Birth certificates

The US national debt is more than 14.000 billion dollars, and the country is close to losing the AAA credit rating.

In the meantime the Republicans and the Tea-Party sheep argue about Obama's birth certificate.

These guys know how to prioritize.

By the way, I was born in Winterland. If you don't believe it, I might be willing to post my birth certificate here >:D

(I admit it: I'm a big fan of Obama, just like I was a fan of Clinton. Nice to get an oportunity to post a picture of the President on this blog. Unfortunately, I've never had the chance to take a picture of Obama, so I stole one on the Internet.)

Coltsfoot

You know that the skiing season is coming to an end when the coltsfoot flourish right by the lift.

We have been in the mountains skiing for a week now, without Internet connection. That’s why stuff has piled up on my lap top. I’m posting all of it today.

The god of skiing

Easter comes late this year, about as late as it can possibly get. The sun is warming, but the mountains are still covered by white snow.

The mountains are crowded. There are people everywhere. That’s an Easter tradition in Winterland. That’s how people spend their Easter holidays.

Some go out on long ski trips. Some just find a nice place to sit in the snow, make a camp fire, and eat lunch, with the kids and the dog and Mother-in-Law. Maybe someone even think of Jesus suffering on the cross. I doubt it. We have better Gods at hand.

The Bible hardly mentions snow at all, and there is certainly nothing about skiing. What kind of religion is that?

Today we went into the valley named after the Norse God of skiing. His name is Ull. He’s not as famous and powerful as his colleague Thor with the Hammer, but a God well suited for our needs up North, for those who insist on having one, or more.

I don’t. I just ski.

(I grabbed my camera and took the picture above when we passed by the little hill on our way into the mountains. I don't know who the people are, but they demonstrate typical Winterlandic Easter celebration out in the snow)

48 cans of Coke

Another freestyle competition for older boy today. It was slopestyle this time, which means several jumps in series, three big jumps to be precise.

He did quite well, and finished 2nd. His best run was a Misty 900 Tail followed by Switch Bio 900 and finally an Underflip.

The 2nd prize was 24 cans of Coca-Cola and a $60 check. His buddy finished 3rd. So, in total they brought 48 cans of Coke back to our cabin.

The service team (that’s me) got a couple of cans too. Good boys.

(The picture shows older boy at practise on the slopestyle course. It was shot by one of his buddies the day before the competition.)

Frozen streams

For more than ten winters I have spent most of my free time in alpine skiing resorts. That’s where my boys want to be, that’s the kind of skiing they love; alpine skiing, freestyle and powder skiing.

I enjoy it too, of course. But I also like to go cross-country skiing, and I miss that.

Little boy is 10 yo now, and old enough to survive on the slopes by himself. Today he was skiing with a buddy. For safety, I tell him to use gondolas rather than chair lifts as far as possible. The T-hook surface lifts are no problem.

My old lady and I put on our cross-country skis and headed into the quiet and peaceful backcountry. It was mild temperatures and no wind. The snow was good above timberline. We made a 15 km (10 miles) round trip, and stopped half way to eat our lunch packets.

(Late in April the frozen streams start to break up. Crossing the streams can be challenging at this time of the year. Skis make it easier, since the body weight is distributed over a larger area (giving smaller pressure on the ice, if you want to think physics). We skied pretty fast across the stream, without stopping, and didn’t get wet. I turned around and took the picture above. I have no idea who the people are.)

Downhill debut

Alpine racing is a sport for people who like to get up early in the morning. I don't, but this weekend I had to.

Little Boy was starting in his first downhill race, in the finest kids' sport event there is. Downhill races for kids are quite rare. He has been skiing slalom, giant slalom and Super-G before, but not downhill. It's the fastest of the alpine racing diciplines. It makes the parents anxious, but the kids love it.

Friday was obligatory practice on the race course. You have to do at least one practice run before the competition. That's the rule in downhill, even in the Olympics.

Saturday was race day. After the team captains meeting at 8:30am, the kids went up with the lift, to do the course inspection with the coach.

Then the participants went up to the start area, and lined up for the race. While waiting for their turn, they repeat the course in the mind. You need to memorize every turn and every hump and compression to get the perfect line.

Little Boy's service team (that's me) worked hard, waxing skis, sharpening edges, tightening boots before start, and transporting warm-up clothing down to the finish paddock.

Little Boy skied with guts and courage, and finished all his runs with no crashes and no injuries. I was probably more nervous than him.

In the mean time, Older Boy made a real "face plant" on a big jump in the terrain park. He scratched his face badly, and injured an arm. Last night I took him to the hospital to X-ray his elbow. Fortunately, nothing was broken. He's probably back on skis in a few days, and ready for the freestyle competition next weekend >:)

(The picture is from the course inspection before the race. The kids go through the course together with the team coach, to find the perfect line through every gate, and discuss how to tackle the difficult parts. Easy enough in theory, but in the race you need to do it at 80 km (50 miles) per hour.)

A penny candle, you know

The pastor from Florida burnt the Koran, and the Muslim-world exploded in riots and revolts.

It reminds me of this quote, from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev:

"A penny candle, you know, was enough to burn the whole city of Moscow."

Many people are killed, in attacks on UN officials in Afghanistan, UN officials who were there to help them rebuild the country.

Was it worth it Mr.Pastor? Probably not. Burning a book is a very stupid act. You should rather read it. Maybe you will learn something.

But there's more to it. The Muslims must learn that the right to commit blasphemy is an important part of the freedom of speech. What's sacred to you is nonsense to me. The Christians have learnt to accept this (not without pain), and the Muslims need to learn it as well.

I respect anyone's right to choose their religion, but I don't respect their Gods. None of them. Actually, I have read quite alot in the scriptures, The Bible, The Koran, The Book of Mormon.

The more I read, the less I believe >:)

(I will not burn my copy. The picture above is from the bookshelf in my office. Can you see the Koran, between math and physics books? And next to it is Pretty is as Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig)