing healthy habits like exercise, good nutrition, and quality sleep, as an active and engaged mind needs a healthy body. We must also value and cultivate social interaction by maintaining strong relationships with family and friends, joining organizations or groups with shared interests. 

Then there’s the importance of setting new goals, big or small, to reignite a sense of purpose and direction. Also explore new hobbies, volunteering, taking a class, or planning a trip. The key is to step outside of our comfort zone and try new things, learning new skills or taking classes. 

Finally, keeping a positive mindset, working on things you can control and remaining grateful for what we have remains essential. Don’t forget to stay curious, find inspiration through biographies, celebrate accomplishments no matter how small and become an expert at embracing change. 

We all know that aging is a natural part of life. By staying healthy, connected, embracing new challenges, and maintaining a positive mindset, we can keep our desires, future plans, and creative fire burning bright for years to come.

Greta Thunberg’s book

I just finished reading “The Climate Book” not quite authored by the young environmental activist Greta Thunberg, but rather by a collection of thought and opinions gathered from over one hundred experts, ranging from geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and Indigenous leaders that have taken turns to share how vital it is for the rest of us to combat the climate disaster that is lurking at our door. 

Missing in that volume are any concerted effort to curb a still growing planetary human population. Aside from that, what I’ve learned from that book is that everything depends on the willingness of northern rich, developed nations to make some huge sacrifices in order to meet the goals of the Paris accords and stop weather deterioration. 

If the most affluent 10% of the global population produces 50% of the emissions, as the book states, we don’t need to look far as to where the obvious sacrifice needs to come from. No one, among the richest of us, will be willing to give up their material advantages that translate into high revenues, plush personal comfort and unlimited transportation. The absence of true political will is another revealing element. What’s more likely to happen is that when confronted with the irreparable, something will have to give. 

Will it be a war from the poor against the rich? From those who have no more place to live on, moving to the planet’s higher grounds, or from billions of destitute trying to get something from 800 millions of well off individuals? I don’t know exactly how ugly the situation will become to finally force us to share, but what’s certain is that it promises to be highly unpleasant for our posterity and I sincerely hope we won’t live to witness it…

Testing Tesla’s full-self-driving function…

On Saturday night, I received a notice from Tesla that another update for my car’s software was ready. As I always do, I downloaded it and on Easter morning I received a message that I had been granted a 30-day complimentary trial of the company’s full self-driving functionality through April 29. 

This is not a cheap feature; it can be tested for $199 per month or purchased outright for $15,000 (it’s only 7,500 euros on the other side of the pond!), following quick increases by Tesla from $10,000 to $12,000 earlier in 2022. 

On Easter Sunday we went to Salt Lake City to celebrate with my son and his family, and had a chance to test that new self-driving feature on both legs of our trip. We were very, very impressed by its performance (AI is a much better driver than me!) and thought that it would come in handy when we are becoming a tad older and are getting more anxious and far less inclined to drive. 

I was as tense and attentive as if my 16 year old child had done the driving! This said, I’d feel that paying $3,500 or maybe $5,000 might be worth it, but find that the $15,000 Elon Musk wants is simply extortion. 

We’ll see how the month long test goes and will let you know how we feel and what we’ll do about it when it ends... 

Collision course: Snow and physical shape

With a great snow year in Park City are coming signs of worsening winter conditions that don’t bode well for the future of skiing.

Frequent “Atmospheric Rivers” as well as El Niño, aren’t a good sign and very wet snow up high and rain down below, plus a record warm winter are colliding to extinguish the winters we used to know. At the same time my aging body isn’t quite what it used to be. No April Fool’s joke! 

The snow level goes up, my physical strength goes down. Both are clearly on a collision course, which will prevail? I sincerely hope it’s the snow that prevails for a reasonably long time, but I’m not so certain anymore...

Still going bananas!

Since the mid nineties, we’ve made bananas part of our daily breakfast. I personally crush them every morning and that way, we find them most delicious! It’s fair to say that we have eaten more than 12,000 bananas to date, which is only one-tenth of a 40 ft container full of the tropical fruit. 

If anything, eating so many bananas hasn’t killed us yet, as its packed with many nutrients (vitamin B6, fiber, vitamin C and manganese as well as potassium). It’s also said to be a great mood lifter with the tryptophan it contains, a protein that’s converted into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that improves mood and well-being! 

Bananas are popular as 135 million metric tons are harvested each year and my wife and I don’t even begin to make a dent in that huge mass. 

Sure, it’s high in calories, but we make sure we burn those everyday so we can still get into our clothes...

Skiing my age in the bag!

At long last, I skied my age on Thursday, March 28! Last year, I reached 75 days on March 3, but that was the greatest ski year I ever had since living in Park City. Yesterday was a terrible day, except for some good powder up high on the mountain. Getting there and coming down were horrible, no visibility, wet snow and rain at the bottom!

For a while, I harbored doubts that I could ski my age this year, since my ski season got a bit curtailed following a December accident. 

That said, I learned two things this winter: I must make a concerted effort to avoid missing any ski day and push myself accordingly, and as time unfolds, this little stupid personal challenge will become increasingly difficult to fulfill. 

But you know me, I thrive on any challenge!

Let's go skiing virtually

Since about 2010, when I got a Gopro camera, I have produced many ski videos, first placing the camera on top of my helmet, then moving it to a more stable location over my chest and have showing family and friends where I skied around Deer Valley, Park City and occasionally, Snowbird. 

With the exception of my ski tips, my hands and my poles, there was no way someone could see me skiing, but this wasn’t the point. The video was simply shot to show where I was going and share with the viewer how it felt to see what I was seeing. 

Sure, depending on the radius of the turns, the occasional bump, there was a lot of rocking and rolling and it was easy to get motion sickness after seeing one of my flicks, but I felt that was a small price to pay for witnessing my crazy rides. 

So here we go again, this time with a video of my favorite ski run, under the 9990 chairlift towers, on the Canyons side of Park City. Just think for a minute that you are me, have stepped into my skis and are making a run with me. You might wish to take a slightly different route, you won't risk hitting a tree or get hurt whatsoever, feel the cold and your feet that hurt. 

You’ll see that it’s snowing, the visibility isn’t so good, but there’s no one on the mountain, so relax and enjoy the ride! 

Another bad day at Park City Mountain…

Vail Resorts does it again! On Tuesday, I stayed stuck for one full hour on Tombstone, one of their six person chairlifts without knowing what was going on. After more than 30 minutes of waiting, I called ski patrol to be told there was some mechanical problem that they hoped would be fixed soon. I asked: “Why didn’t you sent someone down the line to alert skiers waiting above?” I was told, “We’re doing it now”. 

A ski patrol showed up much later, as the chairlift had resumed moving on diesel power. For my ruined afternoon, I got a free lift ticked. BFD as we say! Vail Resorts doesn’t maintain its lifts as it should, as it probably doesn’t pay its mechanics what they are worth and, over the years, has built a terrible reputation as an employer. One of these day, folks will get killed on its lifts… 

I skied two Ninety-Nine 90 before it closed and then realized that all lifts this time were closed on the account of “lightning hold”. I didn’t hear any thunder, but the gondola kept going. Interesting isn’t it? 

In fact, lighting will always take the path of least resistance to earth, so if the user aren’t touching the earth they'll be safe. The metal cables and towers of the ski lift will conduct the lighting towards earth. In all likelihood, a lift is designed to withstand a lightning strike. 

The Over and out lift line at the base of Tombstone was crowded and no one knew what to do. I ended up walking and skiing down the 1.6 miles (ruining my ski bases too!) on the side of White Pine road to the cabriolet parking lot where I had left my car. What a day and a terrible handling of a situation like only Vail Resorts knows how to concoct!

Strange looking skis…

A few days ago, following a substantially new snowfall, I was sitting on the chairlift, next to a young man equipped with a strange pair of skis. Long, wide and with what could be called a “negative sidecut”, meaning that instead of having a narrow waist, that ski had a wide one, as shown on the photo.

This ski had been produced by Salt Lake City’s DPS, now a popular specialty ski brand, founded in 2005 by Stephan Drake. DPS is an acronym for Drake PowderworkS. 

In the early 2000s Drake wanted to create a ski that could float on top of powder while at about the same time, the late extreme skier Shane McConkey was shaking up his own ski design—the Volant Spatula—with Peter Turner, who eventually ended up joining forces with Drake to turn their outlandish dreams into reality, pioneering one of the first rockered skis ever made, the Wailer. 

The skis I saw were some discontinued 2016 Lotus model, about 140 mm wide underfoot and really not made for skiing on powder sitting on hard-pack like the 10 inches (25 cm) we had that day, but that needed true “bottomless” powder to be used. 

I didn’t envy my chairlift companion for trying to torture what amounted to “2x4” into a rounded turn under the circumstances, but again, innovation in skiing has always belonged to those brave spirits willing to try!

When ski fashion trumps safety

My wife and I often see interesting things during our morning walks. Yesterday, I was first to spot a skier waiting for the shuttle and ready to ski the new powder that had fallen overnight. 

Even in the distance, he was very easy to spot as he wore a pair day-glow orange pants and, eventually, as we got much, much closer, I could discern his ski partner clad in a “camouflage” ski outfit, mostly gray and earth-tones, that was much harder to see because he was near a clump of trees. 

For those of you who have been on the ski slopes this winter, you probably have also witnessed the popularity of these ski jackets and pants in “camo” as it’s popular to say. Yet, what do skiers, and particularly older ones, fear the most? Collisions with other skiers or snowboarders. 

Beside paying attention to the potential victims or perpetrators, the only best thing to do is being extremely visible on the mountain. It could be wearing an orange helmet, a bright green jacket or a red pair of pants, but a piece of clothing that can stand out might go a long way in signaling one’s presence on the hill. 

This is particularly true when skiers or snowboarders are stopped on the edge of a wooden or bushy run and are ready to resume their descent. They become very hard to spot if their outfit is dark, in earth-tones, or worst of all, in camouflage. 

"See and be seen."

I wonder what went in the head of the stylists who designed these pieces of clothing, and worst, in the mind of ski retailers who stocked the item? Safety sacrificed to fashion? Not a good idea!

Winter returns…

Following a short-lived spring skiing season intermission, Mr. Winter is back at it again and has returned to Park City for at least the next two weeks according to the weather forecast. 

This is not unusual and thanks to Park City ski areas extending their season until April 22, we still have a few ski turns left into our short-term future, not to mention nearby Snowbird that traditionally stays open into May, weather permitting, of course. 

This is also a reminder that March and April are traditionally very snowy month that can also feel very cold when our bodies are longing for some spring warmth. 

After all, this snow season that began so poorly is turning into another fun, powder-filled and much longer lasting experience than previously anticipated!

Are we learning more from joy or pain?

Today, as we were walking, a van passed with the markings “Stunt Puppy” and I said to my wife, this must be a company that sell remote training collars to give dog owners with the ability to send signals to their dog without a leash, but through the use of a range of electronic haptic signals communicated to the dog through radio waves. 

In fact, I was wrong, it was just the brand of a popular dog collar, but that started a conversation among us about whether one would learn more from joy or from pain. My initial thought was to claim forcefully that we definitely learned more from adversity and suffering than from good experience, but when I started to research that basic question I found out that it wasn’t so black and white. 

Instead, research suggests that we learn and remember better from both joy and pain, but in different ways. Good feelings bring us positive reinforcement that may reinforce desirable behaviors. When a behavior leads to a positive outcome, like a reward, a praise, or a feeling of accomplishment, individuals are more likely to repeat it. 

Joyful experiences may also motivate us to learn new things while helping a greater retention of knowledge. Studies also suggest that positive emotions can enhance memory and focus and help us learn more effectively. 

Sure, as I was so certain, negative experiences associated with pain can teach us to avoid harmful or unwanted situations. They are often a strong deterrent for repeating behaviors that led to them. Pain can also heighten our awareness of potential dangers or threats, and help us learn to avoid similar situations in the future. 

There’s also something to be said about painful experiences that are often more memorable than positive ones and make us more likely to learn from our mistakes and remember to avoid them. Finally, that quick review made me become a bit more nuanced in admitting that both joy and pain have value in learning, and that the ideal scenario might be a combination of both. 

Positive reinforcement can motivate us to learn, while negative experiences can show us what to avoid.

Is Rapture, a cheap alternative to heli-skiing?

For those who believe in nothing or aren’t following what’s going on in Christian America, the Rapture is an eschatological position, meaning a view of the last things, like immortality of the soul, rebirth, resurrection, migration of the soul, and the end of time. 

It's a belief held by some Christians, particularly the most radical ones, like the American evangelists, that consists of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive like you and me, and together will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." 

This long explanation brings me to suggest that if you as a skier are still alive, you might take advantage of the event to ski the most famous Himalayan summits, where helicopters cannot reach because the air if far too thin. 

Not only that, but if you live in Utah you can hitch a free ride to the top of the high Uintas mountains, where landing a commercial aircraft isn’t allowed, or if you live in Europe, get to the top of Mt. Blanc or Mt. Elbrouz, in a few seconds, totally free of charge. 

The only thing you have to do is convert to Evangelism if you’re not one already, get a rough idea when the Rapture is scheduled, be ready with your gear, have your skis on, and hope for a great ride. This would be a politically correct way to get a super fast lift to the summit of your choice and ski your heart content. You might be able to get more rides if additional Raptures happen to be scheduled. 

This way, you won’t have to heli-ski and ruin you carbon-footprint as well as your reputation!

Will 2024 be warmer than 2023?

Last year (2023) was a record hot year for our planet, and so far, with some very warm weather all around the northern hemisphere it could very well be that 2024 continues this worrying trend and be another record hot year. 

Based on what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has to say there's a 22% chance 2024 will be the warmest year ever observed. January 2024 was already the warmest January on record globally.

This say, there’s no guarantee that it will be indeed warmer, as there are a few factors to consider starting with warmer ocean temperatures that act as a heat reservoir, influencing global air temperatures. Then there’s the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle that can also significantly impact global temperatures. As of now, there are mixed signals about El Niño. 

While some data suggests a possible transition to neutral conditions by mid-year, others leave a possibility of El Niño returning and typically warming things up. Then there is what’s called “Natural Variability”. This means that climate always has some natural year-to-year variability. Even with a warming trend, some years might be slightly cooler or warmer than others. 

Let’s just hope there’s a lot of variability in store towards a much cooler balance of the year!

Hiking for a change…

Yesterday was a special day. On Tuesday, Dave, a neighbor, had suggested I join him to climb and ski “Pinecone”, an out-of-bound ridge in the Jupiter area of Park City. I hesitated because of age and declining VO2max. 

The last time I climbed it was with my daughter on December 31, 2006, so quite a long time ago, when I was only 59, and I remember having suffered a bit as I carried her skis to the top! The climb is a 420 foot vertical, 40 degree slope situated between 9,400 and 9,900 feet elevation and I’ve always found it exhausting (I have done it a half-dozen times when I was much younger).

After a short hesitation, I decided to join the group and pretty soon we were at the bottom of the hill. Dave who is still 60 (lucky him!) had been joined by Geoff, his 72 year old buddy. I climbed it in just 20 minutes, a few yards behind my neighbor but well ahead of the other septuagenarian which made me feel very good. 

My skiing partners decided for an encore and I passed. Instead, I hiked Jupiter Peak, a significantly shorter trek leading a much steeper and intimidating couloir. When I was done with my hikes for the year, I quietly returned home…

Why is it so hard to manage emotions?

It’s true that for people of my generation we were just taught about subjects like math, science, history, and language, but not much about emotional management that wasn’t even in the radar of our parents and educators as it was a skill that everyone hoped, would be learned through experience. 

Teachers, and parents were never told, yet alone taught about it and had no clue what emotional intelligence was. Unfortunately, hoping that experience will make up for that lack of education is more often than not more of a bridge than a reality as there are no fail-safe recipe to catch up and try to manage emotions, as the best approach depends on each individual and their situation. 

What follows are a few things I’m in the process of learning. 

Several strategies are required to get there, like knowing oneself, or self -awareness, that makes an individual more in touch with their emotions. It also demands to pay good attention to one’s physical sensations, thoughts, and behaviors when they’re popping to the surface. The next step is to identify what causes them. 

Things like, certain situations, people, or thoughts that typically lead to these emotions? Knowing what triggers them is key to anticipating and preparing for them. When we become aware of that, it’s time to develop healthy ways to cope with emotions. This can include exercise, relaxation techniques, going for a hike in nature, talking to a friend or for me during winter, going skiing. 

That’s also the moment to control negative thoughts. Are they true? Are there other ways to look at the situation? Finally and often, the best way to manage certain emotions is simply to accept them. Trying to fight or suppress them can, at times, make them worse. Allow yourself to feel your emotions without letting them control you. 

Remember also to build resilience. It helps you bounce back from setbacks and cope with difficult emotions more effectively. Remain optimist, use a healthy support system, and take good care of yourself, physically and mentally.

Time for Spring skiing!

Since this past weekend, Park City skiing has switched to Spring mode, including warmer sun and bluebird days. To top it all, today is the first day of Spring!

I’ve been skiing with my wife, who has been cruising better than ever on her skis, and seems to be getting a second wind, or rather a second lease on her alpine ski life! 

This was her 23rd day on the hill and just the 69th for me, so she’s clearly closing the gap. As you can appreciate, I’m only 7 days away from my goal of skiing my age… We’ll see if I get there!

Ten years in our (new?) home!

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of moving into our new home, the 4th in Park City and perhaps the last one, but who really can tell? 

Do we still like the house we’re in now? On the whole, absolutely! 

Even though it’s the third home I have participated in the construction, and the 12th dwelling we’ve lived in as a couple, what would we still change are quite a few things in fact, as the human species never stops learning, its tastes evolve and needs change.

 But still, let’s say that we’re 90 to 95% there, so we won’t complain and feel truly satisfied with what we’ve got and stating the contrary would be all, but being grateful, so we’ll appreciate our current dwelling and hopefully live in it at least a couple more years to make it the place in which we’ve lived the longest amount of time!

Getting out of tough situations with questions

Whether it's because we are in a bind, taken by surprise or angry or otherwise emotional, asking a question might often be the best way to get unstuck and literally, turn a bad situation around. I must state that I’m not at all expert on that subject, but had a strong intuition that the tactic might be very useful and wanted to explore it further with you, my readers. 

First of all, as we all know, asking a question buys time and enables some turn-around time which offers a nice alternative to being stuck in place without anything to say or knowing how to act. It certainly clarifies things. Besides, a good question might generates new ideas by opening new perspectives and potential solutions not considered before.

Some also say that it promotes critical thinking, encouraging a good analysis of the situation by showing underlying causes as well as options. Finally, it’s super useful in breaking mental blocks when we find ourselves in a rut and get our creative juices flowing again. 

As for the type of questions that we can ask ourselves, they can be of the clarifying type, like, “What exactly do I want to accomplish?" or "What obstacles do I have to overcome?" They could also be open-ended “What are my alternatives to approach this problem?" or "Are there other original solutions?" They can also be probing like "Am I assuming things that I should re-evaluate?" or "Am I overlooking certain risks?" 

Always remember that they’re no bad questions. Even if what we ask seems basic it can lead to breakthroughs. Never be afraid to ask. It’s always a sign of strength and a willingness to learn. 

To conclude, there are all the questions we can ask other folks from different backgrounds and experiences who can bring some insights we’d never considered. We should also ask specific questions: The more specific the question, the more targeted the answer could be. Also, always pay very close attention to the answers received and always consider them carefully...

How I became environmentalist…

When I was a young kid, I must admit that I mostly was attracted by modernism, fast cars, airplanes and tall buildings. 

It’s only when I traveled to the USA in 1971, that I discovered the terms environment and ecology, especially around San Francisco. Then, we had the first oil crisis in 1973 that made me think of earth’s limited resources, but did stop me in my tracks. 

That concept hit closer to home, when in 1979, freshly installed in New York, I had to line up to fill up my car during the second oil crisis. I kept on traveling a lot, mostly with North America and Europe, but never thought for a second about my carbon footprint, totally ignoring what that animal was.

Once I became a Park City resident, I began to think about snowless winters and their increasing occurrences both in the Rockies and in the Alps, plus their impact on the industry I worked in, and began to worry about a day when snow wouldn’t show up. 

I always wanted to build a solar-passive house, but when it happened in 1990, there was just the sunny location of our new home that answered that call. It’s precisely in the 90s that we began to hear about climate-change issues after the Rio de Janeiro summit in 1992 and that of Kyoto in 1997. 

All along, me and my household had remained very thrifty and quite sensitive to our environment, for the most part driving economical cars and living well below our means. The early 2000 made me consider the terrible impact on the environment overpopulation was having. Our messed up environment was the symptom, but a crowded earth was the cause. 

All this led us to Al Gore’s book and film “An inconvenient truth” in 2006 and we became sold on planet warming and greenhouse effects. That same year, the movie “Who killed the electric car?” was released (it was killed by both George Bush and the oil industry). 

It took me until 2019 to install solar panels on my roof and 2022 to park an electric car in my garage. Progress does come eventually, but it always takes an awful lot of time!

How much skiing is left?

With the warmest winter on record so far in the United States, and with snow shifting to much higher elevation in the Alps, ski aficionados have good reasons to worry. In fact, since 1990, the length of the skiing season in the French Alps is said to have shortened by an average of one month, a loss of around 3-5% per decade.

This season, unseasonably warm weather in Japan’s northern parts have caused iconic winter sights to melt earlier, the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts temperatures in early March to likely be higher than usual. 

So there seem to be change all over the Northern Hemisphere this winter and while we try to blame El Niño for that, we should ready ourselves to see shorter ski seasons, climbing snow limits and less fluffy powder in years to come. How fast and how intensely this will come to pass, is hard to predict, but we shouldn’t be shocked if the process unfolds much rapidly than we might anticipate. 

Utah, that was legendary for its dry light powder snow, is finding more water content in it, and soon, “The Best Snow on Earth” might become part of ancient ski history. So my advice to you skiers and riders is to practice your beloved sport as much as you possibly can while it’s still possible, because your “turns” as wide or tight they might be, could be severely limited…

The difference between Jewish and Palestinian DNA

The war between Israel and Gaza has been the occasion for certain folks to be labeled as “antisemitic”, including myself on the account of my various blogs. 

Yet, both Jews and Arabs share some ancestral links due to their Semitic roots, including genetic markers with ancient populations from the Eastern Mediterranean or Levant region, even though there some slight genetic differences between the two populations. In fact, the term "Semitic" refers mostly to a linguistic group. 

The language family in question includes Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and others spoken in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, it’s also vaguely linked to ethnicity. Obviously, over many centuries both groups intermixed with surrounding populations, leading to some genetic differences. 

Jews, for example, show some genetic connection to European and Middle Eastern populations they interacted with during their diaspora and Palestinian obviously show more genetic connections to populations from the Levant. This includes Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from the Near East to the Rhine Valley region around the first millennium after Christ, Sephardi Jews from the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the late 15th century. 

As for the Palestinian population, it likely descends from a mixture of ancient inhabitants of the region, including Canaanites, Israelites, and Arab tribes who arrived in the 7th century of our current era. Over time, these populations intermixed, forming the core of the Palestinian identity. 

So, we’re dealing with pretty much the same people but with different religions and cultures, Judaism and Zoroastrianism two very ancient (respectively 4,000 and 3,500 years old) monotheistic beliefs, and then Islam an updated monotheistic religion inspired from Judaism and Christianity. 

In conclusion, pretty much the same folks with similar origins and DNA that are behaving like tribal factions, stealing their brother’s land and killing each other. Not a paragon of civilized behavior.