Wow, I get a lot of questions about DOK. Like I can’t spell or something!
DOC would be very presumptuous of me as I am no doctor. I don’t have a PHD so I can’t even claim it that way. I do specialize in working on a type of clock that is very unique in the industry. It is more mechanical than electric and the design has been around since, well, 1939 I think.
There are few around who really know how to work on them and do it right, and I happen to enjoy working with my hands so, I took on the challenge in 1995, when a friend ask me if I could fix it for him.
I have a reputation around church as the guy that can fix anything. I have had more apparatuses brought to my home from toasters, lights, fans, VCR’s, DVD players, stereo’s, TV’s, laptops, computers of all sorts, and well if it plugs in or takes batteries, chances are I have worked on them.
I have even repaired a number of regular clocks although that is an area that I try to stay away from as that is “very time consuming,” no pun intended.
It was no surprise when this clock came to me via that reputation, and it was no surprise to him when I asked him to get specific parts from the vendor and was able to repair it and put it back together for him.
As these things are sold around the world and the only animal that can survive the pounding that they get, the design has reached its zenith and will most probably stay that way until paper is outdated.
Since that day, I have repaired thousands of these clocks and am one of the few who do it correctly, with OEM parts, and get them back out there for another few years of service before they need to come back and be cleaned, and so forth.
As the hobby turned into a business I created a website www.timedok.com where it was, “That is Dok with a K!” I was going to spell it correctly as Timedoc, however someone has that domain and I was not about to let someone profit for sitting on a name. There are those that have, but this guy was not, at least not from me.
I have been doing IT stuff since before the internet, when it was called Data Processing so my computer, network, all things IT acumen; is probably as good as anyone’s out there. (Now that is an example of presumptuous!) On top of that, I possess copious amounts of business prowess; I am one of the few that get it!
I started with computers when CPM, Trisdos and finally DOS 1.0 were what you dealt with. Cobal, basic and machine language were the languages around with Pascal. Acoustical modems were in vogue and 300baud over the twisted pair was awesome!
As a brief aside, I also write science fiction, have a fascination with time, physics, particle physics, celestial mechanics, astronomy and electronics. I paint, study scripture, read way too much, and like photography and nature. Philosophy interests me a lot, but it is often difficult to find someone to talk with about any or all of these things.
Because of that I have many friends who may have an interest in one or more of these things that I can talk with about them, but finding someone intellectual enough to keep up with me is not easy. Snob you say! No, not at all.
I have never met a stranger and talk with just about anyone. Everyone has a story and just because their interest may not have the latitude of mine, that does not mean that they are any less interesting. I value everyone. I make a point to get to know the janitor, as he or she too has a story to tell..
Some folks lead a very simple life that focus around family, friends, horses or something like that, and I admire that. I try and find time to quite my mind with things like painting, walks in the woods, or sitting by the ocean, just listening to the birds and waves and the screams and giggles of young children as they play in the sand, or get into the water with their parents in tow.
I restore old electronic equipment, as a hobby and get great joy out of bringing some 50 plus year old apparatus back to life after it has sat dormant in some closet or garage collecting dust.
I enjoy meeting people on this media or via ham radio and have for most of my life. As I said, we all have a story to tell and some should be preserved in book form, others anecdotally noted, and referenced as fodder for possible stories in books, yet to be written.
I have been called Dok and I don’t mind it. My name is Scott and I answer to both when the phone rings or an e-mail is crafted to pique my interest enough to open it, and not think it spam.
Now you know, (as Paul Harvey used to say,) the rest of the story.
-Best
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TheTimeDok 