Another winter solstice

In our Northern Hemisphere, winter solstice’s day is my favorite time of the year as it signals light bottoming out before rebounding into the promise that tomorrow, everything will turn around towards a brighter future, for at least the next six months. That transition is filled with hope as the days grow longer, even if the drop into darkness is often less noticed because it’s not really appreciated. 

This is probably why that time of the year is filled with spiritual meaning and used by religions the world over to mark the transition between darkness and light, not to mention into a brand new year! That signals a symbolic rebirth as we’re marking the shortest day of the year and its darkest time that symbolizes death, dormancy, and the end of a cycle. 

Without smartphones, our ancestors were deeply connected to the natural world and its rhythms. The solstice was a crucial time for survival, marking the onset of winter and the need to prepare for the harsher months ahead. Celebrating that moment helped folks connect with the natural cycles and find hope and resilience during a challenging time. 

That’s why many cultures have developed unique rituals and celebrations around the winter solstice, starting with the pagan tradition of celebrating Yule, the festival honoring the return of the sun. Same thing with Christmas that, while having Christian roots, incorporates many pre-Christian winter solstice traditions. Many other cultures have their own unique celebrations and rituals associated with the winter solstice.

I was about to forget the scientific and astronomical meaning, starting with Planet Earth reaching that famous 23.5 degrees tilt relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. Sure, it’s the opposite if you live in Sydney or Buenos Aires as you enter a long, warm summer! In essence, the solstices mark the points of maximum and minimum solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface due to the tilt of the Earth's axis. 

All these considerations comfort my belief that its powerful symbolism of darkness and light, death and rebirth, make the winter solstice the most remarkable day of the year. At least for me. Now, enjoy the day!

The world’s oldest fake news?

Trump is really the man that popularized the words “Fake News” and the more I think about it, the more I realize that we’ve been living surrounded by a universe of fake news from the days we were born. For those of us who don’t believe in organized religion and in life after death, aren’t those concepts perfect examples of altered reality, to use another euphemism, for that form of lies? 

It’s absolutely true that "Fake News" is everywhere and we've always been surrounded by information that may not be entirely accurate or truthful. As far as religion or spiritual beliefs are concerned when they don't align with scientific evidence or personal experience (like life after death), it’s reasonable to say that they could be considered a form of "altered reality" or a type of "fake news." Of course, the concept of "truth" itself is subjective and isn’t easy to define. 

What one person considers "Fake News," another might consider a valid perspective. Religious beliefs often operate on faith and personal experience, rather than scientific evidence. They address questions about existence, purpose, and morality that science may not be able to fully answer simply because it lacks proof and this is precisely what makes it more credible and easier to follow and embrace. 

It’s true that for many, religious beliefs provide a sense of meaning, purpose, and community, while not scientifically provable, these beliefs can have a profound impact on individuals' lives because in the majority of instances they’ve been inculcated since childhood when they were the most impressionable. 

Some will say that the term "fake news" is often used to describe deliberate misinformation that is spread with the intent to deceive or manipulate, while religious beliefs are given the benefit of the doubt and are considered to be held sincerely and with a sense of conviction, except for a few instances of forced conversion, like the Inquisition or ISIS among key examples. 

As far as similarities go between certain religious beliefs and the spread of "fake news" (both involving accepting information that may not be entirely verifiable), we shouldn’t oversimplify and since religious belief seems to be the domain of the “majority”, the non-believers and their positions remain the voice of a negligible “minority” that really doesn’t count. 

I’m not saying that we should disrespect the beliefs of others when they differ from our own, but I believe that critical thinking skills remain essential to evaluate information, identify biases, and distinguish between certainty and conviction.

The shifting appearance of meditation

We don’t see as much written on meditation as we do on trail running, iron man races or even hot air ballooning. The practice behind meditation is much more elusive, diversified, secretive and so subjective that few come forward to translate it into words.

It’s probably why I feel compelled to intervene as I’m closing in on 5 years of daily practice. In a few words, I just find meditation to be just like a moving target. One reaches a certain level or target, and everything suddenly changes and forces the user to switch gears. 

What used to work reliably no longer does and, if anything, this forces the practitioner into being more focused on what is going on. Expecting the unexpected seems to be the rule when one meditates. 

Is there any reader-practitioner around who can confirm this?

Thank God for snow-making! (Part 2)

While I believe that its overall efficiency has increased by 50 to 75% over the last half-century (exact numbers are hard to come by), tt’s pretty obvious that snow-making requires large amounts of water, which can put a strain on local water resources, especially in arid regions. 

This get the attention of environmentalists, yet, much of the water isn’t wasted as it eventually returns to the watershed during the spring melt. Water needed to carpet a ski hill in snow remains relatively fixed from year to year, so there are only so many efficiency gains to be had. 

Compressing air is what really costs a lot and if the power is generated by non-renewable sources, contributes directly to global warming, not to mention the cost of infrastructure and its renewal to simply maintain it and keep up with technological advances in terms of efficiency. This is where in fact all the efforts have been placed by snow-gun equipment manufacturers. 

Environmentalists will also point at chemicals additives used to improve snow quality, that can have potential environmental impacts. As suggested, technology keeps on improving with more efficient snow guns using less water and energy to produce snow. A typical snow-making machine can produce anywhere from 1 to 10 tons of snow per hour. High-efficiency machines can produce even more under optimal conditions that is, when temperatures are below 28°F (-2°C) and humidity levels are low.

Under these conditions, machines can create denser, higher-quality snow. As for water usage, machines typically require about 1,000 gallons of water to produce one ton of snow. This can vary based on the machine's efficiency and the desired snow quality. It takes approximately 3.5 to 4.3 kWh of energy to produce one cubic meter of snow; however, this number can be as high as 14 kWh, or as low as 1 kWh per cubic meter of snow. 

Snow-making accounts for approximately 50% of the average American ski resort's energy costs, which amounts to about $500,000. Given the gradual raising of temperature and of the snow limit, worldwide, snow-making demand might in fact double by 2050 if not stopped earlier by environmental regulations. 

Still today, it seems that future gains in energy efficiency with the prevailing technologies will be incremental, and perhaps not cost effective for systems that have been recently updated. However, areas that have not yet adopted this technology could realize impressive gains in performance and energy efficiency. Ski area operators can choose from a wide selection of snow-making equipment to fit their unique terrain, regional weather patterns, and business plans. 

While snow-making has a significant environmental impact, technological advancements and a focus on sustainability are trying to mitigate these concerns. Continued research and development are crucial to further improve the efficiency and environmental friendliness of snow-making technologies and preventing ecologists to keep on threatening their use. 

In the meantime, skiers like me who can only ski groomed runs don’t have to ruin their brand new skis very early in the season!

Thank God for snow-making!

This snow season is off to a slow start with many snowfalls, but to date, all without much accumulation. If there was no artificial snow-making, this would be a challenging start for skiing as Christmas is just one week away. 

In the forty winters I have lived in Park City, I’ve even seen worse seasons than this one, and must admit that we’ve been extremely lucky to have cold enough weather since November to complement the lack of natural snow with man-made alternative! 

Still, making snow like this is not new, as the first documented attempts at artificial snow-making goes back to 1934 when Warner Bros. invents the first snow-making machine in Hollywood to create a blizzard for a film. The machine used three blades to shave ice from a block and a fan to blow the ice particles into the air. 

But the real breakthrough came in the 1940s when Ray Ringer, a Canadian researcher, accidentally discovers snow-making principles while studying ice formation on jet engines. 

Yet it’s in the 1950s when Art Hunt, Dave Richey, and Wayne Pierce invent the first commercial snow cannon and in 1952, the Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel not too far from New York City, became the first to use artificial snow.

By the end of that decade, in 1958, the "Eastern Ski Directory" notes that 18 of the 104 ski resorts in New York and New England are using man-made snow to complement mother nature’s work. From that point forward, Alden Hanson, the chief scientist for Dow Chemical, and a prolific inventor, patented the initial fan-type snow gun in 1961 (he also invented Lange ski boots’ Flo padding material, Hanson’s silly-putty and of course the first rear entry boot known under that name). 

This led the way to more significant advancements into the 1970s and the development of more efficient snow-making machines that we’ll talk about in the next blog… (to be continued)

Should we help Syria?

It seems to me that the entire “free world” is waiting, sitting on its hands, to see how Syria gets organized after the shocking and surprising ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Shouldn’t the developed world actively help instead of doing nothing, speculating and waiting for something bad to happen? By helping it could negotiate that a more democratic, inclusive state takes root, that all the chemical and other mass-destruction weapons are eradicated and the Russian bases on the Mediterranean are closed for good? 

I certainly realize that the situation in Syria is incredibly complex but it also reminds me of Russia in the context of the USSR implosion, when the international community should have intervened to help and just sat on the sidelines. It’s undeniable that the Syrian civil war has caused immense human suffering. 

A pacific and active intervention could help alleviate this suffering by providing humanitarian aid, protecting civilians, and supporting the delivery of essential services. Further, that conflict had destabilizing effects on the region, fueling the rise of extremism and contributing to the refugee crisis. 

By facilitating negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups, an active international engagement could help prevent further instability and mitigate regional security threats. It could also promote democracy and human rights by helping facilitate a political transition towards a more democratic and inclusive 

This would also prevent rogue politicians like Netanyhu from taking advantage of the situation, as he’s already done, conducting his own version of allegedly cleaning up certain weapons in that country and encroaching further on its territory. Sure, there are risks involved with such and intervention, but if we do nothing by not wanting to take some risks, the consequences might be worse. 

Some may fear that intervention might violate the country’s sovereignty or could escalate the conflict and lead to further violence and casualties. They’re also afraid that it could be politically divisive within the international community, but in term, doing nothing might lead to a new tyrannical government like we’ve seen everywhere after the largely aborted Arab spring. 

Helping Syria would be a cheap insurance premium to avoid another Middle-East problem that we’ll up paying at a very high cost. Perhaps our developed world has simply become too anti-Arab to see appreciate this...

The “Belief Business”

It’s pretty easy to see who dominates the car business, but much harder to see which religion (or lack thereof ) dominates the “Belief Business” as I like to call it. It’s hard to get reliable numbers and among those. 

I assume there are a huge percentage of so-called faithfuls who are as “good Catholics” as I am, having never set foot in a church, on my own, for of my lifetime, and the same probably holds true for millions of other “religious folks” counted in the world statistics. So we need to take that religious “world market share” with a huge grain of salt. 

Early this week my wife was asking me how many Muslims were in the world. Having no idea, I asked our smart-speaker who gave me a number and then we reviewed all the religions we could think of. In checking with other sources, I came up with a curated hit-parade of sorts of religions the world over, because the numbers claim vary a lot from sources to sources. 

Just remember that Christianity is still number one at the moment with about 2.2 billion, followed by 1.6 billion of Muslims, 1.6 of atheist or non affiliated, 1.2 Hindus. Buddhists only account for near 500 millions and the 1.1 billion balance is a catch-all category that includes folks and native religions as well as faiths like Baha’i, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, and Zoroastrianism, among a multitude of others beliefs. 

I’m not even mentioning astrology or conspiracy theories... While Christianity is the most widespread religion at the moment, projections indicate that Islam might rival Christianity in terms of followers by 2050. It could also be both challenging and surprising if social media, as we know it, is not going to supplant all these beliefs, at least in that same 2050 horizon! 

Surprisingly, my Mormons friends that have made huge en-roads in poorly educated countries like in South America claim 17 million members, but do they eventually all stick to that dogma? Finally Jews only account for 15 million, but remain an extremely loud minority worldwide, so talk about the tail wagging the dog!

To win, be competitive!

When I reflect upon the past presidential election, I’m convinced that to win (in any context), one must be competitive, so what are the traits of competitiveness? Of course, in Politics like anywhere else, competitiveness encompasses a range of traits that drive individuals to strive for success and outperform others. 

Some of them, like drive and ambition often coupled with a willingness to work hard and put in the necessary effort. Hard to produce when a person is clearly on a steep mental decline like Biden was. There’s also determination and resilience, something Biden exhibited by trying to run for a second term and refusing to leave when the rest of the world thought he was toast. 

Perhaps Biden’s sole quality was his stubbornness in seeking a second term and refusing to yield after melting down at his first debate with Trump. In that category, both were at par, perhaps with vastly different motivations. Ability to focus and concentrate was yet another ingredient that still existed with Trump but was quickly fading away with Biden.

Both had an equal dose of self-confidence or ego so that didn’t make much difference. Risk-taking ability was another area where Trump overpowered Biden who was just content to repeat the political routine that was his for more than half-a-century while Trump always was an iconoclast. 

As for strategic thinking, Trump’s team did their homework while Biden thought that a continuum of what he’d always said and done would suffice. Finally, the desire to win advantaged a Trump who didn’t want to go to jail, while Biden was just going after the frosting on the cake. 

Sure, some might argue that Trump was an unhealthy competitor (driven by ego, a need for dominance, and a lack of respect for others) while Biden was delivering some healthier competitiveness, but in the end, Joe Biden who was unprepared was woefully not competitive against Trump!

What to do when we feel down?

If you believe I never fell down, you’re totally wrong! Being demoralized, depressed, not in top mental form happens to all, and of course, to the best of us. We’re all passengers on the same rollercoaster, just the shape, the frequency and the amplitude of the course vary with individuals. So, it's totally normal to feel down sometimes. 

Here are some things I try to do when it happens to me. Instead of ignoring or denying what seems to get to me, I do my best not to fight the feeling, and allow myself to feel those crummy emotions. I also give myself a break and I remember to treat myself with kindness and compassion.

Most importantly, I don’t let these bad feelings seep into and distract me from my routine. I continue my same daily walks, keep my diet, my meditation and bedtime exactly the same. What I don’t do, and need to improve upon, is talk to my spouse about it as I tend to want to deal with it myself. 

I should also compensate by engaging in fun stuff instead of getting into doing harder tasks and should be more self-compassionate and give myself a pat on the back! Right, I should go skiing, but believe it or not, I’d feel guilty to use it as a form of therapy… 

This said, what I always remind myself though, is that feeling down is a normal part of the human experience. I just need to take better care of these situations when they happen!

Here goes Biden’s legacy!

I would have voted for President Biden to prevent Trump from winning this year, even though I never was a fan of the former. If there’s a pattern with him, it’s that he knows how to go from bad to worse. 

Before winning the election in 2020 he was asked “Will you take a woman as VP?” He stupidly painted himself into a corner by responding “Yes” right on the spot. The smart answer would have been: “I pick the very best woman or man to fill that position”. Period. 

Next, he picked Kamala Harris who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed for that role. Leadership 101 says that one should always pick a wing-man that is at least as sharp, or ideally sharper than oneself. Because Trump was so bruised by his bad Covid job and chaotic four years, Biden won the 2020 contest. 

All along his mandate, the media didn’t like him at all. I guess he wasn’t the sexiest boy in town and already looked like he had one foot in the grave... Then, by not checking with his constituents, Biden came with the bright idea of canceling student loans which ended up in a big fiasco and by disenfranchising many of his supporters. 

That’s when the “killer idea”, I should say the kiss of death, came to him, running again without any serious primary opponent that got him an effortless nomination in spite of having passed his political “expiration date”. 

This sad event was both amplified and justified by his implosion as he faced Trump in the first debate and then by his repeated gaffes “president Putin” instead of Zelinsky and “vice president Trump” instead of Harris. But that was not enough to make him abandon the race, he had to be violently dragged out of it after almost a month of refusing to do so. 

To make that move more painful, he designated Harris as his heir so she would have less chance to win than a number of other potential candidates that would make him look bad. He could have been gracious and resign upon the November election and let Harris be the 47th and first female president of color for a few weeks as a consolation prize, and stick it to Trump, but he forgot, I guess. 

Yet, that wasn’t all, after affirming on multiple occasions that he would never pardon his son Hunter, he just did that after Thanksgiving. What a principled guy who might want to think twice before opening his mouth!

An attention-getting book about growth

A few weeks ago, I finished reading “Growth, a history and a reckoning” by Daniel Susskind. Let me admit that I’m very much interested in the subjects of growth and sustainability, and the cover of the book caught my eye! 

The first part of the book was well constructed and quite informative. I liked the history of growth, that is the thousands of years of stagnation that preceded the industrial age (even though, the advent of fossil fuels and turning points like the Renaissance period, weren't even mentioned) all the way to the “hockey stick” shaped growth that followed. 

It explained the creation of GDP as a measure of growth and the single-minded quest for ever higher numbers of that magic unit. The author undermined the mantra that “We can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet”, or the need for “degrowth” that would lead to recession, or preserving the planet for coming generations, countering that the world of ideas is infinitely vast and would be magic band-aid. 

Clearly Susskind can’t imagine a world without traditional growth as we know it. Instead, it seems to me that addressing overpopulation, repairing the damages done to the planet, repaying countries’ staggering debt and substituting quality for quantity in a reasonably spread timeline could begin to move the needle in the right direction. 

Well, I’m not an economist, I’m just a retired, old skier...

Another coup from Macron

The embattled French President Emmanuel Macron was as creative as he was opportunistic in inviting Donald Trump, the yet to be US president, to Paris this past Saturday with a full dose of pomp. 

The two seize the occasion to hold a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy before celebrating the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

The day mixed pageantry with attention to pressing global problems that were meant to distract the attention from his constituency away from the royal mess he plunged them into, when he decided to dissolve the National Assembly, early June.

Why in the world wasn’t Biden sitting in the place of Trump between Macron and his wife? This surreal scene was an excellent illustration of Macron cynicism and of our State Department stupidity. 

It’s also true that Macron did a much better job with Notre Dame’s restoration than he did with his country’s politics. 

Like the rest of us, I still wonder what Zelenskyy got out of this impromptu meeting...

Hirscher second-coming?

Following a decent show at last October’s Sölden’s season opening, Hirscher couldn’t replicate his GS performance in the two following slaloms he competed in, and decided to train much harder. 

In doing so, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. On December 3, the eight-time overall World Cup champion sustained the injury while training at Reiteralm, Austria. The injury, described as a “harmless slip” caused by an inside ski error, also included minor damage to the outer capsule of his knee but did not involve a fall.

The good news is that Marcel was successfully operated at a local private clinic in Graz. His season’s “second-coming” under the Dutch flag is probably settled for good. Going back to something we leave early is never simple. 

I remember returning to teach skiing at the Avoriaz ski school for Christmas of 1976, two year after I quit the place and it wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. I instantly rediscovered all the good reasons why I had left in 1974. While not a nice feeling, it comforted me at least in my early decision. 

I’m pretty sure Marcel must have partially felt that way. At least, he pushed his idea as far as he could…

Enough garbage cans?

The 2022 Global Waste Index, ranked the biggest waste-producing nations in the world. South Korea, Denmark, Germany were the top 3 among the best, that is, the least dirty. France was ranked 14th while the US stood at the 25th spot in a field of 38 ranked nations. Canada was the worst as 31st and Turkey dead last.

The above picture shows how some households in Park City contribute to America’s dirty label. The five gray trash cans pictured here contain 16 gallons (60 liters) and the two large brown ones are used for recycling. In our household (2 people) we only use one of each and although we empty it weekly, it would take 3 to 4 month to fill it with household waste! 

Eight months out of the year, we also compost our green waste. Needless to say that we wonder how a single family house like that one can use so many waste containers… Our landfill for Park City and Summit County is located in Three Mile Canyon, and as I write this, it’s almost at capacity. 

The landfill processes about 42,000 to 52,000 tons of waste each year. It only has about 80,000 tons of capacity remaining. Where will the refuse go when it’s filled up?

In praise of good judgment

We hear a lot about good judgment these days, and the political scene seems overflowing with bad examples in that category. One just needs to take a look at some of the proposed Trump’s Cabinet members, Biden’s pardon of his son or Macron dissolving the French Parliament. 

So, let’s revisit what good judgment really is. It seems to me that it refers to the ability to make sound decisions and form valuable opinions. This, of course, involves quite a bit of time, experience, preparation, research and just hard work. 

First, I firmly believe there’s a lot of good old commonsense in that trait. Without it there can’t be any good judgment. Before we jump to it though, we should first consider various factors and evidence, doing some critical thinking by analyzing information objectively and identifying potential biases. We must also trust our own instincts and gut feelings, especially in complex situations. 

I would add that we must make choices that align with our personal values as well as goals, and also our societal norms, never let our judgment be just emotional, and always take the long view in considering the potential consequences of our decisions over time.

Then, we must make sure we’ve got the time and resources available to make our judgment come to fruition. The big component that I’ve left for last is experience or our ability to draw on past experiences to inform future decisions. It is said that good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment, something that’s also probably true! 

Good judgment has a lot of moving parts to it. In closing, we must always remember that good judgment is our ability to make informed, rational, and responsible choices that lead to positive outcomes.

Skiing day two

This past Wednesday was my second day skiing this season and, unlike the first, it was a very good one. I would even say quite enjoyable.

My time on the snow was short but all the runs I did were good and this time I like the lot of man-made snow the Canyons side of the mountain had to offer. 

My daily cost went from $980 to $490, might go down to less than $10 daily if I ski at least 100 days, and I said to myself, “If we get enough snow, this might be a season to remember!” 

Sure my "Expectometer” is set at zero, so it's all upside from there...

Thierry Convert, 1950-2024

Thierry is from Oyonnax, 25 miles west of Geneva, a region dubbed “Plastics Vallée”. His family’s business goes back to 1830, when it began manufacturing craft items, initially combs, then snuff boxes, pipes, etc. In 1951, the company "Établissements G. Convert" produced a variety plastic materials and until 1983, dolls and related toys.

Thierry Convert joined Look in Nevers, France, in 1977 to take over a product manager’s position left vacant when I joined the company's subsidiary in New York. 

As Look moved to Vermont in 1982, I decided to remain in New York, changed jobs, and was once more replaced by Thierry, who came to America with his wife Audrey. For a second time, he sat in my former office and picked up where I left off. 

In 1986, I left Lange ski boots (an entity owned by Rossignol’s founder) to create my own distribution business. Then, Thierry Convert took a related job with Rossignol-Lange’s new ski boot division, landing this time at the firm's headquarters near Grenoble. 

Quite a notable succession of events, even under such sad circumstances as my former colleague passed away last Friday after a long and hard battle against cancer. Audrey and Thierry came to visit us in Park City in 2012 and we both were able to reminisce our linked careers. 

Our most sincere condolences to Audrey, her four children and extended family.

Testing adaptive cruise control…

The Thanksgiving Holiday gave me another chance to drive my Tesla some long distance and get even more confident with its driving potential and the brand’s recharging system. Recharging was fast and never a problem and the increased number of charging stalls on our itinerary were never more than 90% full! I now feel confident that I can drive my Tesla anywhere in Canada or the United States and totally enjoy the experience.

This year’s Thanksgiving was a record breaking travel day in the air and of course, on the roads. No exception for us, the traffic was intense and was what’s called, “accordion-style”, alternatively accelerating and slowing down, making it extremely difficult for drivers to maintain a safe distance in such a busy traffic. 

Without sufficient distance, there’s a constant need for braking instead of coasting. Same thing for the cars behind you, all along the chain, except that for each car the effect is magnified. So when you tap the brakes to slow down a bit, 200 cars behind you, the cars come to a dead stop! This is where Tesla's Autopilot, and specifically, its Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC), shines for its advanced features and smooth operation compared to other manufacturers' adaptive cruise control systems. 

Here are some key differences that contribute to its superiority: Tesla’s system is more integrated than many other systems. It uses a combination of cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the driving environment. This results in a smoother driving experience, with more gradual acceleration and braking. 

When the driver chooses to stay and keep the same lane, Tesla's Autopilot can automatically keep the car perfectly centered, reducing driver fatigue on long journeys like the one. The result of that experience going and returning was a relaxing, stress-less driving experience without any fatigue upon reaching the final destination! 

Sure, while Tesla's Autopilot is advanced, it's not fully autonomous and requires constant driver attention, but it’s also why it’s considered one of the most advanced systems on the market. That’s another great reason to love that car, not Elon Musk, of course!

A few days in the desert…

For Thanksgiving our small family, six of us, reunited in St. George a small town of southern Utah, to spend the entire weekend together, into something that has become a yearly tradition. 

Our daughter flew from from Washington while our son, his family plus my wife and I drove from the north in separate car an on very busy roads. 

We all made it okay and were blessed with a beautiful blue skies for the entire time, with the caveat that the temperatures were very low for that southern location ranging from 30 in the morning to 55 in the afternoon. 

Much better than Park City, but still colder than what we would have expected! 

This desert location is always beautiful, framed by red rocks all over and even some fresh snow on the higher elevations! 

We’ve stayed in St. George a few time and on these occasion we explored some areas known for their Anasazi petroglyphs, including some in a spectacular slot canyon and only accessible through some scrambling in a tortuous and very rugged terrain!

Michel Lascar, 1938-2024

The first time I met Michel was in October 1969 when I showed up at the Avoriaz ski school in the hope of getting a job there.

Since I wasn’t certified teaching skiing I was told to attend a week long clinic alongside him, in Chamrousse, near Grenoble, prior to the ski season. Michel wasn't certified either, as he had been hired initially to just be a ski-bike instructor. We then taught skiing together in Avoriaz through 1974 when I left. 

In fact, Michel Lascar was an important figure in French mountaineering in the 1960s. He distinguished himself with his daring and technical climbs, helping to push the boundaries of the discipline. He opened many routes in the Alps, particularly on north faces. 

He also took part in several expeditions outside of the Alps. One of his most famous climbs was the north face of the Eiger in 1966, with Patrice Bodin. 

This route, premiered a few years earlier, remained a mountaineering myth and the duo added their names to the list of mountaineers who have achieved this technical and physical feat. 

Michel Lascar was always calm, nice and easy. A mountain lover, his quiet demeanor embodied Lao-Tzu’s words: “He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.” 

Heartfelt condolences to Michel’s entire family.

Is Biden a war criminal too ?

On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court unanimously issued two decisions rejecting challenges by the State of Israel. 

At the same time it also issued warrants of arrest for Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the applications for warrants of arrest were filed. 

After the Gaza and Lebanon carnage, it seems that it’s hard to argue with that decision. It’s also terrible for us, Americans, to see our tax money diverted to be used for committing these crimes. Now, the question I’m asking is what role did Joe Biden played in keeping on arming Israel for conducting these massacres?

Weren’t the Democrats Israel’s partners in that genocide? By offsetting support for Israel with hollow humanitarian gestures and empathy for Palestinians, Biden has diluted pressure to end the war. 

It now seems pretty clear to me that the Biden administration supported and perpetuated the same genocide under a veneer of legitimacy, by diffusing pressure with platitudes about peace while deepening America’s complicity…

My election take-away

As the month comes to a close, I really feel that we, the folks that have voted Democrats, have been taken for a ride by the Democratic National Committee that “rigged” the election so Trump couldn’t lose. 

Picking the old man like Biden to run against a monster like Trump, without serious opposition, was the original sin and the Clintons, Obamas, Pelosi, Biden and Harris should now fade into the sunset for an indefinite leave of absence! 

What’s needed to head the Democratic party is a 45 to 50 year old personality that is fierce and inspiring, that won’t let the opposition define who that person is and won’t turn the other cheek. Someone who will fight Fire by twice the amount of Fire! 

That’s the only way to communicate with a Trump-style opposition, not by an individual adopting a non-violence attitude expected by bullies the world over. 

That profile should be multiplied down ballot for all seats up for reelection. 

I guess it’s called raw courage, and if the Democrats fail to field such candidates, their party is doomed for good!

A la Carte life expectancy

Over the years, life expectancy has been climbing. Japan stands at the top of the heap with 85 years followed by Italy and Spain at 84. At the bottom are African countries like Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso at about 61 years. 

France is at 83, but the US, “the most prosperous country in the world” stands at just below 80 years! Sure, in every nation, life expectancy can vary substantially across places and populations, and the United States is no exception according to the Lancet’s recent study “Ten Americas: a systematic analysis of life expectancy disparities in the USA”. 

It shows that, as in most countries, male individuals generally have shorter lifespans than females. If one is rich life will be longer than if poor. Same thing with geographical location. In 2019, life expectancy varied by 7·1 years across the 50 states, from 74·7 years in Mississippi to 81·8 years in Hawaii. 

Across US counties, a smaller geographical scale, life expectancy in 2014 differed by up to 20 years! The study defined the 10 parts of the country as: 

1. Asian individuals 
2. Latino individuals in counties other than the Southwest 
3. White (majority), Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals in other counties 
4. White individuals in non-metropolitan and low-income Northlands
5. Latino individuals in the Southwest 
6. Black individuals in other counties
7. Black individuals in highly segregated metropolitan areas
8. White individuals in low-income Appalachia and Lower Mississippi 
9. Black individuals in the non-metropolitan and low-income South
10. AIAN individuals in the West. 

Large disparities in life expectancy between American ethnic groups were apparent throughout the duration of study, but grew even more over time, particularly during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

So, once more, America still has some way to go before becoming the country of equality!

These bullies that define us

In ending our previous discussion, I suggested that bullies that are confronting us also try to define who we really are and deal with us accordingly. At least this is my observation after observing Trump’s behavior for almost twenty years. 

True, Trump is a born-bully that understands this kind of M.O. better than anyone. It’s hard to deny that bullies often try to define their victims. By targeting specific vulnerabilities, bullies attempt to find a perceived or real weak trait, seize it and then control as well as manipulate their victims' self-perception. This can lead to significant emotional and psychological harm, as victims may internalize the negative labels and stereotypes imposed upon them.

As Donald Trump has shown us, bullies often use a variety of tactics to define their victims, including name-calling by applying hurtful or derogatory labels. There’s also a form of exclusion, in which the victim is pushed away from social groups or activities. When circumstances are favorable, physical aggression can at times be used by applying physical force to intimidate or harm the victim. 

These days, of course there’s also the power of cyberbullying by using technology to harass or humiliate the victim through various social media platforms. During the last elections, Trump has used most of these techniques to define his opponents and each time, all of them have accepted his definitions of them with docility, often by “turning the other cheek” or ignoring their humiliating sting. They should never have allowed it. 

Contrarily to what “well-educated” folks will profess, one should always fight fire by two-times the amount of fire delivered and call bullies for what they are. Had Jeb Bush, when he was called “Low energy Jeb” by Trump, should have grabbed him by his coat lapels and punched him in the face. He would have ended up with a dismissed law-suit and Donald Trump returning to the “Apprentice Show” with his tail between his legs...

Should we ever let others define us?

This question should obviously call for a negative answer. Yet, there’s always someone, hidden in some corner, ready to tell us and the world who we are. 

What we’ve done and who we are, no matter what third parties feel about you or me, should definitely define us! If there is someone that should know us better than our bosses, neighbors or even members of our family it’s us, unless we never were in touch with our own self or are still searching who we are. 

Our self-perception and self-worth must come from within us. While it’s undeniable that the opinions of others may, at times, influence us, it’s us and only us who ultimately have the power to determine our own identity and value. 

 Like every 8 billion people living on Planet Earth, each one of us is unique, with our own strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. Letting others define who we are will lead us to a loss of individuality. Likewise, we ought to avoid unhealthy comparisons to others. It can only lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. 

 If on the contrary we are the ones defining ourselves, we will build self-confidence and resilience. Finally, if we are true to ourselves, if we are our very own person, we’ll attract genuine and meaningful relationships. While it’s always good and important to listen to feedback and learn from others, ultimately, we must do everything in our power to be the authors of our own stories! 

Next time, we’ll discuss how bullies always try to be the ones defining us...

Getting my feet cold…

Last Friday, Park City Mountain opened up a few trails and I felt obliged to go in order to keep my ski Mojo and get my “feet cold”. It was mid-afternoon when I showed up at the parking lot to begin my 72nd ski season. 

The temperature was balmy, the crowd thin and my greatest difficulty was for my old feet to return inside my stiff ski boots. It was very, very hard at first. Eventually, my feet managed to do it, but wondered “How much longer will I be able to go through that?” 

I choose not to answer that question and ambled to the chairlift carrying my skis on my shoulder that at first felt too heavy. 

Then, miraculously, it all came back as I had hoped, including the fact that man-made snow isn’t for me anymore and probably never was. Skiing wasn’t good, but my last day of skiing was less than 6 months ago at Snowbird and I absolutely felt the urge to get back to it.

Against all odds, I stood on my ski like a big boy and at no time was my balance precarious (I put that on the account of one-legged tooth brushing). After four runs, I had enough, was done, returned to my car and felt like a ponderous load had been lifted off my shoulders!

My foundational “slope”

This photo shows the hamlet and the house where I grew up. My parents’ house, built in 1938, was sitting on the edge of a first slope that was followed by a much flatter part before plunging into a yet steeper incline that ended near a last flat area where the Dranse creek flowed. 

As you can see on this picture from the mid 1950s, this two-stage slope would have a significant impact on me. First, as a five year old, I would travel the 200 + vertical feet of that steep slope as an unwitting passenger of a three-wheeled contraption that would eject me at the ultimate slope transition before stopping shy of the creek bank. I was lucky to be alive! 

Then, as my skiing skills developed, I used both sections of the slope (but stayed mostly on the upper one) to train for slalom, with big twigs I had collected instead of real slalom poles (wood was the material in those days). 

Setting the course was much tighter than a modern slalom course is, as I would make four turns in the physical space used for just one. But remember, I was a small kid, it made me turn a lot and it was excellent practice. 

I side-stepped to climb back the slope, which also kept me warm and packed the snow a little bit harder at each passage, a true win-win situation! I did that when I had no regular access to lift-served slopes and well into my teenage years. 

I thought it was a good substitute and that probably was right as it helped me develop into the resilient and resourceful skier I still remain today. So as you can see this slope was placed by the Creator in the right spot at the right time. How lucky was I!

Replacing wiper blades

Before winter, when I remember it, I make a point of checking, and if necessary, changing my car’s wiper blades. In the past, I asked the garage to do that when I got an oil change, but since many stores have a replacement wiper blades display in prominent locations, I have developed the habit of buying them just there and saving some good money in the process. 

The problem with that practice – Yes, there’s a problem – is in installing the darn blades on their respective stems. 

First, forget about making any sense out of the brochure that comes with these replacement parts. Since there are so many types of attachments on the market, there are a multitude of options that require removing and adding small parts that come inside the package if you’ve not lost them while opening it. 

The instructions are totally senseless and impossible to make heads or tails of! I’ve tried and failed each time I have attempted to do this before and have even returned the whole package to the store for a refund, so the best is to go to YouTube and watch a few decent enough videos in an attempt to grasp the best way to install the darn things on your specific car model. 

I had so many difficulties with my last car that I was fearing for my sanity before replacing the wipers on the car that replaced it, after enduring the original ones for two and a half years. 

Yet, after watching 2 or 3 incomplete videos, I was able to piece them together and re-create a practical scenario. It got to work, and after 30 minutes, it all worked beautifully and I was so proud of myself!

The American vs. Italian, Brazilian dream, etc?

As economic conditions are becoming much closer and similar worldwide, at least inside developed and emerging nations, the term "American dream" appears to be losing some of its uniqueness, potency, and appeal. 

It’s no longer what it used to be. Initially and historically, the American Dream was associated with the idea that anyone, regardless of their background, could achieve success through hard work and determination. This notion has often been tied to the promise of upward mobility, material affluence like home ownership, and financial security. 

However, a number of elements have changed over the years while economic disparities have widened both within the US and globally, and as other countries have experienced economic growth, the perception of the American dream as a uniquely attainable ideal has diminished. 

Factors such as reduced life expectancy, social inequality, lingering racism, religiosity, huge health costs, spread of firearms and mass killings, stagnating wages for many, raising Gini index and runaway costs of living, have begun to seriously erode into what the traditional notion of the American dream used to be. 

Now that Trump is preparing his dreaded return to offer us a supercharged American nightmare, he’ll further destroy what had become to be a myth.

This, in conclusion, means that the ___________ dream (plug in your favorite country) might be every bit as good as its heralded American version. One just has to work harder by a few percentage points than their peers, take more risks, be more visionary and of course, be lucky!

Israli drone snipers

This week, NPR (our National Public Radio) reported that eyewitnesses in Gaza have said that Israel's military is using guns attached to drones to carry out attacks on Civilians. Quadcopters are equipped with a video camera, a long gun and their propellers are programmed to compensate for recoil when the gun gets remotely fired. 

Earlier, in April 2024, claims emerged that the Israeli Defense Forces have used armed quadcopter drones against residents of Gaza's Al Nuseirat refugee camp to shoot and kill would-be good Samaritan Palestinians. These drones were using the sounds of crying infants as bait. 

An article by journalist Spencer Ackerman argued that this despicable practice was turning Gaza into "a laboratory of wars for the future." While the IDF's use of armed drones in Gaza has been well-documented, the specific claim of using recorded noises of infants or others in distress stems from an April 16, 2024 report by Maha Hussaini in the Middle East Eye. 

Beyond the obvious human right violation it represents, this new escalation suggests this kind of development is highly concerning for our own safety in general. Think of common criminals and terrorists. What if an enemy of yours (a neighbor, your government) want you dead ? This is as close to a traceless crime there could be ? Are states even thinking of regulating the spread of that kind of device when they hit the buying public ? 

Another new danger to worry about for those who like to...

Risky Holiday lights!

As the end of year’s Holidays are around the corner, the fashionable thing to do, nowadays, is to transform trees into large, illuminated objects and while we thought for a while that too many lights wrapped around trees might hurt them, the advent of LED bulbs has minimized that risk a great deal. 

If we factor the low consumption of these new lights along with the use of a timer, tree illuminations shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. 

There are of course safety issues to take into consideration. Like the type of wiring used, a weatherproof light box and, obviously, how the lights get attached to the tree, which leads me to a seasonal observation of Latino workers literally taking their lives into their frail, poorly secured 48 feet ladders in ways that would make OSHA scream. 

This is the scene we witnessed the other night, ten unsecured workers scrambling to attache strings of light on a barren aspen tree!

Time for tuning those skis!

As I do every year, last week was ski tune-up time. I had four pairs of skis to work on. My wife and daughter’s and mine. I spread the work over 3 to 4 days and it was both efficient and enjoyable. 

Enjoyable ? Yes I adore doing that work. It makes me reflect upon the rocks and sharp objects we skied over during the season, either because we didn’t see them or were too lazy or unskilled to avoid them. 

Every skier should make a point to work on their own skis, at least once in their lifetime, to fully appreciate their respective levels of recklessness or lack of attention. If you carefully observe the video, I’m highly concentrating on the job. 

I don’t smile and while I’m listening to a podcast, I remain fixated on what I’m doing the whole time. Filing metal is a skill I learned in high school, when I was young, that I’ll probably still master until my last days, and hopefully many more ski seasons to come! 

What to do now that Trump has full power?

Following two weeks of mourning, despair and hand-wringing about the outcome of the US Presidential Election, it’s certainly a bad idea to start haphazardly on one random path. Instead, it might be time to ask questions like “What’s next” and “What workable options are there?” 

We have in fact many choices. 

• One is to do nothing, be just a spectator and watch the destruction of the American institutions at the hand of a disruptor who has no idea about his own end-game. 
• Another is to be angry and resentful for at least four years and self-destroy ourselves in the process. 
• A third is to find an actionable way that will make a difference, no matter how small or large, and will end up adding to similar efforts by others and account for some positive influence. 

By far, the latter approach seems preferable to me and I want to explore it fully. 

It will take some sorting out, a lot of creativity and, why not, might end up making a huge difference, even if it seems insignificant at the moment. Stay tuned!

When cars look the same…

Last week, we stopped by the library and its parking lot was full, except for one spot available in its EV charging area, so I pulled into that space, got my special Tesla adapter, connected my it to my car and we went into the library building where I was looking for a book I needed for my Spanish study. 

About 15 to 20 minutes later, my wife and I came out and walked to our car, I unplugged it, made sure I removed and kept the adapter (I once forgot to do that) and both of us opened the doors of what we thought was our automobile. 

What I saw was a guy sleeping in front seat and my wife saw a dirty interior, as well as the slumbering driver on the other side, I instantly realized that I missed my car that was next to the one I wanted to enter! We shut the doors close, the man who didn’t appear to wake up didn’t say a thing. 

There were three Tesla, same model, same color, side by side, with no front license plates... I immediately unplugged the car that wasn’t mine, then ours, and was left with two adapters in hand, so I realized that I had to re-plug his car, which I quickly did. At long last, we finally got into the right auto and we left...

Switching pain into knowledge

For a few years now, I’ve been looking at pain, hardship, difficulties, anguish and always searching for ways to turn these negative elements into positive outcomes, like knowledge and other assets that add to my personal growth. 

I have found, like many other people, that adversity can be a powerful catalyst for change and development. For one thing, I value my mistakes and never miss an opportunity not just to learn from them but to remember them. 

Mistakes and failures never fail to provide valuable lessons and insights. I’ve also found that the simple fact to overcoming challenges will strengthen my resilience and my ability to cope with future adversity. At the same time it acts as a fabulous switch turning a negative outlook into a positive one. It’s also true that experiencing hardship has helped me develop empathy for others who are going through similar difficulties.

Then, through tough times, I’ve gotten a deeper understanding of life's complexities and developed a more compassionate and understanding perspective. Will it mean that adversity can open us the doors to discovering a deeper sense of purpose and meaning in life? I don’t know for sure but it might. 

All these benefits are why I always make the necessary efforts to look at challenges like hidden treasures, with a growth mindset and a willingness to learn. By re-framing difficult experiences into opportunities for growth, I feel that I come out stronger and much more resilient.

“Forced out” of retirement?

When I heard that Lindsey Vonn was returning to ski racing at the age of 40, I thought to myself, “Her post-career plans didn’t pan out and she is now forced to come back to racing in order to maintain her lifestyle and celebrity status!” 

I might not be far from the truth, as Vonn was clearly eyeing a Hollywood career upon her stopping ski racing, but this didn’t pan out. Same thing for Hischer who thought he could prolong his lifestyle by entering the ski equipment activity with a splash, but soon found out that he needed Red Bull’s deep pockets to make it, and realized that manufacturing and selling skis isn’t a path immediately paved with gold.

These recent developments show that one can be a top ski athlete and enjoy some good earning for a while, but the post-career options aren’t that great or diverse, unlike they often are for widely accepted and followed sports like gymnastics or swimming. 

Worldwide, alpine skiing remains a micro-business with seemingly global dimensions, yet not enough appeal and horsepower to reach an equivalent celebrity status. I still wish Lindsey the very best!

Coming of age to be my very own (Part 2)

Today, we’ll explore how we can overcome the challenges we discussed in the previous blog and begin to embrace our true selves. 

As years pass, being less professionally involved frees more time to practice self-awareness and in the process better understand our thoughts, feelings, and values. Advancing in age also often challenges our self-limiting beliefs and stands as a great opportunity to learn how to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.

More importantly, we are less pressured to please others or follow their directions, especially when we don’t approve of them. That allows us to step back, examine the proposition in front of us and reject it sine die if it doesn’t line up with our values or our goals.This often leads the way to setting boundaries and giving us permission to just say no and prioritize your needs… 

This said becoming our own person and who we truly were meant to be doesn’t mean becoming a misanthrope or an unsociable character. On the contrary, it’s also a great opportunity to embrace our vulnerabilities when we share our true feelings and experiences with others. Finally, this realization opens the door to cultivating self-compassion, by starting to be kind to ourselves and avoiding self-criticism at every occasion ... 

If you haven’t begun already, work at taking these steps, and good luck in recovering your authentic self !

Coming of age to be my very own (Part 1)

These days, after years of self-doubt, hesitations and uncertainty, I finally feel good and able to be my own man. Why is it such a big deal for me? Why is it so hard to truly become our own person? Well, it’s complicated as the challenge of being our true selves stems from a complex interplay of societal expectations, self-doubt, and fear of judgment. 

Here is a sample of the obstacles I had to navigate. First, there were all the societal pressures from my Catholic religion to my parents’ simple culture that drilled on me certain norms and expectations which didn’t go well with my ebullient little personality. Then, I was told to “please” as I was waiting on tables at the family restaurant or teaching skiing, that placed a brake on my development. 

Same thing when I was in school and had to change establishments, then get into the workforce, before becoming a “minority” of sort in America (limited command of the language, strong accent), there was the need even more than the desire to fit within with my peer group that often lead me to silence or subdue my authentic self or should I rather say my full self-confidence. 

At the same time and for the same reasons, I also didn’t want to be judged or criticized by others, and for that, I compromised more than once when I had to. There was also the fear of not meeting expectations first, from my parents, then some of my teachers and then my bosses, co-workers or employees that often lead to self-doubt, negative self-talk and a reluctance to take risks. 

Like for many of my peers, the fear of the unknown made me, at times, prefer the comfort of the familiar, even if it meant sacrificing my authenticity and prevented me from taking big chances and embracing change. As you can see, there were many hurdles along my way and tomorrow we’ll review how I dealt with all these obstacles… 

(To be continued...)

Dreams and meditation

People often wonder if meditation has an effect on the way they dream, their type and their quality, and it would appear that meditation can indeed influence them. After meditating everyday for almost five years, it has had an effect on my dreams, but before I get into this, let’s look at what general research says on the subject: 

Regular meditation is said to enhance awareness, making it easier to remember dreams upon waking. Dreams are also said to be more vivid and lucid, filled with details as the mind is more present and aware. They’re also said to occur more frequently and there’s the case of meditation increasing the likelihood of lucid dreaming, where we become aware we're dreaming and can sometimes control the dream narrative. 

I’d say that this latter aspect is something I have briefly experienced recently, but the preceding stuff hasn’t been part of what I can recall. However, what I’ve observed in the last two months is a much calmer dream pattern, devoid of stress, whereas, since I’ve been retired, most of my dreams were highly stressful, complicated and, at times, frightening, not to mention that they’d wake me up all the time.

Now I sleep much better and wake up fresh and ready to go. I haven’t had specific changes in my life to justify that drastic change and the only reason I can find is a higher mindfulness and better meditation. It’s obvious that individual experiences do vary and while meditation can positively influence dream patterns, there is no guarantee it will do the same for everyone…

Getting old and staying balanced on skis?

One of the “benefits” of growing old on skis is that our balance goes on vacation. Many older folks experience problems with balance and dizziness. This can be caused by certain medications, inner ear or labyrinth problems. 

For example, when the labyrinth becomes inflamed, it will cause vertigo and imbalance. Likewise certain ear diseases or infections can lead to that condition. Same thing if your ski day begins with alcohol in the blood, or if your lunch break includes a bottle of wine at 8,500 feet, you’ll experience dizziness and balance problems that affect that same inner ear. 

Other medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or vision problems, thyroid, nerves, or blood vessels can cause dizziness that may also attack one’s balance. So the question is “What can we do to manage a precarious balance?” 

By far, my favorite is a simple, one-legged standing exercise, twice daily, when I brush my teeth. I began doing this 6 weeks ago and can attest that it’s starting to pay off. 

I use an electric toothbrush that emits a distinct sound every 30 seconds, prompting me to clean another quarter of my mouth and that I use to change legs. So the entire exercise lasts 4 minutes per day and forces me to stand for 30 seconds on a different leg. 

During my October vacation, I used a regular, manual toothbrush, and boy, was this much harder because of the amplified lateral motions! 

Sure, there are also balance boards available for that, but I find this one exercise simple and filled with challenges, like doing it eyes closed, my goal in one year from now…

Our electoral disaster (part 2)

In my opinion, and unlike what’s been claimed by the press, Biden running for the second term without a serious primary and the full support of the DNC's decision makers (Obama, Pelosi, Clinton), are the main reasons for the Democrats’ failure. They all participated at serving Trump his second term on a silver platter. 

Most everywhere, his judgment was flawed, particularly when it came to underestimate Trump’s devilish force. He was too old and acting his age (unlike Sanders or Trump that had some juice left), which materialized in his debate meltdown and subsequent “gaffes”. 

The next reason was his inability to sell what he’d done for Infrastructure and Climate Change and more importantly his failure to explain what inflation was, what caused it (mostly Trump tax reform and Covid assistance) and that reducing it would never bring prices to their previous levels. 

His innate stubbornness was illustrated by his refusal to quit this last race and might be an indication that he never listened to anyone anyway, and was his own man. He should have never accepted being called things like “Crooked Biden” by Trump and respond appropriately with double intensity. Instead, he turned the other cheek which is a no-no with bullies. 

He was weak with Netanyhu, always came through too little too late in helping Ukraine like most overly careful old folks would do. He picked Harris because she wouldn't be a threat to him (she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed), let her run so she wouldn't outclass him, and by delaying his decision left her no time to gain traction. 

The same happened when Harris picked Walz which speaks volume about her self-confidence. Back in July, I had recommended that Gavin Newsom run for president, with Liz Cheney as his VP! She would have also worked better for Harris. Furthermore, Biden was woefully unable to define what the Democrats stood for or against, and spread himself too thin to create that needed focal point. 

Biden's main goal was to score a second term as President. What he should do today, is resign before it’s too late so Harris becomes the 47th, first woman President of the United States for a few weeks, but I doubt that idea ever crossed his self-centered mind.