User:Scoop0901

Who is Scoop0901?
Scoop0901 is the online moniker for Dave Jackson. He is a former reporter and editor for weekly and daily newspapers, having spent more than 20 years in print media.

The early days of computing
After having spent the late 1970's playing with various models of the TRS-80 (having started out with a TRS-80 Model 1 in 1979), Scoop found that computers were tools that could make his life much easier. In the early days, they saved him a lot of time by not having to retype manuscripts he sold.

The early days of DTP
By the late 1980's and early 1990's, Scoop was busy trying to push newspapers into the electronic era. Instead of relying on the newsroom's "morgue" -- it's library of clippings of every story printed in each edition of the paper -- he was pushing for electronic databases for articles and photos. Scanned images, the captions, cutlines, photographer's credit, and other information could be stored much easier on servers than in cabinets. It was cheaper, overall, saving it as electrons, and you didn't have to worry about negatives being warped, storing actual photos, or someone finding the exact photo you want when on deadline. Instead, everything was a few clicks away.

The mid-1990's
Scoop0901 left the corporate world in 1995, heading out to full-time freelance writing, editing, design, and other related work. He's helped more than a dozen individuals and companies launch new publications, both magazines and newspapers. He's provided guidance on formats, design, software, hardware, employees, networking, telecommuting, databases, and other key issues.

Other accomplishments
Scoop has been involved with launching four publications, from the earliest planning stages until well after actual launch. Three of the publications are now over a decade old; one publication folded after six years due to a decline in advertising.

Scoop in the 21st Century
The end of the 20th century brought about the final days of the dot-com boom, but also brought about cheaper prices for computers, storage, and other electronic gadgets and gizmos.

A master of PageMaker, QuarkXPress, and InDesign, Scoop busys himself with a variety of projects: still writing, shooting pix, and doing desktop publishing (DTP), he also designs stylesheets for several outlets that are moving to DTP for production, as well as provides a variety of services to various outlets and organizations. Those services include editing, writing, design/layout, and creating Web-friendly (small) PDF files for Website readers.

Fire At Will
Scoop also continues to write for his own pleasure. He has several blogs, including a few under his own name. They are:

Scoop's Views
Scoop's Views is where Scoop writes about anything that strikes his fancy. He writes freely, firing shots at any target in the news.

The Sleep Blog
The Sleep Blog is where Scoop writes about anything related to sleep and sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and others. Sadly, too many people -- physicians, other health care providers, and companies, are in business for the almighty dollar, not really for "helping others," as the saying goes. This is where Scoop shows what should be considered the baseline acceptable standard. Anything less is unacceptable, and anything more is, well, a bonus.

From being a hack to being a sleep activist ...
On January 1, 2000, while in an ICU room at a Philadelphia hospital, Scoop was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea, among a host of other serious health issues. The physicians -- read that closely, as it is plural: physicians -- told him he had been suffering undiagnosed sleep apnea, most likely, for many years. After investigative work on his own health, he found there were tattle-tale signs of apnea going back to childhood, likely to birth. He is still fighting to obtain his medical records from birth.

Since being diagnosed, Scoop has devoted a fair portion of his time toward sleep advocacy. He's been involved with running Awake In Philly, a community education and support group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for people with sleep disorders, as well as those who are impacted by sleep disorders, as family members, friends, employers, and co-workers. He serves on the board for Awake In America, a national non-profit (501c3) organization focused on sleep and sleep disorders, and he does a lot of other outreach, education, and support, including working as a moderator of several sleep-related email discussion lists, including CPAPusers and Apnea Kinksters, the latter being a group for anyone over the age of 18 who is involved in a relationship, and has concerns or issues they need addressed in a mature, adult manner.

Helping Others
With Awake In America, Scoop spearheaded efforts to launch the xPAP Donation and Relief Program, which is designed to assist individuals in getting CPAP or bi-level (commonly referred to as BiPAP, which is a trademark of Respironics, Inc., for a specific line of machine) machines, as well as accessories. A few months later, he spearheaded efforts to launch a Sleep Study Relief Program.

In addition to helping with the relief program, Scoop also works to find corporate sponsors for Awake In America, as well as individual sponsors. Anyone may contribute to Awake In America's mission via its online donation page.