What Is John Lutz THINKING?!?

NOT DIRECTIONS TO CPR! The Rescue After 3 hours on the road, I was probably a bit dazed. Not to mention, there weren’t any traffic lights or intersections on the open road. I guess I can’t blame Zak for getting nervous. “What are you DOING?!? Either stop or GO MAN! GO! DRIVE!” “What? Oh, CRAP!” As I find the accelerator, and weave past the oncoming car, I realize that in front of a city bus, in the middle of a 4 lane intersection is definitively NOT the time to hesitate. I also realize I don’t like being told how to drive “Man, there were feet to spare. I don’t want to wreck my ride either Bro!” That’s how I defend my ego against bad driving. At least from having to admit it. Living in the mountains, it seems counterintuitive that we’d be travelling toward a city for our climb. I suppose people in the city appreciate natural beauty too, and you can’t relocate nature’s wonders! Now that we’re in the neighborhood, it’s time to find a place to rest our heads. Eve...

What is family? There’s a number of definitions in Merriam-Webster. Without needing to define it, family is something that can often be felt, or seen, even experienced. So I am led to wonder, what, or who is my family? I can clearly define a short answer, as I wake in my home daily to the warm hearts and smiles of my wife and daughters. Does it extend beyond that? Certainly, by blood, I am related to everyone around me. Genealogically we are all approximately 50 th cousins. Should a closer blood relation yield more connectedness? Is that reason enough to care, look out, or otherwise work for another person? Should family be built on ideology alone? It is said to be a good thing to surround yourself with ‘like-minded people.’ At what point does this become a Dogmatic lullaby? So too is it said to challenge oneself by getting outside of your comfort zone, or thinking outside the box. Some follow this path only to end up wandering alone in far reaches. As I ponder th...

Life in a ski town / Death of Winter  I live in a land of paradoxes. It is a land of high alpine semi-arid wetlands. The population here is equally extreme. Hyper athletes who are ultra-lazy at times. Parents at my child’s preschool/after school program just got the third reminder: Don’t park in the crosswalk. They are going to start ticketing (because the extra 20’ walk is a pain). These are folks who will only do the hardest work, for the least pay. Others do almost no work, for 6-7 figures. A photo from January, after last year's season was also delayed. (Carl Marcus) I wake this morning to the coldest day of ‘winter’ so far. Low single digits, nearly zero degrees (F) down by the river. This is the result of our last weather system. A wind front, followed by flurries and cold. This too is our problem, and surely someone else’s fault. This year we blame a baby girl. La ni ñ a spells warmer, and (usually) dryer weather for our part of the world. Indeed, in the de...

Slow - Carb Diet (SCD) My Birthday is December 1. I am not sure if I am navigating through a life-crisis, or if this is just… life. They told me I was an ‘adult’ when I turned 18. I was not. What does this have to do with nutrition? I guess I never thought much about it, I just went along even if I was eating processed frozen or deep fried crap.   What I do know: I had lived 37 years of life without giving a second thought to what I put into my body regarding food, alcohol, quantity or quality. I maintained reasonably good health, have always been active and was not overweight. I must give credit to Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) for rocking my boat. I had just come across the first chapters of 4-hour body. I was intrigued by the concepts: Small changes for big results. Even I could make small changes. Minimum Effective Dose. Why would I do more than needed? As I mentioned here I took to ‘Alternative Training’ methods in hopes of getting a personal best time in a r...

THE MOUNTAIN                 Waking early is a Mountaineer's friend in General. Just not this mountaineer. 7 AM is considered early enough for this trip. The skies are clear and dry for the fall season, and exploration and discovery are the goals of the day. For years I've lived in the shadow of these mountains, and though I've been to the top of a few, certainly no substantial number. The peaks of Colorado are numerous, many are well over thirteen thousand feet above sea level. Many are not, though the mountains that steal the limelight are always the '14ers,' or, peaks taller than 14,000 ft. above sea level.      No such peak is on today's list. There are 14ers nearby, I've even climbed a couple. There's also many more difficult peaks lost in the shadows below their summits. This day will start with a quick bite at home, some pre-hydration, and a bit of smoke. Geared up in long underwear under short clothes...