PLEASE COMMUNICATE AND MAKE ALL REQUESTS THROUGH BEWELCOME.ORG. AT THIS TIME I DO NOT RESPOND TO COMMUNICATIONS OR REQUESTS MADE DIRECTLY THROUGH COUCH$URFING.COM.

My BeWelcome.org profile is at: http://www.bewelcome.org/members/boblee You will need to create a new profile there if you do not already have one. You can just put a link to your Couch$urfing profile at BeWelcome if you don't have time to fill it out completely right now.

I feel that BeWelcome.org can become what Couch$urfing.org once was. It is non-profit, democratic, transparent and ethical. Its interface is simple and fully functional. It only needs more users.

Couch$urfing.org fails to acknowledge that their real capital is the goodwill of users, not the 22.6 million dollar$ of venture capital that they have now accepted. They've tran$mogrified into an opaque, dy$functional and deviou$ commercial entity. I'm about done with them.

ABOUT ME

September 20, 2014 - I just got back home after nine months living at a hospice in Kiel, Germany with my best friend, Sonja Schmelter:

https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/strandbad

Sonja died very peacefully August 30th after a year long illness with brain cancer. Though this may sound odd, the past nine months were the happiest time of my life. Being with Sonja at the end of her life was a unique privilege. She never lost her twisted sense of humor and remained a sweetheart to the end. The world is a better place because Sonja was here.

My guest photos and reviews explain what goes on here better than anything I could say.

PHILOSOPHY

"We are here to help each other get through this, whatever it is." - Kurt Vonnegut

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

"People aren't always rational. Sometimes that's OK. Sometimes it's not. Be judgmental enough to notice the difference." - Me

If you are a "spiritual seeker", dogmatically religious, a political "conservative", a defender of our president (the only Nobel laureate who maintains a kill list), a fan of Ayn Rand or a follower of the Dalai Lama, I will probably make fun of you.

To all: I don't respect your beliefs. I subscribe to Nietzsche's definition of faith: "Faith is not wanting to know what is true". Faith distinguishes only that which is emotionally fulfilling, with a disregard for that which is true. I'm a big fan of reality even though it can be a bit discomforting. I define reality as that which continues to exist when no one believes in it any longer.

Emotionally comforting "spiritual" notions inevitably inhibit intellectual inquiry and devalue the precious, precarious, finite, complex, beautiful, organic nature of life.

The universe was not created for us and clearly does not acknowledge human values. Be helpful. Be nice. Share what you have. Keep it simple. Tread lightly on the earth. Hasa Diga Eebowai!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I live in a true paradise and have little desire to travel so Couch$urfers bring another part of the world to me.

I think my brain may be wired differently than most Couch$urfers. I'm much more interested in people than places.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've mostly only hosted. My experience so far has been quite positive - despite having to ask only five people to leave (out of over 2,000 in the past five years). That may be partly because I am selective about who I host. If I don't want to host you, I might even tell you why. Paradoxically, I've made some very good friends doing that.

Interests

Motorcycles - Motorcycles are the greatest dangerous toys ever! -Flying very close to the ground. Check out photos of an Island ride on my '06 Suzuki SV650 or my '08 Kawasaki KLR650 at the top of Mauna Kea. I presently have an '06 Suzuki DL650 Vstrom, a 2009 Suzuki DR650 and a Velosolex. I have a weakness for CraigsList bargains and have gone through about a dozen bikes in the last 5 years.

I like cheap efficient cars, small volume manufacturing, vector graphic art, energy and resource efficiency.

• arts
• running
• flying
• motorcycles
• traveling
• cars
• communications
• military science

Music, Movies, and Books

My musical tastes run all over the map: tUnE-yArDs, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Pixies, That 1 Guy, Beirut, Die Antwoord, Reggie Watts, The Book of Mormon (the Broadway musical version), Regina Spektor, Weezer, Violent Femmes, Butthole Surfers, Dodos, John Butler Trio, Ween, Phoenix, Bebe, Brazilian Girls, Emeline Michel, Cake, Gorillas, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Aterciopelados, Gotan Project, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Bloodhound Gang, Minutemen, Sublime, Morphine, Spoon, Wilco, Fiery Furnaces, Orchestra Baobob, Jet, X, Exene Cervenka etc.... You'll know the party's over when I put on the Shaggs (I have the original vinyl)

Movies: Shock Doctrine, Surviving Progress, Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Team America - World Police, Inside Job, FUBAR, Religulous, Idiocracy, Bra Boys, I Like Killing Flies, Gonzo, Pink Flamingos, Being John Malkovitch, Grey Gardens, Salesman, Downfall, Jesus Camp, The God Who Wasn't There, Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, Walk Hard, Dogtooth, Bill Cunningham New York, Exit Through The Gift Shop, My Best Fiend

I just finished reading A Gathering of Saints by Robert Lindsey. I'd highly recommend it. It is insightful on many levels.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I discovered that my great-grandfather murdered several people for the Mormon church - part of an infamous 1857 Mormon attack on non-Mormon settlers known as The Mountain Meadows Massacre. (Do you still want to sleep here? hahaha) His name is Nephi Johnson. But you are perfectly safe. I'm proud to say that I was excommunicated from the Mormon Church. Quite a story. In that regard, my home is a gay friendly area. Mormons or others who choose to discriminate against gays or are not comfortable around them are not welcome here.

Also, I unknowingly helped fund the enemy while a soldier in Vietnam. Just following orders...

Teach, Learn, Share

A printer is but one peripheral you could have attached to your computer. Set up a cheap CNC laser-cutter, milling machine, lathe, plasma cutter or whatever and start making things. I'd be happy to share what I've learned running a small CNC milling machine.

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