How to curb greed?

In Okinawa, Japan, many practice a dietary habit of eating until they're 80% full. This is one of the key principles of the local diet, which is often credited for the longevity of the Okinawan people. 

This concept, called "Hara Hachi Bu," translates into eating until one is 80% full, a cornerstone of the Okinawan diet. Scientists believe this practice helps prevent overeating, maintains a healthy weight, and improves overall well-being. 

If we can agree with that view, and I personally do, we can extend it easily to other aspects of our lives, like wealth and asset accumulation, a hallmark of modern capitalistic society in which there seems to be plenty of room for improvement! 

While "Hara Hachi Bu" might not be directly applicable in the same way as it is to food consumption, the core idea of moderation and mindful consumption can be adapted. For instance, it could be applied to the way we spend money. We ought to be more mindful about it and start by prioritizing needs over wants by focusing on essential expenses and avoiding impulsive purchases. 

Also, by systematically delaying gratification, resist it in the moment and instead, save for long-term goals. Creating a budget and sticking to it to track our income and expenses would be another way towards that 80% goal of moderation. The same could be said about diversifying our investments by spreading our risks instead of putting all our eggs in one basket. 

At the corporate level, our governments must reform their tax system to the point that dangerous individuals like Musk, Dimon (Chase) or Bezos (Amazon) can no longer purchase everything within their reach to control us and the world at their pleasure. Same consideration for our poor planet (emissions, overpopulation, etc.) 

It’s about time to curb and stop that Gilded Age 2.0!

We just voted!

Yesterday, we slid our election envelopes into the collection box and were done for what’s been seen as the most important US election in history. 

Since we don’t consider ourselves idiot, gullible, mean, racist, fascist, or a combination of all these undesirable traits, we didn’t vote for Trump or none of the Republican Party member supporting the old deranged man with the yellow hair. 

Besides, that demented clown is poised to lose this election. 

Mark my words!

 

One million miles on Delta, now what?

As we were seating in the plane, ready for take-off in Paris to return home last week, I was congratulated by a flight attendant that I had flown one million miles (1,608,000 km) with Delta Air Line. Getting to the “Million Miler Status” as it’ s called by this airline, was something I knew was within my reach, but had forgotten about it… 

So, after I got home, there was an email for me confirming my reaching that coveted milestone, and letting me know that I could pick a gift of my choice from a selection as a reward. 

Not a first-class round trip to Sydney but a nice gift certificate plus annual complimentary Delta Gold Medallion® Status that’s meant to give me complimentary upgrade clearance priority, and also nice tag bags. 

Now that I don’t fly much anymore these perks won’t help me much. They’re just there to make me reflect on my obscene carbon-footprint accumulated over the years. 

That one from Delta could easily be multiplied two or more times, if I added all the flights taken during my entire life on United, American, Southwest, Swissair, Air France, JAL and countless other carriers that are today all defunct. 

Enough said about that, let’s go for a walk!

The fallacy of exceptionalism

America, Israel and some other places claim that they we “chosen” or somehow preferred by God, and when you mix this kind of statement with religion things fast gets out off a slippery slope! 

As one knows, religion can significantly influence the concept of a country's exceptionalism in many ways. 

The biggest one is the divine mandate, as some religions believe that a particular nation or people have been chosen by its God for a special purpose or mission. This belief will reinforce the idea of exceptionalism, as it suggests that the nation is inherently superior or unique. That’s clearly the case with the US and Israel. 

Sure, religion also plays a central role in shaping a nation's cultural identity. By defining shared values, beliefs, and traditions, it contributes to a sense of national unity and purpose, linked to exceptionalism. Historical narratives false or imaginary come to explain a nation's understanding of its unique past and place in the world.

A religion can also exert a significant influence on a nation's political and social institutions. If it’s closely associated with the state (Judaism or Islam), it will reinforce the idea of national exceptionalism. 

 

Now, when God looks from space at our small blue planet, it become really tough for her to pick a spot she'd like more than another!

“What do I think of Israel?”

Last night as we’re walking, Mike beat up Volvo stops by us walking, he lowers his window and ask us: “What about Israel?” I’m taken aback. 

My Scottish neighbor looks and sounds upset an he goes “...my two daughters are Jewish and so is their Mum and what Hamas caused on October 7 is terrible…” 

I don’t know what to say, knowing darn well that Hamas and Hezbollah are the direct consequences of Israel subjugation and humiliation of the Palestinian people. So the interaction goes nowhere. 

I’m unprepared to have one and as a result there is no discussion where Mike wouldn’t say I’m just antisemitic. 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the danger and the fallacies of exceptionalism Israel and many others fall into…

Checking the obituaries

Yesterday, after reading a French obituary, I noticed that Pierre Vialatte, a former alumni of my school had passed away. I broadcast a note to inform my former classmates and make sure he was who I thought he was. 

The sad news was confirmed and one of my former classmates asked me, “How did you find out” and what follows is the answer I gave to his “interesting question” as we say, these days. 

In fact there are more than one element to address it. I first told him I considered myself "old" because I am a realist and that’s a reality. So in this capacity, I know that many of my contemporaries are, just like me, subject to a risk of increased mortality. 

I therefore inform myself daily to see what passes from life to death in my region of origin, namely Haute-Savoie, a French department populated by the majority of people I’ve known there. Many old folks indulge in this practice. 

In addition to that, and just as important, my friends in France, with a few exceptions including the fellow who asked me the question, communicate very poorly, or rather not at all. I cannot, therefore, in all conscience, count on them. 

At a time when we have the best means of communication at our disposal in the entire history of humanity, a majority of my peers do not know how to, or do not want to use them. Others are fading away or already lifeless, quietly waiting to die. 

Since I live geographically far away from old friends, I feel it’s incumbent to me to make more efforts to stay in touch with these people who "hibernate" prematurely. 

Personally, and as an example, I think I can say that I am better informed about what is happening in my hometown than a large part of its inhabitants, at least on the subjects that interest me the most or I’m passionate about! 

Would you agree with this?

Skier’s visits per resort…

I love Snowbrains, a site that specializes in the weird aspects of skiing, but what I failed to appreciate the other day was an article about visitations at famous ski resorts, by Julie Schneeman.. 

For years, I’ve known that La Plagne in France, was  the world’s number one with 2.5 million annual visit. The table provided for this article and its content mixes apples and oranges. 

The fallacy of that most of the places cited involve a cluster of towns; i.e. Madona de Campiglio Folgarida, etc. or St. Anton, Lech, Zuers, etc. 

The fact that it doesn’t include Les Trois Vallees or Les Portes du Soleil in France is that a common ski ticket doesn’t one ski area make, as these mega domain all represent a clustering of ski-towns. 

The elephant in the room is Park City, as a town which includes Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort, the Olympic Park and Woodward. 

They may not share a common lift ticket, but together, they produce between 2.6 to 2.8 million skier visits. As a matter of skier days in one locale, Park City should be a the top of this chart!

Hydration, hydration, hydration…

My wife and I know that we don’t drink nearly enough and I must admit that we have a hard time carrying a water bottle wherever we go, plus we just don’t drink much.

This of course comes with some severe consequences. Not drinking enough fluids will eventually lead to cramps and low levels of electrolytes like potassium, calcium, or magnesium can also worsen the situation. 

Cramps can be so painful that we’ve finally come to the conclusion that we should do something about it!

Little jetlag but pesky cough…

I caught that cough before we reached Malaga and it sounded and felt that the same cough I had when I existed Covid in August, then it got worst, with running nose, heavy mucus, and the like. 

I kind of soldiered in and didn’t take anything and today it’s beginning to wane. Touch on wood! 

Well the most important thing is that we’re now back home with little jetlag and so delighted to find Park City almost the way we left it twelve days ago with most aspen trees still in the process of changing colors…

Paris-Orly to CDG, then Park City

Because there was a huge convention around Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport, I couldn’t secure a hotel room there, so we had to settle to spend the night in Orly, an airport almost on the opposite side of the City. 

Since we didn’t want to mix the torture of public transportation and frequent train change between the two airports, we had to get there in a cab.

So to be on the safe side of traffic, we left our hotel a 6:45 am and made it in time for our 11 am flight to the US, including an incredibly long wait, lining up for security check.

Looking for the perfect bakery…

Today I found a perfect bakery on the internet where I thought we’d have breakfast on the way to Malaga airport. It was slightly out of the way, but the picture I had seen online made me salivate enough to warrant that little folly.

Very bad idea! It took us all morning to get there, when we almost did, someone called me, I had to take the call, the traffic was awful and with no parking spot in sight it messed me up and we lost it all. 

We ended up having to settle for a poor-man Spanish breakfast in a local cafe, where working men spread tomatoes over a thin slice of grilled bread. So much for the idyllic breakfast. Only in my dreams. 

We then made it the airport on time, boarded a “low cost flight” to Paris-Orly and that was it. If the big Paris-CDG is bad, Orly is worst as an airport desert and the choice of place to eat was nil, the hotel super spartan, but we managed…

A day around San Pedro de Alcantara

The San Pedro area around Marbella, Spain is old and “muy simpatico”. Of course, with charms come problems and finding a parking spot isn’t easy, especially when like the rest of the tourist and foreign resident crowd you want to go out at night for dinner. 

Sure there doesn’t seem to be any low season on the “Costa del Sol” and it takes a lot of driving around, searching and polluting to finally spot a resting place for one’s vehicle. It also forced me to revisit tight parallel parking maneuvers. 

Did I already mentioned that most Spaniard we encountered were very, very nice! We even found a Belgian MAGA woman who aggressively told us that Trump was Jesus or something like that. I made her regret her comments!

Earlier that day we had discovered the “Paseo Maritimo” a scenic boardwalk, beachfront promenade, lined with palm trees, restaurants, shops, and beach bars, that runs along the coastline, offering beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea. 

It's essentially a pedestrian walkway perfect for leisurely walks and people-watching, stretching on a great length of the Costa del Sol.  

Hosted by a dear friend…

We checked our from our hotel, took the train to the nearby Malagua airport and rented a car at Wiber, an inexpensive, but complicated outfit, where we had to wait one solid hour before being taken care off. Totally worth the very cheap price!

Initially we were going to be hosted by another couple of our very best friends, Nadine and Michel, but at the last minute, the latter was able to find a spot he applied for into a French spa and couldn’t welcome us at their beautiful condo, south of Marbella overlooking the Mediterranean sea.. 

Instead, and in their absence he managed to arrange for, Christian, his Swiss friend and neighbor to welcome us to the apartment. At night, we drove to the shore and had dinner in a restaurant our friend had recommended…

Relearning train riding in Malaga

The tour's organization began to unravel as we were now on our own. We went and walked to Torremolinos beautiful, beach until we caught up with the Triathlon World Championship finals that were in progress there.

This competition consists in a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run. 

After a much needed tapas lunch to make up for these mind-blowing efforts, we rode the train back to Malaga where we hope to visit the Picasso museum, but were unable to because it was sold out. 

Our guide forgot to tell us to book our tickets on line! Bad luck. At least we strolled again in the beautiful downtown and experienced the Spanish trains!

Some rain in Granada and back in Malaga!

On the way back to Malaga and the Costa del Sol, we stopped in the charming little white village of Frigiliana, perched on a hill near the old seaside town of Nerja.

We walked through the narrow and steep hills of that pristine location that counts among the best little towns in Spain with its  plunging views to the sea. Lunch under a tent completed the experience. 

We then continued to Malaga, where we strolled through its beautiful streets, checked out its cathedral, the Alcazaba, its roman amphitheater, la Merced et paseo del Parque plaza and return to the Alua hotel in Torremolinos that we had visited on the eve of our trip. 

Unfortunately, a group of extremely loud Arabs from a Moroccan Spanish enclave made our dinner misery and find an easy way to wake us up in the middle of the night to a point I had to scream at them to tone it down and finally had to call the reception to get them to shut up!

Good in Granada

Early in the morning we proceeded down to old town Granada, where we were encouraged to sample chorizo and chocolate by our guide, which ended up being an other bad idea and pretty bad experience. After that, we got drenched for a while by another nasty rainstorm that bode very bad for the the rest of our day.

The backpack I was carrying was totally wet and inside is my nice “Guide to Andalousia” had become a bloc of wet paper almost reduced to pulp! 

The fear for rain wasn’t replicated in the afternoon when we, under a clear sky and cool temperatures, began a guided tour of the Alhambra, the famous Arab fortress that include the Alcazar, its buildings, patios and jardins. 

The Lions court, Charles Quint’s palace and Generalife’s enchanting gardens, mixing water, light and fragrances. We also learnt that our planned excursion to Gibraltar wouldn’t happen because of a lack of participants on Friday, as only 5 of would be left out of the 49 people group that day. 

We voiced our displeasure to Carollila (Carol) Nadal, our guide who didn’t appreciate our heartfelt criticisms, but “c’est la vie!”

Cordoba and olive trees forever

Almost no rain that day as we left Seville early in the morning, we stopped at Carmona one of these typical whitewashed villages before making to Cordoba, where we were treated with a guided tour of the Mezquita, the mosque turned into Cathedral, a real architectural jewel of islamic art.

We also zigzagged through the jewish part of town and its labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed facades, its ancient flowery  patios and statues of great men like Malmonide who was instrumental in putting Cordoba on the map. 

After that we drove through thousands of acres of olive tree plantations and rolling hills, just punctuated by a a stop at some makeshift olive oil production museum, before reaching Granada at night and too many hours stuck on a bus. 

The town was reclaimed by the Catholic kings over the muslims in 1492.   

Visiting Seville under a deluge

At a time when it had not rained in Andalusia for over 6 months, today was time for deluge! Literally a game changer and its under severe and sustained rainstorm that our group undertook the visit of the Santa Cruz area of Seville, in fact its historical center, interlaced with tiny streets, ornate iron work and typical patios. 

We toured the Alcazar and its splendid garden surrounded a fortified palace in the heart of town. We went on with touring the cathedral, the third largest in the world, climbed the horse-ramp of its minaret-tower to catch a 360 degree spectacular glimpse of the entire city and also visited its museum and treasures.

As the rain abated, the afternoon was spent visiting the historical center of town and its symmetrical and impressive Royal Palace. The evening offered us a two-hour Flamenco show with great artists, dancing and music. 

En route for Ronda and Seville

In the morning, we met our friends and future travel companions, Chantal and Jean-Francois (yeah, another one of these!) who live in Manosque, France, the very heart of Provence and Luberon. 

We were delighted to reconnect and together looking forward to laugh a lot together.  

That day began quite poorly, with rain falling hard and thick fog shrouding the road as we got underway from Malaga to Ronda, a historic town that’s also the birth place of tauromachy. 

We visited a bull and horse breading farm and then went to visit the old town perched on a limestone cliff. After lunch we drove to Seville and at night did a wonderful city tour by night. 

At night we finally slept a little bit better than the previous night after taking a powerful sleeping pill…

Welcome to Spain!

After a cooling off day at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, we were on our way to Spain, but it was a day spent waiting for the check-in time, then the plane, but unlike the previous day all went perfectly well without a hitch and before we knew it we said “Hola” to Spain.

The flight to Malaga was a bit bumpy, because of the weather, and there was some confusion regarding where we were driving by the shuttle bus to our destination for the day, but it worked out fine. 

The hotel where we stayed in downtown Torremolinos was perfect, the food great and an after dinner stroll through the old town immediately plunged us into the local atmosphere. Further my young and untested Spanish worked for the best, so the day was a total success. 

The occasional traveler

The young globetrotter I once was is turning into an aging, occasional traveler who struggles to plan a big trip, is no longer used of changing travel conditions (should I say worsening) and struggles every day more than he should.

 I can blame being old, less adaptable and more anxious, but this is an undeniable fact. To console myself I think I’m still doing better than many in my age group.

Case in point, the other at the Salt Lake City airport where after fumbling for a while at a checking kiosk, I finally managed to beat the long lines at Security, got to my gate with seemingly plenty of time to spare, when I suddenly discovered I had just received an email telling me that I had left my credit card inside the slot in the kiosk. 

I had to get out of the gate’s secured area to go retrieve it and thanks to a much bigger line through security, almost missed my international flight, that I only made by politely asking permission to pass folks in that humongous queue,and run back to my gate like a bat out of hell. 

Not quite the demure start I was envisioning for that  long trip!

New Delhi, Utah?

On Tuesday, the (bad) air quality in Park City climbed to 181, worse than New Delhi, India at 163 this same day! An air pollution like this is clearly unhealthy and represents smoking 3 cigarettes that day. Thank God, we aren’t at a full pack yet... 

This was caused by shifting winds bringing smoke from a 20,000 acre fire, just 30 miles away from Park City to move into town as the case has been for the past three of four days. At that point, on Tuesday evening, the fire was 21% contained. 

As a small storm system moved into the area, the smoke inversion settled into the surrounding valleys, including Park City, along with ash in some areas. 

Winds are variable, changing directions throughout the day. This requires firefighters to pay close attention, as wind direction and fire behavior can be erratic.

Hopefully the firefighters efforts will be successful despite a weather that remains stubbornly clear and sunny...

Netanyahu, butcher of the Middle East

Just like Trump, Bibi Netanyhu wants to stay in power and has no desire to go to prison, his likely destination should he lose his political immunity. So in order to satisfy Israel’s extreme right, he’s bent on massacring or chasing the entire Palestinian population. 

Taking advantage of Biden’s weakness and of an upcoming US presidential election, he ignores pleas for negotiations with Hamas and Hezbollah, knowing full well that no one, in American or in Western European governments, will dare say anything and carries along with his destructive genocide, an obscene price to pay just for Netanyahu's political survival! 

With a per capita GDP of more than $50,000, just like Canada, Germany or the UK and more than France, Israel keeps on getting financial and military aid from the US. I’m sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars going to kill innocent Palestinians children and women. Wouldn’t you?

Coffee, grinding time and quality

After trying a bunch of coffee grinder brands over the year, we settled on a basic Krups that we found to be durable, reliable and seemingly indestructible. 

Yet, what I’ve never been able to find, was the relation between grinding time in seconds and the taste of coffee. We used a very high quality (should I say costly, which might bear no relation to taste?) medium brown coffee bean, but I’ve always been wondering about the grinding time. 

I finally undertook to conduct some research and it would seem that as I’ve always suspected, grinding time can significantly impact the brewing quality of coffee beans. 

Here's a breakdown of how grinding time affects the taste of coffee: 

1. A fine grind would take between 20 to 30 seconds. It would extract more flavor and oils from the beans, resulting in a stronger, more flavorful cup. It would however lead to over-extraction, resulting in a bitter taste. 

2. A medium grind falls between 15 to 20 seconds and offers a balanced flavor profile, suitable for most brewing methods (pour-over, drip, French press). Its downside however is that it might not extract as much flavor as a fine grind. 

3. Finally, a coarse grind that lasts only 10 to 15 seconds allows for faster brewing time, with less chance of over-extraction. The argument against it would be a weaker, less flavorful coffee. 

As for the kind of coffee machine used in relation to the grinding qualities, espresso would require a very fine grind for optimal extraction, a pour-over would work best with a medium to fine grind, a slightly coarser grind would be perfect for a French press and for drip coffee (the one we personally use), a slightly coarser grind should work fine. 

It’s certainly a good idea to experiment by trying different grind settings in order to select one’s preferred flavor. Sure, water temperature, brewing time, and bean freshness also influence coffee quality. A good quality coffee grinder is also essential for consistent results. Now you finally deserve your own cup of coffee!

When unforeseen incidents add to knowledge

We love our Bosch dishwasher. It’s perfectly conceived and engineered, works well, is silent and now after more than 8 years of intense use, still cleans impeccably. 

This said, and in spite of its solid track record, we recently had a problem that posed a real challenge to me. After a wash, the water was still pooling at the bottom of the appliance. 

I got the printed instructions for the device that I always keep, went through its troubleshooting section and couldn’t find a solution, yet alone my particular problem. 

I persisted and went on line and providentially stumbled on a recent Bosch video addressing my situation, that was deliberately ignored in the printed brochure, presumably because it had never happened or was simply too rare an occurrence to even be mentioned in the brochure 8 or 9 years ago. 

The video, accompanied with a written description, is clear, perfectly produced and helped me resolve my clog problem that was a very serious one as it involved a large piece of plastic film sucked up by the pump! 

Leaving for a trip nowadays

Years ago, when I used to travel a lot, things were much simpler. I only had my luggage to worry about, of course I had my business stuff (papers at first, portable computers didn’t exist till the mid-eighties, no cell phone) in my briefcase with the files I needed and this was pretty much it. 

There were no electric adapters, extra batteries to take, SD or sim cards to worry about. Just a paper airplane ticket did the trick. Sure there was a pouch with unused foreign banknotes and coins, but I could manage it well then. 

Today, with the multiplication of devices and gizmos, whenever I go on a trip for vacation, there is a huge check-list that has materialized and is still growing over the years. 

Sure the old iPod or large camera is no longer needed, but there’s a smartwatch charger in its place... 

As time goes by, what was supposed to make life easier is in fact making it much more complex!

Spirits of my youth in the Alps

When I was a kid growing up in Montriond near Morzine, in the French Alps, the paranormal and the ensuing fear it generated was front and center during my young life. There were two bad actors, or maybe just one, sharing ominous names for me, the “Servan” and the “Chaufaton”. 

Those were either malevolent or malicious elves or sprites that were haunting the lives of villagers living in the remote as well as backwards Alpine valleys and villages of my youth, accomplishing all kind of unexplainable feats and acts that, the way they were represented to me by my parents were more devilish than mischievous and called more for some exorcism than any other remedy. 

The stories I heard were along the lines of the chaufaton “braiding a mare's tail or fitting two cows' heads inside the same manger halter”. Another story, also from Montriond, my hometown, was that of “a man resting on his bed, hearing the mare, outfitted with her bell, that had left the stable to amble into the kitchen, and was producing very melodious music by shaking her bell behind the door of the bedroom. The man had never heard anything so pleasant and so musical. 

Once the concert was over, he got up to go to the kitchen and see what was going on, but the mare wasn’t in the kitchen. Instead, she was tied up in the stable and quietly eating. He had been tricked by the chaufaton!” 

One last story, still in Montriond, “the chaufaton, always invisible, amused himself one day by inspecting a series of lined up wooden buckets. The homeowner, who was in the room, heard him stating in front of each wooden utensil: "This one is clean, this one isn’t." After a while, irritated by the comments, the man pulled off his pants and literally mooned in the direction the voice came from, exclaiming: "And is that one clean?" The chaufaton responded by butt-slapping the man with the manure shovel. 

As the mid-sixties and early seventies advanced with the rise of tourism and modernity the chaufaton went into eternal hibernation. My going through puberty and growing up chased my fears forever and all these legends became part of the past… until now!

A wonderful surprise visit!

Bill Bocquet, my only French schoolmate who lives in the US, stopped by this past Wednesday to visit us in Park City and we showed him around town to make him envious of our colorful Fall foliage, catch up and reconstruct the world. We had not seem him in person since 2003, so it was time for us to finally get together. 

The day was beautiful and the moments spend together too short, but almost instantly this impromptu get together morphed into a working session. That's how we came to consider building a retirement home for our alumni friends of the ENH (National School of Watchmaking) in Cluses, probably around the freeway and the old Carpanos Pons factory. 

It’s going to be located in the toughest part of this unforgiving valley pummeled by ice-cold weather in winter, unbearable heat in summer and situated in the middle of a strong wind draft blowing though the narrow canyon, as a way to test our comrades endurance, and verify Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous words: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” 

The place will include a clarinet school headed by Jean-Marie Peyrin, an art section under Mychel Blanc’s guidance, electric walkers everywhere, and even a small business school section of continuing education headed by Michel Deletraz who would admonish his students to trade their conviction for some solid certainty. 

Bill agreed to be in charge of financing that institution and I forced him to let me work on its architectural design. To be continued down the road...

Up on the roof

Occasionally, I work as a property manager of a real estate company and assume a variety of tasks for scant – I should rather say – no visible consideration, but that’s not against any law! 

Suffice to say that I enjoy what I do and I like to work for that company, the owners are nice, I trust them and think the world of them. 

So a few days ago, I stuffed my folding ladder in the car and drove to that place in the center of Park City. I brought with me a large bucket full of cleaning supplies, a broom and of course the ladder to get there. 

I spent most of my afternoon there, focusing intensely on every nook and crannies, got the job done well and felt like a million bucks. 

Sometimes, we need to elevate ourselves on some roof, alone, do our things well and as the end result, feel super great!

A debate on what a VP ought to do?

Last night, JD Vance wanted to take Tim Walz on a wild dance (rhymes well!) and be the upper dog and it worked.

He blamed it all on the spare wheel that Kamala Harris, like most Vps, was for these four years but was shut up by his overly polite opponent that on January 6, Trump acted like the dictator he still wants to be, along with the overly manipulative ideologue Vance denying the legitimacy of the 2020 election to shut him off. 

This was my take-away from a debate richer in substance than the Presidential one, but still filled with vague ideas, lies and little substantiation. Will it move the needle? Probably not.

Family disagreement!

 Ever since I was a tiny little kid growing up in the Alps, I was told that frost was causing leaves to change colors in the Fall and I suspect still many of my contemporaries and even younger inhabitants of my remote valley of origin have maintained that belief. 

My big sister, who is 9 year my elder, not only has lived through the German occupation of France, but has seen and learned many things during her long life. Yet, since she stayed in my hometown all of her life, she still subscribes to the popular belief that that deciduous trees change colors because the frost makes them. 

The other day as we were having our regular phone conversation, I challenged her belief by saying that this change in color was because the photosynthesis. Naturally, she disagreed vehemently and forced me to go into some basic research to build up my argument. 

I found out that both of our perspectives are partially correct, but the primary reason for deciduous trees changing color in the fall is actually due to a combination of factors related to photosynthesis, which as you can guess, made me feel very good.

Still, to be fair, my sister's observation about frost is partially accurate. Frost can indeed contribute to the browning of leaves, as it can damage the cells and cause them to die, however, it's not the primary reason for the color change. My understanding about photosynthesis is closer to the mark. As the days get shorter and temperatures drop in the fall, trees begin to prepare for winter dormancy. 

Gradually their photosynthetic activity is reduced, which is the process by which they use sunlight to produce food. As photosynthesis slows down, the production of chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives leaves their color, also decreases. 

When chlorophyll production declines, other pigments that were present in the leaves all along become more visible. These pigments include carotenoids (which give leaves their yellow and orange hues) and anthocyanins (which give leaves their red and purple colors). 

The combination of these pigments creates the stunning fall foliage we see. So, while frost can play a role in the browning of leaves, the primary reason for the color change is the reduction in photosynthesis and the visibility of other pigments. Both my sister and I have valid observations, but I’d (humbly) conclude that I won that family debate!