If only I knew then, what I know now life would be a lot different. Life might have been easier, decisions might not have been so hard. But thats the beauty of life. The unknown day that lies ahead of us. The simple fact is that, if we did know then what we know now, we would all be a bunch of smart ass’s. Life’s lessons, that only life can teach us, would never be learned. Thats why I am thankful that life didn’t give me the easy route. It chewed me up and spit me out. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

February 26 2003 9:00am

I was running late like a typical 17 year old. Life waited on me, I didn’t wait on life. It was that ignorant notion that got me into where I was going in the first place. “Not a care in the world” seemed to be my life motto at that typical time. I was nervous, I mean who wouldn’t be? Life would never throw me a bunch of cards I didn’t know how to play. Never. I was wrong. Read the rest of this entry

From my experience a Hawaiian vacation is something everyone should do once in their lifetime. I would also suggest you take the cruise around the islands so you can stop on all the islands and not limit yourself to just one. There are so many activities to do you won’t have enough time to do everything you want. Of course you will want to go back as I do.

Some of the things to try are:

• Windsurfing
• Mudbugging (dune buggies in the mud) See Mudbugging in Hawaii picture.
  
• Kaui Zip Line tours (oh yeah, hundreds of feet ABOVE the trees) See my video footage below.
• SNUBA diving (Kinda link Snorkeling and SCUBA mixed)
• Snorkeling
• Biking down a Volcano with the Maui Downhill (my favorite activitiy)

I’ll post a slide show soon to give you a taste, but you should visit at least once in your life, I promise you will not be disappointed. Unless you stay in your room all the time.

From my experience last night at a concert featuring Styx (who didn’t play Mr. Roboto, see lyrics), Foreigner and most importantly Def Leppard I learned that bands from the 80s are still giving great concert performances. True, not all the original band members are part of all the groups, most of the core members were, except for Dennis DeYoung, who I thought was the only band member I really missed from all three groups.

That notwithstanding, it was a excited atmosphere with at least 3 generations in attendance. I saw ages from 13 – 60. I know some people age 60 were there as my parents were in attendance across the stadium (Nissan Pavilion in Bristol, Virginia) from my wife and I.

While all the bands were very entertaining, Def Leppard stole the show without a doubt as the final act, climaxing with a superb performance of the song “Pour Some Sugar On Me. See live video footage at the end of this post. It was as if I had been transported back to the mid-eighties when they hit their height of popularity. Adrenaline and high-octane energy were in abundance from the crowd and the band members. You can see in the image to the right, from my mobile phone, that Vivian Campbell is ripped and in shape as all the members appeared to be, from all the bands, for that matter.

Read the rest of this entry

From my experience releasing a press release about your business relationship with a company you are working with without written permission can seriously jeopardize that relationship. Check with the company you wish to write the press release about, even if you are casually mentioning them and especially when you are introducing them as a client.

Most businesses spend years perfecting and then protecting their brand awareness and aligning your company with them in the media, by writing a press release, without their express written permission can be seen as a breach of trust that can easily cause you to lose the client.

Never assume and always ask first and then get it in writing. It will save you writing letters of apology, making phone calls asking for forgiveness, asking for retractions and generally consuming your time you should be spending to cultivating new business. Even if they say no, they will respect you for taking the time to ask. And who knows, they may even say yes and give you a quote.

From my experience the teenage years are there to help loosen the apron strings and help everyone accept a child leaving the house to start their own life. If they stayed as sweet and as lovable as they are when then are babies and toddlers you would never want them to leave.

As it is, teenage years of growing independence set the stage for the final exit into the world and as a parent you are usually more than ready for it by that time. Keep that in mind parents and future parents, the teenage years do have a purpose, trust me on this.

Update: My daughter did go to college in August and I have written about that experience as well.

From my experience Paradigm speakers are the best bang for the buck you can get for your home theater! Over the years I’ve owned many different brands of speakers including Cerwin Vega, JBL, Infinity and Bose. Yet none of these can compare to the price and sound quality of my current Paradigm home theater setup. And to top it off, the Paradigm’s cost less than my previous Bose speakers. I currently have the Mini Monitor system, except that I opted for a larger center & surrounds.

The first time I heard Paradigm speakers in the showroom, I fell in love with their rich, vibrant & authentic sounds. But it wasn’t until my Mom was visiting and said, “Wow, I can’t believe how good this sounds, it’s better than the theater,” that I truely marveled in how good a value they are. It takes a lot to make people, like my mother, who normally say they can’t tell a difference in sound quality take notice of how good something sounds.

From my experience, giving flowers for no reason is much better and more rewarding than giving flowers because you are sorry. I did learn this the hard way after sending flowers as an apology.

Take the time and send flowers to a loved one without a reason. You’ll both be happier for it.

And you can send flowers inexpensively, here are flowers for under $50 bucks.

Original Pickle click for larger image	Extra Pickles click for larger image

From my experience when you are at a restaurant and asking for another pickle wedge because the pickle wedge that given to you was pathetic in both size and visual presentation, you need to be specific about the reason you are asking for another pickle wedge. Otherwise, you may get another crappy pickle wedge or two. Thank you, Baker’s Crust, for three of the sorriest pickle wedges I ever saw or ate. Yes, I wasn’t too proud to eat them.

Now here is a nice size pickle wedge.

P.S. The Jersey Grinder I ordered was very good.

From my experience, having 3 iPods in a home with 4 people will not be enough iPods.

Everyone needs their own iPod.

You can try and save money buy sharing an iPod, but it just won’t work. The money saved will not be worth the aggravation being an iPod short will bring into your life. I will also add that it a great deal to by them refurbished. We have bought several this way and they look and work like new plus you save up to 25% or more depending on the model. Give it a look-see at Apple’s store for Refurbished iPods.

From my experience you should only collect aret you like. Buying art for the sake of art is ludicrous. Only buy what you truly love and be proud to show it. Don’t let the price be your only deciding factor, in other words, don’t buy because the price is high and you feel that makes it more valuable. And don’t buy the art because it is all you can afford and you want to own something. Wait for the right price and the right artwork. You’ll feel good about it each time you see it hanging on your wall.

You can see some of my collected comic book art.