There are worse things than depression

I have suffered from depression of the bipolar kind for over 20 years. Lots of GPs’ psychiatrists, cognitive therapists and other professionals have helped me through many ‘black dog’ episodes but my main support has come from Jen, my wife, whose loving support has proved to be the most long-lasting treatment.

 

I had to change psychiatrist 6 weeks ago who considered that I was on inappropriate medication and decided to wean me off my Depakote – I was on a very low dose anyway – and now is reducing my daily intake of venlafaxine. Losing the Depakote has certainly added a lot more colour to my life but I experienced a particularly bad depressive episode for a week which started just before I reduced the dose of the venlafaxine. Now that the black dog has returned to his kennel – in spite of the reduced medication – I have noticed that I have stopped sweating for about the first time in 20 years and I am less tired during the day. I realise that these are very early days and the psych. has reassured me that there are many more appropriate medications that can be used in my case should they prove to be necessary. My first reaction is that I have probably suffered more from the side effects of the many drugs I have been put on than from the condition itself, dreadful though it is.

 

However the point of this blog is that one can always find someone far worse off than oneself. I was enjoying a cup of coffee with friends this morning when the subject of the conversation turned to disability. Everyone present – there were 6 of us – all had close friends,, family or just acquaintances who were suffering from such severe disabilities that we wondered what right any of us who lead largely happy lives have to complain at all.

 

Yes, depression can lead to suicidal thoughts and some sufferers do take their own lives but, from time to time, we can be released from the prison that is depression. While paraplegics, sufferers of Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone diseases and the carers of patients with dementia never get an hour’s respite.

 

As a depressive I simply want to salute their courage.

Finding a Googlewhack

As we know many people spend hours searching Google with varying degrees of success but what a lot of people don’t know is that there is a Holy Grail within Google that urges searchers on to find this bizarre treasure. It is to find a Googlewhack.

 A Google what? A Googlewhack. This is the gold at the end of the rainbow for many intrepid explorers. A Google whack is when you get a single search result from a two word enquiry.

 My son has been trying for years to achieve a Googlewhack by entering obscure financial terms into the search box without any success. He was green with envy when I told him that I had stumbled across such a find entirely by accident.

 It happened when I was writing a tutorial for my computer pupils and I wanted to confirm that there was a town called Auchtermory in Fife in Scotland. On entering “Auchtermory” and “Fife” into the search box I got the Google whack of a solitary search result. It referred me to a single website on the subject written in Italian!!

 Funny how a little serendipity can bring sunshine into one’s life – either that or one realises that “little things please little minds”. 

Video Interview with John Wiley

So what happened at my meeting with John Wiley? Well it was all very exciting. The team seemed to have nothing but good news about the book.

I was met in Reception by Colleen who has been my staff and guide for the past year and taken through to the technical division’s annexe where I was introduced to Louise, my senior marketing manager; James, who is the IT guru of the whole project; Chloe, in charge of the video project and Shaun, the associate marketing director. We were later joined by Katy whose job it is to persuade the printed media to sit up and take notice.

First of all there have been a current total of 2500 orders for the book and that does not include Amazon or WH Smith who have yet to place their orders. They all seemed pretty impressed by this figure but I had no idea how good this result was until they explained that this was the type of figure they aimed for when marketing a really popular “for Dummies” title!

The next bit of great news is that the book is going to appear in the Daily Telegraph list of Christmas books and that there is a chance that it might feature in the WH Smith Christmas catalogue!

I actually got my hands on the first copy of the final print pages, stapled together in chapters, and it looks very good. They also gave me a copy of the cover of the book which is very stylish.

They are all so excited by the prospects of the book that they are using it to try out some innovative marketing ideas such as the associated website – www.pcwisdom.co.uk – and the video interview which will be edited to include images of the published book, photos of me teaching at Age Concern and a regular “instant messaging” session once a week for the next six months.

They are also looking into the possibility of a series of books for “the Older and Wiser” – something like the ‘for Dummies’ series but aimed at the more mature market. This is going to take about 3 months before they decide whether it is a viable project. Nevertheless it is all very exciting and could provide writing work for me for some time to come. There was even some light-hearted discussion about the possible translation of the book into other languages – but perhaps that is a bit of wishful thinking on my part. There was further talk about signing sessions, newspaper and radio interviews

It was fascinating to be part of a publishing process and looking at things from the other side of the desk. For instance, although the publication date is 17th October, it will take a couple of weeks following the publication before the book starts to appear in the High Street bookshops. The online book sites will get them within a day or two of the publication date. They wanted to know how many postcards I needed. To me postcards are things you send on holiday which arrive three weeks after you get back so they had to explain that ‘postcards’ to the publishing industry mean small flyers to be handed out like confetti to all and sundry. I though 30 would be enough but we finally agreed on a figure of 200!

The came the video session. I had rehearsed my monologue for several days and again on the train journey. This proved to be a mistake because it turned out like an oration rather than coming over naturally. Basically I had over-rehearsed the words.

The video was filmed in a rotunda-like room with me holding a copy of the book in front of the microphone clipped to my shirt.

“Don’t look at the camera.”
“If you need to pause then hold your posture for a couple of seconds to allow for the later editing.”
“We are getting glare off the cover so could you hold it further to the right. No, now your fingers covering up the title. That’s it.”
“Can you move round the sofa? We can get a better light from that position.”

The instructions came thick and fast. There had to be a number of different takes to allow the editors to make their choice of the best angles. The whole process – which I gather will result in a 3 minute video – took about one hour 45 minutes but this was considered to be a shorter than average time because everything had gone well. Personally, I thought I had been rubbish – fluffing my lines, forgetting to look in the right direction and, on one occasion, managing to drop the mike receiver box on the floor with a resounding crash. In spite of this they all thought it had been a successful session so I bowed to the experts and kept my trap shut.

One interesting result of all this is that I watch television interviews in a completely different light as a result of my experiences. My free advance copies should arrive in 13 days time.

I can’t wait.

A Day Out to Chichester

The day finally arrived when I was due to go down to Chichester to video and interview to promote my new book “Computing for the Older & Wiser”

 

It was a beautiful Autumn morning when I left home at 8.45 to drive to Colchester station – a light mist was still clinging to some of the sheltered meadows. I had already bought my ticket so there was no rush and I had to wait for about 20 minutes on the platform because the train was running slightly late. The journey to Liverpool Street was uneventful and I got quite a bit of work done in learning my lines for the interview.

 

The trouble started on the Underground Circle Line where there had been a security alert at Temple stopping all services on the Circle and District lines. Station staff suggested that service would be up and running within 20 minutes so it seemed better to wait rather than fight the London traffic in an expensive taxi.

 

The first Circle line train eventually arrived after 50 minutes – followed, like buses, by three more within 4 minutes. I declined the first train which resembled a can of sardines and joined the second train which had seats to spare. On arriving at Victoria I found that I had time for a quick cigarette in the street outside before catching the direct line to Chichester. This particular rain stopped at so many stations that it required three screens on the departure information to include all the possible destinations. But I had a seat and I could use the time for more rehearsal in my mind. The train rattled its way through old familiar stations like Crawley, Three Bridges, Horley, Horsham, Ford and Barham before trundling in to Chichester.

 

I was proud of the precautions I had taken to prevent any problems arising through he day when my hearing aid battery failed at Gatwick airport. Well done! I had remembered to pack a couple of spares in my briefcase.

 

Searching for a taxi rank to complete my journey to the publishers at The Atrium, Southern Gate I was really chuffed to see that the building in question lay some 30 yards beyond the line of cabs.

 

I had rung ahead to inform them of the delay in  my journey so a selection of cling wrapped sandwiches and a cup of coffee were awaiting my arrival. The John Wiley team were all very friendly and excited by the prospect of the book. (There will be more on the actual meeting in the next instalment.)

 

The meeting and video took about 2½ hours so I was ready to make the homeward journey by 4.30. A few small cumulus clouds hung in the blue sky over contented cattle grazing the water meadows alongside the river Arun. Venerable oak trees provided shelter for ruminating sheep – the tail end of a lovely day but it was all about to go downhill. 

It started at Barham where we were joined by a large number of passengers permanently connected to their mobile phones. The girl in the seat behind me was chatting loudly to a girlfriend for the hour long journey to South Croydon. If said said that she had taken the day off once she must have said it fifty times. We all heard about the problems she was having with her boss, her hairdresser, her family – especially her mother “who never does understand” – her lack of a current partner and the fact that she could never buy a pair of shoes that fitted her. Those of us remaining on the train at South Croydon gave a collective sigh of relief as she got off the train – only to be replaced in the same seat by a corn-rowed rapper who was endlessly explaining to his ‘crew’ dat he was comin’ in to Victoria and would meet dem at de usual place before goin’ on to de gig.

 

The Victoria thoroughfares were more like the arrivals hall at Gatwick airport with non- English speaking tourists toting huge suitcases who seemed unable to workout the automatic check out gates. T o give then their due only two of the available seven gates were actually working at the time. In what felt like a stampede of wildebeest during the great Masai Mara migration I felt sorry for two startled pensioners looking like baby giraffes caught up in a lion attack.

 

Once more to the Underground, my friend, once more. The first ten trains were destined for Upminster of all places and there was no sign of a Circle line train. What is the population of Upminster anyway? The chap beside me asked if this was the right platform for the Circle Line and received a vaguely confident reply from me that it was. He went off in search of a member of the Underground staff – he must have had the confidence of a Livingstone hoping to find the Victoria Falls. In spite of this he was back after 20 minutes with the news that there had been an electrical fault at South Ken but the line was running smoothly again. The line may have been smooth – well it was for the endless succession of Upminster trains – but it took another 15 minutes before the first Circle line train made its applauded appearance. I swear that during the journey from Victoria to Liverpool Street I never once heard the English language spoken. There was a French conversation going on around me and further up the carriage were the indecipherable sounds of Eastern European tongues. People were reading newspapers in Greek, Italian and what looked like Russian. I felt like singing “Where have all the English gone? Slow time passing.”

 

Most of this international community joined me in getting off at the main line station to the East. Checking the noticeboard I reckoned I just about had time to grab a coffee from a bunch of Slavs serving caffeine at one of the station outlets. Unfortunately none of the Slav servers or their Eastern European customers seemed to grasp the concept of British currency and I had to abandon the queue to catch the Norwich express whose first stop was Colchester. I felt as though I had to race past seventeen first class carriages before reaching one that agreed to transport us ordinary mortals on the long journey.

 

I believe there is a chain of drinking houses spread throughout the capital called TGIF – standing for Thank God it’s Friday. This train should have been christened OGIF – Oh God It’s Friday! Every seat was taken! Standing room only throughout the cattle class carriages.

Inevitably there were several people who need the ‘bathroom’ during the journey which meant a series of exercises that experienced mountaineers would have relished in preparation for their ascent of the Matterhorn. To give them their due most of the passing traffic offered mumbled words of appreciation or apology – except for one man who made the journey three times without a single word of thanks. He was in his mid thirties so it was unlikely to be prostate trouble so what was his problem? 

I am definitely a country boy and only use the capital’s transport services on an irregular basis so I consider myself fortunate compared to my fellow passengers to have to endure this week in, week out. They have all adapted in different ways to cope with the vicissitudes of modern travel even if it means reading a book on the hereditary DNA of leaf-cutter beetles. I kid you not. That is what the seated passenger was reading below me and the ticket lying on the table in front of him showed that he had the rest of the journey to Norwich to complete his research.

 

About three quarters of the seats had those little booking slips perched on the top of the back rest. Does anyone understand what these billet doux mean? People seem to grab a seat whether it has a reserved ticket or not.

 

But enough of this complaining, I was on my way home and Colchester was the next stop. Oh no, it wasn’t! The loudspeaker system soon burst into life offering us the sad information that a gentleman in Carriage G needed medical attention and therefore we would be making an unscheduled stop at Witham where the paramedics were waiting to bring him back to life.

 

Thirty minutes later we were back on track again and the train exhaled a large part of its load onto platform 2 into the Colchester night. The down, under and up again walk to the exit reminded me that I had two replacement knees and a recently operated on Achilles tendon but the car was only half a mile away and I was nearly home. Once in the car I tried to ring Jen on my mobile only to be informed that my pay-as-you-go tariff had run out and therefore my attempts to ring home were being denied.

 

I pulled into the driveway at 8.45pm exactly 12 hours after leaving for my day out to Chichester. It had been an enlightening day but I am glad we live in the rural backwaters of East Anglia with birdsong for loudspeakers.

Becoming a first time author

The fun of being a first time author

 

Over the years I have written a number of articles for magazines and newspapers on subjects ranging from the West Mersea oyster industry and the repair of antique clocks to a monthly column on various veterinary subjects in the county newspaper. I am a retired veterinary surgeon.

 

I have even written three novels which, although enjoyed by family and friends, have proved to be insufficient to interest the publishing industry.

 

Persistence has eventually paid off and my first book is to be published by John Wiley & Sons in the middle of next month. (October 2008). Entitled “Computing for the older and wiser – Get up and running on your home PC” it is a manual aimed at the mature generation who are seeking ways to join the Internet revolution. I have taken great pains to avoid all jargon, acronyms and general ‘computerspeak’ and tried to explain how much fun the older generation can have ‘surfing the Net’. It is already featured on many Internet booksellers sites and more detailed information can be found on the Amazon website at http://tinyurl.com/6rrk77 .

 

The whole venture started some four years ago when I did some market research on the Web and in the local library and found that there were very few intelligent and light-hearted manuals designed for the Third Age. I thought I had found my niche but then I was approached by our local historian to write a book on the history of the village. This took two years and subsequent research into the computer manual market proved that I had been right and that there were now more than fifty books aimed at “my” market.

 

Undeterred I continued my research and realised that there was still a market for the type of book I had in mind. By this time I had already written about 40,000 words and collected over 150 screenshots so I put together a book proposal. There are a number of publishers that came to mind but the market leader in this field appeared to be John Wiley so, without much expectation, I sent the proposal off to them with the obligatory stamped address envelope. Three weeks passed before my envelope returned to me in the post with a thin sheet of paper enclosed. I have received enough rejection letters to realise what were the likely contents.

 

You can imagine my delighted surprise when the commissioning editor said that they would be interested in seeing more of the book. So, it was back to the keyboard and I started to refine the text. I sent in the first three chapters and they were even more interested. This was all about 15 months ago and since then I have notated the screenshots, submitted the full text, received two advance payments, been in endless emails with a delightful copy editor until the final document was sent off to India for typesetting. Now it is with a company in Italy who are printing the book ready for publication next month with a first print run of 10,000 copies.

 

That, I thought, would be that. No way! The publishers now want a website to accompany the book with newsletters, more tutorials, blogs and video interviews. They have even expressed an interest in a second book along similar lines so it looks as though I am going to be busy as I pass my 70^th birthday.

 

Robert the Bruce, all those years ago was quite right when he said “If, at first, you don’t succeed – try and try again.”

The big day is approaching fast when my first book will be published - October 17th to be exact - and it is getting very exciting. I had not anticipated the amount of work that has to go in to the process of publishing if the project is to be a success. There are signing sessions to be arranged, video interviews to be organised, flyers to be distributed and an accompanying website to be developed.

The book is already ready for pre-order on many booksellers websites and the publishers are enthusiastic about the prospects for sales.

If you want to have a taster of what the book will be like, these are the Authors comments I have posted on the Amazon website -

From the Author
I have been teaching members of the Third Age how to use their home computers for the past ten years and it soon became apparent that much of what I taught during the lessons was quickly forgotten. To overcome this I created a number of revision notes for the benefit of my pupils and it was these notes that formed the original basis for this book.In this respect I can say that the contents have been extensively consumer tested to provide the easiest understandability of the lessons which make up the text.

I have made a deliberate choice to avoid all acronyms and "computerspeak" within the text without patronising the reader in any way. The book is designed to help the readers enjoy their computing experience by laughing at their mistakes and not taking life too seriously. The learning process is designed to be fun not a frazzle.

There will be a website linked to the publication of the book where readers can put their own questions and difficulties to me and between us we should be able to sort out most of the early computing problems From the Back CoverComputing for the Older & Wiser is a simple–to–follow user friendly guide aimed at the older generation introducing the basics of mastering a computer. Covering the latest release of Windows Vista Home PremiumTM and Windows XPTM, this book is designed for people who want straightforward instructions on how to use their home PC.

Written in plain English, using no unintelligible ‘computer speak’ Adrian guides you step–by–step through the basics of computing including chapters on:

Use of the keyboard and mouse
Email and the Internet
Customising your desktop
Word processing
Digital photography
Useful websites
and much more

Useful tips and tricks and a question and answer revision section in each chapter will build your confidence, get you up–to–date and technologically savvy in no time!
If you want to learn how to search and shop online, email or chat to family and friends, and you have the enthusiasm to learn a new skill then this book is for you.

With explanatory screenshots in full colour
Easy to read font
Supplementary website – including additional exercises to help improve your PC skills, further online hints and tips, and a directory of useful resources. www.pcwisdom.co.uk

“Computing for the Older & Wiser will take readers comfortably through getting started on their home PC. The content is similar to what we would take our clients through if they were to attend a class, which is exactly the right level.”
Faye Lester, Computer Training Coordinator, Age Concern Camden, UK

“I have not had so much fun for years”
Renée Moore, 79, pupil at Age Concern, Colchester, UK

About the Author
I am a retired veterinary surgeon who was one of the first of the profession to computerise his veterinary practice before becoming President of the British Veterinary Computing Association. Since retiring, my main hobby has been teaching members of the mature generation how to use their home computers. This private work has now been expanded since becoming a computing tutor with Age Concern in Colchester. Excerpted from Computing for the Older and Wiser: Get Up and Running on Your Home PC by Adrian Arnold. Copyright © 2008. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.One Texan doctor began his computing career at the age of 86 and now has his own web page ten years later. My oldest client is 91 and happily sending e-mails to her grandchildren scattered across the globe.

The mind may be a little slower and memory more elusive but if you can drive a car or use a video recorder you should be able to use a computer. Note that I did not say "understand" - few of us understand the finer points of the internal combustion engine but that does not prevent us using a car. Decreasing vision and slower reflexes may result in a road accident but you will never run anyone over with a computer. So long as your mind is active and enquiring a computer can expand your horizons far beyond the comfort of your own home.

There is invariably apprehension at the approach of new technology. My father had a brilliant mathematician's mind but he insisted on checking the early calculators' answers by doing it manually. It took him about three years to admit that they could be faster and occasionally more accurate. Cash machines are simply basic computers like the controls of a microwave.
Personally, I risk personal damage if I try and program the video recorder because it bears a specific grudge against me and insists on recording any program other than the one I had intended. My wife has no desire to use a computer and yet the video recorder obeys her every command. This is not to say that she does not recognise the benefits of computers at home - she asks me to organise things on the Internet several times a week - it's just that she has no desire to learn computing skills and that's just fine.

Some familiarity with the QWERTY typewriter keyboard is an advantage but touch-typing skills are not called for. I have been computing for 25 years and I still only use about four fingers and even then I get it wrong from time to time. It can be frustrating `hunting and pecking' for letters and symbols but like riding a bicycle, it comes together after a short while. After all one thing we older members of society should have is time.

This is just so much fun!

Second Impressions of Google Chrome

I have been using Google's new browser for over a week now and I still like it. It is definitely faster than Firefox and less cluttered than any of the other browsers. My main problems with it are that there are few toolbars that work with it yet - it is only in beta form as yet - but I am really surprised that you can't attach a Google toolbar to it.

The best things so far are the address bar that works both as an address bar as well as a search box offering intelligent suggestions and its memory of one's recently visited sites when clicking the plus icon on the tabs bar.

The let-downs are the absence of toolbars and other useful programs attachable to other browsers such as Robotform. Only time will tell how quickly these issues are addressed but I am sticking with it for the next month.

First impressions of Google Chrome

This is the first day that Google Chrome, the new web browser, was available for downloading by the general public.

These are my impressions of my first 40 minutes of using the new browser - 

1. It is very clean - as one has come to expect from Google
2. It is so clean that it takes a while to find all the usual tools such as setting your Home page and using tabbed browsing.
3. Tabbed browsing works in the same way as in other browsers - using the Ctrl key or mouse wheel.
4. Once I had found the tools - by using the integrated Google search - it all seems very logical.
5. The bookmarks and links are automatically imported from one's previous browser on installation.
6. Page loading is as quick as Firefox.
7. The integration of the address and search bars makes for a very economic use of screen space.

I will continue to experiment with the program and post another blog on the subject in a few days time.

The Italians are nicer than I thought

Murano Island

I last visited Italy on a camping trip with a student friend some 40 years ago and our experiences with the Italian people left us with the impression that they were unfriendly and unhelpful in spite of trying to use their language which they seemed determined to misinterpret.

This has now all changed. My wife and I spend five days in Venice at the end of April this year and they were a totally different experience. They could not have been kinder or more willing to go out of their way to help.

It only goes to show how wrong first impressions can be and how long they persist. We can strongly recommend Venice in the early Spring before the rest of the tourists begin to clog up the Grand Canal and delightful back alleys. It did help that the weather was unbelievably kind to us during our trip - even the odd shower of rain fell mainly at night.

We will be back.

First Blog

I thought I would try out this 'blogging' business and see what it involves and how it works out.

Why The Curious Vet? Well, I retired from the profession some 15 years ago and since that time I have had a lot of fun teaching members of the Third Age how to use their home computers. So far I have successfully taught more than five pupils over the age of ninety. Anyone over that age who wants to learn to use a computer has a very active mind and their life stories enthrall me. I am a great collector of trivial pieces of information - the central pole of the Copenhagen Town Hall clock takes 25,753 years to make one complete revolution. I didn't say they were useful pieces of information!

I am looking forward to the publication of my first book on October 17th - Computing for the Older & Wiser - if you are interested. You can find out more at http://tinyurl.com/6rrk77

I have always enjoyed writing and I have had the good fortune to have had a number of newspaper and magazine articles published in the past. I have also written three novels but without publishing success. Looking back at the first two novels I can see perfectly well why no-one was interested in their publication. The third one is definitely better but I am going to stick with computer teaching handbooks for the time being. In fact I am in the process of developing a second teaching manual to follow up the initial publication.

The next hurdle to cross is a video interview that the publishers, John Wiley & Sons, want to make and publish on the web in support of the book. I have no idea what this entails but it will be a new experience and even at the age of 69 I am all in favour of those.