Category Archives: About

Part #1 How to start a successful (or failing) Blog in 2013!

As some may know, I have run a successful web site (hearth.com) since 1995. We have a very active forum community and many other features, but most importantly a good community of helpful members who spend their time helping others. This has resulted in MILLIONS of pages being read each month as well as a community which mostly takes care of itself.

When I started Hearth.com the internet was like the wild west – very little “land” had been claimed, and a decent site on ANY subject had a very good chance of success if the basics were in place. However, now that anyone can – and millions do – start web sites, I think it would be a LOT harder to succeed when starting from scratch.

As an experiment, I am doing just that…and I will blog here on the effort so that others can learn from my failures and successes.
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My first E-Book on Amazon!

Well, I did it.

I published one of my short stories on Amazon as an E-book and sales have actually been pretty decent! The Book is called “Growing up Hippie – Living with the Rastas” and is an edited and longer version of the Rasta stories which were posted here last year.

You can buy the book for only 99 cents!

The link is at:
http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Hippie-Rastafarians-ebook/dp/B008397HPG/

Enjoy!

How I become familiar with computers and then a Webmaster!

How I become a Webmaster and started Hearth.com

For those who are unfamiliar, I am the founder and publisher of Hearth.com, a popular web site about wood stoves and related appliances which has been active since 1995.

When I first decided to start this informational hearth site, it was my goal to have 10,000 readers per month…now we have more than that number in ONE DAY. Stats for Fall, 2011, show 460,000 visitors in November alone, reading over 3 MILLION pages!

In fact, Hearth.com is the most read stove and fireplace publication in the world and perhaps the only independent source of hearth information on the internet or in print!

Let’s turn on the wayback machine and discover how Hearth.com came to be.
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More about Craig – childhood

I was born in Philadelphia in November of 1953 – a baby boomer, for certain, albeit on the younger end of that generation. Although many periods in history are full of upheaval and change, there is something unique about the speed and severity of the changes which started to occur as I entered primary school. The sequence of events are fairly well known, but to see them close at hand as a growing child was quite alarming. Continue reading

Take it Easy, you’ll be ahead of the game.

(note – written MANY years ago – approx 1992)

Take it from me–the original type “A” personality. It pays to keep yourself rested and healthy. I worked 60 to 70 hours a week for many years while I started my businesses. Yes, I enjoyed it, but this stress took it’s toll.

At around age 35, my doctor told me he’d be putting me on medicine for high blood pressure. I casually asked him how long I would have to take it and he answered “the rest of your life”. Well, that got me thinking ! It’s easy to pretend that we are invincible, but you can’t fool Mother Nature. If you are far out of balance, something will go wrong! In my own case, it’s a long story that’s not over yet.
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The Mind of a Mechanic

Mechanic’s Mind – a term I have not heard before – and yet one that would seem to be obvious. I have never read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, yet the title brings to mind a definition possibly close to Mechanics Mind.

For the uninitiated, the closest thing might be the 1963 Movie Classic “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes“. This is the story of a normal man who started to see through things. At first, he only saw through the first layer…such as clothes or a wall. But as his powers increased, he started to see the breakdown of EVERYTHING to the extent that it all eventually became molecular! Continue reading

My Picture Galleries in Various Places

I do love taking pictures, but as a lifelong jack of all trades (and master of only one or two), I am certainly not a advanced photog. Still, I have an eye for beauty and sometimes get it right……

Here are my pics on Panaramio – these are also visible on Google Earth and Google Maps!

Here are a bunch of various shots on Google Photos…the Fox ones are neat….

I took most of these in the Hearth.com chimney gallery.

Some of my business and endeavor History in Pictures

This gallery, which I put together for a recent inventors club speaking engagement I did, has some pics from over the decades of products and ventures I have been involved in.

This page on Hearth.com mentions some of my other background.

This wiki entry fills in some other work and play history…….much of what is missing will be filled in as we merrily roll along.