ATPM

I was recently made a staff member of the online magazine ATPM (About This Particular Mac). On each Mac computer, under the Apple menu option, there's an entry called About This Mac. Select it and you'll be presented with a window listing basic info regarding the computer, such as CPU speed, OS version, amount of memory installed, etc. That's where ATPM got its name from. Very clever, I would say. After all, there are only so many puns you can make with apple core and cider.

For now, I'll stick with helping ATPM in proofreading whatever they send my way. I actually enjoy proofreading - maybe it's just an extension of my fondness for writing. Eventually, I'll submit reviews of software and hardware that I own, or maybe ATPM has stuff publishers sent their way. I'll also try to submit my usual single-pane cartoons, with a special emphasis on Mac computing, of course. ATPM does have a regular cartoon series, very well-drawn, but it's not Mac-specific.

This is not the first time I become associated with a Mac group. After my departure from Amuse (the New York Amiga Users Group), I got in touch with the MetroMac group, a local Mac users group in New York City. I have a few cartoons published in their newsletter, wrote one review, and helped proofread a number of articles. As with all volunteer work, it is hard to get people involved for the MetroMac Express newsletter. Lately, the newsletter has suffered from insufficient articles, delayed publication, and staff turnover. I'll continue to help out with MetroMac Express but it's discouraging that one month I was asked to help with proofreading and such, then another month there would be no news at all, then all of a sudden a newsletter is published. Also, with my cartoons, I like to stick to current events, but because of delay in publication, sometimes my joke loses its bite.

Here's to a happy beginning with ATPM.com!