As a small business owner, I set myself a pretty aggressive online marketing schedule. I spend a lot of time promoting the business, trying to sell our services.

However, sometimes I have to give my marketing schedule a pass. As a small business, I can respond to only so many curve balls and tasks in a week. And frankly, this week had me running. As Friday afternoon rolls in, and having been at my desk since 3.00 am this morning, I have decided to take a slightly more Jimmy Buffett approach to this post: beer and pistachios. I know my limits, and my limits have been reached.

Yep, I am not meeting my inbound marketing task for the week, but I am doing so as a calculated decision. Other business efforts took higher priority this week. I’ll will be back to normal broadcasting next week.

Today’s after work drink of choice. Bottles all around the office.

By the way, if you’re a craft beer lover, be sure to check out Pintley, an app for rating, sharing and recommending quality beer.

See? It’s not only small business blogging that interests me. Ha-ha!

Using the iPad, I managed to capture a simple photo that seems to capture the spirit of those late summer evening drinks on the deck that I do so love. Watching the sun set, the air just a bit cool and the leaves beginning to ponder changing colors.

Although I am not a sports writer by any stretch of the imagination, I thought I would do something a bit different this season as the Barclay’s Premier League and the UEFA Champions League get underway: I am going to offer my own prediction about how the Gunners will fare this season.

I follow Arsenal pretty closely, regularly reading the news about the team, the players, transfers and injuries. There are definitely people who know more than I, yet there are surely those who call themselves sports fans who know less. So I am somewhere in between.

In thinking about whether or not my prediction will add anything to the sporting conversations this season, my feeling is that it will. Sports fans argue about everything often with little or no understanding or knowledge of the facts. Why should I be any different?

Therefore, without further ado, my prediction:

Arsenal will finish in 7th place in the league and will progress far into the Carling Cup campaign, but alas, will not win it. There will be no Champions League or FA Cup trophies for us this year.

There! I’ve said it. I’ve written it down. I’ve published it. Now all we need to do is wait to see if I am correct.

There is a great brewery in the City of Brotherly Love that has produced some wonderful beers for us here in the colonies. Crafted by Yards Brewing, the Ales of the Revolution are inspired by the original recipes of some of America’s first political leaders.

With the beer purchasing laws in Pennsylvania, I picked up a mixed case of Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce, Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale and General Washington’s Tavern Porter. Although I’ll leave it to true aficionados of Pintley to produce a formal review, I will tell you that these fine craft beers pack flavor, texture and atmosphere into twelve ounce bottles like few others. These are strong drinks too: Tavern Spruce is 5.0%, Tavern Porter is 7.0% and Tavern Ale weighs in with an impressive 8.0%. The Ales of the Revolution offer a varied approach for those with a wider palette. Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale is a delicious, refreshing golden ale, while General Washington’s Tavern Porter is a dark, ruby-reddish brown Philadephia-style porter. Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce is a unique rich brown ale, flavored with spruce.

My ‘thumbs-up/thumbs-down’ review: Two thumbs up for all three.

Whenever I get a chance to scoot over to London, I do so enjoy a pint or two of a proper English ale.

“Huh?”, you ask, sounding slightly confused.

This weekend, the good people at Pintley launched a new iPhone app. In looking to download the app, I saw that my review of Guinness had been the screen shot chosen to be used in the app overview. That makes me famous now.

I’ll be available for interviews and other PR opportunities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For appointments, please contact my agent.

Recently I was conducting a job interview over Skype, using video.  I was speaking with a prospective employee, who was perched in front of a computer at lbdesign’s London office. My colleague was with this prospective employee.  As may be evident to regular visitors to this blog, I am currently based in Philadelphia.

The Incident

During the initial “Hello” and “How are you?” exchanges, I mentioned that I had just settled into my office chair with a lovely mug of cider. My comment was greeted with an unexpected silence … and the concern on the face of the prospective employee, and the look of embarrassment in my colleague’s expression made it very clear that I had said something wrong. Oops! But what?

Within a few moments we got to the issue: ‘cider’ in the UK is only used in reference to beer cider, like Scrumpy Jack, Magners and the like. So, in the eyes of my UK colleagues, I had just started to conduct an interview while drinking a can of beer (at 10.30 am my local time no less!)

The Resolution

I then spent the next several minutes explaining that ‘cider’ in America can also mean apple juice – with no alcohol.  Furthermore, spiced hot cider is a traditional American cold weather drink, like hot chocolate.

In Review

On a serious note, this funny little incident speaks to the larger issues that come with doing business across cultures. Although I spent seven years living and working in England, this particular issue around cider never previously surfaced because the British don’t drink warmed apple juice.

Now that I am back in the US, I have reverted to this beverage to fight the chill on cold autumn days. And then, by failing to fully appreciate the cultural (or epicurean) differences between me and my audience, I landed myself in an uncomfortable situation.

What other cultural pitfalls might I land myself in?

Exiting the Green Park Tube station, I climbed into the sunlight on a brisk spring morning a few months back. As I had about three hours before my lunch meeting, I decided to give Henry’s Bar + Café a try. Pushing through the doors to see the Illy coffee sign behind the bar raised my hopes and expectations.

Unlike the Starbucks or Costa Café, Henry’s was pretty empty. Still, the chap behind the bar was friendly and pleasant. I ordered a cappuccino and asked if I could sit anywhere. ‘Yep, please do. I’ll bring your coffee over,‘ was the reply. Hmmm … table service? I hadn’t expected that. I chose a big table (for six), unpacked my computer, plugged in headphones, mouse and dongle and began to work. A few moments later the bartender brought over a lovely, big, hot mug of frothy cappuccino. (Not sure if that’s the right description for the fellow … I was at a pub, after all. Barista maybe?) I worked for two or three hours, enjoying a pint of Coke at some point. Slowly the place filled up, but the staff continued to provide a quality table service. I was really pleased.

As I packed up for my lunch meeting, I asked for the bill. When it arrived, I smiled. £4.50. £4.50!? For a cappuccino and a pint of soda and a big empty table to work at for hours? Try getting that at Starbucks!

Concerned that it might just have been a lucky day for Henry’s, I popped in there again on Thursday of this week. Again, same friendly staff, same top quality coffee and same great work environment. I am sold. Call me a Henry’s regular.