Food Trucks, Staying Relevant, and Customer Loyalty

Posted in Love

When it comes to staying relevant, it’s important to know where to plant your flag. Some people effortlessly dwell in cool, being the first to spot trends and earning reputations as innovative early adopters. adult singles chat Think about early social media evangelists or the first person you knew with an iPod. live chat adult finder

Then there are the people who come late to the party, trying with all their might to milk the last drop out of an idea.

There’s a big buzz going around food circles about the LA Food Truck phenomenon and whether or not it’s a waning trend. Food trucks aren’t anything new- from sandwiches to tacos, they’ve been beeping La Cucaracha upon entering parking lots for decades.

But chef Roy Choi, founder of the Kogi truck, put a new element of cool into the rolling restaurant world when he took the Taco Truck concept (a staple on the West Coast), and put a Korean twist on it. (Korean style beef tacos… complete and total YUM!)

His business brilliantly uses Twitter, to announce where they’ll be next and crowds form every day for their fix. The Kogi truck not only has a huge following, but quite a bit of other foodies are copying his every move (The Grilled Cheese Truck is quite the rage in LA among others). The creativity is awesome… but are too many food trucks spoiling the soup?

So that brings us back to the topic of staying cool, relevant, and building loyalty with your customers. When you’re on the forefront of a trend, doing what you love, it’s pure joy. But suddenly you have fast food chains like Jack in the Box launching fleets of food trucks, diluting the spirit of the movement.

Whether you’re driving a food truck or selling consulting services, your ability to stand out is what will keep you top of mind.

Here are 3 tips to stay relevant, innovative, and #1 in your customers’ eyes.

1. Always Keep an Eye Out for the Opportunities The cool person’s credo is to keep an eye out for where everyone ISN’T. Be the first one there and claim your spot. When the developers arrive and start putting in sidewalks, you know it’s time to go. For example, Twitter was the innovation for Kogi. Now everyone is using Twitter to track their food trucks. Is there another social media strategy or mobile marketing app that can keep you front and center?

2. Graciously acknowledge yourself as a founder and innovator. No, you don’t want to whine, “I was here first! Go away!”. Rather, graciously greet the newcomers as if they’re coming to YOUR party. Hold the confidence of someone who belongs anywhere you go. Your business might get some push from competitors, but don’t show your worry. This is a mindset issue… if you don’t establish this, you’ll go into a tailspin.

3. Cultivate loyalty through great customer service Never let your customers and fans forget how much you value them. Give them access to the cool kids club… special deals, notifications, customer only rewards and the like. Others may copy you from the outside, but they can’t copy the emotional imprint you leave on your clients. They’ll excitedly follow you wherever you go and stay loyal to you.

What are your thoughts on staying relevant and ahead of the curve? How important is it to you and your business? Are you a follower, a leader, or a copier?

The Inventor of Oil Paintings

Posted in Relationships

In comparison to many other art forms, oil painting is still considered relatively new. Oil painting is the use of oil in pigments in order to paint. Oil paintings date back to the 1400′s. Before oil painting, paint was mixed with plaster found in frescoes or egg in tempera paints. The invention of oil paintings occurred because of a new desire for realism in art. Jan Van Eyck is the man credited with the invention of oil painting.

The desire for a more realistic look in art started in early fifteenth century Europe. Previously, art was very mythological and decorative, but with the onset of the Renaissance, artists began to understand concepts and laws behind the ideas of perspective and colors. As a result, more artists began painting realer images.

Jan Van Eyck had a desire to mimic nature in his paintings. In order to achieve his goal, he painted every minute detail about the object he could. Van Eyck’s attention to detail allowed his paintings to seem alive. Unfortunately for Van Eyck, the current painting styles and supplies could not help him achieve his goal of total realism. As a solution to his problem, Van Eyck created oil paintings.

Before Van Eyck, Renaissance painters did not buy colors that were already made. Painters had to make colors themselves from ground up pigments found in plants and minerals that were combined with binder to form a paste. This type of paint was called tempera paint. The problem with tempera paint was that it dried very quickly, and made it virtually impossible to have smooth transitions in painting. Van Eyck wanted to create realism via shading, so tempera paint did not suit his needs. Instead of using egg found in tempera paint, Van Eyck decided to use oil in order to work much more accurately and slowly. Having an oil binder allows the painter to make glossy colors that can be applied in several layers (also known as glazes).

With a tiny pointed brush, Van Eyck was further able to create vivid detail in his paintings. Van Eyck’s work impressed many people, including other artists. Soon, many artists were using oil in their paint mixtures, and oil paintings became a very popular form of art. Oil colors have changed since the time of Van Eyck, but the principals remain the same. Oil paintings allow the painter to create more detailed settings via shading as well as create more lifelike portraits. Van Eyck’s contribution changed art forever.

Better Poker Today: Bankroll and Playing at Your Level

Posted in Readiness

Welcome to the next article in a series on how to quickly become a better poker player. I’m glad your back for the second part because the first five points were important but I thought another article was needed to help make your rise to poker stardom more complete. Drum Roll please, and here are the next few points to get your game going in the right direction.

The Community Cards Are Very Important

Your hole cards and the betting pattern of your opponents is obviously very important. I also hope you know the flop, turn, and river are just as important. You need to learn the odds of drawing the flush or the straight on the turn and river. You can’t just be a calling station because you need a 7 to complete your ten high straight. Pay attention to these community cards because every card could hurt or help you. This point will bringing you to the topics of pot odds, implied odds, and other statistical methods to help you make the proper decision based on the flop, turn, and river. Don’t call a bet because you want the next card. Call the bet because the price is right based on how much you could win and the odds that you will draw that card. We want to earn money not pray for it!

Keep a Watchful Eye On the Other Players

Paying attention to your hand is great but why are you not paying attention to that guy who folds to every 3bet. Or that guy that always raises from the button when no one plays before him. These are things you need to observe and learn about your fellow players at the table. Poker is a game of maximizing your advantage! Learning how a player behaves is incredibly important. If you notice the two players to your left playing 5-10% of the hands dealt then you need to be stealing those blinds from them when your in the SB and Button! After awhile they might catch on. So now you adapt and stop stealing with such a wide range of hands. While your on this point, look into C-betting, 3betting, and stealing the blinds. These are great poker know hows that will help you consistently win hands without seeing a flop or showdown!

You don’t have to find out

Find out what you say? You don’t have to find out whether or not Joe Shmoe was bluffing the entire time by calling his showdown bet. If you didn’t get your straight, flush, or a set. Then don’t call a bet because you want to see what kind of cards he is playing. Remember your not that skilled yet and if you are why are you reading this? Playing solid ABC poker will make you a winner at lower stakes. Without that foundation you can’t learn the special little tricks like forcing a guy to show his cards on the showdown by making a dumb call. Save your chips for solid hands!

Play at your level

When you first start out playing poker your bankroll might be super tiny or it might be nice and fat. However, poker is much more fun when you win! Always remember that! So you need to pick the right skill level limit in order to win. At first you need to start in the lowest limit! Once you have mastered the limit it by winning frequently over a long period of time and your bank roll has grown significantly. Pick the limit for your skill level and stick to it. Don’t jump into the next limit because you had one weekend of awesome winning poker. You will quickly lose that money if you jump up to quickly.

Bank Roll, Bank Roll, Bank Roll.

Its all about the bank roll baby! Like the previous tip its all about managing your growth financially and with your skill. I follow the 20 to 25 buyin rule. Always make sure your playing a level that you can buy into 20 to 25 times. On top of that never spend more then 5-10 percent of your bankroll in any day. If your losing that much take a break. Then come back the next day at the same level or lower if need be. Make sure that you are winning consistently over a long period of time before you move up to the next level. Even though you can afford 30 buyins to the next level may not necessarily mean your ready for a higher limit. Use caution when taking risks. We want to grow our fund over the long term.

Conclusion

Most of these points are fairly straight forward and simple concepts that need to be mastered. However reread some this article again after you have started playing with these tips in mind. Ask yourself if you are following all of these rules and be honest with yourself. If you can honestly tell yourself that these rules when applied do help my game, then its time to look farther into the study of poker because your mastery of the game has only begun. Invest in well recommended books and join a strong poker forum where you can begin to learn the finer points of the game. Good luck! I really hope these tips help you out on the road to a better poker game. Feel free to email or comment about how any article on my blog has helped you!

The Best Movies Of 2010 – Animation

Posted in Online Dating

In 2009, we had much to cheer about for the line up of animated movies. Consider sparkling and assured successes like Up, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Nine et al. They were perfect getaways from troubles and agonies, with their spectacular animation, charming characters and most importantly, great plots.

The last year was defined by a slew of 3D outings, but to be honest, the extra dimension did work miracles in animated films. Usual heroes Pixar and DreamWorks rolled out confident and wildly successful offerings, while tinkering with technology, star power and smart writing. And the makers of Happy Feet made a daring comeback too, despite the odds of their chosen director and a rather old school premise. Let’s check out the cartoon films of 2010, which would have made Chuck Jones and Walt Disney proud.

Toy Story 3- Undoubtedly, the best animation film, which hit the theaters last year. Maybe I have an irrational love for every Pixar outing. But, you cant blame me, guys. The whole thing is a fully loaded package of beautifully crafted animation, wonderful characters and the kind of script that deserves to be in the Oscar race.

Woody and Buzz, our favorite boy-toys return in their lovable friendship and comradeship. And the other toys are there as well, from the dim witted Rex to Mr. Potato. However, you will marvel at how detailed the animation is. The film perfectly blends the little details of a regular, cluttered playroom, with the jumps and jives of the toys, which dramatically become life like and human.

How To Train Your Dragon- Another successful experiment with the 3D technology does not break any new ground. Its simplicity and its warm-hearted innocence are, however, bound to take your breath away, before the flame-throwing dragons do.

The makers of Kung Fu Panda have fashioned, with equal beauty and imagination, the tale of a self willed Viking boy, determined to train and ride on a dragon. While it is spectacular, the story also sparkles with simple vignettes of simple desires and aspirations- watch as the little hero tries to impress a girl with his dragon and his bravado.

The Legend Of The Guardians- Possibly, this is the darkest anime flick last year, and the scariest movie since ‘Nine’. However, even with its disturbing brutality, this Zack Snyder movie is way more thrilling than the damnably slow 300.

From the sweeping flight of the majestic birds, to the fierce skirmishes on the skies, every little and major nuance is captured with breathtaking flair and energy. Remarkably, Snyder’s direction is a lot more gritty and firm; thank heavens that we do not have to see the action in slow motion.

Broken Up From Your Ex – All is Not Lost

Posted in Love

Getting Through a Bad Breakup

There can be good breakups and bad breakups, and of course, a number of types of breakups in between. Depending on the nature of your relationship, as well as the nature of the breakup, your most recent breakup could have been an awfully hard one to get through. If you’re going through a bad breakup, in which you were just crushed by the breakup; you need some helpful tips to get you through this difficult time. We offer these below, to help.

Tip 1: Eliminate Them from Your Life

Though this is probably the hardest part to getting through a bad breakup, it is also the most necessary. Make sure to stop contacting them, stop seeing them, and get rid of all memories of them from your life. Even if you secretly believe that one day there is hope for getting back together, you must get rid of their presence in your life, to help you keep your own head above water, and enjoy the life you have.

Tip 2: Let Yourself Mourn

Perhaps, it is best that you do this before the last tip, but it can be done in any order for success. The second tip that few people who just want to cut the person out of their life do, is that they do not let themselves grieve over the loss. They, instead, cut them out of their life, and move on-by pushing all that sadness and anger down-which later resurfaces in a worse manner. This is why it is advised to let yourself mourn, and get it all out-but then, pick yourself up and start living again. Do not sink into it.

Tip 3: Take Action

Lastly, you need to ensure that after your period of mourning and dealing with your feelings, that you pick yourself up and take action and motivate yourself towards some goal. Even if that goal is getting that loved one back, motivate yourself by doing positive things to get there; such as exercising and fixing things that you can fix, that might have been the reason for your breakup. Or maybe your motivation is getting fit or getting a better job. Make a plan and stick to it. This will make you feel better about yourself, as well as allow you to wallow less over the breakup.

How Do I Make My Marriage Good Again So My Husband Will Be Happy With Me? Tips And Advice To Help

Posted in Enhancement

I often hear from wives who are trying to return their marriage back to a good place after their husband has been hinting or saying directly that he’s just not happy anymore. The wife often doesn’t know where or how to begin but she knows that she has to do something soon before her marriage reaches the point of no return.

I recently heard from a wife who said “my husband sat me down a few days ago and told me that he wasn’t happy anymore. He says that we’re no longer the same people and we no longer have the same marriage. He says he remembers when we used to rush home to each other because we couldn’t stand to be apart, but now all we worry about is our kids and our jobs. He says our physical relationship has gone cold and he isn’t as physically attracted to me as he used to be. I asked what I can do to make him happy again and he said he doesn’t know if it’s even possible. He says its impossible to turn back the clock and make us happy again like we were before. I don’t want to believe this. We are the two same people we always were. Yes, we have more stress in our lives now, but I still love him and want my marriage. So how can I make things good between us again when he’s telling me that it may not even be possible?”

There are admittedly many issues at play here but I’m living proof that it’s certainly possible to make your marriage good again when it’s at its lowest point. But it’s often not without a lot of work and concentrated effort while ignoring the things that don’t matter as much as you might think. I will discuss this more below.

Don’t Expect For Things To Become Genuinely Good Again Over Night (Unless You Want For Things To Feel Forced.) Rebuilding Your Marriage Takes Time: One of the biggest mistakes that I see in these types of situations is that wives will panic and try to overcompensate. Of course they don’t want to lose their husband or their marriage. So they feel as if they have to fix it right away, almost seemingly overnight.

The problem, of course, is that you marriage didn’t deteriorate over night so it’s probably not going to be fixed overnight either. The stressors that this couple were now having to deal with had whittled away at their closeness and chemistry. These things can return with a little care and determination. But you need to have patience. Because if you push too hard, you run the risk of things feeling alienated and awkward. Understand that you will have the most success if you begin small and build from there.

Start Where You Already Are: Even the worst marriage or the most unhappy husbands have bright spots somewhere. Maybe it is your children or the fact that you can still laugh together or remember your inside jokes. Maybe there’s still a spark of attraction or chemistry. Whatever it is that is still there, try very hard to focus on the good rather than the bad. Many couples will try to get the good back by focusing on the bad, which is completely backward.

What I mean by that is that people feel as if they need to solve their problems before they can be happy again. Often, what they do not realize is that if they can be happy again first, then their martial problems will be much easier to solve. So instead of focusing on all of your problems, focus on all that is right and rebuild from the bottom up rather than the opposite.

Understand That You Need To Make The Process Pleasurable Rather Than Painful: When your marriage is in jeopardy, it can feel as if you need to get down to immediate and serious business. And frankly, they don’t anticipate having a whole lot of fun. That is really the wrong approach in my experience. Making your marriage good again is challenging enough without feeling defeated before you even begin. Try to have the best, most fun loving attitude that you possibly can.

You want for this to be enjoyable. You want to rediscover your spouse and have fun doing it. Show your husband that funny, playful, and vibrant woman he fell in love with. Yes, you are a mom. Yes, you have a stressful job. But you are a wife too and it’s important to show him you still remember and value that. Flirt with him. Listen to him. Appreciate him. Be physical with him. Slowly, as you begin to be very conscious of these things, you may be surprised to see that things are beginning to be good again and, as the result, he’s starting to become happier in the marriage as well.

Don’t Fall too Hard for Single Women too Soon

Posted in Domestic Violence

This week I want to talk about falling in love with single women too fast and too soon.

Because of our raging hormones and thinking as if our brain is between our legs, men tend to fall in love (or lust) at first site. Even after a first date that went really well you may think that you are in love. I can assure you that it is really not love. It’s just infatuation. Love takes time to develop. It just doesn’t happen overnight.

And what’s frustrating about your tendency of falling in love too fast is that women usually don’t react the same way. They are a lot more cautious and like to take their time and get to know someone before they develop strong feelings toward a guy.

So, let me give you some valuable advice. Whatever you do, don’t tell a woman you love them on your first or second date. This will only scare her away. Trust me on this one!

Another tip is to not talk about seeing her all the time until you feel that she feels the same way mutually. Take things slow! Don’t be a clinger and smoother her either. Don’t make her feel like your whole world revolves around her. Play a little hard to get and make yourself a challenge for her.

Growing

Posted in Dating

Growing hurts sometimes;

saying goodbye to friends,

to things you’ve known and done

to things you wanted to do.

Growing heals sometimes

the shattered dreams and hopes

of a life you once knew

leading you to a new knowledge of yourself.

Growing is fun sometimes

meeting new friends

learning new things

making changes that feel good and moving on.

Growing is necessary always.

Without change there is stagnation

death instead of life.

To choose to live is to choose to grow.

Copyright 2002

Don’t Let Your Kanji Tattoo Get “Lost in Translation”

Posted in Conflict

Thinking of getting a kanji tattoo or kanji jewelry? Then arm yourself with this information before you buy anything. It may be the difference between being cool and national humiliation.

What? National humiliation? Well OK, national humiliation is an unlikely outcome, but an article in the March 1st, 2005 Washington Post Express shows that the possibility is there. “Lost in Translation” looked at the real dangers facing the unwary consumers who get kanji tattoos.

I am not joking when I say “real dangers”. But neither am I referring to unhygenic tattooing practices. What I am talking about is toe-curlingly appalling linguistic blunders. Specifically, I mean kanji combinations like these:

- Extremely Military Affairs Stopping

- Crazy Diarrhea

- Weird (tattooed on one B. Spears)

Yes, these are phrases that real people (yes, Britney Spears is a real person) actually have had tattooed into their skin.

To be honest, I am not entirely surprised at these and other errors. After all, I have seen many reversed images of kanji being offered for tattoos, and kanji jewelry that simply did not mean anything like it was supposed to.

One necklace, I remember, had the kanji for “road” on it – although the poor owner had been told it meant love. I guess her love hit the road and didn’t come back no more, no more, no more, no more….

As Tian Tang puts it in the Post:

“People ask, ‘I got the tattoo, can you tell me what this means? And I’m like, ‘Why didn’t you do this before you got that tattoo?’”

Yes, you would think that would be the obvious thing to do – especially if you are getting something permanent like a kanji tattoo. So how can you make sure you don’t end up a national laughingstock?

First of all, make sure you know something about the Japanese language. Check out the copious information at sites like japanese.about.com and in five minutes you will know more about kanji, hiragana and katakana than most of the people already walking around with it tattooed into their skin.

Next, remember that there is often no such thing as an exact translation. Basic nouns are one thing – a table is a table is a table, after all. But abstract concepts, like Semper Fidelis (the motto of the US Marine Corps), can be notoriously difficult to translate well.

Once you have grasped this background material, you are ready to meet with the tattoo artist. That’s right – meet. Don’t get anything done yet. At first you just want to talk. Specifically, you want to find out how familiar he or she is with the issues mentioned above. If after an hour or so on the internet you know more about Japanese than your tattoo artist, then you need to be very careful about kanji she suggests.

So what can you do if your tattoo artist doesn’t know his kanji from his katakana? How do you go about getting the kanji yourself?

Well if you are confident in your new-found kanji knowledge, then there are a number of online dictionaries that can help.

Otherwise I would recommend getting a translation from – Japanese-Name-Translation.com A good translator will be able to offer you a number of different options as well as explaining the exact meaning and pronunciation of the different kanji. They should also be able to offer you a number of different styles, from basic kanji calligraphy fonts to genuine Japanese shodo calligraphy.

At the end of the day, how you decide to go about getting your kanji tattoo is up to you. Just remember that preparation is the key to making sure your kanji tattoo doesn’t get “Lost in Translation”.

Framing Oil Painting

Posted in Commitment

To Preserve and maintain Oil painting for years, some basic care and attention is needed, for that oil painting has to be framed. .The first and foremost step in the care of your painting is eliminating the condition which can cause the damage to your collection and the next step is to care while handling and cleaning the painting. I think Artwork should be framed for Aesthetics and Exhibition

How a Frame should be?

The most frequent question asked is How to Frame a Painting? I say it depends on many range of factors starting from the cost of the frame to aftercare of your painting. Now the next question comes in People‘s minds -should you frame your own paintings? Or should you let the artist frame them? Or should you get a professional to do it for you? But my advice to have a professional framer frames your portrait-no doubt it will be worth extra money. Framing is an art in itself and to learn any art it takes time. A professional framer will have the knowledge, ability, skill and experience on how to frame the painting properly and with care.

Necessity of framing:

A picture frame has certain characteristics and functions:

o The first and the foremost are to protect and ensure long life of your painting.

o Unify the painting with the architectural style of the room as in repetition of color style or other design elements.

o Separating the painting from the wall. In designing a frame, the effort should be to keep the picture from running into the wall, and the wall from running into the picture. A frame should try to present a maximum of contrast with the picture and the wall on which it hangs, in scale and color and texture. As pictures and walls usually contrast rather strongly with each other in these respects, the frame is apt to be as harmonious with the one as it is contrasting with the other; so this principle is often not recognized.

o Tunnel the attention of your painting so it will become Focal point of a room. The frame should give a more finished look to the painting and helps us to define the boundaries of art work. This result can be achieved subtly or emphatically.

A quality frame represents a substantial expense. A poorly chosen frame can ruin the appearance of the painting, while an appropriate one can make it shine. A Quality artist can frame all the qualities of the paintings in the frame work and make your painting live longer and oils to breath for instance. A reputable framer would know which were the appropriate materials and methods to use in each case and this would influence the price.

Is your Framing worth what you paid for?

Each frame you choose should be diversiform with different technique and material. Framing is to be of a very high quality. Each frame should be designed to complement the work of art. The stretching of the canvas has to be done with professional meticulousness. Framing materials vary in quality, cost, framing methods and also vary in the time required for framing. Make sure you get your moneys worth by getting the best of our Quality at reasonable prices.