Rocket_Jay Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Posted March 18, 2015 Hello all, It has been brought to my attention that my initial introduction post was a bit lacking. SOooo, at the risk of going from too little detail to too much... here goes! My name is John and I live in Dover, NH. having grown up locally. I turned 51 at the end of Feb. I attended Catholic High School, and then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston MA. having been playing guitar since age 9. (thanks mom!) Returning to seacoast NH after college, I worked in several "Joe Job" careers, from roofer and sider, to steel worker on submarines at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. All through these careers, I played in several working bands around the northeastern part of NH. I am married, having meet my wife in my early 30's. We finally married when I was 37. We have no kids, as my wife is 8 years older than I am. My last professional stint as a musician ended about 3 years ago. Prior to then, my wife and I played in the same band, with her as the lead singer for 18 yrs. We had quite a bit of success as a cover band, and played from Worchester MA to Portland ME, and all points in between. As we got older, the late nights and getting in at 3:00am became no fun anymore, as we both held day gigs over all the time playing in the band. After we dissolved the band, bought myself a nice classical guitar and have been working on finger style stuff ever since. I started out by learning Bach, Beethoven etc, but as that is not really my thing, soon started finding contemporary finger style arrangements to work on. I.E, Pink Floyd, Metallica, The Police The Beetles etc etc. The next paragraph is kind of a prelude to what is currently happening in my life. While in my 20's, I was involved in a bit of a life changing event... a real suck scene which happened while trying to defend a friend. Subsequent to this, I started training in martial arts, and studied Shoalin Kenpo Karate from an excellent instructor named Kevin Crossan. I say he was excellent as his former students include several current dojo owners, state police, and the head of security for UNH sports. (also a dojo owner) I studied for a little over 6 years under Sensei Kevin and reached the rank of 1st Degree black belt. I was in preparation for my test for 2nd degree, when major life changes put my training on hold. I became unemployed, slightly injured, had a relationship change, and my mother became ill, for the last time. After this short period of unemployment, I made a giant career change going from construction type stuff to taking a job in the receiving department of a local Personal Computer manufacturer. Over the course of my employment there, I moved out of the receiving department and into a position at the head technicians assistant, having displayed a natural aptitude for my new career. From assistant, I eventually became the head technician, and then moved on to head tech positions with several different companies. In 1992 I set out on my own, establishing J&D Computer Services. I have been self employed ever since. About 5 years ago, while investigating the purchase of T-shirts for my band, I got interested in screen printing, and have since started a second business, Silk Storm Tees Screen Printing. I have a little 4 color 2 station screen press, a flash dryer, and conveyor dryer here in my basement, which is only a few feet from my computer work bench. On a good work day, I can stay here, fix PC's and while they backup, scan, install etc, get a little screen printing done for some extra $$. Several of my print clients are business who's PC's I take care of, so things are working out pretty well. Okay, so back to the training thing... I had always intended to go back to training, but as life worked out, with the startup of 2 businesses, getting married, buying a fixer upper home and the like, I had been away from any martial arts studies for 20 yrs. Back in the day during my first stint of training, I attended several seminars with an Aikido master. I was so impressed with him, and fascinated by the style, I thought that when I finally did go back to martial arts studies, it would be at an Aikido dojo. This past November, I decided that if I were to fulfill this dream, I'd better get to it. After all, at age 51, my time left for this type of physical activity has gotten a lot shorter than ever before! I signed up at an excellent traditional Aikido dojo, Portsmouth Aikido. There they have direct lineage to Morihei Ueshiba, or O'Sensei, the founder of Aikido. Mitsunari Kanai Sensei who was one of the last uchi-deschi, or live in apprentices of O'Sensei, was instrumental in forming Portsmouth Aikido. After going through the 6 week beginner course at Portsmouth Aikido, I became a regular student. Although I love learning a new style, I found myself missing my original style, Shaolin Kenpo. It seemed a little silly to me to just let 6 years of study and training in something I was pretty good at fall by the wayside. This lead me to contact the new owner of the old dojo I went to. As it turns out, the new owner is one of my old students. You see, before I left the dojo the first time, I had become a certified instructor there and was helping with the teaching of classes. After I left, Sensei Dennis continued to train all that time, an is now a 4th degree black belt. This could have been an odd dynamic for me to walk into, but Dennis is a great guy and has made it very enjoyable for me. He would go to the dojo on what would be his off days to give me private lessons so I could get back up to speed. He did this for me for a period of over 2 months! The conclusion of all of this is that I am now studying both styles. I go to class at the Kenpo dojo Saturdays and Tuesdays, and at the Aikido dojo on Thursdays and Sundays. This has been a great health benefit to me. I have gone from an average 6 foot tall 205lbs down to lean 168lbs, and my endurance has gone through the roof! I am very much looking forward to summer this year so I can make good use of some of this extra energy! Really my only other passion besides what I have already mentioned is that I love to sail. I am not financially in the Yachting class, so I have a small 18ft sailboat. She is a Precision P-18 and is a sloop named Stargazer. Sloop means that it has a cabin and sleeping quarters. My wife and I often tow it up to Rockport ME and spend long weekends sailing around Penobscot Bay. Because the boat is trailer-able, We have also taken it to upstate NY during the summer and sailed several of the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes with her... tons of fun and a great relaxing get away. So, that is pretty much the sum of my entire adult life... or at least all the stuff I am willing to share!~ Before I conclude I would be remiss in not thanking XI Larson and XI Budman for assisting me in the process of becoming an XI member. Salute! Rocket L!ckALotAPus, Stringer, BUDMAN and 2 others 5 Awards
Sonovabich Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 82 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 0 Topic Count: 1535 Topics Per Day: 0.27 Content Count: 5022 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 5198 Achievement Points: 131537 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 116 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: Thursday at 07:44 AM Device: Windows Posted March 18, 2015 War and Peace was shorter lol......welcome to the forums
TBB Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 989 Group: *** Clan Members Followers: 25 Topic Count: 290 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 20511 Content Per Day: 3.66 Reputation: 22519 Achievement Points: 148075 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 394 Joined: 01/07/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: 32 minutes ago Birthday: 01/27/1946 Device: Windows Posted March 18, 2015 If you're going to hang out here keep in mind you're dealing with a bunch of >IDIOTS< whho don't know how to read and just want to look at porn all day - nice intro though - can't wait for the movie - lol ! BigPapaDean 1 Awards
Sally Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 3582 Group: ++ COD4 Admin Followers: 107 Topic Count: 145 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 3387 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1162 Achievement Points: 20778 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/26/12 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 2 Birthday: 03/16/1968 Device: Windows Posted March 18, 2015 hi welcome to the forums Awards
Huskie Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 20344 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 99 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 250 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 303 Achievement Points: 2013 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/12/13 Status: Offline Last Seen: January 12 Birthday: 07/12/1995 Device: Android Posted March 18, 2015 Welcome!
Joe Canadian Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 822 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 87 Topic Count: 317 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 5477 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5025 Achievement Points: 42632 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 20 Joined: 12/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: October 25, 2023 Birthday: 03/01/1967 Posted March 18, 2015 Nice intro, I love judo and Aikido myself Awards
Gatorgirl Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 2986 Group: ++++ Senior Admin Followers: 206 Topic Count: 384 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 6456 Content Per Day: 1.31 Reputation: 7140 Achievement Points: 50711 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 21 Joined: 11/13/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: April 27 Birthday: 12/19/1967 Device: iPhone Posted March 18, 2015 Welcome!! My son would love to go to Berklee, he is a percussionist in his high school band. Awards
Flash Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 234 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 2 Topic Count: 101 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1064 Content Per Day: 0.19 Reputation: 191 Achievement Points: 6692 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 1 Joined: 09/04/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: December 20, 2016 Birthday: 04/16/1993 Posted March 18, 2015 Welcome to the forums! Awards
cpts3xdonky Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 20112 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 6 Topic Count: 21 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 50 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 81 Achievement Points: 568 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/22/13 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 1, 2016 Posted March 18, 2015 I really enjoyed season 1 of this , when will season 2 air ?? BUDMAN, Nisty*, Joe Canadian and 1 other 4
P!nk Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 79 Group: *** Clan Members Followers: 227 Topic Count: 228 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 3443 Content Per Day: 0.60 Reputation: 4052 Achievement Points: 30287 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 9 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: 2 hours ago Birthday: 06/29/1977 Device: iPhone Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Welcome and i have been reading this out loud in ts lol. QUOTE I am very much looking forward to summer this year so I can make good use of some of this extra energy! Does this mean you are gonna fight crime? Edited March 18, 2015 by P!nk BigPapaDean, BUDMAN, Nisty* and 1 other 4 Awards
Stringer Posted March 18, 2015 Member ID: 22266 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 11 Topic Count: 176 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 1112 Content Per Day: 0.29 Reputation: 588 Achievement Points: 9330 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/30/14 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 25, 2018 Birthday: 07/24/1988 Posted March 18, 2015 lol way to much to read haha welcome to the forums Awards
Joe Canadian Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 822 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 87 Topic Count: 317 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 5477 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5025 Achievement Points: 42632 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 20 Joined: 12/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: October 25, 2023 Birthday: 03/01/1967 Posted March 19, 2015 Don't listen to TBB Rocket, some people do know how to read here and appreciate this ;-) BigPapaDean and TBB 2 Awards
Joe Canadian Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 822 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 87 Topic Count: 317 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 5477 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5025 Achievement Points: 42632 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 20 Joined: 12/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: October 25, 2023 Birthday: 03/01/1967 Posted March 19, 2015 If you're going to hang out here keep in mind you're dealing with a bunch of >IDIOTS< whho don't know how to read and just want to look at porn all day - nice intro though - can't wait for the movie - lol ! Not everyone here prefers dildos than reading you pervert lol BigPapaDean, L!ckALotAPus, TBB and 1 other 4 Awards
Hunter1948 Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 1850 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 98 Topic Count: 328 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 8620 Content Per Day: 1.61 Reputation: 4222 Achievement Points: 55994 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 5 Joined: 09/29/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: November 29, 2023 Birthday: 06/19/1948 Posted March 19, 2015 Wow thanks for the intro ! Stringer 1 Awards
Rocket_Jay Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Author Posted March 19, 2015 Hi Joe, Cool! Yes, it's been very interesting seeing the differences and similarities between the two styles. My original style was based on Five Animals Kung Fu, so the Japanese arts are a whole new realm! Less so these days, but when I first started training in Aikido, I would get pressured and automatically revert back to kung fu mode. My chief instructor Aaron always gets a kick out of this when it happens and will stop and ask me what it is I'm doing... name of stance, reason etc. Kinda funny but embarrassing. Like getting caught wearing 2 different shoes... there's no hiding it! And Pink... sorry, no crime fighting battles. These days my main fight is against Father Time :-) Nisty*, Stringer, P!nk and 2 others 5 Awards
Cooperm4n Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 21407 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 1 Topic Count: 4 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 558 Content Per Day: 0.14 Reputation: 181 Achievement Points: 3029 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/06/14 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 11, 2020 Birthday: 01/17/1973 Posted March 19, 2015 I feel that it was a little bit of the old One EXTREME to another but non the less informative welcome to the forums dude
Rocket_Jay Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Author Posted March 19, 2015 Yes Cooper, extreme. However, I'm pretty sure I won't be told I didn't give enough info! Nisty* 1 Awards
Rocket_Jay Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Author Posted March 19, 2015 I also wanted to reply to Gatorgirl. Very cool about your son! Berklee is a great school. It's expensive, but he would stand to learn a ton by going there. I will warn however, your son would really have to be able to keep the partying in check. For the first year at least, he would be housed in a dormitory with 2,000 other young musicians, freshly away from parental supervision! It's easy to get distracted from what you are there to do! BigPapaDean 1 Awards
TBB Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 989 Group: *** Clan Members Followers: 25 Topic Count: 290 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 20511 Content Per Day: 3.66 Reputation: 22519 Achievement Points: 148075 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 394 Joined: 01/07/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: 32 minutes ago Birthday: 01/27/1946 Device: Windows Posted March 19, 2015 Not everyone here prefers dildos than reading you pervert lol You're just jealous because your BF took yours away!!!! Awards
SABRE Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 2236 Group: *** Clan Members Followers: 30 Topic Count: 34 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 265 Content Per Day: 0.05 Reputation: 266 Achievement Points: 2149 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 2 Joined: 02/20/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: April 30 Birthday: 08/10/1975 Device: Windows Posted March 19, 2015 Is this the same Rocket that I enjoy killing in the ACE MOD? Awards
Vincent Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 2025 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 6 Topic Count: 13 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 294 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 127 Achievement Points: 1746 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/08/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: June 17, 2024 Birthday: 08/05/1959 Device: Android Posted March 19, 2015 Wow, that was a mouthful. no just kidding. Welcome. Awards
Rocket_Jay Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Author Posted March 19, 2015 Yes Sabre... it is I! Awards
LaRSin Posted March 19, 2015 Member ID: 45 Group: *** Clan Members Followers: 69 Topic Count: 981 Topics Per Day: 0.17 Content Count: 9435 Content Per Day: 1.65 Reputation: 3735 Achievement Points: 68153 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 2 Joined: 09/01/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: 4 hours ago Birthday: 02/25/1951 Device: Windows Posted March 19, 2015 Welcome to the forum and enjoy the servers Awards
BigPapaDean Posted March 20, 2015 Member ID: 1128 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 78 Topic Count: 1210 Topics Per Day: 0.22 Content Count: 6553 Content Per Day: 1.18 Reputation: 4430 Achievement Points: 63653 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 6 Joined: 02/13/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 18 Birthday: 10/21/1954 Device: Windows Posted March 20, 2015 Somehow I feel I know you now! lol You are not the first one to be criticized about too long! I always hear this from the IDIOTS here! lol Nice intro tho! Awards
Rocket_Jay Posted March 20, 2015 Member ID: 3042 Group: ** Registered Users Followers: 26 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 149 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 129 Achievement Points: 3011 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/01/11 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 4 Birthday: 02/27/1964 Device: Windows Author Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks Larsin, I'm figuring it out bit by bit! Awards
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