Our group at the top

When I spoke to one of the rangers that works for the BLM, this was his reasoning for the new change. Red Rock Canyon has a couple rules that most abide by and they are as follows in regards to needing a permit to hike:

1. group is charging a fee to have their members hike
2. group is a large group such as http://www.meetup.com that is accessible to anyone online

The rangers hadn’t really been paying that much attention to the 2nd rule until we had some individuals that were refusing to carpool and taking up the limited parking spaces at the trailhead. That wasn’t the back breakers though that ruined it for us. Those individuals that insisted on posting hikes knowing full well that they might have some that might not finish before the loop closed were the ones that ruined it for everyone.

Here are the new limitations for ANY organized group that wants to go hiking at Red Rock without a permit:

1. There are to be no more that 10-12 people in a group at anything above 5000′ elevation so that includes Turtlehead Peak.

2. There are to be no more than 15-20 people in a group at anything below 5000′ so that would be Calico Tanks, Sandstone Quarry, Ice Box Canyon, and La Madre Springs.

3. No more than 20-25 at the Calico Basin hikes

There are arguments for both sides as shown here: Las Vegas Hiking & Outdoors message board.

As you can see, the majority is on the BLM rangers side. They think that having smaller groups makes for better conversation and getting to know one another better. Then, there is the gentleman who thinks the BLM is infringing on our 1st amendment rights by limiting us. In my eyes, that is taking things a little too far. I don’t see how limiting a group is infringing on anyone’s rights.

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Do not look like him

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Allen, owner of Trel Style Consulting. We spent some time brainstorming some do’s and don’ts to follow when going on a first date. This will be part 1 of a 4 part series delving into this subject.

For the gentleman, remember that you are trying to make a good first impression and that good hygiene is very important. You don’t want to look like you just spent two hours rolling in the mud even if you just got off of work so spend some time making sure that you are clean and that your hair is presentable.

As far as fashion goes for the gentleman, make sure that you are dressing for the current decade unless you and your date are planning on attending a costume party.

Since you are trying to make a good first impression, it is best to avoid any type of overscale print, baggy pants, or muscle tees. I highly doubt that your date wants to see any of this especially the baggy pants since most ladies cringe at the sight of any man that shows off his boxers or briefs while walking down the street.

Another no-no

Some ladies are extremely picky about gentleman with facial hair so make sure that your facial hair is well trimmed and presentable or that you shave before you meet your date.

For the ladies, you are also trying to impress your date so you must also be clean and presentable. Make sure that you allot enough time to do your hair, makeup, and nails so that you are well put together.

As far as fashion goes, make sure that you are wearing the proper support garments. Nothing can kill a date like panties that create wedgies or a bra that is one size too big or small. Please remember to dress your age and leave a little to the imagination. In other words, if you are 50, please don’t try to dress like you did 20 years ago. It just isn’t working. Since you are trying to leave a little to the imagination, don’t wear a low-cut top without some type of garment whether it be a shirt or a sweater to cover it up. Lastly, avoid any type of tight fitting or loose clothing that might make you look bigger than your actual size.

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Winner of multiple awards at the 2009 Nevada Press Assoc. Awards

Las Vegas restaurant goers, including singles, might have fewer dining options, according to an article recently honored at a state newspaper contest. The story, Closing Time,written by Las Vegas Business Press Reporter Valerie Miller, was awarded Best Business Feature Story, and talks about how some of the valley’s favorite watering spots are reducing hours and closing early.

The 2009 Nevada Press Association “Better Newspaper Contest” awards banquet took place in Winnemucca, Nevada on September 19, 2009. The Nevada Press Association is a voluntary non-profit organization that represents nine daily and 33 weekly newspapers in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe region of Northern California. This article will focus on the awards achieved by the writers that cover the business aspects of Southern Nevada for both “In Business Las Vegas” and the “Las Vegas Business Press.” It will also report on some of the awards won by “Las Vegas Review-Journal” and “Las Vegas Sun.”

Ms. Miller also won a first place award in the category of Best Business News Story for her article titled “City cuts some structural reviews.” One of the judges praised the writing stating, “Good writing. I’d first worry about safety and the story shows how it will hopefully be safe. I like the work and its value to the readers.” The awards don’t stop there for Ms. Miller. She also took home a third place award for the article “Win 4 Christy executives accused in lawsuit.” One of the judges said, “Good research yields good writing and understanding.” Ms. Miller continued her awards barrage by picking up one more for Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series for her article titled “Smoke Signals.” The judges stated, “It was interesting to read about so many perspectives on the smoking ban.”

The other winners of the night included a first place award in the category Best Business Coverage for In Business Las Vegas and a second place finish for the Las Vegas Business Press. The judges stated the following when awarding In Business Las Vegas the award, “In a class by itself. The place to go for your business news!” The judges also liked the Business Press and stated, “Interesting articles, going the extra effort to get the inside scoop on Las Vegas business scene.” Jon Ralston won a third place award for best local non-staff column in “In Business Las Vegas” The judges stated, “Nice job of presenting opinion on business issues.”

Among the other awards for the evening was a 1-2 finish in the Best Overall Design Category for the Las Vegas Business Press and In Business Las Vegas. The judges really seemed to enjoy the clean layout and good use of color throughout the Business Press while simply stating that In Business Las Vegas had overall nice issues.

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My friend Valerie, her brother Ricky, and I arrive at the event after being rudely greeted by a rent-a-cop that wouldn’t let us enter through the Spring Mountain and Cimarron side of the park by the Desert Breeze Recreation Center. As we are walking up, there is a gentleman that approaches us wanting some money as he claims that his car battery died. We rebuff him and continue on our way to the festival.

We get close to the ticket counter just as Uncle Kracker is wrapping up his set with “Smile” and his rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama”. Once at the ticket counter, all three of us are shocked that Train has cancelled. The first question out of my friend’s mouth was, “Is there going to be a replacement band?” The answer seemed satisfactory enough that we forked over our $8 and continued on our journey into the crowd. We realize that it would be better to wait for the Uncle Kracker crowd to disperse before making our way back to the main stage for the next concert. Our next stop was the Gordon Biersch booth where we got some amazing garlic fries. After that, we go to hunt for the beer booth while listening to local band Theory of Flight. I wasn’t that impressed with them but more than anything, I wanted my beer. We find the beer and I am happy again.

The next stop is the main stage area to look for some fellow meetup people. That turned out to be a fruitless venture and we sat down for a little bit to listen to some guy named Ryan Starr. All of us looked around and no one seemed to have ever heard of the guy. He was decent but everyone was in the mood to see Blue October. Little did everyone know that Blue October was moved to 8:15 to take over for Train who had to cancel last minute due to the illness of lead singer Pat Monahan.

The Mix 94.1 crew come up to the microphone and announce that local band Imagine Dragons would be filling in for Blue October who in turn would take over as the headliner. My friend and I decide that it would be the perfect time to get some funnel cakes since we didn’t figure that Imagine Dragons would be any good. If we would have stayed, we would have probably enjoyed ourselves more than standing in line for over an hour for funnel cake. Thank goodness the funnel cakes were delicious!

Blue October winds up taking the stage a little bit after 8:30 and the crowd goes wild. They performing their hit singles, “Into the Ocean” “Hate Me”, and “Say It”. I am surprised that we are surrounded by so many die-hard Blue October fans that get into the music. There is even one young man bumping and grinding to rock. I’d never seen that before and it didn’t help his cause that he was drunk.

I’d say that all in all it was a great event with some fantastic friends.

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On August 8, 2009, typhoon Morakot touched down in Taiwan becoming the deadliest natural disaster recorded in recent Taiwanese history. Another devastating typhoon hit Taiwan on August 7, 1959. The current natural disaster took the lives of over 500 individuals and left several hundred missing in villages.

The Taiwanese Benevolent Association(Las Vegas chapter), lead by chairman James Chen, collected monetary donations for the victims of typhoon Morakot. Volunteers included housewives, retirees, and Taiwanese students from the College of Southern Nevada.

The group set up tables inside Chinatown Plaza and Pacific Asian Plaza from August 17-20. Community response was great. The total amount raised in four days was over $9,000 which was donated to the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China(Taiwan). During the collection period some individuals donated $100 and $5 casino chips.

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Adventure Dating is the brain child of Melissa Harman. Melissa came up with this idea of starting a company that specializes in face to face meetings about six months ago just by coincidence. She wants to make her company comfortable for everyone in the sense that she specializes in doing fun events that are affordable. Her events run anywhere from $25-40 and include poker lessons and wine tastings.

The first events she held were on August 26 and September 1 at the Santa Fe Station and taught individuals how to play poker. The events are set up by age range so you can get a feel for the other person to see if you want to see them again.

Adventure Dating is different from online dating in the fact that you don’t have to communicate with the other person for 2-3 weeks before going out on that initial first meeting. You also get to see if the attraction is there and as she states, “at least you’ve made a friend.”

It is also different than speed dating since you aren’t stuck with someone you aren’t interested in for an extra 7 minutes just wishing the event organizer would ring the bell so you could move on. As Melissa puts it, “It is just a fun night of meeting new people while doing new things.”

Melissa is also in the process of starting two new projects, Adventure Singles, and Adventure Dates. Adventure Singles is the online eqivalent to Adventure Dating and Adventure Dates is a directory of businesses that an individual could use when planning a date. For instance, if an individual wanted to go to a batting cage, they would find the listing under that particular subject heading.

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Vegas Connexus Welcome BannerPhoto by Ed Aleman

I arrive at the Blue Martini at around 5:30 pm since I didn’t want to drive all the way home as I live on the west side of town. The event coordinator Heather Riggi introduces me to the general manager, Hank Serrao, and she and I chat about ways we can continue to help and support the singles community in Las Vegas. She is hoping that this launch party increases her email database so she can possibly throw a huge singles mixer in September.

The staff of vegasconnexus arrive early so that they can do their setup and take care of guests that chose to arrive an hour early. Jose Flores Jr, the president of the company, came up with the idea of launching this website a few years ago and it took some time to do some testing and build the customer website. He says that the website is for everyone 18+ but feels the launch makes the most sense to  those individuals that are 26-37 that have no obligations besides themselves especially in this down economy. Vegasconnexus.com is much more than an online dating website, they are an online dating directory that will match individuals up with one another and then match them with businesses based upon their interests. These businesses can provide discounted services or coupons that the individuals can use on their dates. To become part of the directory, members pay a flat $5.95 per month fee and they use a secure payment processor that  processes payments securely by requiring matching billing addresses and matching CCV codes on the back of the members credit cards. It is up to the individual members to protect themselves by meeting in public places and never at each others homes until both parties agree upon it.

Vegas Connexus FlyersPhoto by Ed Aleman

The local businesses that they target are the mom and pop type restaurants that are currently struggling. They have three different levels to choose from and they are based upon how much the businesses want to spend on advertising.  The first level is the silver level which includes an alphabetical listing in the online business directory under one category, 300 character business description that includes one photo, link to a website, contact info, and hours of operation. It also includes three listings in our event calendar per month and the introductory rate is $25 per month. The second level is the gold level and includes the following: (Information provided by Vegas Connexus).

Inclusion in member preference database, our system will automatically suggest your business to our members based on their preferences, interests, and location.

Text ads on the Vegas Connexus website, your ad will be displayed throughout our site, dynamically driven by member preferences and geographic location.

Up to five listings in our event calendar per month.

Ability to email our membership coupons or promotions four times per year (once every 3 months).
Introductory Rate $50 per month (regularly $79.99)

The third level is the platinum level and includes the following:
Premier listing in the online business directory in up to 3 categories with 500 character business description; includes 200 photos, link to a website, contact info, and hours of operation.

Inclusion in member preference database, our system will automatically suggest your business to our members based on their preferences, interests, and location.

Premium banner advertising on the Vegas Connexus website, your ad will be displayed throughout our site, dynamically driven by member preferences and geographic location.

Unlimited event listings in the event calendar per month.

One coupon promotion email to our membership per month.
Introductory Rate $75 per month (regularly $129.99)

Mark, from Reliant Programming and Kelsey,
VP of Marketing enjoy the evening
Photo by Ed Aleman

Towards the end of the evening, I chat with three potential members, Cathy, Rochelle, and Deborah. All three ladies have tried every avenue available to them including match.com, plentyoffish.com, perfectmatch.com, and chemistry.com. Cathy states that she had the unpleasant experience of getting emailed by a Nigerian prince off of plentyoffish.com. The ladies all want to get information on what sort of services vegasconnexus offers and plan to be active members only if the information given is good information. Deborah closes out our interview session by saying, “We are willing to pay as much as we can provided we get the most bang for our buck.

In closing, the launch party had over 300 guests and 135 VIP guests that were treated to complimentary cocktails and appetizers. Vegasconnexus is definitely worth the price and I would recommend it to all my single friends.

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