CURRENT MISSION

Demonstrate that Karma is real.

ABOUT ME

I usually describe myself by listing the things I do for fun - rockclimbing, motorcycling (BMW & Yamaha sportbikes), bicycling (road and mountain), adventure racing, paragliding, swimming, juggling, wilderness backpacking on foot or snowshoes - and helping (and teaching, in some cases) other folks to enjoy these same things.

So I guess that might summarize as "very active/outdoorsy".

I can also be pretty artsy: I used to sing and play guitar at open mic nights at the local cafes, even though I suck. I mostly sing my own sad songs, all written during "hard times" (songwriting as therapy, you know). I play a little piano and drums (we have both in our living room, traveling musicians please come and jam) - but I am especially bad at these instruments. On the other hand, I'm a pretty good juggler! Bring your clubs, torches, machetes - I love passing clubs and there are nice parks nearby for such frivolity.

I also really enjoy photography, preferably adventure-travel, and the more adventurous the better! Portraits are my favorite challenge. But landscape, macro-nature, architecture/city-scapes also get me pretty excited!

On the socio-political side: I believe VERY strongly that gays should have exactly the same rights and privileges as straights, though I am straight myself. I believe marijuana should be legalized and carefully controlled, though I do not smoke it myself, and surely never will (for one thing, I HATE THE SMELL! HINT HINT! I also hate the smell of cigarettes - visitors must smoke outside and away from any open windows).

I also believe very strongly in individual responsibility, so I have a hard time with easily-abused social welfare programs. So you might say I'm very liberal, by most American standards. But I'm also very critical of "liberals" who would make life too "easy" for lazy or selfish people. Yeah, something like that.

And yeah, I work too. To earn money to fund the fun stuff, I'm co-founder of a small mobile software company. We build a product for remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and asset tracking. www.valarm.net - I also do some software development "freelance" work to earn extra cash when necessary.

PHILOSOPHY

"What goes around, comes around." --Proverb (Karma!)

Travel is fatal to bigotry.
-- Mark Twain

Live like you will die tomorrow. Learn like you will live forever. (frequently attributed to Gandhi)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I participate by hosting as much as I can. Isn't that the idea? During the summer and other holiday times, our apartment can fill up with fun travelers. Of course I also enjoy travel and couchsurfing myself!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosted quite a LOT through both CS and the old Hospitality Club, and enjoyed it thoroughly. So far I've surfed several times, and those few experiences were absolutely incredible.

You can see I have 7 "neutral" references. Click the 'neutral' button to read them: they are all from wayyyy back before CS did a major database revamp and temporarily ditched all positive/negative ratings. In fact they are all positively positive. :-)

Interests

Rock climbing, motorcycling, photography, paragliding, hiking, mountaineering & backpacking, triathlon, juggling, adventure racing, cooking, cycling, running, mountain biking, snorkeling and diving, fitness swimming, guitar, piano, books, movies... and eventually kitesurfing?

• books
• singing
• photography
• cooking
• fitness
• triathlon
• running
• clubbing
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• juggling
• guitar
• piano
• drums
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• mountaineering
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• rock climbing
• paragliding
• swimming
• communications
• software
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:Carl Sagan, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, Scott Adams.
Music: Sarah McLachlan, Jack Johnson, The Eels, Sting, REM, Peter Gabriel, U2, Linkin Park, Five for Fighting, Coldplay, Vienna Teng, OK GO, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies...
Movies: Indiana Jones! Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Love Actually, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Witnessing the birth of my son tops everything, ever. I enjoy travelling to Utah to visit him - but I wish he lived here. :-( Now I have started a second family and have a baby daughter, and the adventure continues!

Teach, Learn, Share

If I have time, I'll take you for a ride up the Pacific Coast Highway (also known as California Highway 1) on my motorcycle - or the twisty and beautiful Mulholland Hwy if you're feeling brave. I can also take you rockclimbing (I go almost every weekend), camping, hiking, backpacking or mountaineering, in the Sierra Nevadas, Joshua Tree, or other more nearby mountains like the Santa Monicas or San Gabriels. I can teach you to swim an efficient freestyle stroke like a triathlete. And I can teach almost ANYONE how to juggle. Seriously. Juggling is the greatest.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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