My desktop work station, 2007. Since then it has shrunk in size dramatically, and 24-hour Internet access has been replaced with intermittent access to enhance my quality of life. Oh, and now I use a Mac.

My Projects

I am a "project person." I develop an activity or interest to the point where it requires some kind of consummation — an organized activity, preferably involving other people, a website, professional services, etc. In short, a "project." My projects — as opposed to work for pay — have been my primary source of income since mid-2008. Many or most of them are noncommercial or nominally commercial.

This page describes my significant projects present, past, and future, grouped by theme. I also have written a condensed record of my professional experience and education.

Contents
Ukraine-related websites
Linguistic activities
Socionics-related projects
Outdoor adventures
Earth science related projects
Miscellaneous writing
Past projects
Future projects

Ukraine-related websites

I created these projects between 2003 and 2006 while in Ukraine. These are my most successful websites in terms of income.

TryUkraine.com
TryUkraine.com is a portal about Ukraine for foreigners interested in traveling, living, and working in Ukraine. It is fairly well-known among expats and travelers to Ukraine and receives over a thousand unique visitors a day. The design and content are my own, and I maintain the site along with an assistant. In addition to innumerable articles and photos, the site offers a range of different services for foreigners.

SkiUkraine.info
SkiUkraine.info is the only English-language website about ski resorts in Ukraine. Ukraine is not exactly a popular destination for skiing and will likely stay that way. The site has articles on the different ski areas around Ukraine, and visitors can request hotel rooms and information through the site.

Photography
A side effect of developing TryUkraine.com has been becoming a so-so photographer, as the site provided a place to post relevant pictures of Ukraine. Nowadays (2011) everyone and their dog is a hobby photographer, so I've largely lost interest in pursuing "artistic" photography, preferring instead plain, journalistic photos that serve to convey information.

Linguistic activities

I have used my knowledge of languages to earn money since 1998 (age 21). In addition to native English (albeit with more than a hint of "having lived abroad"), my written and spoken Russian is near-native, and I have an advanced knowledge of Ukrainian and Spanish. Having studied many languages, I have a keen sense of what is involved in learning a foreign language and have been able to help quite a few other people learn English or Russian more effectively. I have a whole philosophy of language acquisition that I would like to somehow utilize some day other than writing the occasional article for one of my websites.

Linguistic activities are best divided into two groups: writing (translating and editing) and speaking (teaching and interpreting). The latter has been my main focus since late 2010.

Teaching English
I taught English in Ukraine for four or five years, primarily in a business setting or one-on-one with businesspeople. I have worked with a single language teaching company for the entire period. I started off teaching groups, but over time gravitated more and more to teaching individual students, especially business owners and upper-level managers. These were my most interesting teaching situations. I generally enjoy teaching, but I don't expect to do much more English teaching in the future because there are more interesting activities for me and because I have never been passionate about the English language (because I never studied it). As a teacher, my diction is clear and easy for foreigners to understand. I enjoy giving pronunciation tips and doing special exercises to help students learn to speak with greater ease. Because of my near-native Russian, I can give translations for nearly any English word or phrase, which saves time.

Teaching Russian
I have had a few chances to teach Russian to small groups and to individuals. Here, I enjoy the same advantages and apply the same methods that I do as an English teacher, while also demonstrating a passion for Russian (because I studied it) that I don't have for English. This, I think, potentially makes me a more gifted Russian teacher than English teacher, but I have had fewer opportunities to teach Russian.

Interpreting
I interpret from Russian to English and vice versa. My forte is two-way interpreting in business or informal situations, as I can switch rapidly between the languages and speak both English and Russian with complete fluency. If there were more official events in Russian in Ukraine, I would have done a lot more interpreting work, as I need more practice with Ukrainian before attempting to interpret. I have done two-way interpreting at small business meetings, informal gatherings, and very occasionally, on the stand at public presentations of 100 or more visitors. As of fall 2010 I have finally made some contacts in the interpreting business in Ukraine and hope to get more interpreting jobs. I enjoy interpreting and hope to do more of it in the future. It's a chance to get a glimpse of other professional communities, fully utilize your language and communication skills, and meet interesting people. It also tends to be stressful, but the stress lasts for a short time and is well compensated. As far as I'm aware I'm the only native English-speaking professional interpreter working in Ukraine.

Translating
I have translated large numbers of health and quality of life questionnaires, exhibition descriptions and contracts, and technical descriptions from Russian and Ukrainian to English. I have also translated texts for use in TV programs, and occasional science articles. As of winter 2010/11 I will not be taking on new translation jobs in order to focus on other activities. Translating requires quite a bit of discipline and focus and very often the people who are attracted to freelance work are those who tend to procrastinate until they're in the right mood to work. These days only high-paid assignments provide enough motivation for me to overcome the tendency to procrastinate and avoid work that brings no pleasure.

Proofreading
Proofreading is thankless work that I have never enjoyed. People figure that they can save money by having a non-native translate a text and then giving it to a native for "proofreading" at half the cost of translating from scratch, or less. The fact is, editing is the same amount of work as translating unless the non-native is uncommonly good. I've done some to help people out and to make a bit of money, but as of winter 2010/11 I will be doing no more of it. I've had enough!

Foreign language clubs
Speaking foreign languages is one of my "things," and I am not against taking a leadership role. I was president of the Russian Club in college, established two small Spanish clubs in Ukraine, and participated actively in Kyiv Language Exchange (Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, German, and French), a foreign language club established by an American polyglot and traveler whose ideas are similar to my own. People just get together and speak a foreign language. There's no structure or set topic. I set up a similar Spanish club in Sevastopol and plan to do so in Tbilisi.

Socionics-related projects

Socionics is a personality typology and theory of interpersonal interaction developed in the former Soviet Union. I learned of socionics in Ukraine in 2000 and have been actively developing socionics projects in the English-speaking world since 2006, particularly in the period from 2006 to 2008. When I began, there was hardly any decent information on socionics in English; now there is quite a large body of informative articles for readers to draw upon. Many of my articles examine social phenomena, relationships, and personal development, so the subject matter is actually quite broad. Compared to other web projects of mine, socionics has often brought disappointment because of personal and ideological conflicts, which are probably typical of psychological theories and philosophical schools of thought. Sometimes I have wondered, "is my work actually helping anyone?" These doubts come and go.

Socionics.us
Socionics.us is the first socionics website I started. It has general articles on socionics, but is not yet a fully comprehensive introduction to the field. Eventually I hope to revamp Socionics.us after a break of several years, especially if I develop other socionics projects as planned.

Wikisocion.org
Wikisocion is a noncommercial, collaborative socionics project built using WikiMedia software (which Wikipedia uses). Readers with differing levels of knowledgeability and experience contribute to articles and collaborative projects, and present their own ideas on their user pages. Wikisocion has proved highly successful, and hardly a day goes by without dozens of contributions (2008; no longer true in 2011). The platform encourages serious discussion, and the project attracted some of the brightest people in the socionics community, particularly during the first year of its existence when the most active development took place. The ease of discussion and updating has prompted me to transfer some content from Socionics.us to Wikisocion (namely, my typings of famous people). Wikisocion has endured a number of events typical of many or most wikis: dealing with trolls and bullies, warnings and bans, a splinter wiki, conceptual and philosophical disagreements, a database crash, incomplete restoration, and finding new hosters and administrators.

The Socionist blog
This blog of mine has been active since late 2006 and represents an effort to find a more informal platform for socionics-related writings. Since 2009 there have been fewer posts about socionics per se and more about life, relationships, and personal development. The blog has a steady readership and gets about 50 visitors a day (late 2011). Most articles receive comments. An innovative aspect of the blog is a page with a catalogue of all topics and articles, which is linked to in the upper right menu. At some point, when I figure out how to do this, I may try to integrate the blog into Socionics.us, possibly through the use of WordPress software or something similar.

Socionics book
Ideas for a book on socionics have been on the table for over five years. I have wanted to publish something that ties together everything in socionics that works and makes sense. I have not yet settled on the book concept — whether it will be a sort of handbook for beginners or a complete introduction to the subject. I am writing the book in a chaotic way, starting with the most critical aspects of the book and gradually working backwards from them. The book may have a lot of innovative aspects, such as a different kind of type description and a careful progression of information from general to specific. The book is evolving and will not be a summary of the field as I originally planned, but actually my own formulation thereof. In addition, I am working on making the book interesting to a scientifically minded audience, and not just the existing socionics community. I hope to self-publish the book by the end of spring 2009, but I'm not sure I will make it on time. As of late 2010, the book concept has changed once again. I hope to begin in spring 2011. As of late 2011, the book is still on a very distant back burner behind other writing projects.

Socionics meetings and presentations
I initiated a number of socionics meetings in Europe and the United States in London, New York City, Duesseldorf (Germany), and Ann Arbor (Michigan). In addition, I was invited to give a presentation on socionics to a small audience at Boston University, where there is/was a socionics club. I have enjoyed the meetings, particularly ones where I didn't feel like I was expected to be in charge. Since these meetings began, a few others have been held around the English speaking world without me, which means that the ball has begun rolling.

Type identification services
It can sometimes be difficult to identify one's own socionic type, and there is demand for people who can help with this in a professional manner. The service I have offered (for pay) is based on photographs, videos, and video chats. Modern technology makes it much easier to interact with people who are far away. As of 2010 I rarely provide this service due to other interests and demands on my time. However, I am interested in developing a [hopefully] accurate test that people can take instead of consulting an expert.

Study of famous people
Via socionics I have developed an interest in history and famous people, including understanding their work and how they think and operate in addition to their socionic types.

Outdoor adventures

I have always been an avid nature lover and enjoy backpacking, cycling, and other outdoor activities. An integral part of my lifestyle, nature and the outdoors have also found their way into my "work" activities.

Legkohod.com
Legkohod.com is the first and so far only Russian-language site dedicated to lightweight backpacking. I discovered lightweight backpacking in the summer of 2007 and quickly became fascinated with the gear and the increased possibilities for long-distance travel. I created Legkohod.com in early 2008, and it has gained a wider audience in Russia and Ukraine (250 visitors/day by 2011). It has articles, trip reports, and a lightly active, congenial, and constructive forum. Notably, readers have been enough inspired by the website to submit trip reports of their own where they made efforts to minimize weight carried. Here is an out-of-date site summary in English.

PCT trip report
In 2009 I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border of the western U.S. to the Canadian border through the west coast ranges. This was truly the experience of a lifetime, and I began publishing a trip report at Legkohod.com that grew in scope until it achieved book length. I hope to complete the report soon (2011) and self-publish it in Russian shortly thereafter. This would be my first book, and hopefully not the last.

Mountains of Europe Summer 2011 report
While not as grandiose as my PCT thru-hike, my 2011 summer in Europe consisted of many different stages, each of which needs to be written about with photos posted at Legkohod.com. I hope to finish this by the end of 2011.

Beginner's Guide to Thru-Hiking
Still at the idea stage, this would be an electronic booklet in Russian summarizing my thru-hiking experience for those who are interested in getting into long-distance backpacking.

Earth science related projects

I have always been a geography and weather buff and a walking encyclopedia of the world's mountains and climates. Beginning late 2008 this latent interest began to develop rapidly as I began reading about climate change, Peak Oil, urban design, and related topics while living in the U.S. One thing led to another and, well, here I am.

Academic studies in geosciences and mountains
While hiking the PCT in 2009, I developed a firm wish to go back to school and somehow enter the academic community. Eventually I settled on physical geography with a goal of becoming an expert on mountains. From fall 2010 to spring 2011, now back in Ukraine, I studied various geosciences from Russian-language textbooks while meeting weekly with a prominent faculty member at the Kyiv Shevchenko University. My goal was to prepare to enter a Masters program in the fall of 2011. I settled on an online MSc program with the University of the Highlands and the Islands (Scotland) entitled "Managing Sustainable Mountain Development" and traveled there for the induction in August. Just two months later, I dropped the modules I had begun and have basically given up on the program and the idea of getting a post-graduate degree at all. While the subject matter is very interesting, distance learning is clearly not for me since all the additional computer and Internet time either puts me over my healthy Internet threshold or directly takes time away from other projects. This made me reflect on what it is I actually am looking for and why, how this need might be better addressed, and where the desire to get a post-grad degree came from. In any case, my desire to become "something of an expert on mountains" remains, and I feel I gained a lot from my one-year-long exposure to academics and earth sciences.

Permaculture and living on my own plot of land
In 2009 I became quite interested in permaculture and gradually began learning about land management, landscape design, agriculture, and community design through the lens of long-term sustainability. In 2011 in Ukraine I got the chance to put my ideas into practice by moving to a previously purchased dacha just outside Sevastopol. As of 2011 the focus has been on finishing up house construction, but I have also done a bit of landscape redesign and expect to do more in the spring of 2012. This interest in permaculture also blends with a general interest in "healthy, happy living" that may express itself in other projects in the future.

Miscellaneous writing

I have been writing since about 2006 on topics unrelated to those mentioned here. Common themes include: religion, philosophy, personal development, autobiography, society and politics, and healthy lifestyles. One of the purposes of this website is to give me a place to put these writings. My experience has shown that writing is most effective when it is combined by subject and designed to be "useful." RickDeLong.com so far lacks a unified subject matter/s ("Buckwheat's PCT Pages" is a good start however), and time will tell whether my essays ever garner much attention. If I only write essays about a topic, I suppose that's a good sign that I don't know enough about it to create a proper website!

Past projects

Some of my past projects have been discontinued. These either have not focused enough on my main strengths to hold my interest for many years or there were other difficulties involved. I only include here projects that I began after graduating university at 24 years of age, and projects that I started myself (i.e. no paid positions).

Internships in Ukraine
For nearly three years I offered internships in Ukraine at TryUkraine.com. I established contacts with Ukrainian organizations (primarily NGOs), posted internship opportunities on my website, processed applications from prospective interns, negotiated internship terms with organizations, arranged housing for interns, met them upon arrival, and provided limited amounts of post-arrival assistance. This project was largely successful, and I enjoyed meeting new people and organizations, but it required more commitment and supervision on my end in order for the project to be successful in the long run. Also, there were some legal difficulties with having paid internships in Ukraine, and I was basically limited to working with NGOs, which are typically disorganized and do not match foreigners' expectations. I have explained why I discontinued the service in greater detail here.

Currency trading (Forex)
I spent a year learning about currency trading and how to be a successful trader. Although I had some great ideas for developing automated trading systems, I was ultimately unable to master the difficult psychological aspects of trading at the time and dropped this activity after a series of failures. Several years later, I tried my hand at it again with a different attitude and had some success, but subsequently lost interest in it because it seemed irrelevant to my goals and interests and I didn't feel like spending much time on it. If I find the right kind of trading platform I may take this up again because I still follow international currency news regularly and have retained a mild interest in trading. If I began to fail at it again, I would quickly drop it. Currency trading opened my eyes to the fascinating world of global trends and market predictions, and eventually (over some years) I formed a set of attitudes about how trends play out and how people participate in them. The psychology of trading and market behavior is a fascinating aspect of this.

Future projects

Assuming that my life continues going "uphill" and no major structural changes take place (you know what I mean), here are other activities I might develop in the future.

Music
I am an amateur pianist (since age 6) and guitarist (since age 16) and am almost certain I will eventually take this interest to the next level by playing regularly with other people or by regularly playing to audiences, if only small and informal. Music can be more of a participatory activity than it commonly is. It is one of the ways I experience pleasure, and playing with other people can increase the pleasure. I have done small amounts of composing and large amounts of improvising, and my dream is to find other musicians who like to improvise and develop a coherent jam style together. My repertoire on the piano is rather narrow and includes some Rachmaninoff preludes and excerpts of a Rachmaninoff concerto that I've been working on slowly for years. On the guitar I've been mostly fiddling around and improvising for so long that I don't even know what my influences are.