Welcome to Petyr's Website!

Welcome to PetyrRolls

PetyrRolls is intended to be a platform for a variety of subjects of interest to me and with which I occupy my retirement years. I hope they will be of interest to you too regardless of your age. In my opinion, retirement is an opportunity to do things of importance to humanity and the environment that the confines of employment do not allow. Hopefully the areas of expertise that I did develop to become an employable individual can be used for more altruistic objectives.

An Interdisciplinary Journey

As a basic and applied research chemist specializing in electrochemistry (Batteries, Fuel Cells, etc.), I needed to master many aspects of engineering, materials science, physics and mathematics and have expanded intimate knowledge to fields not necessarily of obvious relationship to being a chemist. I am a firm believer that a basic understanding of physics, chemistry and mathematics are the fundamental tools to understand Geology, Hydrology, Computer Science, Biology, Ecology and even fields of Logistic, Economics and Finance. This does not make me, nor do I claim to be an expert, in these areas, but it does allow me to, at minimum, apply the “sniff test” – If is smells like shit it probably is shit. More often it allows me to understand the basics enough to see the linkages between various fields and use that to conceive new endeavors.

On a more practical level, I have always tried to master various technical skills from simple framing carpentry, home plumbing and sewing, to more complex skills like welding, machine shop practice and circuit design and fabrication. Rebuilding an automotive engine is an experience every one should attempt. Most of the time you just have to become competent in these skills so as to determine if some other guy is capable of do the same job. Competence is a fundamental skill of leadership.

Like most young men, I was indoctrinated into the cult of physical fitness as the measure of male worth. Unfortunately, I was born a stereotypical 95 lb. weakling who could not catch a ball tossed from more than a few feet. Never-the-less, I began running in the 8th grade (1968) and continued to do so for the 5 years that I played third-string football in junior and senior high school. Why you ask? I don’t know exactly, but I do plan to write about that subject in an effort to explore why I continue, even into my 70’s, to get daily exercise to the very best of my failing abilities

Who am I?

That is the key question to be explored. On July 10th 1994, I screwed up a A4 rock climb and broke my back at the T11 spinal joint. Even before I had yet to set cheek in wheelchair, we were imagining how a paraplegic might climb Mt. Rainier. And eventually after 6 grueling years of utilizing all the intellectual, technical and physical skills described above we summited Mt. Rainier on Jun 18th 2000 – and I became the only non-ambulatory person to climb Rainier using only arm power. And that record holds today more than 25 years later.

It is unfortunately a narrow view by which most people define who I am. It is not my entire existence nor even my most important achievement. In these pages, I will define more closely what drives me and what I consider important. Even into my retirement years, I cannot rest upon my laurels. To me, every accomplishment is old news. Not having a plan, not having a goal, not having an adventure is not an option. Much of this content will describe my many projects and activities.

Petyr Rieke, July 2025

“All he has to do is read a book and he can do anything!” – My father praising a new co-worker at dinner (age 11)

More Information

I keep some info on GitHub. I also have Linked-In and Facebook pages but these are not useful social media primarily because they are useful for short format comments or statements but totally irrelevant for recording my actual thinking. You might find I announce an update to this website on Facebook. If you want to collaborate with me on some subject matter, you can contact me via email.