Las Vegas Recommendations

Quentin Lee, a friend of my son and I, is on a national tour of the Broadway Production of Porgy and Bess out of New York. He's performing in Las Vegas this week so I offered him some tips on restaurants and entertainment. I thought I'd share them with all of you. I'll add to this list as time allows. But here are my top of mind favorite places that a starving singer can afford to enjoy.

Restaurants

Hash House A Go Go $$ - (At the Plaza at the end of Freemont Street)

Unreal "Twisted Farm Food" massive portions reasonable prices.

Try the Sage Chicken and Waffles ...And the BLT Bloody Mary

Lotus of Siam $$ - (On Sahara)

Try EVERYTHING! I especially love the "appetizers"

Nam Kao Tod (crispy, spicy ground pork)

Mee Krob (sweet, delicate, delicious)

Raku $$$ - "Chinatown" 5030 W. Spring Mtn Road

This is were the "other" Las Vegas Chefs come to eat. Amazing, creative, small dishes to share. Try EVERYTHING! Here are the FoodSpotting Photos.

Sweets Raku $$ - Next door to Raku it is ASTOUNDING.

True culinary art. Kind of pristine, white decor with open kitchen. Reminds me of Japanese Sci-Fi because of the minimalist design. Only 4 dishes offered each night. They are perfect.

On Facebook

Mon Ami Gabi $$$ - In the Paris Casino. Excellent outdoor dining right on the strip. Go for the ambiance and enjoy breakfast or brunch and bloody mary's and/or mimosas. 

Bars

Ghostbar - Palms (across from the Rio). Incredible views, excellent rooftop experience, active dance scene, excellent "showman" bartenders

Voodoo Lounge - Rio - Similar experience to Ghostbar 

Chandelier - Cosmopolitan 

Three floors, very hip. "Experimental" drinks on the 2nd floor. Ask for the "Fire Breathing Dragon" (with nitrogen frozen rasberries) or the ??? can't remember the name but it's served with a flower bud that stuns your mouth and then gradually changes causing the drink to change flavors as you drink it. Very cool.

Red Square - Mandalay Bay

It's a great restaurant too, but unless I want caviar, I just go for the bar. Very, very cool. Sit at the Ice Bar or visit the "Freezer." You can get a Frozen photo opp with your drink if you ask when you order for a fur coat photo.

Most of the top FoodSpotting Photos are Mine.

Attractions

Stratosphere Highest thrill rides including world's highest controlled free-fall

Neon Museum 45 min tour of classic Vegas Neon.

That's a taste of one of my favorite cities. I'll add more when I can.

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Connect with GoalBusters     

Jim Anderson      GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris      alice.ferris

You are a Person NOT a Company - "BAD LinkedIn Connection Requests"

I NEVER accept a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn invitation to connect from a company. DUH! You are not a company. You are a person that incorrectly set up your LinkedIn profile. 

Please feel free to copy and paste my standard response below as a reply email to anyone who sends you an email to become friends on Facebook with or connect on LinkedIn with their "Locksmithing Company" or "Real Estate Agency." It's written for LinkedIn, but minor edits will make it apply to most social media platforms.

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Hello, I received an invitation to "connect" with your business. Your have incorrectly set up your LinkedIn profile. Businesses can't have personal LinkedIn "connections." Businesses should create company or organization "pages" and you as an owner should have a personal profile where you are identified as an individual, by role at the company and THEN you can invite others to connect with you personally and/or "follow" your company. Your profile isn't a person's profile it is currently set up as basically a Yellow Pages ad. Businesses who set pages up as "people" either don't understand Linkedin's policies, or worse are purposefully attempting to use LinkedIn as a direct mail/spam marketing device. LinkedIn is designed to be a networking tool for people, NOT a solicitation tool for companies. If you want to connect as a person, please send me another invitation from a person's profile.

Also, some companies and individuals send bulk direct messages to their contracts. If they are sending unsolicited marketing or sales offers, they are spamming their contacts and they are violating anti-spam laws, they are in violation of LinkedIn's Terms of Service and they are abusing their relationships with their contacts. There are staff members of a Northern Arizona radio station that are notorious for this egregious spamming practice. I hope this is not one of your practices.

Good luck with your business.

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Feel free to edit the above message to fit your circumstances and degree of annoyance.

Chinese New Year Traditions for Nonprofits

Happy New Year! Chinese New Year, that is.

On January 31, 2014, Chinese communities throughout the world begin two weeks of celebrations to mark the lunar new year, the year of the Horse, the culmination of many preparations and traditions that have been in place for generations.

As we begin this new year, here are some of the traditions that can be productive to apply to your nonprofit life:

Conduct a thorough cleaning. Of your database, that is. Are you collecting useful information? Is it organized the way that is productive? Are there pledges that should be written off or past donors that can be archived?

Reconcile old debts and grudges. It's not just about money. Are there people to whom you owe follow up, or prospective donors that you should "bless and release?" In some cases, you're better to let a donor go than continue to pursue a gift that doesn't work for the contributor. Reassess the donors that are in cultivation and decide what you need to do to move them forward or to move them on to another cause.

Give "lucky money." The iconic red envelopes are given to children to insure that they have good luck for the coming year. In the same vein, think about your own philanthropy and consider a gift to a charitable cause that is not the one you work for. Was there an organization you missed in December? Is there a new cause you would like to support? Being a donor makes you a better, more aware fundraiser.

Look forward, not back. Earlier this month, you may have assessed how things went last calendar year. Now is the time to finalize the calendar year plan if you haven't already. If you've already set goals for the year, plan out milestones and action steps now.

Wear red. This has no translation to the nonprofit field. It's just good luck.

Celebrate abundance. The New Year's Eve dinner is traditionally a large celebration for the family to celebrate how much wealth they have, regardless of what actual physical wealth they hold, and carry over that optimism to the new year. Too often, with the bustle of the holidays and year end giving campaigns, and the stress of having to raise every dollar, development program staff do not have the time to celebrate the generosity of their donors and the successes of their efforts. Now that the year end gifts have been processed and thank you letters sent, take a moment to be thankful for the support you receive. Gather those close to your cause and say, "We have so much!"

Wishing you, and your nonprofit, prosperity in the new year! Gong Xi Fai Cai!

(This was first posted in 2012. The original post is here.)