The convergence of AI, automation and pyjama-lifestyle

I have already touched on the "de-pyjamazation" of America, and all the resistance and pain this return to normality is likely to imply for a large number of workers, worldwide. 

For more than 18 months, these teleworkers have been sheltered from visibility, except for the times they had to be seen on Zoom or other video-conference tool, and as a result many have been developing bad working habits that may have significantly impacted their productivity as a whole. 

If there has been no direct consequences so far, it’s just because their employers were to busy riding the pandemic storm and preparing for an after-Covid-19 era. 

In fact, getting ready for a re-entry into normality might become quite painful as it will coincide with even more automation and more artificial intelligence than ever before, poured onto what is likely to become tomorrow’s new, more efficient workplace. 

This evidently will mean far less jobs opening and an opportunity for employers, as they begin sorting out the productive elements of a team and getting rid of those who’ve been cruising all along, embracing and taking full advantage of what will soon become two years in “hiding”...

How the Fed make their money?

Early in the month, I read that two of the Federal Reserve's 12 regional bank presidents had been active traders, and that had prompted some of the central bank's most vocal critics to question the rules that allowed them to engage in the transactions in the first place. 

These guys have the power to slowly raise and quickly sink Wall Street, and with it, make tons of money for themselves, friends and family. I’d love to be Jerome Powell’s best friend or neighbor and get his insight, while I casually chat with him over our white picket fence.

Consider this, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren made frequent or substantial trades in 2020, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. The trades occurred during a year in which the central bank took major actions to keep the economy afloat and rescue the financial markets after both were almost sunk by the pandemic. 

Following the media revelations, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Dallas’s Robert Kaplan on Thursday announced they’d sell their individual stock holdings by Sept. 30, in moves aimed at shutting down ethical concerns over their trading activity. 

This hasn’t quieted down critics that say that the situation should never have arisen in the first place and showed the crying need for some fundamental change to improve oversight and accountability. In a tweet, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote : “I’ve said it before and will say it again: members of Congress and senior government officials should not be allowed to trade or own stocks. Period,”  

She’s absolutely right and it’s totally unacceptable that regional Feds can operate with less disclosure and scrutiny than all public officials, especially when they’re the ones in the know. Until now, Congressional efforts to revamp the Fed system haven’t gone very far. 

Regional Fed banks have lobbied effectively against changes by pointing out the benefits of a structure that prevents the central bank from being dominated by Wall Street or Washington. 

According to experts, a major restructuring of the Fed banks would require broader degree of political consensus on the role of the central bank than we currently have and a real Congress, not a bunch of sycophants. So just don’t count on it in the immediate future. 

Boy, I wish Powell were my next door neighbor. I’d even mow his lawn for free!

A first trip ‘round the world, part 64

When Gérard reluctantly left Tahiti after just touching the ground of that paradise island, Marcel remembered: 

“When we flew from Fiji to Papeete and Gérard continued to Los Angeles, I stopped for 3 days at the Tahiti’s Club Med, at Moorea, where I slept 36 hours non-stop. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time too, during the rest of my waking hours spent as a GM (Nice Guest) as they call clients in that place...”

Marcel then left on September 28 for America, California and the City of Angels where he visited the Disney studios and strolled around Hollywood. 

There he met a musician who offered him a wonderful guided tour that he politely declined, as the offer sounded like quid-pro-quo, and he found that his obliging host didn’t quite share the same sexual orientation as his. 

The next day, he visited San Francisco, love the sights, and remembered seeing the iconic TransAmerica building still under construction. 

With some regrets, Marcel added: 

“Too bad I had to leave that evening, but I had to be home the next day, so I could attend my brother’s wedding on Saturday October 2nd!”

Squaw Valley gets a new name…

A few weeks ago, Squaw Valley and its sister ski resort Alpine Meadows, in California, were renamed as “Palisades Tahoe”, following criticism of the “Squaw” reference that was said to be derogatory and offensive to American Indian women. 

Changing that name was a good move that made a lot of sense and probably was “too little, too late”. 

For me who never saw or used that name disrespectfully, things were fine as they stood, but again, it was my sole viewpoint. “Palisades Tahoe” is thus the new name that was picked to replace both Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley and, too me, at least, this choice appears artificially concocted just like Nissan from Datsun and Navistar from International Harverster. 

Literally, the new name’s “Palisade” means “A fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure”. Well, that moniker doesn’t sound too inviting to me. In essence it’s more excluding and forbidding than anything guests and visitors would like to see. 

Allegedly, the new name was inspired by the sheer granite faces and chutes that make up the terrain affected by the name change. In addition, Dee Byrne, the ski resort general manager, made up a convoluted list of other reasons to support that name, to seemingly persuade anyone would wouldn’t be convinced or wouldn’t understand. 

Well to me it does nothing and sounds 100% artificial and “made in unimaginative marketing”. We’ll see what happens with that bland name, but for the time being, I’ll probably be not politically correct by using the word “palisade”. 

Since I have no replacement name to suggest, I’ll continue to call the places Squaw or Alpine, while still respecting, in my mind, the native women the original name stood for... 

Is America becoming a theocracy?

Since Reagan was in power, the religious right has been gradually seeping into our US government and is now flooding it. 

In fact, the Christian Right has become the leading force in the GOP or Republican Party, and has since became extremely influential, often leading the way in the manner the United States is governed. 

So while it’s a bit of a stretch to claim America is a full-blown theocracy like Israel or Iran, it has become, for the most part, a half-version of what we see in these countries and in my own state of Utah.

At the moment, with a mostly Catholic Supreme Court and its majority view set on destroying any part of law that is against Christian doctrine, we seem headed into reaching a full-blown theocracy status.

It seems that when they wrote the Constitution, the famous “American Founding Fathers” tried to strike a balance between introducing a form of enlightenment and protecting religious liberty. They created in fact a religious constitution, maybe more Deist than Christian but still with some idea of God inside. 

Initially, religious liberty wasn’t in the Constitution when it was ratified, but instead added into the Bill of Rights. For hard-core Christians, the battle began when the Constitution failed to include Christianity as the official religion of the land, and obviously their efforts to go in that direction continued unabated. 

Time is probably on the side of the Christian’s Right; history demonstrates that radical shifts in political systems can take decades to build but they eventually happen. Theocracy might then be the new alternative competing against other forms of tyrannical systems like China and Russia’s.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 63

Just on Gérard’s birthday, it was time to fly to the iconic island of Tahiti. 

To his surprise, he was treated to a glass of champagne and some treats, compliment of UTA French Airlines. On top of that, he had his chance of a lifetime to cross the international dateline twice, on his birthday, making for two celebrations in less than 24 hours! 

That is exactly were the fun ended for him as he was only transferring and changing plane on his way to California, as he was expected in San Diego be his relative. 

With what sounded like deep regrets, Gérard sighed: “Today, I now realized that I was about to make the biggest mistake in my entire life. Setting foot on that island, receiving the traditional ‘lei’ without staying there, even for one single day was downright unpardonable! What was I thinking?” 

So, as I was leaving Marcel in French Polynesia, I somewhat reluctantly boarding my flight to Los Angeles…

A first trip ‘round the world, part 62

In 1971, Philippe Coutaz arrived at Mt. Buller when the season had already begun and everyone was in place teaching and becoming acclimated to their new life. 

He had flied from Geneva to Australia by way of Los Angeles, then Tahiti to Sydney, a very long journey. Says Philippe: “A boring, uninteresting trip at will. But when I reached my final destination, my luggage had not followed me. Corollary: No skis, no boots, no nothing!”

Later on, he told me that he had discovered, thru an early ski school director’s amateur films (Maurice Jaun), that French Ski Instructors used to travel by ship rather than flying. 

“I was absolutely bewildered that they’d spend a whole month on a ship. I suppose that flying was far more expensive than sailing over…” added Philippe who wasn’t aware that this peculiar mode of travel was used to ship most ski instructors ponderous ski equipment far less expensively than as extra, registered baggage, as JP and I did. 

Luckily, Philippe’s return trip became more interesting, when he began hitchhiking from Sydney to Brisbane, spending a first rainy night standing on the highway. “Poor me!” complained Philippe, “I entered thereafter the Western Australian outback also know as the The Whirlwind Country by Toowoomba, visiting the Arboregenes in the mist of a desert filled with dead animals, riding with those very long trucks all the way to Darwin, where I spent few days living on the beach with beatniks of the time.” 

Then, Philippe flew to Bangkok, where he walked around the city for several days, staying at a YMCA. 

Philippe remembers: “Luckily, the day I was supposed to fly back to France, the plane had a technical problem, as a result of which I was taken to the Dudit Thani Five Stars Hotel for 24 hours. The beggar enjoyed its luxurious environment with pools, restaurants, casinos and the like, just before returning home!”

A first trip ‘round the world, part 61

Just the time to bid New Caledonia goodbye, Gérard and Marcel were again on a plane, on their way for Nadi, on west coast of Fiji’s main Island for another couple of days.

When they got out on the tarmac at night, there got soaked into the intense heat and humidity and, again, without any place to go or hotel reservations! 

Gérard reminisces: “As luck would have it, we ended up on the shore, not far from the airport and we found an empty shack a few meters from the beach. From the get go, weren’t sure that it was such a good idea to spend the night there... 

The place was pitch dark and filled with mosquitoes ... the flimsy lights we could spot around that place stood in stark contrast with those of the Australian cities and even Nouméa...”

With the accumulated travel fatigue and stress, that first night was quite an ordeal, but at daybreak, our two travelers woke up to some wonderful white sandy beaches that were fit for a paradise postcard. Both kept working on his tan and continued to enjoy the South Pacific waters. 

“The only work we did was visit a nearby sugar cane production!” quipped Marcel.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 60

Upon enjoying Sydney and everything that large Australian city had to offer, Gérard and Marcel flew to Nouméa, New Caledonia, a Pacific island that's about 1,250 miles to the northeast, and less than three and a half hour away from Sydney.

Since our two friends were there for a just a couple of days and didn’t want to invest in a relatively expensive hotel room in town, they decided to spend each night at the airport. Staying at a hotel would have busted their traveling budget! 

Says Gérard: “I remember that a police patrol working inside the terminal checked on us the first night and after listening to our explanations, agreed to leave us there .... It appeared to us that the cost of living was very high in that French enclave, and that the local folks were obsessed with money !” 

Marcel especially enjoyed swimming in the magnificent bay of Nouméa and had the time of his life. 

One day, the two attempted to hitch-hike to see and hopefully visit the nearby nickel mines, but unfortunately this mode of transportation didn’t seem to work too well on that French island, and they had to finally turn around 50 km and several hours later. 

Marcel said ironically, pun intended: “That’s when I learned what it meant to have to travel on one’s own nickel!”

A first trip ‘round the world, part 59

After successfully getting through the eucalypti forest without killing any kangooroo or running over a lone wombat, Gerard and Marcel stopped in Sydney, to visit, for a few days. 

They went by the brand new Opera House, still under construction, followed by a visit of the Taronga Zoo, on the shores of Sydney Harbor in the Mosman district. 

This is where Gérard saw life-size crocodiles for the first time in his life: “I was scared to death seeing these monsters a few meters away ... I did not imagine them so big, unless the fear that seized me suddenly made them look even much bigger inside my mind.

Gérard still sees both of them crossing on foot the Harbor Bridge and catching the view of the Opera House, surging in the City Center skyline as well as the splendid ocean front homes that provided for an unforgettable contrast with the ocean. 

While in Sydney, Gérard also met with the son of a cousin, on his mother’s side, who was a local-based pilot flying for Pan American Airways. He lived in the beautiful Hendley area near Sydney in a cute, secluded home cradled in greenery and so close to the water you could smell the ocean breeze in the air. 

His dad, originally from Italy, had settled in San Diego and was expecting me in the following days and was quite excited to host me in California...

How can we unmask nefarious charisma? (continued)

In life we’re often attracted to charismatic people, even though some can mask less-than-benign agendas. There is true Charisma and manipulative Charisma, so the question becomes how can we tell between the two? 

Well some charismatic leaders are clearly out for the greater good, while others are primarily interested in the “greater self” and they accomplish this by drawing on the same skills and resources to serve themselves and advance their own agenda. Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos story is the best modern example I can think of nefarious charisma in action (watch video below). 

We often believe that we know arrogance and narcissism when we see it, but that isn’t always the case. In practice, it can be tricky telling these two types of charisma apart. Both can articulate a compelling vision, but only well-meaning leaders actually involve others in realizing it. 

These leaders talk more in terms of challenges, opportunities, and reaching potential, whereas self-interested leaders focus on the negative sides of their competition or their opponents. Then there’s the way in which they display confidence. 

Both types of charismatic leader are outwardly confident, but self-serving leaders often have more fragile egos. That’s why they surround themselves with people who kiss their ass and never disagree or rock the boat. Good leaders accept and are more comfortable with honest push back and are never afraid to invite smart people into their circle who offer totally different perspectives. 

The danger of following a charismatic leader who’s more self-absorbed is that they may be more interested in using your goals and aspirations to support their own; they might differ considerably, but this type of leader will try to make that gap hard to perceive. 

Ultimately, there’s a greater likelihood to get thrown under the bus or get blamed when things don’t go right. Instead, it’s key to follow people who are courageous and are looking for people’s best interests and fully support those without whom they couldn’t achieve what they’re aiming to do, or at the very least, leaders who behave that way most of the time. 

Charisma can be deceiving and seductive, but by paying attention to some of these subtle cues, one can get a pretty good insight about who they can follow and who they should stay away from…

 

The mechanics of charisma (continued)

It’s true that if charisma were easy to to acquire, we should all become charismatic. This lead therefore to the question: “Is charisma innate or is it a learnable skill?” I would say that it appears to be innate to me, but some say that it’s a skill that can be acquired and refined through an attentive focus, which will lead to greater levels of influence. 

As we’ve seen yesterday, there are three types of behaviors that allow someone to increase their charismatic capabilities: 

• 1. Behaviors of Power 
•  2. Behaviors of Warmth 
•  3. Behaviors of Presence 

Behaviors of Power – We need to believe in our ability to affect our surroundings and not the other way around as is often the case when we’re negatively influenced by interactions we don’t like or appreciate. It’s important therefore to learn how to compartmentalize our internal lives and take a proactive mindset instead of a reactive one. 

Behaviors of Warmth – These include compassion, respect, and sincerity. They’re in fact just the opposite of pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy. This involves not just positive eye contact but also a warm demeanor. Then there’s a healthy dose of humility that helps in channeling warmth. We tend to find kinship with folks that quickly admit and learn from their mistakes instead of blaming others or trying to cover up their deficiencies. Our own ideals should become our moral compasses, not comparisons between us and others that always need to neurotic feelings and toxic behaviors that inhibit warmth. 

Behaviors of Presence – I’ve kept this one for last as it’s also the most important of the three traits and where people often see charisma in action. These include eye contact, confident posture, and positive overall demeanor. This will help provide a strong connection and create respect. A distracted presence demolishes that work of communication, so total focus is key. The rest, background noise and the like, should be ignored. 

Sure, we've all experienced how it feels to have someone watch our every move. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but these efforts will bring a positive influence to others and it will only grow from there. Next time, we’ll try to separate true charisma from manipulative one

The mystery of charisma

Recently, I have become interested in charisma and in learning more about that trait that some people display and use for both good and ill. Obviously, it helps to define fist, what is charisma? 

The Harvard Public Review defines it as “rooted in values and feelings. Its influence is born of the alchemy that Aristotle called the logos, the ethos, and the pathos; that is, to persuade others, you must use powerful and reasoned rhetoric, establish personal and moral credibility, and then rouse followers’ emotions and passions. If a leader can do those three things well, he or she can then tap into the hopes and ideals of followers, give them a sense of purpose, and inspire them to achieve great things.” 

Most behavioral scientists see 3 distinct elements to charisma: 

Power, or the ability to affect one’s surroundings through influence, authority, resources, expertise and social status, among others. 

Warmth, manifested by goodwill towards others and willingness to use one’s power for the benefit of others. 

Presence, expressed by being “in the moment” and being aware of what’s going on during an entire interaction. 

It’s pretty obvious that, well harnessed, charisma is a valuable tool in any human pursuit, regardless of the circumstances or the culture where it’s put to use. It’s obviously a key tool for politicians, actors and salespeople. 

It also works for anyone that can layer that trait into their transactional relationships to get what they’re after. This said, charisma is a perplexing trait and poses a few questions as it can be used effectively by good and malevolent people. 

That’s right, charisma is not a moral value, it’s just a trait or a vehicle that defines a person’s interaction with others and has little to do with the content of their message or their intention. 

Hitler was definitely very charismatic at times in his day, and so is the Dalai Lama now. I make this point because I believe that the whole charisma subject can also be a huge minefield. 

The obvious next questions of course is charisma innate or a learnable skill, and if it is ill-intended, how can we unmask it right away? In the next days, I’ll make an attempt to answer these questions and perhaps more...

How can we measure air quality?

With this summer’s huge fires in California that spew their smoke and ashes eastwards into Utah, measuring or at least knowing what air quality is all about has never been so important. 

The problem is where can we get some good information. Ideally, I like a system that has as many air sensors as possible, as close to my home as possible of course, but also that offers a great coverage everywhere else, not just in North America, but also in the world, that is as precise as possible and that can be accessed both reliably and conveniently. 

The next thing is to know what is being measured, for instance most systems and air quality indexes are based on measurement of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), Ozone (O3), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions. Usually and most systems have stations that are monitoring both PM2.5 and PM10 data, but there are few exceptions where only PM10 is available.

Since last year, we’ve used PurpleAir as a source. This is a Utah company, that manufactures low-cost air monitors and sells them all over the world. I also know of another company that rendered a similar service worldwide, IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, that also sells air quality monitoring and air cleaning devices. From what I’ve been told however, IQAir’s sensors seem to show less accuracy and besides their website doesn’t provide for easy, fast and convenient reading. 

There’s also the World Quality Index (WQI), that uses the so-called GAIA air quality monitoring stations for its input, using high-tech laser particle sensors to measure in real-time PM2.5 pollution, one of the most harmful air pollutants. Its map is pretty good but it seems to have far less stations than PurpleAir, at least as far as the US is concerned. 

In 2018, AirNow was launched; it’s an air quality website that’s a government consortium between the US, Canada and Mexico, and is only available for us to see how bad (or good) the air is in North America. 

Based on my research, not only PurpleAir offers worldwide coverage, but it provides a denser coverage and also real time readings. Some assert that it might be less accurate than AirNow. 

I just don’t agree with that, especially when I look outside, see the air filled with smoke, and simultaneously compare readings from the three systems, I found that AirNow is getting half the readings of what IQAir and PurpleAir are registering. 

So for the time being, I’m gonna trust PurpleAir over World Air Quality Index, that is as long as I don’t die of smoke inhalation by the end of the year! 

The health effects of wildfire smoke

While smoke may sometime smell good, it’s not good for humans. Well, the one we’ve getting since the middle of summer and that has drifted all over Utah and the rest of the Rocky Mountains region has been one incredible and unpleasant experience. 

After traveling from California over the Nevada, the smoke no longer smelled much, but its effects are still very harmful on us. Thank god, the wind would change all the time and the conditions constantly change from acceptable to worst. 

Sure, we don’t all have the same sensitivity to wildfire smoke, it’s still a good idea to avoid breathing smoke if we can. And when smoke is heavy, such as can occur in close proximity to a wildfire, it’s bad for everyone. Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn. 

The biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles. These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs. How many packs of cigarettes does repeated exposure means? No one knows for sure. Still, smoke can cause a range of health problems, from burning eyes, runny nose to aggravated chronic heart and lung diseases. 

It’s therefore especially important for to pay attention to local air quality reports during a fire or if there is smoke or ash traveling overhead. People most at risk are those with with heart or lung disease, obviously older adults, young children with respiratory systems still developing, folks with with diabetes and pregnant women. 

The most telling symptoms are burning eyes, running nose, coughing and difficulty breathing. Those with heart disease might experience chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, or fatigue. People with lung disease may not be able to breathe as deeply or as vigorously as usual, and may experience symptoms such as coughing chest discomfort and shortness of breath. 

Protecting oneself begins with paying attention to local air quality reports, and this is not easy because they’re not all created equal, at least in North America. Then, use common sense to guide your activities. Even if you don’t have a monitor in your area, if it looks or smells smoky outside, it's probably not a good time to mow the lawn or go for a run.

 And it's probably not a good time for children – especially those with asthma - to be vigorously active outdoors.

Nine Eleven

A week before the 20th anniversary of the events of 9/11, we’ve been flooded with reminders, remembrances, information, testimonies of all kinds and analysis linking that period of time in our recent history to what’s happening today in America. 

Beyond the tragedy itself and that suffering of the victims and their close ones, my conclusion of these past 20 years are pretty cut and dry. 

I was working in Vail Colorado when the planes smashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. I immediately said to myself, “That’s the payoff for what we’ve let happen in Palestine.” 

I thought Bush, who before looked like a deer caught in some car headlights, was really dumb, but found a cause to anchor his presidency. The evil Cheney jumped on the opportunity to return and fight near Oil-Country and, as the master puppeteer, made Bush embark on some really stupid moves. 

First, we should have bombed the shit out of the Talibans, made sure to catch Osama bin Laden right here in there and moved out. End of discussion. We would have saved 170, 000 lives and trillions of Dollars. 

Then we embarked into Iraq, without a clue, without plans and a valid reason plus a big lie, which also killed more than 500,000 people and cost another few trillion dollars on top of Afghanistan, all financed on credit. 

Today, as I am sending my quarterly tax payment, I am not at all happy with the use that’s made of my money. Bush, Cheney, the late Rumsfeld, Rice, and Powell are a bunch of reckless war criminals that should still be in jail. 

Obama lacked the personal and political courage to get out of Afghanistan while Trump didn’t understand that he needed to include the Afghan government in his negotiations with the Taliban. 

Another big takeaway from the Afghan-Iraqi wars is that world powers should no longer attempt to turn a medieval country culture and customs on their heads. It just doesn’t work, or if it seems that it “stuck” for a while, it soon return to what is was before. At least Biden, as demonized as he’s been lately, had the balls to get us out of there. 

Then there’s our military that kept on announcing that things would turn around the following week for 20 full years! Well, if we take the recent Taliban victory as an example, their budget was $1.5 billion a year compared to about $500 to 750 billion for the US military machine. 

Without a question, the ragged and bearded guys beat us. They were much, much more efficient, and we should contract our national defense to these guys on their Toyota pick up trucks. They might successfully rid us of the Proud Boys and McConnell while they’re at it.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 58

The days were getting longer, the snow was changing fast and spring was definitely in the air. Gérard had arrived three months earlier at Mt. Buller and even though that would seem like a short season by Northern Hemisphere standards, that was the second in a row that we had gone through that same year, and most of us had seen enough of winter! 

As salaries were paid weekly, both Gérard and Marcel ended instructing on that weekend and went down Melbourne where they finalized their return trip, rented a car that they would drop in Sydney. 

Since they had not driven for a few months, Marcel recalls that he was a bit shocked when he realized that the steering wheel was on the right and he had to drive on the left (wrong) side of the road: 

“Surprisingly it wasn’t that bad” said Marcel, “ I got used to it much faster than I had imagined!” They choose to travel through the major New South Wales ski resorts and meandered between Thredbo, Perisher, Mt Kosiuko and finally made it to Canberra, the Federal Capital, as spring season was returning in full force. 

Gérard had kept fond memories of that city, in particular its beautiful Parliament building. There, our friends both spent a night at one of Marcel’s clients home.

Gérard also recalls the whole trip between Melbourne and Sydney: “I still can picture crossing beautiful forests on unpaved trails with their vivid colors, all all these kangaroos coming out from all places. We had a blast!” 

They finally got to Sydney on September 20, and decided to visit the iconic city.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 57

What would we say, if someone asked us “Which lifetime lessons did I learn during your stay in Australia and Mt. Buller in 1971?” Part 2. 

JF: 

“Australia taught me a lot! I discovered that the world is indeed a huge place. JP and I learned this first-hand while stuck on an ocean liner for 50 days. This opened up our eyes to the fact that we didn’t count for much on this endless body of water and that enormous planet, and made us feel fortunate to be included in that fabulous adventure.” 

We were also quite young and many of us were immature too. Our curious minds could learn something brand new everyday from our co-workers, the folks we met along the way and also from seeing new places, accomplishing unfamiliar tasks, or experiencing a variety of new situations. 

If someone had asked me to summarize, I’d have said: “I especially gained a huge amount of self-confidence... On snow, my teaching skills were enhanced by working with Gérard and Alexis, I also got to observe what was going on at the Austrian ski school, which broaden my views about instructing. Improving my English on a daily basis was huge, and while I could somehow communicate better, my understanding of Australian culture was still lagging behind and this taught me that culture always stand as a much bigger hurdle than language. Most importantly, I decided that my career would include skiing, international trade and much travel. To cap everything, I realized that I’d never been so happy in my entire life, and to me, this was priceless!”. 

This unforgettable experience would cap what had been the best year of my life! 

Philippe Coutaz: 

Philippe also shares my point of view about our youth and our tenuous maturity. All young males are confronted with that quandary and react in vastly different ways. At times, we wanted to show off in order to state who we were and where we stood as adults. 

Younger than Gérard, Marcel, JP and I, and almost still a teenager, Philippe admits: “I was just 20 and at times I might have seemed abrasive to you guys, but I had to establish my place within a group of boys all older and seemingly more secure than I felt. Under these circumstances, it was hard to be just myself!” 

Just like for the rest of us, Australia was a teachable milestone for Philippe. This experience made him discover that nothing could be a substitute for being absolutely honest with himself in order to becoming a productive member of society, and constructively interacting with others. 

Jean-Pierre Chatellard: 

JP who left us one year ago is no longer with us to tell his side of the story. This is why I took it upon myself to imagine his testimony and kept it for last. Together, JP and I journeyed to Australia. One season strong of coaching in Colorado, he knew the drill, a bit of the culture and spoke English well enough to hit the ground running. 

What did he learn? Let him explain: “First of all, I have to admit that I already knew a lot when I got to Australia, so my learning opportunity was minimal compared to the rest of the team…” 

As you can read, not much room for improvement. Well, over time I’ve realized that JP had built his image of unflappable guy, Indiana Jones type, if you prefer, to insulate himself from peeking into his own soul. I admired his go getter attitude, but now realize that it might have been a facade, as overflowing charisma often hides vulnerabilities... 

Let him pursue: “To a lesser extent, I learned that I could be a coach, a mentor, a cool guy. That came through my experience with JF. I would suggest something and he’d go for it. I’d say ‘let’s jump!’ and he’d reply ‘how high?’. I knew I was on to something and I quickly learn that I could influence others and lead them with my fearlessness, my enthusiasm and my ‘can do’ attitude. Of course, I also learned from JF that, when he listened to his survival instinct, there were limits to my influence…” 

That’s right, JP’s boldness got me out of my shell and somehow, at the right moment, I knew that it was time for me to go on my own.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 56

What would we say, if someone asked us “Which lifetime lessons did I learn during your stay in Australia and Mt. Buller in 1971?” 

Marcel Grivel-Dellilaz:  

Marcel has always been enthusiastic about life, skiing and adventure, so he only has wonderful memories of his summer spent at Mt Buller. He was stoked as soon as he learned that he would be teaching in Australia, fly for the first time, circumnavigate and discover the world. 

Marcel fondly remembers: “I was madly in love with skiing at that time, so what a joy to be on snow a whole summer!” He felt privileged to work with his fellow instructors who became real friends and by the same token jumped on the opportunity to improve his English daily while working. 

Marcel goes on: “It was a time when friendship, cooperation and mutual support from friends was so enriching. Of course, instructing, my true passion. It filled me with joy and there was also the racing side of skiing that I practiced religiously each season into early summer, all over the Alps!” 

Ski racing always ranked high on Marcel’s list and he remembers organizing races with Gérard and coaching kids with Jean-Pierre at Mt. Buller. Marcel couldn’t get enough of our fun, collective daily life, not to mention our festive evenings that followed. 

Thinking for a moment, Marcel adds: “...the cherry on the cake was the return trip, especially that road-trip we took with Gérard, between Melbourne and Sydney, traveling through the Pacific Islands and the West Coast of the USA! If it were not for my becoming a husband and a dad upon returning home, I would gladly have repeated that magical experience!” 

Gérard Bouvier: 

From a young age, I wanted to discover new horizons and was eager to get his full instructor certification before setting out to explore the world. As he got his first level, he left his hometown in Savoie, to teach at Club Med in the Pyrenees during the winter of 1967/68. The following season he picked Val D'Isère and finally, Morzine, in 1969/70. 

Upon obtaining his second and final certification level, “Diplôme National”, he had set his sights on the Province of Quebec for the following winter, but in January of that same year, he was asked to become a faculty member at ENSA, the National School of Ski Instruction in Chamonix, France. 

“That was a tough decision for me to make,” said Gérard, “Should I give up going to Canada and forever relinquish the opportunity to work abroad or should I take that great job?” Well, he did the latter, but opportunity had its way of knocking again. 

Gérard recalls: “As I began teaching at ENSA, sometime in January, Alexis Saudan asked me to accompany him to Mt. Buller, as long as I could brush up on my English. While this possibility wasn’t a sure thing yet, I sensed that my dream was now within reach. The first lesson I drew from this experience was that, beyond my wildest dreams, persistence could open many doors.” 

Gérard reflects, “This Australian experience that happened so far away, sure in another ski resort, was so much different from the standpoint of its environment, climate and culture. Further, the constant fun and discovery that hit us, influenced my life forever and stayed etched in my mind, and would play a crucial role in shaping up my professional career.” 

The rest of this story will continue tomorrow...

A first trip ‘round the world, part 55

While we were traveling to Australia, teaching at Mt. Buller and returning through the Pacific Ocean, we missed a bunch of big world events. Can you still remember them? I didn’t, except for the moon landing, so I wanted to let everyone know, just in case you had totally missed most of them! 

On May 30, while JP and I were waiting in Genoa for our line to leave port, the first satellite to orbit Mars, the US Mariner 9, was launched. From his home, in Savoie, Gérard who might have seen that on TV thought: "After I'm done with all my travels around the world, perhaps one day, I'll have a chance to explore another planet!"

About a week later, no one told us that the Australian lady Evonne Goolagong had won at Roland Garros over her country mate, Helen Gourlay, 6-3, 7-5. As he was still in Geneva, getting ready for his trip, Marcel might have thought: "Australian girls are hot, I can't wait to meet them all!"

Later on, while Gérard had just begun to teach and that JP and I were stuck around the Canary Islands, On June 17, Nixon declared that it was time to begin the “The War on Drugs”. Still in Chamonix, Philippe might have thought, "This absolutely makes no economic sense!" Yet, the next day, still unbeknownst to us, but much more constructively, Fred Smith founded Fedex’s logistics and delivery services in Memphis, Tennessee. 

The day Marcel left Europe for Australia and JP and I were in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Jim Morrison from the Doors was found death at age 27 in his bathtub in Paris. 

As we arrived in Durban, we learned that Louis Armstrong also died at age 69 on July 7, and at the same time, the City of Paris decided to implement paid parking in its streets. 

Interestingly, during JP and I stop-over in Durban, Elon Musk was just born in nearby Pretoria, South Africa. 

As all of us were now at Mt. Buller, except for Philippe, still no one told us that Eddy Merckx had won his third straight Tour de France on July 18. 

Less than ten days later we heard that Apollo 15 had just been launched, then around August 1, we watched the 4th moon landing’s grainy pictures on Hilton-Wood’s old TV. I had never seen any of them on television before and I was impressed by the little 4x4 used by the cosmonauts! 

The following day I wasn’t aware of the Concert for Bangladesh given by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, in New York City before a crowd of 40,000 people. No one told us either when around mid August, New Zealand and Australia decided to pull out their troops from Vietnam. 

As spring skiing was beginning and snow was starting to melt, it seems to me that JP said he heard somewhere, that John Lennon was leaving the UK to move to New York City. Presciently, perhaps, and always a fan of America, I think I heard him say: "I bet you, he'll never set foot in England again!"

Still around September 10, the local news didn’t mention that the soviet Anna Konkina had won the women road cycling championships at Mendrisio, Switzerland, and that the same Eddy Merckx had won the same title in the men’s category. 

September 11 was a mixed day, as the US Open Women’s Tennis final took place and saw Billie Jean King beat Rosemary Casals 6-4, 7-6. In the USSR, Premier Nikita Khrushchev died at the age of 77 from a heart attack. Make sure to always stick to a regular annual check up routine ! 

To conclude this list and once more, without anyone telling us, Lance Edward Gunderson, later named Lance Armstrong, was just born in Dallas on September 18... 

As we finally made it back home in October, we were, once again catching up with the latest news, good or bad, serious or trivial, watching the cute anchor lady reciting them on good old French television!

 

A first trip ‘round the world, part 54

The early 70s saw the peak of the so-called sexual revolution. Mt. Buller was no exception and by and large, visitors to ski resorts didn’t hesitate a second to let their hair down, partying and drinking, in a totally carefree mode. 

Unlike what was going on with most skis resorts in the rest of the world, skiing was something that wasn’t quite part of the Australian culture. Most visitors had never seen snow, because it simply never snowed in big cities like Melbourne or Sydney. 

Going on the snow was something folks often tried once to get a sense of how it felt like, as the activities sounded as much alien as exotic to them. On top of that, people only came just for a short weekend, with one big night, and when pressed by time, people don’t have much room left to think.

They were all excited by a full day out in the snow, their adrenaline was flowing high, they drank way too much, were piled on top of each others in tiny lodges and when they finally let out the steam accumulated over a full workweek, all bets were off. 

As a society, young Australians were more likely to place stimulation and hedonism as their main values and religion wasn’t the tempering element that it could have been to their American cousins. Much more so than in Europe, social situations quickly turned out of control and cause people to often do things they’d soon regret. 

At the risk of repeating myself, Kooroora was the epicenter of that hedonistic culture, the spot rowdy crowds found themselves at, when no other place was still open. The perfect spot for live music, loud rock ‘n roll, whiskey and coke, where new friends were instantly found but lost the next morning, where integrity took a back seat and the world feels suddenly like a better place at 3am. 

All this set the stage for some wild nights that didn’t let young European ski instructors totally indifferent. So crazy was this “Aussie” form of fun that it got exported all the way to St. Anton, in Austria, at the Krazy Kanguruh. 

I could go on with that story, but it might be far too taxing to cover on that blog!

A first trip ‘round the world, part 53

No matter where we ski, each time we have a bad early ski season, with little snow, warm temperatures and overcrowded ski runs, we must become creative, less picky and more astute about creating the best possible experience.

At these moments, I’m reminded of our Australian ski years. We had very little in terms of terrain, vertical drop, snow quality and, let’s be honest, scenic beauty. 

Somehow, we made it work and made our experience on snow quite lovable. So, here we are today, reminiscing a treasure with not a huge quantity of gold coins and emeralds, but rarity always breeds value. This applies to so many experiences in our lives and we should never forget it. 

Yet, Laurent Vanat, the Swiss ski resort business analyst, thinks that Australia skiing is more about its skiers than what the local resorts have to offer. 

“Australia has a strong immigration program, which in effect creates a whole new emerging market within its own borders. Many ‘new Australians’ come from countries with no snow and no winter culture. These people are very keen to experience snow and have a go. This market is embracing snow tourism and flocking to the Alpine resorts, particularly on weekends. Australian resorts are clearly not very appealing to international customers, since New Zealand offers a close alternative with much greater vertical drop, lower prices and at least as much fun.” 

Clearly, this man isn’t thrilled about Australia skiing. He must be blinded by its small lift capacity figures, limited vertical drop and lack of dining and shopping options. I’d wonder if he has ever set foot in Australia and most importantly, if he has spend much time experiencing its resorts. 

Philippe had a strong reaction: “I don't remember skiing in Australia as being limited, and I was born and bred in Chamonix, of all places, where since I was fifteen I’vee been skiing the Grands Montets and descending the Vallée Blanche every spring. I know, I’m spoiled! At Bull Run, in Mt Buller there was some steeps and enough vertical to have fun. The run under the chairlift was perfect for teaching. Okay, the views weren’t the greatest… Just an endless forest of eucalypti! As an instructor, teaching there was great and the slopes we had were just perfect to make our students fall in love with the snow, then skiing, which prepared them well for a future ski-trip to Europe.”  

For me, though, and probably for all my colleagues and friends who have taught skiing there, Australia skiing means a lot and I’d personally be ready to return there, if my wife let me, of course, and if I could be joined with my good old friends that once upon a time were there with me. 

Are you all ready?

A first trip ‘round the world, part 52

If there’s something that successfully stood the test of time and still continues after half a century, it was the friendship and the excellent spirit that marked our group of people. Some solid friends, having a good time permanently, no enmity, chicanes or hidden agenda. 

Too bad of course that Alexis, Christophe and Jean-Pierre are no longer with us (Serge Empereur who came in 1972 also passed away). 

The story of our Australian adventures and pranks would be much richer if JP had been able to corroborate my account and contribute his share of narrative, miracles and unbelievable feats!

JP was also the one who tipped me about a Look job that became a game-changer for me! Likewise, Alexis could have shared his fears, worry and exasperation trying to manage a wild gang. 

It’s also long overdue to thank Alexis for giving us the opportunity to come over to Australia, improve our feeble English, help us mature a bit, as young men, and broaden our horizons in some huge ways. 

I must also say that without pioneers like Émile Allais or James Couttet, a coach like Honoré Bonnet, ski racers like Périllat, Killy, Goitschel and Famose, French skiing would have long stayed a distant second to Austria.

Gérard totally agrees and adds: “I too, will never forget those other guys who crossed the world to ski at Mt. Buller and have contributed in the effort to promote French skiing in that part of the world. The first one that comes to mind is Alexis, who headed the ski school for 14 seasons, Jean-Pierre that I could never see again since these years, and all those that are still with us like Michel Rudigoz, Maurice Jaun and all the others who paved the way to our unique experience …” 

It is absolutely true that we’re indebted to those that made the big leap of faith in 1966, pioneering the French ski technique at Mt. Buller and the many that have carried the torch ever since. 

All the skills we learned and perfected at Mt. Buller have helped all of us with our careers in securing fun jobs, meeting fabulous people and gaining a more profound understanding of our ski industry, its small but fascinating universe, and our precious planet... 

 

A first round the world, part 51

If you followed this 50th anniversary story about Australia, Gérard Bouvier, Marcel Grivel-Dellilaz, Jean-Pierre Chatellard as well as Alexis Saudan and his son Christophe were the only protagonists you’ve read about. 

We mentioned other instructors and personnel too, but there was one French ski instructor that’s been conspicuously absent till now, and it’s been Philippe Coutaz. 

This is simply because we were unable to track him down. Fortunately, a bit of investigating work and some luck led us back to him. As our 1971 ski season was well underway, Philippe arrived to us from Chamonix. 

We all knew his dad, the Chief Inspector of French Ski Instruction. Upon getting to Mt. Buller, Philippe, who was around 20, went to work immediately. 

Philippe was at the starting level in terms of certification and was hoping that two season teaching in Australia would enable him to take his "Moniteur Auxilliaire" exam. He hit the ground running, appeared very smart, highly adaptable, and his English was very good. 

However, because he was a late-comer, it wasn’t easy for him to fit inside our circle, and we didn’t put too much efforts into integrating him into our group, which was a shame. 

He also was more introspective than the rest of us and the age difference, however slight, played a role too. Philippe would end up returning in 1972 with Gerard and I. 

Later on, in 1985, he got a PhD in economics at NYU and pursued his career in the economic and financial sectors.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 50

In familiar parlance, around the bars at Mt. Buller, “birds” was a very common word (today, something highly sexist as well as condescending) used among boys to talk about girls, in the context of the resort social scene. 

The birds I want to discuss though, though, are the ones with feathers, that flew around us, or sang to wake us up in the morning when we would have rather stayed in bed forever. 

Many of them sounded quite differently than what visitors hear at most ski resorts around the world where the few flying creatures left in the cold of winter were a few lone birds of pray, some ravens or magpies like we find in Park City. 

Not at “exotic” Mt. Buller, that was home to a variety of parrots, like the Cockatoos, they were also Kookaburras and the Crimson and Eastern Rosellas that stood out, like true “birds of paradise”. 

Most of them looked and sounded like no other birds encountered in the European Alps or the North American mountains during their long and mostly black-and-white winter season. 

These birds were hot, always looked super cool and reminded me of paradise!

A first trip ‘round the world, part 49

Money was not the key motivating factor for us to teach down-under, far from it! Remember, we were paid AUS$60 ($50) per week, it was not a lot, but it included complete room and board and a paid round-trip from Europe. 

In fact, after paying taxes and insurance, it was about the same as what I was making as a low-level instructor in France and $20 better per week than the French minimum wage! At that rate I would have needed to work 29 weeks straight to purchase myself a brand new Citroën 2cv, not counting my contribution to health insurance and income tax! 

Still we needed every dollar we could earn because we all had big plans to visit exotic places at the end of season, so having some extra money was important to us. Sure, we sold the free gear we got from Dynamic, Dynastar, Rossignol and Kerma, but that might have amounted to little more than a week working at the ski school. 

Just like in America, Australia used a dollar denomination for its currency that, at the time, was worth about 83% of the US dollar (1 AUS$ = 4.55 French Francs). Until 1966, there was no dollar but an Australian pound just like England.

On February 14 of that year, it was replaced by the Australian dollar. When we came, it was a bit surprising to see Queen Elizabeth’s face still adorning the one dollar bill and I couldn’t quite understand why a country like Australia that prided itself on its egalitarianism and entrepreneurship would still be under the British monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth. 

In fact, Australia was still a constitutional monarchy, in which the Queen was the head of state. After a while, I couldn’t care less and was reasonably happy when I collected my weekly salary. I’ve always wondered if John Hilton-Wood would pay us for the extra time we were held up on the ship, but I still was filled with illusions in those days, and he evidently did not. 

Yet, he and Alexis let JP and I stay a bit longer to make up for the money we couldn’t earn while we were having so much fun on the Galileo-Galilei. I had never realized that kind gesture until now, but better late than never!