My most successful book ever.

 Though I enjoy writing books, I can in no way claim to be a financially successful author. If I and my family had been dependent on my income from the twenty or so books I have written so far then impoverishment would have been inevitable. In my writing I have dabbled in fiction and non, technology and travel, children’s and adult, fact and fantasy, autobiography and more. However, only two of my books have been truly financially successful, and that mostly indirectly. What is more, it is from those two books that AI, or rather the abuse of AI, is now promising me even more money!

I wrote the very first book to be published on Computer Telephone Integration (CTI) back in 1993 and followed that up with the grippingly entitled Computer Telephony Integration a few years later. Note the ‘Telephony’ in the second title, it was important at the time. Those books had respectable price tags so I did make a bit of money from their publication and yet more from the enhanced profile they gave me as a consultant, conference speaker, etc in the CTI world.

That income died away, of course. But then, quite unexpectedly, I had a call from a New York  law firm (I was in a pub at the time and remember it well). The lawyers were acting for clients making use of CTI and they were being chased by companies claiming they had patents on the technology and demanding royalties for the use of it! My first book predated those patents and thus could be used to nullify the royalty claims. The lawyers paid me quite well for preparing reports on the early days of the technology and suggested that I might appear in court as an expert witness at the proceeding, something that I quite relished. However, I believe the dispute  didn’t ever go to court for whatever reasons. The lawyers paid me twice for my last report and, though I queried this apparent act of generosity, I didn’t hear from them again. I did not have my day in court, but I did appreciate the fees that they paid me.

Now, CTI has come back to kiss me again, and this time it’s all about AI. Artificial intelligence was not suddenly created, it, like us, had to learn. We learn from experience, from our parents, schooling, reading, and more. AI learns by stealing information from books  as well as other sources and, in the case of Anthropic, they did not pay for access to those books. This is wrong. A recent court case (Bartz v Anthropic) has confirmed that and has published a list of books that were utilised in the training of Anthropic’s AI: and my two CTI books are amongst them! Apparently, the settlement provides for $3,000 per work, less costs, so I am now awaiting my check, or, as we would say, my cheque.

Lucky me. I do wish that some of my other books had gained sufficient royalties for me to repeat that financial success, but it’s not all about the money you know. What we little known authors really want is to be read. Read, that is, by people not just AI information leeches.

 

 

Rolling Stones in Spain: Solo Loco

The title has no connection with the famous music group, but I did get a lot of ‘satisfaction’ from  transforming an old stone hut (called a caseta) into a liveable space near our Spanish village. Hence, I wanted to share what was a challenging and fascinating experience for Margaret and myself by creating a short video which compresses five years of hard graft into fifteen-minutes. That took some doing, but it’s now available on YouTube and friends who saw the rough cut really liked it. I truly hope that you will watch and enjoy  and pass it on.

The release coincides with the launch of the second edition of my book of the same name. Yes, Rolling Stones in Spain: Solo Loco is now available in these formats: Paperback, eBook and Audio

I’m really hoping that this video will stimulate interest in the book which, in addition to the building work, encompasses the human side of this crazy venture. Many in our village helped with advice and encouragement whilst  welcoming us into the social traditions of the community. And that’s not to forget the help freely given by a number of expats living thereabouts.

Have a look at the video, it might persuade you to buy the book , and if you enjoy it do a review. I need reviews!! Here's the video link again.

https://youtu.be/6QSEwMoDzs0

 

I’m finally a yesterday’s man

Many years ago at the tender age of sixteen I began work as an apprentice telephone engineer. I started on “poles and ‘oles”, which meant learning about the business of connecting the telephone in people’s houses to the telephone exchange. There calls were steered to their destination at the touch of a dial. It was all very physical in those days, but much has changed. I was part of that change as were thousands of workers throughout the UK and the world.

Just today, as I write this, the final nail (copper I hope) has been nailed into my career coffin.  I have gone over: I have a new router and have plugged our two old fashioned analogue telephones into a little thing moulded onto a conventional electricity plug. Henceforth my calls, the few that I do not make or take on my mobile, will be carried across the Internet in packets.

I have many tales about my early experiences during those long-forgotten bygone days, but they will be safely lodged in the growing list of word files that I have titled ‘Remember Me’ and I will someday bequeath to my offspring. They will know what to do with them.

So, very briefly, I have enjoyed the journey from clunky old electromechanical switches carrying analogue telephone calls, through to the miniature chip-based switches carrying digital calls. After that came the integration of telephony and computing and, believe it or not, I wrote the first book on that, yes, and the only song! I then ploughed my furrow through the introduction of the new mobile telephone system that could carry goodly quantities of data as well as voice and  finished up by writing a book about the beautiful film star Heddy Lamarr who is sometimes claimed as its inventor.

Tiring of treading down the upward escalator of technology I switched and became an Oxford tour guide and an author of books on many different things, anything but technology. Along the way a marketing-oriented friend once asked me why I didn’t write books that people wanted to read. Dumbfounded, I did not reply just then.

Whoops, sorry, got to finish here, my analogue telephone connected to the lump on an electrical plug is ringing. Maybe this is the call from the Internet that will provide me with the answer.