CURRENT MISSION

Survive

ABOUT ME

I am a person who is positive about every aspect of life. There are many things I like to do, to see, and to experience. I like to read, I like to write; I like to think, I like to dream; I like to talk, I like to listen. I like to see the sunrise in the morning, I like to see the moonlight at night; I like to feel the music flowing on my face, I like to smell the wind coming from the ocean. I like to look at the clouds in the sky with a blank mind, I like to do thought experiment when I cannot sleep in the middle of the night. I like flowers in spring, rain in summer, leaves in autumn, and snow in winter. I like to sleep early, I like to get up late; I like to be alone, I like to be surrounded by people. I like country’s peace, I like metropolis’ noise; I like the beautiful west lake in Hangzhou, I like the flat cornfield in Champaign. I like delicious food and comfortable shoes; I like good books and romantic movies. I like the land and the nature, I like people. And, I like to laugh.

Interests

I don’t know if this will interest anyone, but I’m trying to understand how many things interest me. So I’ve made a list, partly for fun, partly to help me understand, and, perhaps, focus in on some subjects a little better as time passes.

The list is quite long, but not exhaustive, and will probably grow over time as other things spring to mind. Indeed, I’ve just thought of a few things I’ve missed!

My knowledge of the subjects listed ranges from a little to quite a lot, and tends to reflect the topics which are the flavour of a particular moment.

It’s in alphabetical order, not in any order of priority. Regular readers of Italy Chronicles will recognise some of the subjects, others might come as a surprise, or not.

Advertising – methods and systems, and efficiency

Animals and wildlife

Art – contemporary art and artists – I like discovering interesting Italian artists

Boats – all sorts, but especially hi-tech, high-speed ones – more on this lower down the list

Business – strategy, development

Cars, Eco friendly engines, electric power, bio fuels, European, Asian, and American (I like muscle cars)

Coffee machines – Italian espresso makers, especially the coffee bar versions

Cooking

Culture – what it is, how it differs and evolves

Current affairs – news, views, and happenings in Italy and elsewhere

Design – combining function and form – why I like guitars, cars, motorbikes, tools, knives & guns

Economics

Environment – maintaining and enhancing it

Firearms – always found them fascinating. Don’t really know why.

Films and entertainment – Science fiction is my favourite genre

Food and drink – discovering new flavours, and nutrition

Guitars – had a couple,– love the sound, and the form, though. Want an electro-acoustic Ovation model – one day.

High speed surface water travel

High speed below surface marine travel, using, for example, supercavitation technology, like the DARPA Underwater Express.

History – modern history, but not only

Intelligence – how we develop it, why some people are more intelligent than others, different types of intelligence, artificial intelligence

Internet, and related technology, css, php, web design

Italy – anything and everything!

Journalism, including press freedom, citizen journalism

Language – how we learn them, develop our skills, how to accelerate learning, grammar

Law, and legal systems (civil v common law), legal terminology

Legends – and their origins

Marketing – web and traditional methods. Tourism and travel promotion via the internet

Media and communications – differences between cultures, new techniques, especially use of www

Mobile phones – technology, functions, operating systems

Motorbikes

Motor and motorbike racing – especially motorbike racing

Mountain biking, cycling, and bikes

Music – many genres, including classical, rock, blues, acid jazz and some pop

Non-lethal weapons – I like the idea of being able to disable someone without killing him/her

Paranormal events – ghosts

Photography, cameras, lenses, off-camera flash (I’m a novice at this) and photo editing

Politics – political systems – particularly new ones!

Psychology – what it is, and how it effects out lives, and use of the www

Real estate & architecture

Renewable energy – particularly solar energy, biomass & wave/ocean power generation systems

Science – just about everything, much of which is mixed in with this list

Shooting – bows and arrows, crossbows, pistols, rifles, pea shooters, rail guns

Space, space travel, and UFOs

Technology – web technology, computers, operating systems, applications

Television – how it is used, how it can be used

Tools – love ‘em (weird, I know!) – drills, spanners, saws, screwdrivers, soldering gear

Travel – being in other places, not getting there!

Video games and gaming platforms – Wii, Playstation

Walking – in the country or mountains up hills, but not down them!

Wine – particularly Italian wines and prosecco!

Writing – techniques, writing for the web, trying to improve my own writing skills, and how to teach others to write

That’s it for now.

• animals
• wildlife
• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• architecture
• design
• contemporary art
• photography
• beauty
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• coffee
• modeling
• walking
• drinking
• flowers
• politics
• technology
• news
• movies
• video games
• traveling
• cars
• music
• jazz
• blues
• cycling
• hunting
• swimming
• business
• communications
• economics
• history
• journalism
• law
• psychology
• science
• tourism
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam under the underwater grotto in the Amalfi coast, Italy.
It was the most beautiful and challenging thing I have ever done! The Amalfi coast was created after the big explosion of the volcano Vesuvius. This created incredible landscapes, left rocks in the water, grottos, and cliffs. Locals showed me a great beautiful place, it was a rock huge tall Avatar-alike (but not in the air) rock. Brave ones can swim 5 meters deep down the rock to find a small grotto. Then you need to swim inside the black grotto and swim out in the other side of the rock! It was scary, but being under water and seeing this beauty I instantly stopped worrying about everything. Was a great feeling to be in the other side of the rock, still alive!

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Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Estonia, Germany