How did I get started writing for the RIVER BENDER? I was having lots of fun on the Internet and simply couldn't understand why so many retired folks were adamant that they'd never own a computer. By the way, did you know that women run most computers in River Bend and are generally more computer literate than men? Men often express their non-interest in computers with comments like "my secretary used one" or "I can't type" so I began writing articles suggesting why everybody should own a computer and use the Internet. But nowadays, after helping a few hapless folks, I've come to realize that a few would be better off without a computer.

How does one write a computer article? Using search engines on the Internet certainly makes it easier. I don't mean to suggest plagiarism but to use the Internet to gather as much information on a topic as possible before starting to write. Here are some examples:

Many ideas for articles come from current events. For example, a couple years ago, it appeared that computer viruses were being replaced by more malicious software that could spy on PC activity or hack into your computer. So I began collecting all the information I could find using search words in Google (www.google.com) such as "spies and hackers." I looked for cases of spying and hacking that made news, the extent of damaging software and discussions on ways to protect your computer. I then copy/pasted snippets of information into a MS WordPad file along with the source. Using my own words and thoughts and citing references I put together an article titled "Spies and Hackers" that's now shown at http://always-online.com/dave/dec04.htm.

Another example involved "Blogs." The buzzword was kicking around in the media and I had no idea what they were talking about. So I started googling "blog" and found lots of discussions with differing opinions on what Blogs were. Thus my article "What's a Blog? You can be a Blogger!" was published as an attempt to simplify what blogging was all about. I even created a Blog at http://davesfiddle.blogspot.com to show how easy it was to create one.

Many times I don't have a clue what to write about as the deadline approaches. But just as I'm about to call the paper to tell them I'm brain dead, an idea usually pops up. It often occurs when someone calls about their computer problem after which I begin wondering if others might be having the same problem and end up writing an article. Examples "Safe Mode - what is it?" and "Perk up your old PC."

The nice thing about writing a monthly column on computers is that it keeps one alert on what's going on in the computer world. I'm sure I get far more out of writing an article than the reader does. But the downside is the constant pressure to keep coming up with an interesting topic each month and at age 76 it's getting tougher. You might want to start giving some thought to writing a computer column to replace me.