** INDEX OF PHILOSOPHIES **

This is the 30 January 2005 edition of this page.



I deal, here, with the philosophies of
(Take the individual 'links' to get there quickly!)


** PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE **



My self-derived philosophy and practices for LIFE are summed up by one word - "SOLOISM". I deal more fully with this in the soloism link. It is a very POSITIVE method of being a 'loner'. It avoids all the hassles of partnerships - replacing them by mini-partnerships (i.e. those covering only ONE interest).

As the contents of this web give a clue, - my interests are many and varied. Such a wide variety is hampered by partners without this breadth!! They may have their own breadth of interests - which doesn't cover my portfolio!! Thus I tend to meet many people in EACH of these interests - but the friends so found will be CLOSE over ONLY THAT interest and possibly one or two others at the most.

If you KNOW me, it is abundantly obvious that I'm a FULL-TIME HOBBYIST and a very enthusiastic games-player. All sorts of games are involved, as the SOLOISM link will show you!! Yes, I've always been a "Kid at Heart"! However, I'm a KID with a difference. Like the KID I WAS. This means Games with Strategy, Resource Management and planning!! My time is spent multi-tasking, myself- i.e I'm always doing several things at once. Great fun, - some things are hobbies, some necessary pre-visit tasks, cooking, or any one of the myriad of activities on the soloism page (see above)!! There will ALWAYS be at least two items 'on the go', sometimes four or five - but the higher the number, the more involved will be the 'alarm system'!

A marvellous link was sent to me by one of my readers -and it contains MORE board-games (etc) than I've ever imagined. It is to Paul Richard's impressive site at:-
Paul's list


Whilst, as you can gather, I like getting out to explore or investigate places and/or things - but it doesn't have to be OUT. Whilst some other people HAVE to get OUT when it is hot and sunny, - that prospect has appalled me for years, - apart from my dislike of high temperatures! I often spend long periods doing 'virtual travels', - i.e watching TRAVEL or NATURE documentaries on TV or Video. That brings immense satisfaction to me!

Why not be comfortable and "do what one wants" ALL the time? So I choose the, sometimes, cooler indoor environments and partake of my many hobbies and interests there. Whilst others may prefer to queue in petrol and diesel-laden atmospheres, just to have 'got out', in the crowded roads and events with large crowds and temperatures - I very definitely PREFER the exact opposite! I know what I prefer - even if it is 'virtual travel' on the computer or TV or Video!

** PHILOSOPHY OF TRAVEL **

Whilst I have travelled many places in the past 50 years (including the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Translantic, the Arctic and even Africa, Australia and the ANTARCTIC!), my thoughts and feelings are most closely aligned to the cooler climates and less-populated parts of our planet - especially those areas not covered, personally, before.

Unfortunately, for cooler weather & less population, the destinations normally turn out more expensive. However, for ANY destination, it is possible to modify a standard 'package' - taking time-off from included or optional excursions to 'do one's own thing'.

One has less time available than if one motored from home - but at ginornously less cost!! An unknown, or possible future, destination can be sampled cheaply in this way. Such sampled spots may lead to full-scale explorations later, --- and some may be written-off as "not-one's-cup-of-tea". One is able to investigate the "hype" about places in this way at minimal expense.

I have personally selected, and rejected, future destinations by this means; - and continue to do so. The 1997 revisit to Iceland, specifically as a walking-tour as opposed to the factfinding overall visit of 1994 (essentially by 4WD Coach), was a prime example of this philosophy working in practice!!

My IDEAL place is a small self-catering place where one is ALONE, can ensure one's own temperatures are set, - and can come and go as one pleases (just like home!!).
Furthermore, the analogy of HOME goes further, now, than it used to!! In earlier years and decades, for instance, whilst 'on holiday', I wanted to be AWAY from radio, television, newspapers etc.. I think differently now. My LOVE of information (with or without technology) means that I welcome these media whilst 'on tour'. All sorts of INFORMATION come into my senses whilst away from home, nowadays. Such information is NOT ONLY about travel - but covers all aspects of my soloism interests.

Although, I've been going to a few hot places, e.g Russia, Italy, Egypt, Cyprus and Australia - I HAVE been keeping to the cooled conditions of hotel-rooms with maximum air-conditionner settings. So I have been cheating by taking a MINIMUM of exposure and heat-suffering consistent with ENJOYMENT as per the original philosophy. In Cyprus, the weather was very hot even in January and February - but the bad news is that in the 'nominal winter' some hotels don't permit air-conditionning even by individual room-adjustments. That can be TOO HOT for some of us 'Brits' - so one has to solve the problems as best as one can!!

People often ask me "Who do you travel with, Roy?"

Well, it isn't with JUST one Company, for sure! It covers a whole range of Companies and their contractors. Those that I've travelled MOST with over the years are Leger, Cosmos ,Travelscene (1984), SAGA, Farthings (now out-of-business!), NSR (Norwegian State Railways), ITB (Icelandic Tourist Board) and, my favourite, "Arctic Experience".

Arctic Experience Icon.




As for People to travel with, well - I work on the principle of having the smallest number consistent with SAFETY. Too many .. and then the benefits of soloism get lost!! One special problem is finding people who are prepared for the cooler temperatures around the World - and not expect Lapland to be as hot as their centrally heated home!! Even the Arctic parts of Northern Europe are not exempt from Global Warming - and I find that air-conditionners are required for cooling purposes. That is not to everyone's taste!!

It was because of my dis-satisfaction with the HIGH TEMPERATURES in the Arctic,(especially ALASKA!) that I made the decision, in 2002, five or more years after my inital thoughts, of 'covering' the Antarctic.

Another problem, recently encountered with the 'modified packages', especially when there is a large proportion of American or Australian women - is that of their serious addictions as 'shopaholics' - and, when the courier pays undue attention to their wallet-powers, this can render the 'stops' as severe 'pains' to the rest of us. We suspect that the couriers bonus, or whatever, could be the reason why this happens!!

TRAVEL as a SAFE/UNSAFE ACTIVITY

I love life and hate the lack of Safety! There is NO REASON to go looking for excitement in unsafe places with this philosophy.
Having said that I have been found (in retrospect) to have been in "less than ideal" environments. These have been discovered AFTER the event in each case. Finding "new information" is an excitement in its own right - one doesn't HAVE to put one's self at risk for the cause of excitement!!

Places that, in retrospect, had been somewhat dangerous include:-
( Links to the events will appear later.)
   For Physical Danger:

	Birmingham(England) in the 1960's
	Marseilles (France) in the 1970's
	Whistler Mountain 1995  ('Dodgy cable-car')
	Egypt in 1996
	Greenland in 1996  ('Dangerous Fall')
	Channel Crossings 1987
	UK Hurricane 1987  +++(see below)
	USA in 1998(Dangerous armed-fugitives!)
	Northern Ireland in 1997
	Israel in 1999
	(SEVILLE)Spain in 2000(Assassinations)
	EarthQuake in PERU 2001
	Floods in CHINA
	Typhoon in Hong Kong 2001     +++(see below)

     +++ Terminology: 75mph PLUS winds are called:

		Hurricanes when formed in the ATLANTIC or EASTERN PACIFIC
        or	Cyclones when formed in the INDIAN OCEAN or near AUSTRALIA
        or	Typhoons when formed in the NORTH WEST PACIFIC

  For Health Dangers:	

	Australia in 1998
	Cyprus in 1999
	Finland in 2000
	Greece in 1997
	Israel in 1999 (General filth!)
	Egypt in 1996 (Gyppy Tummy)
	Peru in 2001  (Altitude sickness!)


TRAVEL as a PROJECT

TRAVEL, like every PROJECT, has a 'Life Cycle' and even a set of 'Project-Life activities.

Thus, for any given Travel, Trip or Exploration, one has:-

  1. Feasiblity Studies
  2. Selection of most feasible or desirable trips
  3. Arranging 'funding' of travel
  4. Arranging the travel (for this Phase I've developped a standard "Pre-visit Actions"
    sheet to assist in the complexities of maybe four to a dozen simultaneously
    active preparations!    ).
  5. Travelling and recording events (for this Phase I've developped a standard "Visit Actions"
    sheet to assist, whilst en-route, in the travel complexities , connections, lodgings, etc    ).
  6. Rewriting travel notes
  7. Publishing travel records
Thus, you can see now how Travel & Writing become intimately linked in the same 'project'!



PHOTOGRAPHIC and CINEMATOGRAPHIC MEMORIES

I had noticed that photos that I thought that I had taken in the past were not even in my very complete record!! See this link to find out an AMAZING discovery I made about my own abilities.




JET-LAG & JET-ADVANCE

The problems on time-zone travelling are reasonably well-known. The symptoms are generally known at jet-lag.

The problem is that the actual day-time as per the new local clocks is out of step with one's BODY CLOCK. I found out quite early-on (1966) that, when travelling westwards, the sleep-problems, tiredness etc are NOT so serious. Ever since then, the findings have been reconfirmed. But always, which-ever the direction, I find it more sensible to anticipate the time in the zone into which I am moving and sleep or doze accordingly.

Thus one of these directions - going eastwards - is the one that produces the most significant body-clock symptoms of JET-LAG. (In that direction, the actual clock-time LEADS the body's time and watches need to be advanced! The body clock, being behind local time, gives rise to the LAG part of the term).

The less serious problem -going westwards - I call, not jet-lag, but JET-ADVANCE!!


** PHILOSOPHY OF WRITING **


Basically, I write for pleasure and amusement (my own and others!). This style, I have used for years in letters to friends, relations, acquaintances, colleagues, organisations and the like.

Whilst 'organisations' may not like this style of individualism (prefering their 'plastic', cloned, formalised, standardised methods), individuals tend to prefer the chatty, personal humourous accounts. This is the style which comes naturally to me, - the one I am happy with. As the increasing numbers who have encountered my "An Arctic Adventure" and "Winter Tales" will testify, - readers seem very happy with this style and want MORE! I am only too happy to satisfy that 'want' (time permitting).

The KEY to this is 'time permitting'. The hassle of dealing with publishers, taxmen, the legal profession (etc) all take TIME and cause reductions in one's happiness.

That led me into MY NEW POLICY for personal publications - as outlined below:

Because of
  1. my integration of Travel & Writing Philosophies
  2. the non-availability of colour reproduction facilities with my ex-Publisher
  3. the complexity of photo-copyright problems
  4. the need for continuous 'update or elaboration' of reports
the need is for ALL publications to be under my personal control on the INTERNET.

This has already been under-way for a number of years and it has become more obvious, as time goes along, that the sheer amount of colour pictures put on my WEB will have to be 'kept in check' to avoid any increases in 'access times' to certain pages. Thus, from an earlier edition, NOT ALL PICTURES could be put in textual files without further linkages. (My apologies to any who may have suffered from this effect earlier!) However, as technology has advanced and the INTERNET has become quicker - this has become LESS if a problem!

Writing on the INTERNET

The pleasures of this arise from having a vast range of topics on which I write. It is enhanced by not having to keep to schedules, of chosing randomly which articles to update at any given time - and either extending, correcting or 'adding IMPRESSIONS' or whatever takes my fancy!!

The BIG ADVANTAGE of writing on the Internet is that the writings are not consigned to a static existence, - they are not 'set in concrete'. The pleasurable consequences of this are that they can be DYNAMIC and ORGANIC, growing continuously with the author's and the readers' desires.

The size of the whole web grows constantly (sometimes in 'fits and starts') providing sustenance for my readers. Thank you all for your encouraging and complimentary comments. In the future, I will have to LIMIT its growth as shown in this linked page to approximately 24 MBytes - after which time it will form the basis and contents of my AUTOBIOGRAPHY. The TITLE will remain unchanged!!

Return to My home page for full list of books, travelogues etc either finished or under preparation.

EMail (?) to: Roy's Location.