Pink’s is one of those places that you have to experience in Hollywood. It has been around since 1939 and is a staple. If you live in LA, you know what Pink’s is. If you visit LA, there’s a good chance you’re going to drive by Pink’s and be intrigued by the constant line emanating from the place. With that said, it took me over a year in LA to finally stop and see what it had to offer.
When I arrived, the line didn’t seem too long, but it wound and wound for a good 20 minutes until I finally made it to the counter. Along the way, I stared at the menu on the wall that should have had a disclaimer reading: “Do not eat if you are pregnant, have a history of heart conditions or are on a pacemaker.” In other words, just about everything looked amazing to an unvegan.
This is what Mexico and Korea should look like. Don’t worry, that green stuff is cilantro.
Over the weekend, a friend of mine enlightened me to the existence of Kogi BBQ, a Korean taco truck. The very concept of this blew my mind, in a good way. The truck’s whereabouts can be tracked via Twitter. Now I’m not entirely sure what Twitter is (perhaps a polite way to say twister without offending people with lisps?), but we found out that the truck would be outside of a bar called The Brig on Abbot Kinney that night.
We set off, and although most of my friends were looking forward to the bar, I really only cared about the taco truck.
When choosing where you’ll go, you should think about the nature and needs of your business, and whether your budget can stretch to that office location you’ve got your eye on. If you’ve currently got a home-based business and you’re expanding, you’ll need a more professional location where you can welcome clients and suppliers, and have much more space for your employees or to store stock.
However, this all comes at additional costs in terms of rent, insurance, utilities and transport. You’ll need to balance these costs against the added value you think permanent offices will bring to your business. It can be a major leap when it comes to finances, so if you’re not quite ready there are alternatives.
Rather than going straight from your home to permanent offices, it might be worth considering interim measures such as a short office lease, moving into a co-working space, or hiring meeting spaces by the hour as and when you need them.
BUDGET: If you can’t afford a new office right now, think about the alternatives?
How do you plan for growth and office space?
When you think about future growth, you need to consider what that will mean in terms of your staffing levels. If you plan to sell more products or services, will you need more sales staff, more technical staff or more customer service staff, for example? Always save a monthly budget for office supplies, personally I found these cougar paper deals perfect.
Also, the speed of your growth is also essential in planning for the type of premises you’ll need. If it’s gradual, you might not need a big, new office. If, however, you’re going on a recruitment drive, then you’ll need to ensure there’s room for all of your new recruits.
How do you decide where to buy office space?
When you’re buying office space, location can make a big difference. As with all markets, the most popular office locations will command higher costs, so you’ll first have to consider what your business can afford.
When considering an office location think about the practical impact it’ll have on your business. If you have employees, think about how they’ll get there and whether it’ll provide a positive working environment. Are there good road or public transport links and places to get lunch, for example? This sort of thing can have a real impact on your employee / office morale and might even impact staff turnover.
Think about the impression your location will have on clients and business contacts when they visit. You should also consider the availability of important services such as fast broadband, telephone, heating and security.
In just a few years, Papa John’s has gone from a second-tier pizza chain to the top level, joining Domino’s and Pizza Hut. It even has branches in China.
The Papa John’s on National Boulevard in LA offers a fantastic $6.99 carry-out special for a large, one-topping pizza. Last time I went, I ordered pepperoni and sausage, the two greatest meats to ever find themselves atop a pizza.
Today the taco of choice was Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. Sharkeez is better-known as a late-night college-style bar, but on Tuesdays they serve up a variety of tacos, from Mahi to carnitas to lobster. Being my first time, I ordered a “Maui” style mesquite chicken and a tri-tip steak. The cashier told me they would come with Pico de Gallo** on the side, and inside would just be the meat, cheese and sauce. This sounded great to me, so I sat down to wait for my food. Sharkeez has a good all-you-can eat chips and salsa bar, which is nice to munch on when you’re wating for more food, so I grabbed a trayful.
As I waited for my tacos, I noticed that some of my friends were getting their tacos and they all had a frightening green substance in them. Lettuce!
The basics of solid poker strategy involve many concepts that you must combine to become a consistently winning player. The following concepts are crucial to learning poker strategy:
Tight play
Aggressive play
Random play
Taking advantage of the mistakes of other players
Keep these concepts in mind as you develop as a poker player.
SOME POKER STRATEGY CONSIDERATIONS
DECISIONS FOR THE NEW POKER PLAYER
Decide whether you want to play poker to win or to play for fun. To play at a consistently winning level requires both time and effort. In other words, it takes work. There is nothing wrong with playing poker for fun, but there is no reason to plan to lose, even when you are playing for fun. However, deciding which type of poker player you want to be before you start will make your decisions and sessions easier. Test out these professional tips at Pkv Games online tables.
MAKE GOOD DECISIONS – THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW
Even the best poker players in the world have losing sessions. Don’t make the mistake of expecting to win every time you play. Your goal should be to play to the best of your ability in every session. If you do, the cards and winnings will take care of themselves as you improve. Many players make the mistake of judging their poker playing ability based on the results of each session. Your goal should be to make the best possible play every time. The closer you come to this, the better your results will be.
THE MATHEMATICS OF POKER
Poker is a mathematical game, and it’s a game of incomplete information. That may sound complicated, but it really isn’t. On a very basic level, winning poker starts with the selection of which starting hands to play. If you enter the pot with the best hand more often than your opponents do, you will win more times than your opponents.
BEYOND STARTING HANDS
Starting hand selection is fundamentally important, but it’s only one piece of the poker strategy puzzle. Once you have mastered solid starting hand guidelines and understand how they change by your position at the table, the next area you should work on is your play for the rest of the hand. The area that separates professional players from amateurs is that professional players tend to play much better than their opponents during the remainder of the hand, after the starting hand decisions are made. This is especially true concerning the decisions made at the very end of every hand. These skills involve calculating pot odds, recognizing betting patterns, bluffing, and using position. The years of practice necessary to master the middle and end game play are well worth the effort, because even small improvements in a player’s abilities can have a tremendous effect on that player’s lifetime winnings.
AVOIDING TILT
Another meta-skill that should be part of a winning player’s poker strategy is avoiding tilt. Your opponents will use your emotions against you, but only if you let them. Emotional play results in poor decisions and lost money. Tilting and steaming can happen to anyone, and sometimes the only cure is a break from the game. That’s okay; the game will still be there ten minutes from now. In fact, it will still be there tomorrow.
Fruit makes for an excellent vegetable replacement.
Coco’s and I have a long and interesting history. A few years ago, I lived in Japan and a Coco’s was attached to my building. Coco’s (pronounced Cocosu in Japanese) was a Japanese attempt at American food and despite the fact that it wasn’t at all like American food, it was still pretty decent. We had a healthy relationship and I even had the frequent diner card. When I returned from Japan, Coco’s and I took a break, we couldn’t handle the distance and I had no knowledge of Coco’s in America. That all changed when I found a Coco’s on Pico and Robertson in LA. I went in with great expectations that would be impossible to meet.
People look at Taco Bell in many different ways. Some worry about the meat quality. Some are willing to wait 30 minutes for it on their lunch break. Some think it is true Mexican food. Some refuse to eat it. Whatever can be said about Taco Bell, there is no denying that it is a late-night refuge for the hungry and/or intoxicated.
I am lucky enough to have a Taco Bell in LA that is open until 4 am. Every time I go, I leave with a story, so with these thoughts in mind, I set off for Taco Bell around 2 am.
The mere fact that a place called Fatburger is able to survive in today’s world is a testament to it’s culinary goodness. In a city dominated by “organic,” “whole” and “vegetarian,” it is a beacon of hope. At the entrance there is a sign that reads “Man did not claw his way to the top of the food chain to eat tofu,” but it is more than just a sign. It is a message, a message that you have arrived at a safe haven in a world gone health-mad.
I was still recovering from Thanksgiving when a friend suggested Greek food. It sounded good to me, so we decided to order some carry-out from Yanni’s Greek Taverna in NorthwestWashington, DC.
Yanni’s menu is loaded with souvlaki, gyros and other Greek foods. I decided on the chicken souvlaki, which comes as a pita or a platter. Despite the “Greek Salad” that would be included, I opted for the platter, making sure to order without the vile onions or tomatoes.
