The French presidential debate deepens...

I tried to watch another marathon, 11-candidate debate, the other night and felt sorry for my home country. Fillon, the only candidate that makes sense from an overall standpoint, has shot himself in the foot and, in my opinion, won't make it with the victory likely going to LePen.

With French government spending recorded at 56.1 percent of GDP in 2014, the corresponding tax burden amounts to a whopping 44.2 percent !

Clearly, the number one priority, which also happens to be Fillon's, is to reduce that huge public expenditure. While America's governmental spending (equal to Canada's) seems huge, it includes an enormous 4 percent in defense spending.

This said, Switzerland would be a good target for everyone to follow, but at the end of the day, will the French willing to make the necessary sacrifices that go along with reduced government expenses?

The fifth Beatle?

I'm not talking about Brian Epstein or George Martin, but about a dream I had two nights ago. I was somehow with the Beatles (I remember for sure that Paul was there, not so sure about the other three) and that I was asked to play along with them.

I was given a foldable guitar (in my dream, it worked a bit like the the flip phones of the 90s) and I guess, was expected to play. The problem is that I would be hard-pressed to play any musical instrument, even if my life depended on it.

So, I decided to pretend like I was playing. My stratagem seemed to work for a pretty long while, except that after each song, I was asked to stick around for yet another one. Soon the stress began to mount, to the point that I could no longer handle it.

Soon, I blew my top and as I did, I woke up, but the comforting thing is that none of the Fab Four seemed to notice I was a phony...

The 100 best (American) companies to work for...

Each March, Fortune magazine comes up with the ranking of the 100 best companies to work for.

Once more, number one seems to be Google and there are 99 other companies down below, all the way to Allianz Life Insurance. The ranking is based on feedback from more than 232,000 employees at companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Winning a spot on the list is a sign that a company has succeeded at creating a great work place for its employees. The survey results are highly reliable, having a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 5% or less.

Since I have one family member that's lucky enough to work for one of these great companies, I never miss to check the rankings.

Of course, after all I heard during 2016, like about how great a businessman and manager Mr. Trump was, I was sure to find the Trump organization at least in the top ten of these exemplary enterprises, but even though I read the list three times, I couldn't find it, even at the very tail end.

Mr. Trump probably thought as I did, but dismissed the omission of his company by saying that Fortune was only good at spreading “fake news”!

Last two weeks of skiing...

Yesterday, skiing was just great; cold morning and cool temperatures through the day.

Today, we're left with just 14 days of skiing in Park City and in previewing the long-term weather forecast, the future looks pretty good before we end what has been a wonderful ski season.

I hope to get out another 10 days and I'll be satisfied.

Perhaps one or two more trips to Snowbird and I'll be ready to move on to even more exciting things...

Looking forward to something cool...

The reality that really counts in life is made of now and tomorrow. “Now” exists to be enjoyed to the fullest, or when things aren't to our liking, to be experienced fully so we get some nourishment out of them.

“Tomorrow”, as some have said, is a mysterious land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation and achievement is stored. For me, Tomorrow is for hoping, visioning, planning and preparing, so I can have a never ending string of pleasurable or exciting “Nows.”

This is where my daily life is focused into. Sometimes, I do forget, but I always do my very best to remind myself that the best, most interesting and impressive things I'm likely to experience are in store, down the road, ready for me if I'm just willing to be pro-active!

A different April 1 joke...

Yesterday, I was anxious to go skiing since it had been snowing a lot the day before and I had better things to do than go play.

So, I left early and got to Jupiter, my favorite Park City playground. When I got there, there were very few tracks and the ones I could see where quite “angular”, to say the least.

I cautiously proceeded down the bowl and had to use a mixture of jump turns, pretty high speed and careful ski placement to survive the crusty snow that must have been the most traitorous that I had ever experienced in Park City for the 30 plus years I had skied on the mountain.

I did a few runs and before I took a severe spill and broke something I traveled by ski towards the nearby Canyons and got to 9990, the Jupiter equivalent on that other side of the mountain.

There, I found some decent snow, which goes to say that a great geographical diversity can offer some distinct micro-climates that may turn a bad April 1 joke into a pleasurable skiing experience!

Brexit... Good riddance?

Up until recently, Brexit had become the new “normal” for many. The Pound has dropped some, but it wasn't the end of the world yet for the United Kingdom.

This said, the 2016 UK share of the European Union's GDP is 17%, ($2.8 Trillion) which means that the UK has the most to lose as its access to the $14 Trillion remaining market won't be as easy after Brexit.

They are, of course many more measures that will become a reality two years down the road for the arrogant, picky and always unsatisfied partner. London's future as Europe's financial capital stands as the most ominous threat; the future of British low-cost airlines is also a big deal and a much harder time for its consumers and for expats of all stripes, whether they are EU workers in the UK or UK workers and retirees living the high-life on the Continent.

Sure, tourism in the UK may flourish and local exporters will do better for a while, but overall, the divorce is likely to be devastating for the average Briton...