Apr 242012
 
Palena Delivers Top Drawer Experience

WINE & DINE COLUMN My latest Wine and Dine column was published yesterday on WashingtonExec. I review Palena, which remains one of the best places in greater DC for a meal. We also had a very good new Pinot Noir, the 2009 Cameron Reserve Dundee Hills.

Apr 222012
 
M3 Birthday Present

My 1999 M3 turns 13 this April, one of the last E36 M3 coupes produced. I usually publish a post in April to acknowledge the birthday, starting with this one in 2008. It’s description of how I feel about the car is still accurate today. This year, I decided the car needed new wheels. Last […]

Apr 182012
 

In the course of our work for clients Strategic has gotten to know the marketing automation company Eloqua fairly well. Some of our clients use Eloqua to automate their marketing processes, and all Strategic engagements are focused on lead generation, prospect cultivation and/or deal capture. So obviously it’s important to understand how the client is […]

Apr 152012
 
BMW E39 M5 Oil Change

This weekend I changed the oil and filter in my 2002 M5. It’s a very basic procedure that requires little to no mechanical skill, but delivers a satisfying DIY feeling. All I had to do was follow this how-to complete with pictures from M5Board. The oil change itself was simple, but this being an E39 […]

Apr 112012
 

This past weekend Gabriele and I tried Grand Cru, a wine bar and bistro in the Ballston section of Arlington. I hadn’t heard much about it and don’t think of Ballston as having a lot of good places. It really delivered and we had a very nice meal. It’s a bit tucked away amidst some […]

Apr 082012
 
Early Reports on the New BMW M3

Edmund’s Inside Line recently wrote a story on the upcoming BMW M3, based on the new F30 3 Series platform. Nothing is official and no sources are named, but the story contains some interesting nuggets. What’s certain is that this will be the first M3 in history with a turbocharged engine. There’s no way to […]

Apr 042012
 

Yesterday the marketing automation company Marketo published a really good post on their blog. It captured well a lot of these themes I cover here on this blog and how I counsel clients regarding content marketing. First off, it’s a guest post from Jeffrey Davis. Reaching beyond your own group of subject matter experts and […]

Mar 292012
 
Front Royal as Food and Wine Destination

WINE & DINE COLUMN My latest column was published on WashingtonExec today. It focuses on nearby Front Royal, Virginia. Front Royal has always offered the natural beauty of Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. In more recent years, high quality restaurants and nearby vineyards have created a new reason to visit. Next time you can […]

Mar 222012
 

I see a lot of questions coming from BMW owners — here on this blog and in online forums. When you buy a BMW to keep long-term, there is a checklist of items you need to acquire to make that ownership experience a good one. If you prefer to lease and trade-in every two or […]

Mar 182012
 

In this post I take a look at some top Chiantis reviewed by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, wine writers for the Wall Street Journal from 1998 to 2009. They found some favorites back in 1998 — how do they compare with today’s vintages? I also include in the video review below another Chianti found […]

Mar 152012
 
The Benefits of Quality Content

It’s not easy to consistently create high quality content. That’s a fact I don’t sugarcoat with clients. To make a B2b or B2G content marketing strategy succeed, you need to adopt the mindset of a publisher. That means keeping your audience happy and engaged. And that’s not easy. My partner Marc Hausman writes about bouts […]

Mar 112012
 
What Enthusiast E39 M5 Ownership Looks Like

I got together with a friend and fellow enthusiast this weekend. He recently purchased a beautiful 2001 Royal Red M5, and he’s a great example of enthusiast BMW ownership. This enthusiast is a USAF retiree who has been honing his auto repair skills gradually for almost 30 years. He doesn’t want his name used, but […]