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Murat Yilmaz is the author of our recently published OpenX Ad Server: Beginner's Guide which helps you in building and maintaining professional advertising solutions for your web sites with OpenX Ad Server.

Murat Yilmaz is a software developer and online entrepreneur who lives in Moscow. He has over 10 years of experience in different IT fields including development of web-driven solutions, databases, and OLAP systems. He has worked at various international companies in Istanbul (Turkey), Anchorage (Alaska), and Moscow (Russia) as a consultant. He currently runs his own blog and online advertising network. He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Marmara University at Istanbul.

He spends his free time playing progressive rock songs on a guitar and enjoys writing for his gadgets and technology blog at http://www.vubx.com

Packt: Your book is published now. How is the feeling of being a published author?

Murat: It is great feeling! I am very happy! Its great to see my book being available in so many bookstores worldwide. It feels so good to hold it in hands. Knowing the fact that my book on this very popular subject, OpenX, will be read by thousands and will help people in increasing the efficiency of their online businesses makes me proud of myself. In brief, this is a reward for years of knowledge and experience..

Packt: What benefits did writing a book bring to your specialist area?

Murat: Obviously, it is a great contribution to a person's professional career. After the publication of the book, I have got many paid projects, which include things from simple configuration, management of an ad inventory to customized coding of OpenX environment.

It projects my profile as an OpenX expert in the industry.

Packt: Our authors usually have full-time jobs whilst writing for us. Was this the case for you and how did you approach managing your time?

Murat: I own my own network of websites, blogs and earn my living solely by online advertising and affiliate network income which is generated by these sites. Apart from these, I take up coding tasks time to time. So, I don't have a full time job and was very flexible while writing the book. This position allowed me to dedicate enough time for the book. At times, I had to ignore my websites a bit to write difficult chapters.

Packt: Whilst writing your book, did you find that it overshadowed personal life in any way? How did you deal with this?

Murat: The process of writing the book with full concentration was full of enjoyment. At times, I declined my wife's offer to watch new episodes of our favourite shows such as Lost or Desperate Housewives. It did not overshadow my life at all! The process of writing a book filled new colours in our lives. Overall, it was a unique experience.

Packt: Do you have any advice for other authors who may be interested in writing for Packt, but are still unsure?

Murat: If a potential author believes that her/his subject knowledge and skills on a particular subject are good, there is no reason to be scared. Packt’s team provides full support to the author. The key is to provide high quality content which will really help people to do things and solve their problems.

As you write your first few chapters you will notice that your writing abilities keep on improving. Self-confidence helps you fight the fears.

Packt: Do you have any tips for other authors, or tricks that you learnt whilst writing, that you'd like to share?

Murat: I would suggest writing small notes whenever a new idea comes before it flies away! Second tip is about trying to follow the draft chapters from the reader's point of view. The chapter should build from simple to more advance step by step while maintaining the reader's interest intact! Finally, I first placed all screenshots, diagrams to word file which I would need in the chapter and then wrote the content under them. It is easier to manage and concentrate on writing.

Packt: How did you find the overall experience of writing your book for Packt?

Murat: Packt is the place where highly qualified employees really enjoy their jobs with common aim to create a perfect book with the author. Besides the professionalism, I have seen encouragement, friendship and motivation here.

Packt: During the writing process, did you come across any issues/ difficulties that affected your writing and how did you overcome these?

Murat: At first, I had difficulties about arranging layout and correct styles in Word file. Also, I had issues with writing the chapter contents in a logical, developmental way. Development and technical editors identified such issues and provided very useful comments to correct them.

Packt: Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of the book?

Murat: Writing a book also requires extensive search on the topic. I have felt that my knowledge on OpenX has increased even more and I noticed the details which I had missed before.

Packt: How did Packt’s Acquisition Editors help you - what kind of things did they help you with and how did they support you throughout the writing process?

Murat: First of all, they show how to write a nicely organized table of contents and bring new suggestions for the content. By brainstorming, we created a final table of contents which clearly reflected what the book will look like at the end. My questions on content development also were replied by Packt specialists in detail, very swiftly.

Packt: What projects, if any, are you working on at the moment?

Murat: I am currently authoring my second beginner's guide book for Packt. It is about one of the most popular shopping cart solutions, OpenCart. I continue to develop my websites both in SEO and marketing sides. Besides, I currently write a custom CMS in .Net platform for a famous French furniture company, Roche Bobois Moscow branch.

I have a future plan of offering a book to Packt about developing database driven applications using latest .Net technology with full source code. I believe that it will be very useful for .net developers who need to see the codes, database design of a complete database driven desktop solution.

The Mayor of the City of Cleveland, Frank G. Jackson, has declared October 1, 2010, as the Nigerian-American Day in the city. The Mayor made the proclamation to mark the celebration of the golden jubilee anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.

In a statement announcing the declaration, Mr. Jackson remarked that the proclamation is also a recognition of the contributions of Nigerians ( about 10, 000 Nigerian-Americans) living in the Greater Cleveland, most of whom are professionals in the field of medicine, science, engineering, academia, and business men and women..

“On behalf of the citizens of the City of Cleveland, I am honoured to offer the proclamation designating October 1, 2010, as Nigerian-American Day in the City of Cleveland,” he declared.

In another development, the Congress woman, representing 11th District Ohio, Marcia Fudge, will be the keynote speaker at the event scheduled by the Nigerian community in Greater Cleveland to celebrate the anniversary.

Part of this year’s independence celebration includes the extension of scholarship awards to Nigerians and Americans in Greater Cleveland, display of Nigeria’s cultural heritage and artefacts such as Nigerian dances and masquerades, which will include the Eyo festival masquerade, Ekwe dance, and Abang dance groups.

Delta Airlines on Monday said a female passenger was found dead on one of its flights from Atlanta, United States to Lagos.

Delta sources said the 57-year-old passenger was accompanied by her son when she died on Monday. The Associated Press quoted the American carrier’s Corporate Communications Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ms. Olivia Cullis, as saying that the passenger was found unresponsive early Monday aboard Delta Flight 53, about an hour out of Atlanta and about 11 hours from the time it took off.

Delta said it could not provide the passenger’s identity due to privacy restriction laws. Cullis added, “Approximately an hour from Atlanta, the crew of Flight 53 alerted flight operations that a passenger was unresponsive and had no vital signs. The flight landed normally and we are coordinating with medical authorities. Delta extends its sincere condolences to the passenger’s family.”

A statement by the Senior Manager, Media Relations, Delta, Susan Elliot, said the airline was working with medical authorities to determine the facts in the case..

AP quoted Atlanta’s police spokesman, Otis Redmond, as saying that foul play was not suspected. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner’s investigator was sent to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, according to the report.

Atlanta police spokesman Otis Redmond told AP that foul play was not suspected in the woman’s death. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the woman’s body was taken to a crime laboratory for an autopsy.

Bankhead said the FBI was investigating the matter because the death occurred on an international flight.

Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

"I took [President Obama] to various locations while he was looking for campaign funds. Vera accompanied him to each meeting.

"About 10:30 pm, I drove them to the hotel and they went in together. She didn't ask me to wait or to be taken back to her friend's home - or to her home"

Well not exactly yet as our juliet has not decided yet to join him .

A heartbroken pensioner who thought his wife was going to die killed himself near the spot where the couple first courted - only for her to get better.

The body of 84-year-old Reginald Heydon was found by police in the River Trent at Shardlow, near Derby, more than three weeks after he disappeared.

An inquest heard that at the time he went missing, Mr Heydon's wife of 60 years, Marjorie, 83, was in a critical condition in hospital.

Derby Coroner's Court was told doctors had told Mr Heydon and his family that his wife was not expected to live much longer.

Hours later on November 2 last year, the pensioner wrote a note to his family, left his home and was never seen alive again.

But in a tragic twist, his critically ill wife recovered from her illness and was discharged from hospital.

Last night Mr Heydon's son, Paul, said: 'We had the impression she had hours to live. We were told that on the day that she went into intensive care.'

But after his father had been found dead, his mother recovered and was able to come home.

'That was the real tragedy. If only he had waited,' he said.

Derby and South Derbyshire Deputy Coroner Louise Pinder said the note Mr Heydon left had made it clear what his intentions were.

She said: 'The contents of the letter do suggest he was contemplating taking his own life. There was a suggestion he was going to the river.'

Despite a police search involving helicopters, dogs and a special task force to search the river his body was not found until November 25 by a passerby.

Acting Sergeant Robert Buckley told the court that the area had a significance. He said: 'The river had been a courting area to which they went.'

A postmortem examination carried out on the body gave the cause of death as a vasovagal attack - a nervous attack leading to fainting - caused by submersion in cold water.

Ms Pinder said he would not have suffered. She gave a verdict that Mr Heydon had taken his own life.

The court heard that, during his later years, Mr Heydon had been inclined to drink to alleviate anxiety.

He was taking an anti-depression and his the deterioration of his wife's condition in hospital had exacerbated that.

The inquest was told his wife had undergone surgery at the Royal Derby Hospital for a swallowing problem, after which her condition became critical.

Mr Heydon said of his father: 'When the news came about mum he seemed like he knew how serious it was.

'He had accepted things were not going to be the same. But she got better and she was able to come home afterwards.'