Learning to live

Beside teaching young people to read, write and know how to count, our school should also teach kids how to live. 

Let me explain, as far as I know, I don’t believe there’s one single country on earth in which we teach young people how to plan their personal lives, but teaching such things as picking a life partners vs. living alone, the responsibility of having children or the benefits of having none, the cost of divorce, the challenge of family life or the burden of a solitary existence.

There's also the choice of a meaningful and enjoyable career and picking a place to live that is good and pleasant, all contributing to making the difference between a life well lived or missing out big...

Why don’t we act on it? Just think about it and let’s discuss that important topic sooner than later!

Do you believe in resurrection ?

If I were to tell you that Bill Gates, tech entrepreneur and now a benefactor of humanity, died on Monday and had resurrected this morning, you would say: “Stop that nonsense, if he’s alive today, he wasn’t really dead on Monday!” 

In other words, this simply wouldn’t fly in this day and age, and someone who witnessed that incredible event would immediately be deposed, under oath as a key witness. 

I bring up that subject because Easter was just last week-end. In fact, Jesus’ resurrection were related through the Gospels, a very long time after Jesus-Christ crucifixion and death. The Gospel of Mark goes back to about 33 to 40 years after that event, Matthew and Luke around 52 to 55, and John 67 to 75 ans after the crucifixion of Christ. 

In these Me-too days, we’re chocked when harassment victims wait 20 years to chime in, here we’re talking about a much longer time-span, making the testimony so much harder to believe! 

Despite the fact that authorship of these Gospels is quite murky, none of them were written by eyewitnesses. All this to say, that a few days after Easter was celebrated, this essential event in the Christian liturgy might be all made-up. 

We sure have no proof for it but we have no proof that this unlikely miracle happened either. 

The only tangible elements we have are some delicious Easter eggs and a gregarious Easter Bunny. 

All the rest could very well be a hoax, some fake news or a sampling of early conspiracy theories.

What can be done about Overpopulation?

Those who regularly read this blog know about my extreme interest in overpopulation as it relates to pollution and global warming with all of its consequences. This, as I often say, is “the elephant in the room”. 

I’m not advocating a total annihilation of the “excess-humanity” from the planet, but first a stabilization and eventually a reduction of out planetary population, down to a sustainable level. 

In order for this to happen, the problem must first be acknowledged by our political authorities and we stand far away from this, mostly for reasons embedded in capitalistic theories and religious control. 

This said, if we keep on ignoring the situation and don’t act to correct it, mother Nature will intervene and handle it with mass-eradication of the human population. One could see some examples in Covid-19, oceanic water levels rising and any other natural catastrophes. 

Perhaps things might begin to change for the best if mankind was only paying a little more attention to what ails our natural world.

Seeking speed on skis

Recently, my blog about the “Jerry Tuck” made me think deeply about seeking and gaining speed on skis, as we are going through an unprecedented warm period in the end of our ski season.

I’ve also combined some regular testing with my daily ski outings and this is what I’d like to add as a list of key facts in order to move fast on any snow. Following are my most recent observations and conclusions: 

• Snow: Snow quality plays a huge role, from sticky slush to super-fast ice, but has the same impact on all skiers. It also includes exposure to sun, shade, etc. 
• Skis: The base and edges should be as well prepared as possible. Adding certain texture to the base will improve gliding performance on some snow. Wax is of course paramount. Longer skis glide better than short one and of course, they should be kept flat on the snow, geometric position that is often compromised by too stiff a position or a narrow stance from the legs. 
• Weight: Plays a key role and is the sum of the skiers natural weight and their equipment, including skis. Generally, its fair to say that the heavier skier moves faster. 
• Clothing: The key is to break the air in the most efficient manner and minimize air turbulence, so a speed suit will provide the best attire to attain top speeds. At the Flying Kilometer level a special helmet and lower pants with airfoil will enhance aerodynamics 
• Poles: Can play havoc with speed as they create significant levels of turbulence. A bent downhill pole should be preferred as long as traditional tucking is used. 
• Body position: Tests in wind tunnel seem to show that the traditional tuck works best and minute positioning of the hands, arms and legs have a large influence on reducing turbulence and affecting a skier’s aerodynamic resistance. To my knowledge, nothing that I’ve heard shows that the “Jerry Tuck” performs better than the current Tuck used by Alpine racers. 

That’s it; so, if I forgot anything, please let me know. So in order to be sure, and to be aerodynamically correct let’s bring it and test it at the Audi wind tunnel!

What’s religion about?

Have you ever asked yourself that question. You might or you might not. 

If asked today, you might say: “It’s about God”, to which I’d respond with no hesitation: “No, it’s about Control.” 

Since the beginning of humanity, religion has attempted to answer unexplained questions and was a convenient device to order humans around. 

At first, there were many gods involved, but as time went on, it was felt that one supreme, indisputable authority, was preferable to a smorgasbord of deities, and with the creation of hell, there was a formidable deterrent to keep humans from attempting to skirt the rules.

So religion became the ultimate control tool and since it was fueled by faith and faith was the convenient way to address any explanations and serve as proofs, it worked perfectly well until humanity began to discover, learn and educate itself. 

Today, as it is beginning to meet resistance among iconoclasts, critical thinkers and educated people, religions are starting to crumble and are losing their power of control. 

At least that’s my short take on religions and related beliefs.

Vaccinated, finally!

At the end of March my wife and I had both received both doses of the Moderna, anti-Covid vaccine. 

Now that we’re protected, we still understand there’s a small chance we might still carry the virus and contaminate others, which means that wearing a mask in public will continue to be a needed consideration. 

What we don’t know for sure is when we’ll reach herd immunity in the US and in the world, as this will have a huge impact on our ability to resume a normal life and travel abroad. 

We don’t know either how long that vaccination will be effective and if additional variants might cause it to lose its effectiveness. 

So many questions still unanswered but a smidgen of light at the end of a long tunnel!

Last ski run

That’s it, after 68 consecutive ski seasons, a ski pandemic, daily reservations and social distancing on lifts, I’m now ready to throw the towel and get rid of the boards! 

I’ve just got enough skiing, spending too much of my precious time riding lifts instead of sliding down and I’m ready now for a more efficient form of recreation, like walking on the beach, playing bocce or watching afternoon soaps on TV. 

No more season-passes to buy, skis to tune and glove to drop from the chairlift! I don’t want to anxiously stare anymore at the November skies for some elusive snow either. 

We'll sell our Park City home, our ski gear, and move to either California or perhaps Hawaii. 

We plan to buy a small cottage by the ocean, install solar panels on its roof and finally purchase a clean, electric Voltswagen to finally squash our carbon footprint. 

See you soon on the beach!