More About Doug

Allan Douglas

Allan Douglas was the pen name used by Douglas Allan Bittinger as a freelance writer in writing newspaper & magazine articles and web content on a variety of subjects from woodworking, to computers, from parenting to robotics. There are few topics that he could not write about. He went on to write several more books as well as hundreds of non-fiction articles for a variety of publishers.

  • Allan received the One Lovely Blog award (peer meme) for Simple Life Prattle, May 2012.
  • Allan was nominated for Versatile Blogger Award for Simple Life Prattle , Jan 2012.
  • Allan received Stylish Blogger Award (peer meme) for Simple Life Prattle in Feb 2011.
  • Allan was a two time winner of HubNugget award for journalistic excellence 2010.

But, Allan Douglas is dead now. He was murdered in January of 2014.

Doug Bittinger

Doug is happily married to Marie. They have no kids, but have their dogs who keep them company, provide protection and entertainment. They all live on 5 acres of wooded, steeply sloping mountainside land in the Great Smoky Mountains region of East Tennessee. Mountain-side living can provide a few challenges, but it is serenely beautiful here, the air is clean and fresh and they love living here where the clouds recline for the night.

Clouds on English Mountain

During his career he worked for about 6 years at a publishing company producing newspapers, magazines and books. When he left there he took a year off to focus all his energies on writing his first book; a tutorial in structured computer programming published by COMAL USA. He has since been publishing non-fiction in magazines and 3 more books, as well as being a contributor to several more books.

He also spent about 3 decades building custom furniture as Smoky Mountain Woodworks and writing woodworking articles for woodworking magazines.  He retired from woodworking in December 2012 due to health issues.

In July 2012, Doug and Marie added canine rescue to their daily activities.  Working from home, Doug was and is the primary caregiver.  In the years since, they have grown and expanded their care capabilities.  In April 2019 they built a proper kennel facility, for the dogs that cannot yet be an in-house dog, and in October 2019 they pursued 501(c)(3) designation.

HONORS

    • Doug was appointed as Deacon of his church in March 2020.
    • Doug was elected Clerk of Session for his church Jan 2012, 2013, 2014.
    • Allan was interviewed by the amazing Morgen Bailey July, 2012
    • Doug did a video interview by NBC News (WBIR Channel 10 Knoxville) regarding his furniture.  July 9, 2012
    • Allan was interviewed by Brigitte A. Thompson for Writer’s In Business on March 2012
    • Doug was featured in Connected Tennessee Magazine April of 2008 & April 2011 editions.
    • Doug was awarded Startup Nation Top Ten Home Businesses Award in 2007.
    • Doug was Ordained as church Elder in 2007.
    • Doug was awarded V.I.P. Award by Cocke County Partnership in 2006 & 2008.
    • Doug won Outstanding Guest Service Award, President Casino, 1996 & 1997.
    • Doug was awarded B.S.A. Medal of Merit for lifesaving 1970.

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Calvin Metcalf

Dr. Metcalf has served in a pastoral capacity at many churches starting with Bethel Hill Baptist Church in Roxboro, NC in 1957 through Central Baptist Church of Fountain City in Knoxville TN 1975 – 1997. He has since slowed down and served as interim pastor for 6 churches including First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson City and Newport Presbyterian. Calvin still writes a newspaper column: Another Perspective, for the Newport Plain Talk newspaper, some of those articles are shared here on Random Thoughts as well. He has served on various committees and held several offices including president of local Pastor’s Conferences in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee as well as Moderator of the Knox County Association of Baptists and pastor Advisor for BSU at University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee. His travels include preaching missions to Nova Scotia, New Zealand, Columbia, Venezuela, the Philippine Islands, and Belize. Calvin also has authored a number of books, including;

  • THE GREATEST GIFT, Broadman Press, 1985
  • VOICES FROM THE BIBLE, Meriwether Publishing, LTD., 1990
  • JUMP-STARTS FOR THOUGHTFUL MEDITATION, Publishing & Printing, 1996
  • DIPPERS AND BUCKETS, Publish & Printing, 1997

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Doug was regular contributor/Editor of What’s Happening Now for Cocke County TN from 06/2005 to 03/2012
  • Doug designed, built and maintains a variety of web sites for multiple business clients.
  • Doug was writer, announcer & producer of By Faith, Not By Sight radio program which aired weekly on WGSN New Life Radio from 06/2009 to 08/2014.
  • Doug wrote and implemented the computer system users manual for Community Herald Publications and provided data conversion/entry services for all subscriber records.
  • Doug wrote and implemented the new hire training manual/class for President Casinos in St. Louis, MO.
  • Doug developed, wrote and implemented training program for P.O.S. computer/register system for The Woodworker’s Store in St. Louis, Mo.

Woodworker

For over 30 years I’ve been a dedicated woodworker. Initially as an amateur building things, mostly small furniture, for myself and friends. Then as a part time professional: which means people were paying me for the work I did. In 1999 I took it full time and have been self-employed ever since.

For the majority of that time I specialized in custom designed, hand crafted solid hardwood furniture. One of a kind pieces. I have a portfolio of some of these on our Facebook page, if you’d care to see them. When the economy tanked in 2008 I turned to making a select number of our most popular pieces as “stock” items. I also turned more to the other skills listed below for income. I no longer do custom work because my time is so spoken for that I cannot get this kind or work done in the time frame people expect.

Writer

My Hemingway Pose

I began writing as a hobby quite young. Most of that wasn’t worth showing anyone, but it was a start. I was a voracious reader, and reading great books inspired me to try my hand. Creative writing classes in high school helped. After I graduated I ended up working with two publishing companies. One printed a large metropolitan newspaper and distributed books and magazines. The second printed 3 newspapers, several magazines and did some vanity press book publishing. It was here that I broke into writing professionally. One of the computer magazines they printed accepted many articles from me and asked me to write a book. I did, they got it traditionally published and I’ve been writing at least part time ever since.  I have self-published three more books since then, and I have had hundreds of articles published in magazines, eZines, and blogs. A partial listing of these publications is available below.

Web Site Designer

Long ago I fell in with a gang of game developers. I never got into coding up games, but I did teach myself to hand code HTML web sites, and I built sites for these gamers to use in promoting and hosting their games. Since moving to the mountains I have built dozens of web sites for local businesses, organizations and churches. These days I can work with HTML, PHP templates, some Java scripting, and am quite good with the Word Press platform.

Radio/Podcast Production

From 2010 until 2014 I took on the role of producer of the By Faith Not By Sight radio program that aired on WGSN 90.7 FM every Sunday evening. This work involved writing a portion of the script, announcing, cutting and splicing sound files, and mixing background tracks behind vocals. I use a Yeti studio microphone and Wavepad software. The resulting files were saved as CD quality files for on-air use and reduced to 96 mbps mp3 files for qood quality on-line listening without the need for buffering on most broadband connections.

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The following articles have been published and are available on-line. We mention them here to help our readers find them and for SEO purposes (but you didn’t hear us say that). Many more were published in print magazines, but are not available on-line and because of copyrights we may not post reprints or scanned copies. If you are considering hiring me as a writer and wonder if I’ve written much that has actually been published, scan through the list below: I think you will find ample evidence.

Since June of 2018 much of my work has been as a ghost writer for a wide variety of web sites, thus my work is published under the buyers name, not mine and I may not take credit for it while it is published on their sites.  Once the exclusive use terms are completed I can post the articles on my own web sites (or resell them) but I can not reveal where they had appeared before.  That is life as a ghost.  But the listing below should give you an inkling or my writing history.

May/June 2018 edition of Grit Magazine – Page 60. Photo contributor.

08/23/2017, Stihl FS40 String Trimmer: First Use and Review, Grit Magazine

Mega-Box Garden Project, published by Grit Magazine between 09/30/2016 and 08/18/2017: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

May/June 2017 issue (Grit Magazine) Choosing Used Cast Iron Cookware, published by Ogden Publications. I’m told this also appeared in Capper Magazine, a sister publication, but I don’t have the date.

Oct. 26, 2016 Ecological Farming published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

July 20, 2016 How to Grow and Use Elderberry Plants published by Grit Magazine on-line. Referenced in Nov/Dec 2016 print version.

May 23, 2016 E-Waste Is a Growing Problem published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

May 10, 2016 Heartworm Treatment Aftermath published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

May 2, 2016 Your Dog’s Tail Tells a Tale published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

May, 2016 Cast No Aspersions on Cast Iron published in the Grit Country Skills Series, Guide to Cast-Iron Cooking, Vol. 10, Issue 2, Pages 12 through 17.

Mar. 25, 2016 The Importance of Pack Order published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Mar. 17, 2016 Short story Black Box Blues published by Reader’s Gazette.

Nov. 29, 2015 6 Tips on Selecting Pet Food published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Nov. 18, 2015 Canine Pneumonia and Heartworm published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept 3, 2015 Luxury Pet Products, providing innovative comfort and style: Why a Dog Bed? published by Animals Matter, Inc..

Aug 20, 2015 Composite vs Timber Decking Prices published by NextGEN Decking .

Aug 20, 2015 Chimney Cleaning: the Easiest Way to Prevent Chimney Fires published by Fiddler on the Roof.

Aug 9, 2015 How a Canine Training Center Helps Make You the Boss published by Canine Commander.

July 23, 2015 Reclaimed Wood Is Suitable for High End Projects published by Centennial Woods LLC..

July 15, 2015 Advantages of Composite Decking over Wood Decking published by NextGen Decking.

July 14, 2015 Cutting the Cost of Heartworm Prevention published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

July 9, 2015 Benefits of Hardwood Flooring Include Ease of Repair or Update published by The Finishing Store.

July 2, 2016 The Truth Behind the “Pit Bull” published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

May/June 2015 Issue of Grit Magazine (print version: Ogden Publications) included Doug’s article: A Simple Home-Made Fruit Picker.

June 30, 2015 Litter Is a Choice published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

May 18, 2015 Canine Hypothyroidism published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Jan. 14, 2015 Cosmopolitan Composting of Food Waste published by KCCB.

Note on the Of Mice and Mountain Men column at Grit Magazine Online: As of January 2015 I am posting teaser articles in my regular blog feed that link to these articles. You can find them in the Share The Love category listing.

Jan. 07, 2015 Cast No Aspersions on Cast-Iron Cookware published by Grit Magazine Online as a three part series. Part 2 came out on Jan, 19 and Part 3 on Feb. 4th, 2015. All three articles were combined and run in the July/Aug 2016 edition of the print version of Grit Magazine, and reprinted in the May 2016 book listed above.

Jan. 07, 2015 A New Year: A New Plan published by KCCB.

Dec. 30, 2014 Gray Morning published by Grit Magazine Online.

Dec. 24, 2014 Christmas Tree Disposal published by KCCB.

Dec. 10, 2014 We Wish You an Efficient Christmas Published by KCCB.

Dec. 02, 2014 Composting Coffee Grounds published by Grit Magazine Online.

Nov. 26, 2014 Daffodil Alley: Beautification with Bulbs published by KCCB.

Nov. 21, 2014 10 Crate Training Tips published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Nov. 17, 2014 Encountering Collard Greens published by Grit Magazine Online.

Nov. 12, 2014 Recycling and Gift Wrapping Paper published by KCCB.

Nov. 11, 2014 Separation Anxiety and Your Dog published by PMFC.

Nov. 7, 2014 Dogs and Socialization: part 2 published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Nov. 4, 2014 When the Wind Blows and the Snow Falls published by Grit Magazine.

Oct. 29, 2014 Warding off Winter’s Wrath published by KCCB.

Oct. 20, 2014 The Pawpaw: A Southern Delicacy published by Grit Magazine.

Oct. 17, 2014 The Advantages of a Mentor Dog published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Oct 15, 2014 The Dangers of an Illegal Tire Dump published by KCCB.

Oct. 31, 2014 Dogs and Socialization: part 1 published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept. 30, 2014 Springing into Autumn published by KCCB.

Sept. 26, 2014 Speak! Do Dogs Talk? published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept. 22, 2014 Fine as Frog Hair published by Grit Magazine.

Sept. 19, 2014 Inside a Free Spay and Neuter Clinic published by PMFC and the Newport Plain Talk newspaper.

Sept. 15, 2014 Miller Recycling Receives SBA Award published by KCCB.

Sept. 12, 2014 Dogs and Weather published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept. 9, 2014 Keep Some for Later Tomato published by Grit Magazine.

Sept. 5, 2014 Taking the Stress out of Vet Visits published by PMFC.

Sept. 3, 2014 Recycling Cardboard published by KCCB.

Sept. 2, 2014 Canned Apples published by Grit Magazine.

Aug. 29, 2014 Dog Treats, Toys and Expectations published by PMFC.

Aug. 22, 2014 Good Dogs and Sharing published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Aug. 11, 2014 A Quick and Easy Fruit Picker published by Grit Magazine.

Aug. 6, 2014 Recycling Water published by KCCB.

Aug. 1, 2014 Being a Shop Dog and Housebreaking published by PMFC.

Jul. 31, 2014 Former Rescue Dog Becomes TV Star published by PMFC.

Jul. 28, 2014 Woodworking Green Stuff published by Grit Magazine.

Jul. 23, 2014 Recycling Can Be Rewarding published by KCCB.

Jul. 14 2014 How Much Does a Cloud Weigh? published by Grit Magazine.

Jul. 9, 2014 Recycling Rubber published by KCCB.

Jul. 2, 2014 Battling the Evil Flea Beetle published by Grit Magazine.

Jun 28, 2014 Gallery of Upcycling Ideas published by KCCB.

Jun. 26, 2014 Seeking the History of Screened Porches published by Grit Magazine.

Jun. 27, 2014 Thunder and Dogs published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Jun 16, 2014 Recycling Yard Waste Into Something Useful published by KCCB.

Jun 10, 2014 Jerked by a Zerk published by Grit Magazine.

Jun 13, 2014 Fostering and Postpartum Depression published by PMFC.

Jun 3, 2014 Recycle into Planters for a Super Summer Spruce-up published by KCCB.

Jun 2, 2014 Volunteer for Beautification published by KCCB.

May 30, 2014 Treating Heartworm: Recovery published by Piney Mountain Foster.

May 27, 2014 Concerto of Pain published by Grit Magazine.

May 14, 2014 Mountain Man May Mower Maintenance published by Grit Magazine.

May 9, 2014 Signs of Canine Heart Disease published by Piney Mountain Foster.

May 2, 2014 Lyme Disease and Your Dog published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Apr. 25, 2014 Canine Heartworm Disease published by Piney Mountain Foster care.

Apr. 22, 2014 Spring Clean-up Results published by KCCB.

Apr. 16, 2014 Mega-Bath Day published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Apr. 16, 2014 April Fooling published by Grit Magazine.

Apr. 7, 2014 Electronics Recycling Event published by KCCB.

Mar. 31, 2014 Performing a Lake Cleanup published by KCCB.

Mar. 30, 2014 Of Pens and Dog Houses published by Piney Mountain Foster.

Mar. 27, 2014 Spring Rain Repairs published by Grit Magazine.

Mar. 25, 2014 Kingsleys Facebook Award Ceremony published by PMFC.

Mar. 25, 2014 Great American Cleanup published by KCCB.

Mar. 18, 2014 New Dog Bed: Buster’s Double Dog Dare published by PMFC.

Mar. 12, 2014 Winding Down Winter published by Grit Magazine.

Mar. 12, 2014 Animal Fostering for Military Personel published by PMFC.

Mar. 3, 2014 Advantages of Recycling Aluminum published by KCCB.

Mar. 3, 2014 Why Foster Care? Published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Feb. 18, 2014 Reducing Runaway Consumer Buying published by KCCB.

Feb. 12, 2014 Treatment Begins for Handsome Hercules published by PMFC.

Feb. 12, 2014 Recipe: Peanut Butter Dog Cookies published by Grit Magazine.

Feb. 7, 2014 Cold Day – Full House published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Feb. 3, 2014 Recycling Glass: A Clear Advantage published by KCCB.

Feb. 3, 2014 The Ups and Downs of Slope Side Living, Part 3 published by Grit Magazine.

Jan. 29, 2014 Emergency Shelter for Hercules published by Piney Mountain Foster.

Jan. 27, 2014 Hercules Makes Himself at Home published by Piney Mountain Foster.

Jan. 23, 2014 Recycling Dead Batteries published by KCCB.

Jan. 23, 2014 Intensive Care for Cheyanne published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Jan. 16, 2014 The Ups and Downs of Slope Side Living Part 2 published by Grit Magazine.

Jan. 3, 2014 Slope Side Living published by Grit Magazine Online.

Dec. 31, 2013: Recycling Tires published by the local chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

Dec. 26, 2013: Recycling Live Christmas Trees published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Dec. 10, 2013 Rhonda: Queen of the Hill published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Dec. 9, 2013: From Poster Child for Urban Blight to Model for Urban Farms? published by KCCB.

Dec. 4, 2013: The Rise of Urban Farms published by Grit Magazine on-line.

Nov. 28, 2013: Recycling the Thanksgiving Turkey published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Nov. 27, 2013: Looking for Options in Recycling published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Nov. 15, 2013 Malachi Rides the Rolling Rescue Bus published by PMFC.

Nov. 7, 2013: Life in the Mountains: Wildfires published by Grit Magazine On-Line.

Nov. 1, 2013: These Guys Are Really Bugging Me! published by Grit Magazine online.

Oct. 29, 2013 Meet Malachi: The Out Of Control Turkey-Dog published by PMFC.

Oct. 25, 2013: Leave the Leaves? Published by local chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

Oct. 23, 2013: Scrambling Time published by Grit Magazine online.

Oct. 11, 2013: Just Small Potatoes published by Grit Magazine Online.

Oct. 1, 2013: NASCAR Waves the Green Flag on Environmental Issues published by KCCB.

Oct. 1, 2013: A Season Finale Green Tomato Relish published by Grit Magazine Online.

Sept. 27, 2013: Old Bed, New Bed, Garden Bed published by Grit Magazine online.

Sept. 17, 2013: The Down Side of Personal Electronics published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Sept. 10, 2013: LED Light Bulbs: a Better Choice For Indoor Lighting? published by KCCB.

Aug. 28, 2013: From Grocery Totes to Plastic Lumber published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Aug. 24, 2013: Refuse to Buy Non-Recyclables published by local chapter Keep America Beautiful.

Jul. 24, 2013: The Problem with Landfills published by local chapter Keep America Beautiful.

Jul. 11, 2013: Why Should You Recycle? published by Keep Cocke County Beautiful.

Jul. 11, 2013: Post Strawberry Season published by Grit Magazine online.

July 1, 2013: Single Stream Recycling published by the local chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

June 23, 2013: Note to Self: Don’t Do That Again published by Grit Magazine online.

June 10, 2013: Garden Update: Making It Pretty published by Grit Magazine online.

May 31, 2013: The What, How, and Why of Recycling Plastic published by a chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

May 21, 2013: A Recipe for Perfect Compost published by local chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

May 20, 2013: Building a Boardwalk published by Grit Magazine online.

May 2013: All the Trimmings in the 2013 edition of Guide to Field and Lawn Care. Part of Ogden Publications’ Country Skills Series (print only).

May 3, 2013: Cures From Your Garden published by Grit Magazine online.

Apr 1, 2013: Setting Spuds in Spring published by Grit Magazine on-line.

Jan. 16, 2013: For the Love of Dogs published by Grit Magazine, an essay on our adventures in dog fostering.

Oct 29, 2012, The Daily Tromp published by Grit Magazine, a piece of creative writing describing an extra adventure for Cochise and I.

Oct 17, 2012 The Camel, The Straw, and You published by HealthMad. The key to combating burn-out is to choose your own loads.

Oct. 7, 2012 Moonpie in The Smokies Festival – 2012 published by Quazen. A travel article on a festival celebrating an iconic snack of the South.

Oct. 5, 2012: Fall Clean-up; Adding a Chipper-Shredder to Our Tool Arsenal published by Grit Magazine.

Sept, 2012 First Times published by Patricia Carrigan

Sept 29, 2012 Time Management: Pickle Jars to Post-its published by Computer Sight. There are many forms of time management available, and some are touted as being the best or most efficient. But do they allow for real life?

Sept 24, 2012 Recipe for Stuffed Banana Peppers published by Grit Magazine. A deliciously different stuffed pepper recipe.

Sept 20, 2012 How to Defuse The Stress Time-bomb published by HealthMad. Stress can ruin your health and steal your joy. Learn how to manage it.

Sept. 20, 2012 Heartworm Treatment Begins for Cochise published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept 16, 2012 LED Light Bulbs: A Better Choice for Indoor Lighting? published by Quazen. A look at the benefits and drawbacks of the LED light bulb.

Sept 13, 2012 The Healing Benefits of Bromelain in Pineapple published by Notecook. Pineapple is one of the best arthritis pain relievers ever found. At least as effective as NSAID’s.

Sept. 13, 2012 Rescuing Cochise published by Piney Mountain Foster Care.

Sept 8, 2012 Simple Living vs. Stuff published by Quazen. Those embracing simple living must start eliminating extraneous “stuff”. Christmas can be a serious challenge to that goal.

Sept 6, 2012 Gardening Lessons Learned published by Grit Magazine. I learned a few lessons the hard way this year, come, let me share what I learned.

Aug 23, 2012 The Forest’s Revenge published by Grit Magazine. Sometimes the the forest hits back!

Aug. 20, 2012 Converter, Formatter, Printer – Who is For Real? published by Writing on Writing

Aug 10, 2012 Our Lil Grocery Store published by Grit Magazine. A peek at how we store the preserved foods from our garden.

July 31, 2012 Turning Tomato Skins into Instant Tomato published by Grit Magazine. A way to make good use of something we may otherwise just toss out.

July 14, 2012 My Potato-Tomato Omelet Recipe on Grit Magazine.

June 27, 2012 Espresso Book Machine: Print on Demand Bookmaker published by Bizcovering. A look at the future of Print On Demand book production.

June 26, 2012 Speak Up, Stand Out, Attract Traffic published by WebUpon. A discussion of how to use commenting on blogs to build traffic to your author site or blog.

June 23, 2012 The Muny: St. Louis’ Jewel in the Park published by Quazen. A travel article about The Muny Amphitheater, the nation’s largest outdoor theater.

June 21, 2012 Virtual Garden Tour published by Grit Magazine.

June 16, 2012 Authors Boost Income Giving It Up for Free published by ComputerSight. How to use free samples to entice new readers – and how to tick them off in done wrong.

June 12, 2012 MoonPie: a Southern Favorite published by Grit Magazine. A MoonPie Festival piques my curiosity of this iconic Southern snack.

June 11, 2012 The Pitfalls of Artwork published by Quazen. A look at licensing artwork for use on your blog and in your books. What is legal, what is allowed, what will get you sued.

June 6th, 2012 Editorial Tagging Quick Tip published by WritingHood. A tip on using tags to flag problems during writing or editing to you don’t break your stride.

June 5th, 2012 What Value, The Editor! published by WritingHood. A look at the role an editor plays on the life and work of self-published authors.

June 3rd, 2012 Marketing a Book: Where to Start published by WritingHood. A few tips on what to do as groundwork for marketing a book.

May 29, 2012 Tracking the History of the Tractor published by Grit Magazine. Who coined the name “tractor” and why?

May 28, 2012 What to Do After Being Banned by Google AdSense published by WritingHood. What to do if you run afoul of Google and they ban your AdSense account.

May 22, 2012 Selling a Book to Publishers: Groundwork published by Bizcovering. A discussion of the tasks that must be accomplished before seeking an agent to market your manuscript to legacy publishing houses.

May 21, 2012 Meet Charles Gulotta published by WebUpon. Introduction to this humorist and his work.

May 20, 2012 A Writers Tools of The Trade: Computer published by ComputerSight. The what and why of a writer’s computer.

May 19, 2012 Changing MS Word’s Default Format published by ComputerSight. Just making things simpler for you.

May 17, 2012 Writing for Profit or Pleasure; Blogging published by WebUpon. A sample discussion from my book.

May 17, 2012 Dressing for Work as a Writer published by WritingHood. Is there a dress code for writers?

May 17, 2012 Using MS Word to Compress Images published by ComputerSight. Another quick trick for writers.

May 17, 1012 Writing for Profit or Pleasure; Should You Kindle Your Blog? published by WebUpon. A sample discussion from my book.

May 16, 2012 Building Garden Fence Boxes published by Grit Magazine. Construction article on the new plan for garden fencing.

May 16, 2012 Taking Time to Read published by WritingHood. Finding ways to read even in a busy schedule.

May 16, 2012 Writing for Profit or Pleasure; Online Communal Publishers published by WebUpon. A sample from my book.

May 14, 2012 So You Want To Be a Writer? published by WritingHood. Is the siren-song of freelance writing beckoning you? Here is a beginner’s guide to taking those first few steps.

Apr. 26, 2012 Garden Fencing published byGrit Magazine. A new plan for fencing the garden.

Apr. 5, 2012 Digging In published by Grit Magazine. My best helper, Zadie, and I work up a sweat with a garden expansion project.

Apr. 3, 2012 Movie Review: Battle Beyond The Stars published by WritingHood.

Mar 19, 2012 Garden Expansion (Delusions of Grandeur?) published by Grit Magazine. Holy Cow! What have I gotten myself into?

Mar. 6, 2012 Opening the Garden published by Grit Magazine. Time to prepare the garden for spring planting.

Feb 22, 2012 Movie Review: Destination Moon published by ScienceRay.

Feb 16, 2012 Movie Review: The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells published by WritingHood.

Feb 14, 2012 Warts and All published by Grit Magazine. How we handle life’s failures is at least as important as how we handle success.

Feb 8, 2012 Serving Up 6 Healthy Perks for Coffee Drinkers published by Grit Magazine. A look at the healthy side of this popular beverage.

Jan 28, 2012 Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow published by Cinemaroll. Movie review.

Jan. 27, 2012 Rainy Days and Fridays published by Grit Magazine. Call me crazy (many do) but I like rainy days.

Jan 22, 2012 Movie Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still published by TeleWatcher.

Jan 21, 2012 Movie Review: Them! published by Cinemaroll. A Sci-Fi classic.

Jan 13, 2012 Hoop House Update published by Grit Magazine. We’re entering the coldest part of the year, how is my winter garden holding up?

Jan 5, 2012 Movie Review: Final Days of Planet Earth published by Cinemaroll.

Jan 4, 2012 Movie Review: The Thing From Another World published by Socyberty. (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

January 2012 Training Creativity published by Creative Flux

Dec 28, 2011 Movie Review: Alien Trespass published by Cinemaroll.

Dec. 21, 2011 December Greens published by Grit Magazine. Does winter gardening work? Look for yourself!

Dec. 21, 2011 Movie Review: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians published by Socyberty. (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

Dec. 21, 2011 Movie Review: Destination Space published by Gomestic.

Dec. 18, 2011 Sinking Into Christmas published by Grit Magazine. How could I possibly disappoint a woman who says her fondest Christmas wish is for a new kitchen sink?

Nov 23, 2011 Extending Your Gardening Season with Hoop Houses published by Grit Magazine. Not ready to call it quits in the garden? Here’s how to keep it going in the winter.

Nov 15, 2011 Preserving the Bounty: Late Green Tomatoes published by Grit Magazine. What to do with the tomatoes that are too green to ripen before the first frost.

Oct 26, 2011 Autumn Arrives published by Grit Magazine. Fall garden notes and some interesting family activities.

Sept. 25, 2011 Preserving the Bounty: Peppers published by Grit Magazine. Preserving the excess peppers from your garden.

Aug 30, 2011 Preserving the Bounty: Drying Tomatoes published by Grit Magazine. Another way to preserve the excess tomatoes from your garden.

Jul 23, 2011 Preserving the Bounty: Freezing Tomatoes published by Grit Magazine. Now that the garden is producing, what do we do with all the food?

Jul. 6, 2011 Topsy Maters and Gully Washers published by Grit Magazine. Testing a hanging tomator planter and dealing with heavy rain run-off.

Jun 3, 2011 Square Foot Gardening – Update published by Grit Magazine. a look at how the new garden is going and what I’m growing.

June, 2011 Six Reasons to Stick With Legacy Publishing (satire) published by The Creative Penn was picked up by big names like The Taleist, The Passive Voice, Self Publishing Resources, and many self-publishing blogs

May 2, 2011 Square Foot Gardening: Step 3, Pickin’ and Gridding published by Grit Magazine. Creating a raised bed garden for the Square Foot Gardening Method.

May 2011 Self Help for Self-Publishers published by Novel Publicity & Co.

Apr. 28, 2011 How to Find The Time to Start a Hobby published by Socyberty. Want to pursue a passion but don’t have time? (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

Apr. 26, 2011 Fighting Clinical Depression published by HealthMad. How to recognize it and how to fight back against it.

Apr. 25, 2011 A Sure Formula for Happiness published by HealthMad. Seven simple things you can do to drastically improve your level of happiness in life.

Apr. 20, 2011 Pocono Raceway: The World’s Largest Solar Powered Sports Facility published by Sportales.

Apr 12, 2011 Square Foot Gardening Project: Step 2, Making Dirt published by Grit Magazine. Creating a raised bed garden for the Square Foot Gardening Method.

Apr. 6, 2011 Identifying and Dealing with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) published by HealthMad. The third most common mental disorder.

Apr. 6, 2011 TVA Expands It’s Sustainable Power Program published by ScienceRay. Planning for the future, TVA embraces green energy

Apr. 3, 2011 Square Foot Garden Project: Step 1 published by Grit Magazine. Building a raised bed garden for the Square Foot Gardening Method.

April 2011 bookWriting for Profit or Pleasure published by Kindle Digital Publishing and Barnes & Noble . Released as paperback July 5th 2011.

Mar. 31, 2011 Hank Williams Jr. Takes Up The Moonshine Trade published by Musicouch. Hank Williams throws in with Legendary Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton to form a new business. NOTE: the link to this article was removed because my security software: SiteLock reports that Google has blacklisted Musicouch.com for hosting malware. If you want to try it anyway copy and paste this into your browser: http://musicouch.com/music-making/hank-williams-jr-takes-up-the-moonshine-trade/

Mar. 15, 2011 Signs of Spring published by Grit Magazine. A look at sprint time in the Smokies and what I’m doing to prepare for the coming season.

Mar. 1, 2011 Do the Dew Dumplings published by Grit Magazine. The recipe for an unusual Southern treat.

Feb. 24, 2011 Bush Brothers and Company: Getting It Right! published by Grit Magazine. A look at the history of this innovative local company.

Feb 2011 Kindle Your Blog published by Kindle Digital Publishing

Feb 2, 2011 In The Shop Notes published by Amazon for Kindle

Feb. 2, 2011 Why Lady Bugs are Neither published by Grit Magazine. A look at the common Lady Bug and why this is such a misnomer.

Jan. 21, 2011 Making a Luscious Turtle Pie published by Grit Magazine. The recipe for one of my favorite deserts.Jan 17, 2011 to Sept 2012 Simple Life Prattle published by Amazon for Kindle

Jan 10, 2011 The Write Stuff published by Amazon for Kindle

Jan. 2, 2011 The Special Christmas Gift published by Grit Magazine. A white Christmas is, for us, a special and rare gift; come share it with us.

Oct. 29, 2010 Building a Stone Fire Pit published by Grit Magazine. A look at how we used what was already here to enhance our landscaping and our enjoyment of our home. Featuring Zadie the Firekeeper.

Oct. 27, 2010 Happy Is As Happy Does published by SocyBerty. Helpful ways to fend off the negativity that pervades modern society. (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

Oct. 26, 2010 Multi-purpose Yard Tools Stretch Your Buying Power published by Quazen. Combination tools help accomplish more with less.

Oct. 26, 2010 US Slides On Confidence Scale published by SocyBerty. Transparency Internationals latest world corruption scale is bad news for USA. (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

Oct. 25, 2010 Australian Tourist Attraction Welcomes Klingons publised by SocyBerty. Report on an innovative multi-lingual cave tour program. (NOTE: this link was killed because Google blacklisted Socyberty for malware.)

Oct. 20, 2010 Using 3D Printer Technologies for Fast Economical Modeling published by HubPages. Using the latest generation of printing technology, you can now “print” 3 dimensional models of astounding complexity and detail.

Oct. 15, 2010 SBU: the Compact Personal Transportation of the Future published by HubPages. If you’re looking for a compact, ecologically smart form of transportation that requires less work and hassle than a bicycle and want something that can be maneuvered easily and parked anywhere, the SBU is for you.

Oct. 14, 2010 Brain Rot published by Grit Magazine. A humorous look at my increasing number of Senior Moments.

Oct. 12, 2010 LED Light Bulbs: the Best Choice For Indoor Lighting? published by Suite101. LED lights are an eco-friendly, long lasting and versatile choice in home lighting.

Sept 30, 2010 A Right Fine Settin’ Porch published by Grit Magazine, discusses the lost art of porch sitting.

Sept 27, 2010 Lights Out for Incandescent Bulbs – New Technologies Loom published by HubPages (since removed). The incandescent light bulb is being outlawed in the US, to be eliminated from American homes by 2014. What new technologies are ready to step in and fill the void?

Sept. 10, 2010 A Novice Gardener’s Notes on Growing Radishes published by Grit Magazine. A look at radishes and why they make a good choice as a first “crop” for novice gardeners.

Aug. 27, 2010 Rookie Gardening Mistakes You Can Avoid published by Grit Magazine. Things I found out the hard way, and tell you about so you can avoid those mistakes. Or so you can laugh at the rookie!

Aug. 17, 2010 Smart Home Networks: The Next Big Thing published on Suite101. Smart home networks offer wonderful new conveniences, but we must make sure that proper controls and security measures are implemented as well.

Aug. 10, 2010 Confessions of a Clinical Depression Survivor published by HubPages. With suicide rates on the rise worldwide, recognizing and treating depression early is critical. here is one survivor’s story and some helpful information on what to look for.

July 30, 2010 Smart Grid Electricity: Blessing or Bane? published by Suite101. A Smart Grid power system promises to cure America’s electricity distribution woes, make our nation more energy efficient and reduce utility costs.

July 27, 2010 The Down Side of Personal Electronics published by Suite101, republished by KCCB. Modern electronics keep communication, entertainment, and information at the public’s fingertips. What effect does this ‘connectivity’ have on society?

July 21, 2010 Dealing With Power Outages in Rural Life published by HubPages. Power outages are nothing new to rural residents. New technologies have helped reduce the number of outages and reduce the length of those that can not be prevented, but preparedness is still advised.

July 18, 2010 Road Racing Test in Solar Powered Cars published on HubPages. The 2010 American Solar Challenge is a competition to design, build, and drive solar-powered race cars in a cross-country time/distance rally which ran 1,100 miles along public roads. My Nephew, Paul, was a member of the Illinois State University team in this competition. Ride along with them.

July 16, 2010 Robots of the Not So Distant Future (part 3/3) published on HubPages. There are some very interesting things hanging around the old robotics lab even today. Here’s a look at robots on the cutting edge that may be members of your household not long from now.

July 15, 2010 Is There a Robot in Your Future (part 2/3) published on HubPages. Robots have been in service in industry such as assembly lines for some time, but they are not “intelligent” nor are they mobile. They are programmed to perform a single task – make a series of welds on…

July 14, 2010 Is There a Robot In Your Future? Part 1 of 3 published on HubPages. Is a robotic maid and nanny a possibility for your home? Human shaped robots that are capable of independent thought and mobility so they can perform tasks for us around the home or job site have been fodder…

July 2010 Melissa Venema plays Il silenzio with Andre Rieu published by HubPages. This is an excerpt from, and background information on, a performance of the world-famous Johann Strauss Orchestra; directed by Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer Andre Rieu during the World Stadium Tour in Amsterdam Arena.

June 2010 to Sept 2012 Simple Life Prattle a “back to basics” blog.

Mar. 2010, Dealing With Changes in Your Goals or Life Plans published by HubPages. Sometimes even our most carefully thought out plans can end up taking us places other than what we planned. I should know…

Oct. 2008 – July 2009 Going Pro As A Woodworker purchased by Highland Woodworking for publication in their Wood News Magazine. A 10 part series.

Woodworker Wanderings is a series of articles created for Rockler Woodworking and Hardware (publishers of Today’s Woodworker magazine) and published on their corporate web site, but since they have been long ago removed, we may post them for you here – or submit them elsewhere.

  1. Louisville Slugger museum and factory. Posted 6/21/2000
  2. Furniture Alley, heartland of American furniture production. Posted 7/17/2000.
  3. DeKlomp Wooden Shoe Factory in Holland Michigan. Posted 8/15/2000.
  4. Martin Guitars history and manufacturing. Posted 9/16/2000.
  5. Giant City A delight for nature buffs of all ages. Posted 10/16/2000.

OVER THE YEARS

Doug designed and maintained the Smoky Mountain Woodworks web site including digital photography and copywriting as well as writing the company blog Daily Shop Notes.

Furniture Construction Articles A series of photo-illustrated articles describing the process, techniques and reasoning of building an assortment of furniture pieces, published by Smoky Mountain Woodworks.

Wrote a series of “Shop Tips” articles for Rockler Woodworking and Hardware.

Rules Of Thumb A series of short articles, some very short, discussing some of those hard won pearls of knowledge that we gain only through experience with a particular slant toward woodworking published by Smoky Mountain Woodworks, some were picked up by American Woodworker magazine.

Mountain Man Wannabe An eclectic collection of short pieces inspired by the adventures of this middle-aged city couple as we move to the mountains to pursue our dream of building custom furniture. Published by Smoky Mountain Woodworks.

The Fat Lady Sings

For two years Doug wrote a monthly column for Visiting the Smokies Magazine (Cocke County). These articles spotlighted a different local artist and their work each month.

Doug sold occasional single articles to Popular Woodworking, Today’s Woodworker, American Woodworker, Parenting, Illinois Knights Templar and Readers Digest.

Doug wrote many articles and press releases for various companies and organizations that have appeared in the Monona Herald, McFarland Life, The Good News, The Newport Plain Talk, The Greenville Sun, The Citizen Tribune, The Standard Banner, The Rogersville Review , The Mountiain Press, and the Knoxville News Sentinel. These articles are occasionally picked up by the AP News Service and have appeared in papers across the region and the nation.

1987 Doug wrote a book on computer programming published by COMAL USA.

1985-1986 Doug wrote a series of computer programming articles published in COMAL Today.

Random Thoughts

A blog about many things.  Mostly dog-related.  Everything aside from Foster dog notes, which are here.

Check out Random Thoughts