Who am I? I’m Roger Reini, a man who’s spent some 50-odd years on this Earth, mostly in Texas (where I grew up) and Michigan (where I currently live).
Where I grew up: League City, Texas — not far from NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Where I live: Westland, Michigan — a city named for a shopping mall
THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
The Bahá’í Faith has been an important part of my life since mid-1993, when I first began to study it. I’ve been a Bahá’í since March 1994. There are many things that attracted me to the Faith. For one thing, it makes so much sense. It speaks so eloquently to the needs of today. For another… well, perhaps you should read about it yourself. After all, independent investigation of the truth is a key principle of the Faith. Feel free to check out the links listed elsewhere on this page. Be sure to look at my pilgrimage journal as well; I visited the Holy Land in December 2007 and prayed at the sacred Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb.
MUSIC
I took piano lessons when I was young, but my main musical instrument, and my true love, is the guitar. I started playing in 1976, right around the time I discovered the group that Paul McCartney belonged to before Wings, a somewhat obscure group from Liverpool known as the Beatles 🙂 . I have several guitars — an acoustic 12-string, an acoustic bass, a Les Paul Jr. clone (the first electric guitar I ever owned, a birthday present from Mom & Dad) — but the guitars I like the most are my Rickenbackers.
Some of my musical interests:
- The Beatles (check out the rec.music.beatles orrec.music.beatles.moderated newsgroups)
- The Byrds (check out the alt.music.byrds newsgroup and a real cool Byrds home page
- The British Invasion in general
- Classic Rock in general
- The Bangles (check out their website, their discussion forum, and their album Doll Revolution)
- Modern rock that’s been influenced by all of the above
OTHER ENTERTAINMENT INTERESTS
I’ve been an admirer of Tracey Ullman and her work for many years — since March 24, 1984, to be exact. To see why, take a look at my site TTO: Totally Tracey Online.
I also enjoy The Simpsons (which spun out of The Tracey Ullman Show) and Star Trek in all its forms, as well as Doctor Who and its spinoffs (Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures).
SPORTS
I follow the Detroit teams and the Houston teams, naturally. I am a fan of football, baseball, hockey, and to a lesser extent soccer and cricket.
AMATEUR RADIO
I have been licensed as a radio amateur since January 2006 (my callsign is KD8CSE) and am a member of the Ford Amateur Radio League. Here’s the start of my page devoted to my radio activities.
CYCLING
I had ridden bikes during my childhood and throughout college but stopped as soon as I got my car. I got back into it in 2006. I now have one regular bike, one recumbent bike and one recumbent trike. Here’s the start of my page devoted to my cycling activities.
ABUSE OF COPYRIGHT
I recently came across an article that chilled me. It commented on the ever-extending durations of copyrights and on how this is leading to some very ominous trends regarding creativity, free expression and the control of content. I’ll be composing my own thoughts on the subject and posting them here soon.
TRAVEL
I’ve done a bit of traveling in my life — 47 of the 50 states, plus Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Finland, Uganda, the Bahamas and Israel. I’ve posted some travelogues and pictures from my journeys on the Travel page.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG
Here’s a page on my memories of League City when I was a young boy. How the area has grown since then!
SPACE
I’ve had an interest in the space program from my youngest days. No doubt, it was fueled by my father’s working for NASA for over 30 years until his death. He helped put man on the moon, and that’s something I’m very proud of.
ALUMNI
If you knew me in high school (Clear Creek H.S. in League City), you can read my profiles on some of the sites dedicated to bringing together former classmates — they’re listed on the left. If you didn’t know me, you can still read my profiles! Or better yet, check this page dedicated to the CCHS class of 1981.