With the exception of Major League baseball playoff tickets, I’ve never been an impulse buyer.  The last time I purchased work shoes, I visited my favorite men’s shoe store four times before making a purchase.

In my mind, I had made a selection on my initial visit, but I’m slow to seal the deal.  After finding the right pair of shoes, I just wanted to know if I could find them at three nearby major retailers for a better price.

Sure enough, after hiking my way around the local mall I realized that my first instinct was right.  I went back to my favorite store and completed my order.  I suspect many of you are like me in that when you shop, you want to learn and compare before buying.

My shopping habit relates to a new program you’ll see us introduce this Monday that’s designed to deliver an enhanced customer experience.  Starting today, we’re pleased to introduce the FiOS Fast Pass^SM.

We have certainly had a lot of new TV to watch this last week. And there’s more to come. Sunday night alone has enough premieres to keep my DVR busy. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

CSI: NY – 8 pm on CBS (season premiere)

Fringe – 9 pm on FOX (season 5 premiere)

Made In Jersey – 9 pm on CBS

Saturday:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 11 am on Nickelodeon (they’re back in a new series!)

Vegas – 8 pm on CBS (repeat of the series premiere, followed by a repeat of Elementary)

48 Hours – 10 pm on CBS (season opener)

(Ed's note: On Thursday, Sept. 27, you may have seen some disaster readiness-themed tweets from @Verizon as representatives from Verizon, FEMA and the American Red Cross gathered in Fairfield, N.J., to stress the importance of emergency preparedness. As a follow up, today's Forum Discovery Friday feature comes from guest blogger and Director of Verizon Strategic Alliances Faizun Kamal of Verizon's Responsibilty Blog, and highlights our support in developing the National Prepardeness Month Digital Took Kit.)

As part of our work to support National Preparedness Month, we’ve collaborated with FEMA and the Industry Council on Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT) to develop the National Preparedness Month Digital Toolkit 2.0.  This is a straightforward online toolkit designed to help you learn how to use wireless phones and tablets to obtain critical information before, during and after a disaster.

Back again with some TV watching suggestions for the week ahead. Plus, make sure you check out our Spanish-language free preview taking place right now! Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

2012 ALMA Awards – 8 pm on NBC

What Would You Do – 9 pm on ABC

Strike Back – 10 pm on Cinemax

Saturday:

Creative Arts Emmy Awards – 8 pm on REELZ

My Fair Wedding With David Tutera: Unveiled – 9 pm on WE

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mumford & Sons)

I’m back today to tell you about more freebies on FiOS! I hope you all got to enjoy the HBO & Cinemax free preview last weekend, as well as the Fox Soccer Plus free preview taking place right now through this weekend (on FiOS TV Channel 1009).

Today I’m here to tell you about another FiOS TV free preview featuring more than 40 Spanish-language channels. As I’ve mentioned here before, FiOS TV offers the most Spanish-language channels including the most in HD. We’ve been hard at work, creating a Spanish-language offering that appeals to all members of your family and helps keep our Spanish-speaking customers close to their culture.

Back in August, we told you about a number of enhancements that Verizon was making to FiOS TV Video on Demand (VOD). I hope many of you have had a chance to enjoy the new VOD, and I have more good news to share. We have more enhancements coming your way!

FiOS customers will notice more improvements to the VOD experience, and it’s all because of you. We’re always listening to what you have to say, through the Verizon Idea Exchange, Twitter and Facebook, and we’ve been able to implement some of your suggestions for VOD.

We have a lot of great TV coming your way this week, including a free preview of HBO and Cinemax this weekend! Check the “One More Note” section below for more details on this free preview, and two others coming up in the next few weeks from Fox Soccer Plus and EPIX. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Shark Tank – 8 pm on ABC (season premiere)

2012 Style Awards – 8 pm on STYLE

Strike Back – 10 pm on Cinemax

Saturday:

Doctor Who – 9 pm on BBC America

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (season premiere, hosted by Seth MacFarlane)

(Ed's note: This week's Forum Discovery Friday feature on Verizon at Home comes from the Verizon Small Biz Blog on Thursday's news release highlighting ways small business owners can prepare disasters.)

Yes, we wrote about this not too long ago, but this is important, particularly since September is National Preparedness Month.

We never know when a disaster will strike; small business owner in particularly need to have a plan in place to keep your business up and running.

Earlier today we issued a news release with a long list of helpful tips to help you be prepared, below are some key ones specifically for small business owners.

Happy Friday! We have a lot of TV in store for us this next week. The start of all the talk shows alone could keep my DVR busy for a while – Ellen, Anderson, Steve Harvey, Jeff Probst, Katie Couric, and the list goes on. Here’s a look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Stand Up To Cancer – 8 pm (a variety of celebrities are performing and appearing on this special fund raiser for cancer research, airing on most of the major networks)

Saturday:

NASCAR: Sprint Cup – 7:30 pm on ABC

Dog Whisperer – 8 pm on Nat Geo Wild

Celebrity Ghost Stories – 9  pm on Bio (featuring Jack Osbourne)

The fall television season is right around the corner and Verizon is thrilled to partner with FOX to give FiOS TV customers a front row seat to the network’s new Tuesday night comedy block. We’re welcoming back favorites “New Girl” and “Raising Hope” and newcomers “Ben and Kate” and “The Mindy Project” with some exciting content, including behind-the-scenes elements, promos for upcoming episodes and interviews with the casts and crews of the shows. To top of the fun, Verizon and Fox are hosting a sweepstakes that will give one lucky winner a chance to visit the Los Angeles set of a FOX comedy series!

The days of thinking that only your PC needs virus protection are over. According to a recent CNET article by Dara Kerr, threats against our computers, laptops and smartphones by worms, viruses, botnets, Trojans, spam, and many other types of Malware, are rapidly increasing in number and sophistication, leading Kerr to conclude that “every single device that connects to the Internet is in danger.”