Q: Hey, are you Mike Nichols the director?
A: No, he’s just a wannabe.
I had my name before he changed his from Michael Igor Peschkowsky. Maybe he admired the attributes of this little Alabama boy and named himself in my honor. Probably not. I was very upset to find out that I had died on November 19, 2014.
Q: When did you start Anxiety, Panic & Health?
I started writing articles in 2007 and the first post was published on June 25, 2008. I spent about six months studying best practices before then. And of course, that was preceded by years of research on the Anxiety Disorders.
Q: What is your day job?
A: I’ve been retired due to mental illness since March 2005, but I started doing web development and design in 2008, which turned into 14 hours a day 7 days a week. I’ve backed off some now. If you are interested in some help with your website, send me an email using the Contact form on Awesome Website Themes.
Q: Do you have any other blogs?
A: Yes. Three more currently in operation and a couple more are in the works.
Awesome Website Themes is the website where I sell website themes I have written and advertise my custom work.
Thesis is the WordPress theme I use here, and I’ve been using it since 2008. My blog Thesis Theme Tools is where I share some whiz-bang programming and tips with Thesis users.
Certified Old Guy is a place to put my miscellaneous thoughts and writings. It’s worth a look if you like random ramblings on a wide range of subjects.
My son the poet has a very interesting blog, Rusty Nails. Right now he’s smitten with prose poetry. He’s been published and gives readings often. His first book will be appearing soon.
Q: What is the blog software you use and who is your hosting service?
A: My blogs are hosted by InMotion Hosting and use the WordPress.org blogging software. My theme is Thesis, created by Chris Pearson.
Q: What computer do you use?
A: I’ve been a Mac addict since 1984, when I bought the very first model. I use a recent Mac Pro (the tower) with the Sixteen-Core Intel Xeon processor. I find three monitors indispensable.
Q: What software do you use to create AP&H?
The Mac software I use is as follows:
- I depend on DEVONThink Pro software, a kind of relational database, writing tool, place-where-you-can-dump-everything to contain and cross-index my research. I also use it to write my blog text. I can’t say enough about this program. I have never found something I wanted to do that it can’t do!
- I do much of my research in the DEVONagent browser. It is a specialized browser built for research on the internet. If it’s out there, DEVONagent will find it!
- BlogAssist is a menu item that helps with HTML markup. For example, I use it for drop caps, pullquotes, alert boxes, and anything I insert into the HTML of posts. It comes with the most common HTML markups preloaded, but it is completely configurable. Cheap, and pays for itself quickly!
- Images for the posts come from a number of sources, primarily Deposit Photos. I edit them with PhotoShop CC.
- I use Phoenix Slides to display the images I download for posts. There are other slideshow programs out there, but none of them beats Phoenix Slides for simplicity and utility. And it’s free.
- BBEdit is my editor of choice for the HTML, CSS and PHP I use to keep the blog going. I occasionally use it for plain old writing as well. It has superior search, GREP and other programming-specific features.
- My FTP program is Interarchy, which I have used for years. I have tried others, but none of them have the ease of use or solidity of Interarchy. Costs a bit, but is worth it.
- If I have the need to run Windows programs, I use the Parallels virtual computer software. I use it often in the course of my web development and design work.
Revised: November 8, 2016