It’s Cold Brew o’clock, my favorite time of day!

Another vacation is in the books. After several summers of enjoying Lake Michigan, we decided to switch things up and enjoy Michigan in the winter. We drove up north for three days of skiing.

The weather was almost perfect. We spent the first morning on the practice slopes, getting used to our skis and the feel of the equipment. It was 90 minutes of new experiences and fleeting frustration. Heavy rains filled the afternoon hours, keeping us together in the cottage and giving our minds time to process the lessons of the morning.

Benedict had a ski lesson for 2.5 hours on the morning of Day 2. I did a YouTube ski lesson, courtesy of REI, and spent the same period of time practicing my skills. After a total of about two hours on the skis between the two days, I was ready to take the lift and give the beginner courses a go.

Throughout the day, bands of lake effect flurries moved through the mountain. They created the perfect atmosphere for the winter fun outside. It was bitterly cold, but the only parts that felt it were my fingers and exposed face. Not bad for mid-February up north.

Alison and I skied a few runs together, some more successful than others. Like learning to fly, each repetition offered a chance for more practice, and to reinforce good fundamentals. I fell many times, but the more I focused on maintaining speed and suppressing panic, the better I did.

Gliding through the open forest, on a wide path of snow, was fun. Although the course designers did a poor job of keeping beginners separate from experts, getting into the super wide avenues where multiple runs converged was beautiful. Each skier and snowboarder weaved in and out of each other, at different speeds, rhythmically and melodically. If it was possible to take the scene and set it to a musical score, it would win many Grammys.

After his morning lesson, Benedict was confident and ready to play. As we rode up the training magic carpet together, he told me that skiing was now, “All fun and games!” Time after time, he’d ride to the top, ski down the slope, cut a sharp u-turn to the magic carpet and repeat. He loved to do it with his family, but he was also content to go alone. Many times I’d look at the magic carpet and see a short little boy, standing alone, waiting patiently for his next run.

Felicity had a lesson in the afternoon, and Lucy even let herself have fun. It was hours in the training park. Although the adults were skilled enough to enjoy more challenging runs or ready for a change of scenery, it was lots of fun skiing with the kids.

After dark, with the kids in bed and in the care of their grandparents, Alison and I did some night skiing. The thrill seekers were all racing down the difficult trails, leaving Alison and I alone to enjoy the quiet beginner trails.

It was bitterly cold, so Alison and I enjoyed a few minutes warming up by an outdoor fire before heading back to the cottage.

The time went by fast, but we made good use of it. We spent most of Day 2 in our ski boots, practicing and playing in the snow.

I always aspire to spend more time outside, but it’s easier to reach that aspiration when there’s an activity to engage me. Although winter lends itself to spending days indoors enjoying the warmth of our homes, it’s good to get outside and play, too.

Putin Orders Deployment of Troops to Breakaway Regions in Ukraine - WSJ

The White House said President Biden will issue an executive order that “will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons’’ in those areas.

Wow, such response! So amaze!

This will stem the trillions of dollars that US citizens are pouring into investments in these occupied territories. Putin invades and occupies a sovereign nation and it costs him nothing, again.

I hate Amazon.

The Super Bowl of Sin Taxes - WSJ Opinion

We are legalizing marijuana just as opioid addiction and overdoses from “recreational” fentanyl skyrocket. The phenomenon of gambling addiction is well established, and since sports betting is often a repetitive, screen-based activity, the dopamine hook surely will kick in for some percentage of sports bettors just as TikTok has pulled many adolescent girls into its can’t-stop video world, as described recently in this newspaper.

As Covid-19 Cases Wane, U.K. to Lift Remaining Curbs - WSJ

After that, it will no longer recommend that people infected with the virus stay home, telling them instead to “exercise personal responsibility” much as one would in the case of the flu

24 months to reach the conclusion that people are adults and can make their own decisions?

Russia Alleges Ukrainian Incursion; Kyiv Says Moscow Makes Up Fake Incidents - WSJ

Russia’s military said it destroyed two Ukrainian armored vehicles and killed five Ukrainian personnel inside Russian territory Monday, but offered no evidence of the alleged incursion

I just saw on RT that Ukraine killed Tupac and shot down JFK Jr.

Inside Facebook’s $10 Billion Breakup With Advertisers - WSJ

Facebook has built its empire on the ability to acquire intimate details about user behavior across the internet

Gross.

U.S. To Invade Canada To Establish A Democracy - The Babylon Bee

“We can’t let this evil, religious zealot Trudeau oppress his people any longer. It’s time to let freedom ring.”

How Government Spending Fuels Inflation - WSJ Opinion

Inflation is where “dreams of costless fiscal expansion, flooding the country with borrowed money to address every perceived problem, hit a hard brick wall of reality.”

Fed Officials Lean Against Expectations of Half-Point Increase in March - WSJ

“There’s really no kind of compelling argument that you have to be faster right in the beginning” with rate increases, Mr. Williams told reporters on Friday.

Just the fastest rate in 40 years and the Fed spending the last three quarters making it worse.

Mr. Williams and several of his colleagues in recent days have suggested the Fed could raise rates in more measured, quarter-point increments unless inflation doesn’t diminish later this year as forecasters expect.

So let’s all just wait another 9 months and see what happens!

Some Apple Store Employees in U.S. Reportedly Working to Unionize - MacRumors

A key concern among Apple retail employees looking to unionize is that wages have not kept up with the rate of inflation.

Ever heard of a wage-price spiral? Or quitting or getting a better paying job? You do know that unions charge dues, right?

The report claims that Apple recently gave raises to some of its retail employees, but due to rising inflation, some of the employees said they are effectively making less money than when they were first hired.

Well, that’s what happens when you vote for president based on the candidates’ Twitter history.

Frackers Hold Back Production as Oil Nears $100 a Barrel - WSJ

The companies said they collected record amounts of extra cash by hanging on to the money they earn selling oil and natural gas and reinvesting only what they needed to keep output roughly flat. All three said they would continue to limit production growth this year.

I wonder why the leadership in this boom-and-bust industry are sitting on the sidelines during this boom?

Those dynamics have alarmed the White House, which has asked U.S. producers to drill more as it confronts soaring gasoline prices and broad inflation.

See, now I’m just confused. Didn’t the Administration cancel Keystone XL and nominate a Fed Governor who said we should stop providing capital to oil and gas and pass massive new subsidies for green energy and…

If your coffee place is called the Bru Bar, and it doesn’t have heavy whipping cream or half and half, you don’t really have a coffee place.

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Man Donates To Truck Convoy Under Name ‘Hunter Biden’ So Washington Post Won’t Dox Him - The Babylon Bee

According to experts, pretending to be Hunter Biden is the most effective way to make sure Big Tech pulls out all the stops to protect your privacy. If anyone tries to share leaked information about someone named “Hunter Biden” The Washington Post will squash the story and work with Big Tech to ensure anyone who shares non-public information about that person is permanently suspended from their platform.

Shelling Escalates Along Front Line Separating Ukraine and Pro-Russia Separatists - WSJ

Viktor Pris, a representative of the Donetsk people’s republic, said on Telegram messenger that “the situation on the line of contact has sharply escalated,” with more shelling than had been recorded since April 2021. “The enemy is making attempts to unleash active hostilities,” he said.

Yup, now that Russia has massed 150k troops on all four sides of Ukraine, after eight years of low-intensity conflict, Kyiv has chosen this moment to attack.

Mortgage Rates Close In on 4%, Making Home Affordability Tougher - WSJ

Higher rates, coupled with continued growth in prices, are pushing some would-be home buyers to the sidelines.

No mention of how higher prices balances supply and demand and stabilizes the market. Just another woe is me story.

Maybe purchasing a six-figure asset should be harder than buying groceries at Walmart. The stability of the economy, as well as families, depends on the ability to fulfill mortgage obligations on a monthly basis over the long term.

What’s worse, not being able to buy a house, or buying a house and losing everything in foreclosure?

Snowy afternoon on the mountain.

View from the summit. Overcast and flurries in the vicinity.