Roland on the Weekends

An interesting facet of the Internet age is this endeavor.  The creation of a single page which soars to the task of representing an individual.  How to represent a lifetime of thoughts and emotions and actions in a few effervescent pixels.  

Perhaps I cannot convey self but can merely offer an invitation to find what you can in this web of pages.  Some shimmering reflection of who I am and what I believe.  

First and foremost I am intellect.  I am a firm believer in the merit of thought.  Always open to ideas, but always yearning to examine every thought under the harsh light of reason.  To twist and probe until I am certain rigor has gone as far as possible

Second I am spirit.  I am not a strict rationalist-- I believe deeply in absolute good and right and ever try to chart my life accordingly.  I am deeply aware of the world around me, and almost unbearably curious. 

I am a powerfully social person-- wanting close friends to sit and talk with late into the night trying out new  ideas and honing thoughts.  Yet I am deeply reclusive, preferring to live far from man and only see whom I want and when I want.

To some extent I can be defined by what I "do"--

Train animals for films-- for many years I trained animals both professionally and as my favorite hobby.  A few years ago, a friend invited us to come work our dogs in a movie, and I was hooked!  I find training for the industry to be more fun than almost any other sort of training.  In most activities, there is lots of competition and the way to win is to be very precise.  A winning obedience dog does not need to learn hundreds of behaviors.  It needs to learn a handful of behaviors and be able to perform them very precisely with little praise or assistance.  In movies however, there is more diverse challenge-- from moment to moment new behaviors are called for, handlers are hidden, strange noises and lights are everywhere.  It is VERY difficult, but very enjoyable and rewarding!

Search and Rescue-- SAR is really a great joy for me.  It brings together many of my other passions-- dog training, backpacking, technology, adrenalin, athletics, etc.  

Work-- Prior to my decision to work with animals full time, I was a manager at HP.  I managed the team responsible for SW and BIOS quality on laptops.  

Computer Graphics-- I enjoy playing with computer graphics.  Bryce, Photoshop, Premiere, etc.  I think this is a strange place where my generally underdeveloped artistic side can express itself through the skill my technical side possesses. 

My education-- Fairly eclectic.  Went to several different boarding schools, then ended up getting a classics education at St. John's in  Santa Fe.  This is a philosophy centric physics/math/language program that follows the prototypic Great Books curriculum.  I have always been something of a classicist.  Particularly in literature. 

House-- I recently purchased an amazing potential home.  It is 20 acres just beyond the fringes of nowhere.  I am surrounded by miles of woods.  We have a wide variety of animals and are embarking on the process of creating the home that we want. 

Read-- I have always read voraciously.  Classics, western and eastern philosophy, 

Backpacking-- On of my favorite forms of recreation.  I love remote adventure hikes.  Far from the beaten path.  

Martial Arts-- From my earliest childhood I have been committed to a warrior ideal and have attempted to pursue that ideal through the martial arts.  For me these arts represent a method of training body and spirit to allow an individual to control his being in the world.  The way of the warrior is devoting oneself to the pursuit of the Right; perceiving every moment as an infinite set of possibilities and ceaselessly pursuing the path that leads to a better world. The warrior sees every moment as an opportunity to improve himself and his world.  My martial path has led to many arts: Muay Thai, Kali, Aikido, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, 

Racing-- For many years I have been a speed junkie.  First I raced motocross.  Then bicycles.  Then street motorcycles, and finally cars.  Recently I have given up racing, but still love performance driving.  I am a very traditional rear-wheel drive mild over-steer driver.