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One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to play the piano.  It has been decades since the first time that I played chop sticks on a piano, and I have never looked back.  In fact, sitting at a piano is one of my favorite uses of my time.

If you were to listen to me play, you would be mesmerized by my ability.  Playing has always come naturally to me, and it shows.  But if you were a music teacher, you might cringe a little: I play by ear.

Even though I can read notes, I don’t care to.  I have had the ability to listen to any tune and play it within a few minutes of hearing it.  It has allowed me the freedom to play any musical piece that I desire without having to learn it first.

But the catch is that my ability to play music hinges on my ability to hear.  For most people that wouldn’t be a problem, but just five short years ago, my hearing started to go.

Unfortunately, hearing loss was one of the side-effects of the medication that I was taking at the time, and as my hearing disappeared, so did my ability to play music.  This not only lead me to depression, but it put me in a situation that I was going to lose the ability to do what I truly love – play music.

Thankfully my doctor was able to find me a hearing aid that allowed me to regain most of my hearing and has allowed me to continue playing the piano.  Had something like this not been available, I just don’t know what I would have done.

Technorati Tags: hearing aid

Even though many people would be sleeping in at this point, for whatever reason, I have been having troubles sleeping.  Instead of tossing and turning in my sheets, I have decided to get up and do something.  Time for a little target practice.

Okay, it isn’t like I have a gun range or anything in my home, but I do have some soft targets out in the garage, and I happen to have some airsoft pistols that I like to use.  In a pinch, firing off a few rounds can be very relaxing, though in this case it will help me to wake up.

It will be fun as long as I don’t wake up the wife or kids in the process.  If either of them wake up, my chances of making it out to the garage will be nil.  I bet the rest of you guys can relate to me on this one – I just don’t have the same freedoms that I had before I was married.

Well, I should probably get out there if I am going before everyone wakes up.  Time for me to start my day off right, firing off a few rounds at targets.  Today will be a wonderful day.

Technorati Tags: airsoft pistols

People who are interested in green building are likely to go ahead and get their LEED certification. This allows them to learn what they need to know to do green business. It also provides credentials that make it easier to get green building jobs.

There are many different types of leed certification. People may opt to take a variety of different classes that qualify them in this area of green education. One such type of education that is becoming increasingly popular is the LEED bootcamp.

A LEED bootcamp is a multi-day intensive workshop that teaches you all that you need to know about leed training. The workshop may last anywhere from 2-5 days. These tend to be long days during which you are primarily in the classroom. However you get to do a lot of hands-on activities so the time flies by.

A LEED bootcamp is a great way to really immerse yourself in a green education. You can take a week off of work and just commit yourself to the job of learning all that there is to know about green building. At the end of the bootcamp you will be ready to kick some green building butt! And you’ll be more employable as well.

Technorati Tags: leed, leed certification

I was really scared when our company decided to switch over to a commission based compensation structure.  I guess I liked the certainty of knowing exactly what my paycheck was going to be without having to worry about how much I was going to sell.  But changing over my earnings to be commission based meant that there could be some uncertainty.

My first few checks were less than I was expecting, and I vowed to myself that I could do better.  The way it looked was that I really had only two more options: push people to buy something more expensive, or offer them something that would complement their purchase.

I considered pushing more expensive items, but for me that felt wrong.  I have always tried to be honest and helpful to others – not take advantage of them.  So, that idea quickly went out the window.

I decided that by adding value to the customer’s purchase, I would be helping them out and chances are that they would be warm to the idea since they were already buying something from me.  In my case, I was selling digital cameras, so I offered camera cases to them after they had decided to purchase the camera.  Most of them were very receptive to the idea, and I watched my dollars in sales soar.

In fact, I would have to say that simply providing some extra value to the customer by offering them something that they needed anyway (a camera bag) has helped me to make more money on each check.  It was definitely the right choice for me.

Technorati Tags: camera bag, camera cases

Having advanced computer skills makes it a lot easier to get a job. But how do you get those skills? You take classes. Smart people take online classes to get training in the most in-demand areas of computers and technology.

Five types of training that you might want to look into getting are:

1. Microsoft Training.
2. Unix/Linux Training.
3. Cisco Training.
4. Oracle Training.
5. Java Training.

People who take Microsoft training courses or Cisco training courses will get certified in areas that are very in-demand right now. People who get Oracle Training and Java Training will have an additional leg up on the competition because this is a niche area of computer training. And people who get Unix/Linux training will know what they need to know about open source technology which is truly going to be the way of the future.

Does all of this sound confusing to you? If so then you might want to look into taking just some basic computer courses to brush up on your skills. You can take those online too or even take them at your local library or community center. Anyone can learn more about computers; don’t neglect your own chance to get that kind of education.

Technorati Tags: Cisco training, Cisco training courses