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August 6, 2011: An Update On My Life

It’s really interesting to me that I just found this draft of a blog post on my webpage that I never published from August 2011. As I read it, it seemed pretty interesting to me and that things are pretty much the same. With the exception of my bookkeeper being I’ll. Now it is was finally published on 12/29/2018.

August 6, 2011: An Update On My Life

Lately my life has been only work related. I just introduced a newly designed web site and am changing the way I do business. It is like starting all over again.

Not to mention that I moved to Las Vegas in July of 2002 and all of my corporate and state liceneses and taxes all renewed in July.

If that weren’t enough, my office manager/bookkeper/assistant happened to have had her vacation planned during the week that the site was finally ready to be released to the public.  And as if fate is trying my hand, she found out that she needed to have surgery and will be out of the office a minimum of 3 weeks, but most likely 6. What that meant, is I needed to find someone else to come work for me, hire them and then train them.  I got lucky. I was able to do that and yesterday for the first time, I was able to leave the office at 7:30 pm my first under 14 hour day in 4 weeks.  This week, I am hoping that my schedule will let me enjoy some free time.

The best part of this whole process is that I love what I do and it is my company, or should I say my baby. And I feel fortunate that I am doing something that I love and I am for the most part my own boss.

Bonding at the NAMM Show 2013

Had a lot of fun at the NAMM show and ran into a ton of friends and acquaintances that I have not seen in a while.  Although there was nothing revolutionary at the show, there was a great spirit of optimism that I have not seen in a long time.  I posted my photos (not a lot) to my FaceBook page, as I post everything that I want to share with my friends and the general public.

One thing that surprised me is how many of the vendors that I do business with so many of them had a both. And in years past, I cannot remember that many vendors appearing.

I was not planning on going to NAMM this year as I was schedule to be in Asia, but my trip was cut short. So, when I knew that my plans allowed me to attend, I called my good friend and mentor Albert Siniscal. For the last past few years, Albert and I have attended NAMM to together, shared the car trip and hotel room and give us the opportunity to bond as good friends hardly ever get the chance to do any more. If nothing else, that made the trip and all over my other disappointment of cutting my Asia trip short, well worthwhile.

If hanging with Albert and walking the NAMM show wasn’t enough, I was happy to hook up with so many people that I have know for years and getting to press flesh with them.

Another highlight of this year’s NAMM show was going being invited to dinner by Matt Larson of Group One. I have known Matt for years, I’m guessing 15, but we never really got a chance to have a meal together or if we did, I can’t remember.  This meal was exceptional, Matt took about 10 people to dinner with us to an exceptional restaurant The White House in Anaheim,CA. We sat at a long table and the food delicious as it were, just kept coming along with the wine and the interesting conversation.

I am not going to mention all of the attendees, but I did sit between Albert on my left and Matt on my right and directly across from, another person that I have know for and worked with for years, Doug Kocsis, of DK Capital.  The highlight of the evening for me although there were many, including looking at Sarah McLachlan at the table in front of me (at least it was her from the consensus taken at our table), hearing all of the great stories of all the talent people at the table, was bonding with Doug and Matt.  They are both truly intelligent, super knowledgable, hard working, compassionate about their lives, and really love what it is they do. I feel fortunate that I had that moment in time to share with them and everyone else that was at dinner that night with us. Thank you Matt.

The only bummer of the entire trip, was that when I returned home, albeit, I was gelling my hands with hand sanitizer constantly and washing them with soap every chance I got, I had caught the flu.  More on to follow on this as, I have been coughing so hard, that hurt myself. ….. Stay tuned.

Final Reminder: Last Chance for Customers to Download Legacy Avid Video and Broadcast Software is This Thursday, October 31st

October 29, 2013 – Final Reminder: Last Chance for Customers to Download Legacy Avid Video and Broadcast Software is This Thursday, October 31st

This is Avid’s final reminder to you, our resellers, to take action and notify your customers of the important changes Avid is making to software availability as of this Friday, November 1, 2013. This change affects those customers using legacy Avid video or broadcast products. It is critical that you study the information provided and actively reach out to customers TODAY to ensure they take the appropriate steps to back up their software installers by end of day this Thursday, October 31st.

While we will continue to offer downloads of more recent Avid software releases through our Download Center using an Open Source Java alternative, the following versions of software—and all prior releases to these—will be removed indefinitely:

Avid will be sending out a final, “last day to update” reminder email to our customer lists tomorrow, October 30th, but you should reach out to your key customers directly to ensure they understand the impact of this change and the actions they need to take.

What You Need to Do
Call your key customers now to ensure they are well informed and remind them that the deadline for them to back-up their Avid video or broadcast software is this Thursday, October 31st.

Please note that customer licenses and entitlements will not be affected by this change. However, after Thursday, October 31st, Avid Customer Success, Professional Services and our resellers will not be able to assist with the affected software installations listed above; customers will have to rely on their own backup copy to install software.

We have continually updated the Avid Software Availability forum for customers to get tips for downloading, backing up software, and other best practices. If they need last minute backup help, please guide them to the forum.

Resources Available
All reference documents can be found on Partner Central in the Avid Software Availability folder (>CHANNEL PROGRAMS>Communications>Avid Software Availability):
· FAQ (continually updated)
· Avid Software Availability recorded PowerPoint (BrainShark)
· Avid Software Availability Phone Discussion Guidelines

If you have any additional questions please contact your Avid Partner Account Manager. Or SoundBroker.com 702-736-3003

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SoundBroker.com for ALL you ClearCom needs

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Tough exterior for the rigors of everyday use
Incredible sound for hearing even the softest whispers
Ease of operation for even occasional users
Compatible with a range of partyline systems

Housed in a light-weight and ergonomically-design casing, the RS-Series beltpacks are engineered to withstand the demanding day-to-day use even in high-intensity situations. Functions are easily customizable and accessible with simple-to-use straightforward operations.
Use less than half the current draw of previous beltpack series, so you can put twice as many beltpacks onto a system!

For all the details: http://www.clearcom.com/product/partyline/wired-beltpack

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Sonos Music System – Something to Believe In

I am not sure if I have ever been so blatant in promoting a product that I am not active in selling, but if not, there is a first time for everything. The product I am talking about is the Sonos Home Musical System. I bought mine so that I could have music at the pool, but now I have those speakers in my living and bedrooms. I have never seen anything quite like it, but I am sure that anything this good, is going to have competition shortly.

The Sonos is stand alone, speaker with built-in amplifier. So if you wanted a single source the Sonos would do the job, however that is not what it does best. What it does best is provide a high quality wireless and app driven stand alone complete music playback system, including the playback material. It will play all of the music you own, plus Spotify, Pandora, Sticher, and multiple other choices, just by controlling it with a smartphone app. Not only that, but each speaker can be programed to play the same thing in every room or each speaker can be independent and play something different.

I hope you like it as much as I do and support my links so that I can get a discount on the next one I buy. Thank you.

Save $50 on the Sonos Zonebridge w/ purchase of S5 Player.


Here is a link on YouTube from Tekzilla that goes into great depth and detail into the Play 1- http://youtu.be/wEuus_k8bjM

SONOS, INC. REFER A FRIEND PROGRAM TERMS & CONDITIONS
Eligibility

The Sonos, Inc. (“Sonos”) Refer A Friend Program (the “Program”) is open only to current Sonos customers in good standing who are thirteen (13) years of age or older (“you” or “Participant”). The Program is void where prohibited. Participation in the Program constitutes the Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Employees of Sonos and its related companies, agents, and suppliers, as well as corporate and government accounts with volume-purchase-level agreements are not eligible to participate.

How it Works

Go to the Refer A Friend Program page.
Enter a person’s name and e-mail address.
Send an e-mail to the person you would like to refer.
Your referred friend will be directed to a landing page where they may purchase Sonos products via a personalized referral code.
For each qualifying referral, you will receive one credit on your status page.
You may redeem the credits for the following products:
3 credits → Play:3
5 credits → Play:5
Program Rules

The Program begins on May 1, 2013 and applies only to referrals and orders made following that date.
Below is a list of Program rules:
To be eligible for the referral program, the person you refer must purchase their new Sonos product via their personalized landing page referenced in the e-mail sent by Sonos.
The person you refer must purchase their Sonos product within one year of receiving the invitation e-mail.
You will be issued one referral credit for each newly referred customer 60 days following purchase of a Sonos product by such referred customer. No referral credits shall be issued if referred customer returns such Sonos product prior to the expiration of this 60 day period. Any further or subsequent purchase by any referred customer will not be rewarded and/or credited for Participant.
Referral credits are only given at the time of purchase and can not be applied after the purchase is made.
If a Participant cancels their account with www.sonos.com, all remaining referral credits are forfeited. The referral credit cannot be refunded.
Offer may not be used in conjunction with the purchase of products sold by third parties.
Referral credits are not refundable, exchangeable, or replaceable, and can only be used by the Participant. Credits can not be reused or transferred. Referral credits do not constitute property of the Participant and are not transferable by operation of law or otherwise to any person or entity and cannot be transferred to any other account on www.sonos.com.
Offer is not for resale and credits are not redeemable for cash or credit and have no monetary value.
Referral Validation

Sonos checks the validity of all referral orders. The Participant’s e-mail address CANNOT be the same as the referred customer’s e-mail address. The Participant’s physical address CANNOT be the same as the referred customer’s physical address.

To receive credit for the referral, each referral order must originate via the referred customer’s personalized referral code provided in the e-mail sent by Sonos introducing the Program. If a referred friend does not purchase a Sonos product using the personalized referral code, the Participant will NOT receive a referral credit. Due to the Sonos privacy policy, Sonos cannot provide information to the Participant regarding the status of a purchase by the referred friend. Sonos reserves the right to require proof of purchase, including, but not limited to, a receipt that a Sonos product was purchased in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

If a Participant sends information to another person via e-mail or through social networks it must meet the general conventions for sending e-mails and messaging through said social networks to friends or family members. Mass messaging, messaging to strangers or any form of action which violates the law or serves commercial purposes, particularly in the form of “spam”, is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate cancellation of the customer account of the Participant and the personalized landing page in question will be deactivated. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, mass messaging includes but is not limited to:
(i) any website with a URL that contains any or all of the following terms, or derivatives of the following terms: “code”, “discount code”, “voucher code”, “promotional code”, “voucher” or “coupon”;
(ii) any website which appears in search engine listings under any of the terms or derivatives of the following terms: “code”, “discount code”, “voucher code”, “promotional code”, “voucher” or “coupon”; or
(iii) any website whose primary or main focus is to promote the use of voucher codes and/or referral links.

Modifications and Termination of the Program

Sonos reserves the right to modify any of the terms and conditions set forth herein – including, but not limited to, the methods through which Participant’s may earn credit and the amount of credit that can be earned by referring friends – at any time, with or without notice, even though these changes may affect Participant’s ability to receive their credit.

A Participant’s participation in the Program constitutes the Participant’s acceptance of any changes to these Terms and Conditions. Customers are responsible for remaining knowledgeable as to any changes that Sonos may make to these Terms and Conditions. The most current version of these Terms and Conditions will be available at www.sonos.com and will supersede all previous versions of these Terms and Conditions.

General Terms and Conditions

To learn how the personal information collected in connection with the Program may be used, individuals should read the Sonos Privacy Policy. The terms of the Sonos Privacy Policy are incorporated herein by reference.

Sonos reserves the right to discontinue the participation privileges of any customer who acts in a manner which causes, or contributes to, an abuse of the intended operation of this Program, engages in any fraudulent activity or uses the Program in a manner inconsistent with these Terms and Conditions or any federal or state laws, statutes, or ordinances. Discontinued participation privileges may result in the loss of all accumulated referral credits. In addition to discontinuance of participation privileges, Sonos shall have the right to take appropriate administrative and/or legal action, including criminal prosecution, as it deems necessary in its sole discretion.

Sonos’ failure to enforce a particular term or condition does not constitute a waiver of that term or condition by Sonos.

Sonos is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information supplied by Participants or referred friends while participating in the Program. All questions or disputes regarding eligibility for the Program, earning of rewards, or a customer’s compliance with these Terms and Conditions will be resolved by Sonos in its sole discretion.

By participating in the Program, Customer acknowledges that technical processing and transmission of information on the Sonos web site may involve transmissions over various networks and changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. Sonos is not responsible for:
(a) incorrect or inaccurate transcription of information;
(b) problems related to any of the equipment or programming associated with the Program or utilized by the Participant;
(c) any human error or printing error;
(d) any interruption, deletion, omission, defect, or line failure of any telephone network or electronic transmission;
(e) problems relating to computer equipment, software, inability to access the Sonos web site; or
(f) any other technical or non-technical error or malfunction.

Except where prohibited, Customer agrees that:
(a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Program shall be resolved individually without resort to any form of class action and exclusively by arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association;
(b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred (i.e., only costs associated with participating in the Program), but shall not include attorney’s fees under any circumstances; and
(c) Customer hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental, and consequential damages. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be severed from the remainder of these Terms and Conditions, which will otherwise remain in full force and effect.

Questions

If you have questions regarding the Program, please contact the Sonos sales department at questions@sonos.com or 1-800-680-2345.

Celebrating 15 years as SoundBroker.com

I am happy to be celebrating my first 15 years doing business as SoundBroker.com.

On Sept 4, 1998 (15 years) I Registered the name SoundBroker.com with ICAN and the rest is history. I want to thank all the people that took a part of our growth. SoundBroker.com is the original and will always be the first and since that day, I have lived with the philosophy : If you are not the lead dog, the view never changes.

Family: Blood is thicker that water, but then so is..

For the Labor Day holiday, I went on a trip from Las Vegas, to Baltimore, MD to attend my cousin's second wedding in less than seven months. But more on that later, for now I am just covering the trip itself.

First, I had to buy the ticket and as I was not sure if I was going that took me a good month to figure out. As this was his second wedding. His first one was on December 12, 2012. 12/12/12. And the second one to the same woman I might add was scheduled for September 1, 2013.

I live in Las Vegas, and the wedding was going to be in Baltimore. In flying across the country, you need to not only schedule your transportation, but you also need to plan your lodging. The lodging was simple, as with most weddings the Bride and Groom usually block off a set of rooms for the out of town guests at a local hotel, where all the relatives and friends stay at a discount rate. I didn't like the discount rate and it turned out that I did better y booking through Hotels.com. I saved 7 dollars and night or so I thought at the time. I highly recommend that you do not do that or you may not get your welcome bag that your hosts put together for you. It took some work and time, but I was able to get mine.

I left my office on Friday at 11:00 AM to catch 1:20 PM AirTrans flight. Despite all you have heard, about AirTran, it is not as bad as I was expecting once I got over the shock of traveling steerage class and not being able to pick my seat. The computer picks it for you. I lucked out, 17D. I got an isle seat in front of the emergency row. That is not good news, that means that the seat does not tilt back as to not block the emergency row. I thought I might be able to get myself moved, but that was not the case. Although by accident I sat in 17C. At the when I sat down, my actual row 17D, E, F was empty and it was a legit mistake on my behalf, even though, in seats A & B, where 2 teenage girls, sisters, I might add, and very thin. That was to make a pleasant flight.

As the plane was boarding, seats 17 D-F the flight attendant happened to be right there when the overweight Asian women took there window and middle seat, the Asian man who commented, ” I think that he is in my seat” the flight attendant responded, don't you want to sit with your party? He answered I do not know these women and he is in my seat (pointing to me). It bothered me that happened for a few reasons, one is I was happy sitting next to thin women so I could have more space in my seating area, where there is very little as there is, and secondly the nerve of her type casting the Asian man, and not type casting me with the thin women!!!! Where as it was impossible for me to be traveling with young thin teenage women.

Some how he decided to sit next to the Asian women and I had a nice comfortable space thanks to the fact that the one sitting next to me was so thin. One other interesting thing happened on that flight that fate took a role in. When I went to put my iPad in the seat pocket in front of me, I found the latest issue of the Robb Report that the passenger traveling in 17C from the previous flight left behind. Made me think, who would fly AirTrans and read the Robb Report????? Talk about a wishful thinker.

The flight left on time and took only 4 hours and 10 minutes, rather than the scheduled 4 hours and 15. But not worry, the luggage took for ever to arrive.

Caught a taxi and 30 minutes later I was checking into the Marriott Waterfront Hotel at the Baltimore waterfront district, Beautiful location. Right on the water, next door to the Four Seasons and upscale shops. Checking in is where I had my first snag. By booking through Hotels.com, I was not confirmed to a king bed. Reading the fine print, it said, something like Blah, blah blah, king or full size bed. Full size is really not full sized. Full size is really a single and for what I was going to be paying, I wanted a King. I got the King but I had to pay an additional $50 a night. Not sure if it well worth it, but I had a nice Jr. Suite which I was told goes for $450 a night, and I was no where near that, so I guess I got a deal after all.

Okay, now for the inner story of the 2nd wedding. My cousin an American, who grew up in of all places, Baltimore, MD married a Brazilian woman that lives in São Paulo. My cousin also lives in São Paulo. So they go married in São Paulo on 12/12/12 and because most of the family could not afford the the excursion to Brazil for the wedding, they decided to get married in city where my cousin grew up for those family members that did not make it to Brazilian wedding.

I do not have much family and after this weekend I would have to report that I am right. In life they say, that 90% of the people you know do not care one iota if you live or die, 3% want to see you do well and support your efforts and the rest what to see you fail and do worse then them. Most of my family fall into the 90% category, but a few of them are in the 3% and those are the ones that I was looking forward to see and spend the weekend with and now that I am heading from Baltimore to New York City on the AMTRACK, I am so glad that I came to this event. I had a great time and was able to bond with my family.

I also had a great business meeting with one of SoundBroker.com's major vendors so all in all this weekend was one that I will think back fondly on.

On the Amtrack, it seems that they lost power on the tracks in front of us somewhere outside of Newark, DE and the train is moving at about 5 miles an hour and has been going that speed for the last 40 minutes.

If you ask me what the highlight of the trip was, it would be a no brainer. Bonding with my 3rd cousins, Isabella and Sam. Twins that just turned 6 months old this weekend. I need to say, that I have no recent experience with babies of any age, much less ones this young, but let me tell you, these babies were great and I loved playing with them.


More to follow………

 

My Statement of Life

In the last three months, I learned a lot about me, my life and the people and things that are part of it on a day to day basis.

My life and the life of SoundBroker.com are non separable. I love them both and do whatever I need to do to make both the best that they can be. I am honored that you are reading my words and even more honored when I think of the people that allow my staff and I the opportunity to assist them when buying or selling what it is that we buy and sell for them.

If there was only one thing (there isn't one there are many) that would stand out as the most important aspect of my life, it would be my integrity. Thus in turn my word. Without keeping my word, my life would be meaningless. It is because of that fact, I take the responsibility that I must safeguard the money that is in trusted to me and insure that the buyer gets what they paid for and the seller gets the agreed upon price paid to them in a timely manner.

Most of the gear my company SoundBroker.com sells is over $1,000 and sales can run as high as a few hundred thousand dollars. Or in other words, we are not talking about chump change, we are talking about real hard earned dollars. So it is with great pride and no hesitation that I can report, since the day I started SoundBroker.com in1997, that every seller has received their money in a timely manner. To take that statement one step further, when someone new asks me for references, my reply is for them to talk to anyone that they have respect for and ask them about their experience with SoundBroker.com. Odds are that if they are a player in this industry, they have had a positive experience with me.

So on January 25th this year, when I was physically brought to my knees in the most horrific attack of body pain I have ever experienced in my 61 years, thanks to two herniated disks in my lower back, I persevered and did everything in my power to maintain a sense of being, as well as my desire to rise above the pain and fulfill my obligations to SoundBroker.com , it's members and my staff.

The last three months have been extremely hard on my body and soul. I have learned many lessons and experienced the most trying time of my life. In and out doctor's offices, pain pills and the loss of my mobility, friends that turned out not to be friends, and the fear of the known and the unknown.

Throughout it all, I hung in there and now as the pain subsides and my life is returning back into my control, or at least back to the point of lack of pain on a moment to moment basis, I look back and realize that my focus on doing the right thing by my members never once wavered. No matter how great the pain, no matter how much all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep it off, the fact remains, I toughed it out, focused, and accomplished my goal of providing the best customer service for my customers/members.

In closing, the number one reality that shone through this whole experience is a lesson that I learned ions ago, and that lesson of life is this: The only thing in life that we are in control of, is how we react to what happens to us. There was nothing that I could have done to avoid going through the pain and suffering, all I could do was react.

I am proud of myself for being proactive, positive and determined to get my health back while keeping my life's priorities in order.

Swimming with the Sharks

Last week, I did one of the most amazing things of my life and that was swim with Whale Sharks. They are huge. The whale shark is the largest non-cetacean animal in the world. The average size of adult whale sharks is estimated at 9.7 metres (31.82 ft) and 9 tonnes (20,000 lb). They are docile and gentle. But to be less than 6 inches away from one is an experience, I will never forget, as I will always remember those of you that have supported SoundBroker.com that have allowed me to have this opportunity. Image

SoundBroker.com turns 14 years old

14 years ago today on September 4th, I registered the domain SoundBroker.com. Since that day, I never once looked back with a regret. SoundBroker.com has changed the way people buy used equipment in the world. All of my competitors (including Ebay, which I don’t really consider a competitor) have copied some of my ideas.

Happy Anniversary SoundBroker.com may you live forever.