I've been in Boulder a little over a year and a half now. Anyone who follows me on The Twitter knows that it's a place I like to share bits of as often as possible. It occurred to me I have never shared my top ten places to snack, sip and be happy in an easily digestible list. So here it is. These are places that stand the test - I take friends who come in from out of town, I have made friends with the owners or staff, I love not only what they are dishing up but dig the panache with which they're dishing.

Whether you live here or you're just passing through, check out:

1. Urban Fusion: Happy Noodle House

A new establishment (they opened in early 2009) the Happy Noodle House serves up what I'd call urban-fusion Asian. They recently hosted a happening tweetup (where Twitter friends get together in real life), their drinks are sparkly and fun, the staff is sincere. Visit for: group seating, to meet a few new locals, the extensive mixed drinks menu and their pickle platter.

2. Lingery Breakfast: Luciles Creole Cafe

If you're looking for a place where you almost always have to wait on the weekend, try Luciles. The wait is worth it. Start with the chicory coffee, move on to the Hanks eggs if you've got a big hunger (whenever I get it, I get the half portion). Love a lighter breakfast? Try their handmade granola. Love mornings at Luciles - if you can get a spot on the front porch, do so. Warm fuzzies.

3. Savory Indian: Bombay Bistro

After testing numerous curry joints, I always end up back at Bombay Bistro. It's the last place I think about, but the one I most enjoy. The korma is to die for. The naan is melt-in-your-mouth. The staff always aims to please you. And maybe it's just me, but I find the lush pink decor and kitschy euro-pop music mixed in with Bollywood tunes delectable when paired with a filling curry. (I hear they also have sold-out cooking classes.)

4. Cafe Atmosphere: The Cup

I think I have tried every cafe in Boulder. I like The Cup best. There are a number of reasons why, but above all, The Cup is the most wired of any cafe I've tried. If the internet does happen to go down you can ask the staff to toggle it and they will. I love when it's warm enough to roll open the front garage door. During the school year it is usually packed with laptop nomads. I love: Bhakti Chai with a shot of espresso (dirty chai).

5. Gourmet Happy Hour: Mateo

Everyone and their mother does Happy Hour in Boulder. And I have tried most of them. If you're looking for a classy, quiet place to spend a happy hour, visit Mateo. It's a bit further down Pearl, making it a quieter place to enjoy a glass of white on the patio. They have house-made fries that will make your mouth water. And their small helping of home-made gnocchi? Trust me on this one.

6. Quick Asian: Moongate

Another favorite, Moongate, has an extensive Asian menu. It is directly across from The Cup (#4) and I often run over for a quick bite between meetings. If you're vegetarian, try the peanut sauce tofu dish. Comes with uber fresh broccoli. I love that they can get you in and out in under ten minutes if you're taking it to go. Less than thirty if you're staying. Great place for lunch meetings on Pearl St.

7. Weekend Coffee: Vics

I am a sucker for an Americano. Vics does them better than anyone else in town. I've tried other things off the menu and they don't compare. I'm not sure why. I don't drink anything else from Vics, but I dig their Americano.

8. Pub Eats: Mountain Sun

A Boulder stand-by. Hand-crafted beers, more than edible pub food, a friendly environment. This place is packed during the winter months. Lots of vegetarian options (the veg burgers will turn a meat-eater's head), loaded chili and super fresh salads. Out-of-towners, be sure to check it out to get a sense of the local Boulder flavor. (People, not food.)

9. Tea Silence: Pekoe Sip House

I'm writing this from Pekoe right now. The tea here is unreal. Try the Organic Honeydew Melon for something summery, light and endlessly drinkable. If you're more into decaf, I love the Evening in Missoula.

10. Truly Boulder: Dushanbe Teahouse

Every trip to the Teahouse is thrilling. The menu changes with the season and I'm so in love with their chai (you get one refill when you drink in-house). Their apps hit the spot every time. When there isn't a wedding happening you can sit outside and relax to the sound of the creek rushing by. Yes, pretty much the best thing ever.

Now, what's your Best of Boulder (or Portland or wherever you are)? Let me know - I'm always looking for a reason to try a new place or, for that matter, new city.

My grandparents used to live in a parsonage in rural North Carolina. I was little at the time. One of my favorite things to do during the summer was go stay the weekend with them.

At night when Murder, She Wrote came on my grandfather would call me over to sit in his lap while we watched Angela Lansbury use her wile to solve murder mysteries. If he hadn't shaved recently, he'd rub his chin against my forehead and laugh as I hollered at him to stop. If he had shaved, he smelled like aftershave. He always wore a white v-necked t-shirt in the evenings.

My grandfather (I call him Bub) would eat a bowl of cereal as we watched the show. Most of the time he would eat Wheat Chex. Out of a green pyrex bowl. A bowl so big he had to hold it with both hands. Usually he would put a spoonful of Jif peanut butter on the side of the bowl and take a scoop of cereal and a bit of peanut butter with each bite. He did the same with ice cream.

I remember it stormed a lot during those summer nights. I would go to bed, all the windows in the house would be open, and I'd listen to the sound of the rain as it hit the roof and the trees around the house. I didn't go to sleep right away. I thought about the things I was going to do the next day. I wondered what everyone else still awake was doing. I never guessed it could be something mundane, like brushing their teeth. I imagined elaborate dinner parties went on late into the night. I figured if you were grown up and could stay up as late as you want you would probably spend that time doing something really fun.

Farah Fawcett died today. She was an influencer when my mom was young. Mom had Farah Fawcett hair for a while. She kept it feathered during the late eighties. There are photos of my mom wearing absurdly short shorts. She had killer legs. I think my grandparents try to keep those stashed way below the ones they deem classier pictures.

My grandmother used to tell me stories about how my mom tried to get my grandfather to stop smoking. As a kid she would draw an X in permanent marker on his cigarettes (he smoked Vantages for many years), she wrote him letters through the years begging him to stop smoking. Before she died she put the pressure on a little more. I don't think she thought it was fair that here she was, dying, never having smoked. And there he was, nearly double her age, living and smoking up a storm. I think that might have just made him smoke more. I don't think he knew how to quit right then.

Mom didn't die of Hodgkins Lymphoma, really. She died when her one good lung, the one that wasn't full of cancer, started filling up. She had a magic wand that suctioned stuff out of her lungs. She stuck it down her throat and pulled out the phlegm, parts of her lung. The sound it made was the sound of an airplane taking off inside a vacuum.

Many years later, Bub stopped smoking. A combination of things, I guess. Vision complications. Doctors orders. I'm glad Bub has stuck around like that peanut butter he used to eat that still reminds me of those late summer nights in the parsonage. That was before I went to live with them for good. When we could just watch Murder, She Wrote and pretend like dinner parties lasted all night. Before tiny black Xs grew into the sound of airplanes taking off in a vacuum. I miss those nights with my grandfather sometimes.

Technology... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.- Max Frisch

I write this post out of real concern for all of us living our lives out online. In it, I'm talking about what happens when we allow technology to interfere with developing empathy for another human being. I don't offer any simple solutions because I don't think this is an easy fix, but I do think the question needs exploring.

Influence v Empathy

What would you do to be seen as an Influencer?

It's the hot button right now in the circles I play in. Would you endorse a product you actually hate? Would you publicly belittle a company to make your own "brand" appear superior? Would you pretend to be someone you aren't?

What price would you pay to be an Influencer?

An Influencer isn't necessarily the person with the most page views per month. She might be the person with a lot of Twitter followers. Or he may have a very highly focused message that reaches a small, but influential, group of people. A person can become an Influencer overnight by blowing a whistle, alerting the public about a security issue in an application, launching a project that changes the online landscape. The problem comes when we get so focused on pumping ourselves up that we forget the very things that make us human.

In the race for numbers are we forgetting to cultivate empathy?

Watering Angry Seeds

The Chicago Tribune last week ran a story about a woman who claimed she was pregnant with a terminally ill baby. For months she wove her story. The lie was revealed when she gave birth to a baby that wasn't alive. In fact, the baby was a doll. A commenter realized it - she has the same doll in her home. That's when the story unraveled.

I recently had a conversation with a business owner who said that even though they know he is accessible and customer-service oriented (he answers his tweets and emails promptly), one of his customers used Twitter to voice a minor complaint. The complaint was passed around the web.

The catch was that the customer was in the same room as the business owner at the time. The complaint could have been made in person, the problem fixed. But because the customer made a stink about it in the online world, the reputation of the business was put on the line.

More and more people are taking their grievances out online without even trying the traditional avenues of redress.

The Power of a Tiny Lie on the Web

A blogger's misunderstanding propagated across the web led United Airlines stock to drop in price by 75%in September 2008.And while that was an extreme case, this type of misinformation is happening now on a smaller scale, across the web. You may satisfy 98 out of 100 customers but the two who are dissatisfied and post about their experience on the web can have a greater impact than ever before. One or two customers saying they are disappointed in your service add up. Fact checking (in person, when you can), telling the truth and empathizing with a person or group of people leads to compassion on the web.

Developing the Capacity for Empathy on the Web

Spend your time cultivating the seeds you want to see grown. Rather than insulating yourself in the cloak of technology (or using the technology to ambush a brand, a company or another human being) practice using it to uplift.

This social media wave will pass. What do you want to be remembered for when it does? What do you want your company to be remembered for?

I'll finish with an excerpt from Piero Ferrucci's, The Power of Kindness:

If this capacity [for empathy] does not develop sufficiently or if it is thwarted, we are in trouble. If we are insensitive to the emotions of others, each relationship becomes an impossible charade. And if we see others not as living subjects but as things, on par with a refrigerator or a street lamp, we allow ourselves to manipulate and even to violate them. When instead empathy is fully developed, our existence is immeasurably richer and more varied. We are able to step out of our selves and enter into the lives of others. Relationships then become a source of interest, of emotional and spiritual nourishment.

Living with pop bonsai can be compared to a romantic relationship or a close friendship.

It requires a certain amount of care and attentiveness, but also provides a lot of satisfaction. If you fail to demonstrate through little everyday acts of kindness how much you care for the other person, and fail to notice subtle changes in them, eventually a gulf will form between you, and as it widens, love will wither and die. If you keep a tight rein on them and refuse to let go because you love them so much you want them near you all the time... well, need I say more? Creating an environment that is pleasant for you and your companion alike takes some effort. - Lisa Tajima

I am creating a pop bonsai wall. So I sought out a book on the subject, Pop Bonsai: Fun with Arranging Small Trees and Plants by Lisa Tajima. The quote is the first full paragraph I read when I opened the book. I breathed, relaxed and smiled.

How true, how vital, to demonstrate through tiny everyday acts of kindness that we appreciate the ones we love. 

Last week I got an email from Heather at No Pasa Nada asking to interview me for BlogHer. Each time I see Heather it's under extreme circumstances. Like at The People's Party or some other insanity at BlogHer. I'm not sure we've ever had a conversation in person longer than, "Oh, hey!!" or at a voice level quieter than the raucous Mardi Gras-style party. That was last year. This year's BlogHer may be no different, but even if it's just another conversation in the bathroom (like the one I had with The Bloggess last year) we're going to make something happen.

So, Heather wanted to interview me for her BlogHer column, of which she is the Queen (aka Contributing Editor). Which was exciting. Heather asked me about how the economy has impacted business. She asked about how I handle accolades. She asked awesome questions. I wanted to add on to the interview because I've gotten a few follow up emails asking for more.

So, in addition to the interview, I give you more bang for your entrepreneurial fanny pack. Just a coupla five things I've learned from never having a real job (except for that one in Japan for a few months). When I wasn't busy being a student, I've been busy learning to be an entrepreneur. It's a work in process.

1. Do good AND do well

Lose the notion that doing good and doing well are mutually exclusive. Too many women believe that the only way they can make a contribution to society is to live like Mother Teresa. There's no crime in making money while you serve others. Use your money to do good. - Nice Girls Don't Get Rich by Lois P Frankel, PhD

Holy smokes, what a relief it was to read that! You mean you can do good and do well? Well, yes. You can.

And if you give your time to causes that pay you you'll have more money to give to causes you love. See the circle of giving? Alright, I'm not going to go all spiritual here, but the point is, you can stick to your guns and develop pricing and what you'd like to get out of the deal. Number one thing I hear when talking with other women entrepreneurs? I don't know where to start! Number 2? I don't know what to charge!

Answer questions one and two before opening your business. Not after. Trust me on this one.

2. Ask more questions

I recently opened a new business account. The last one I had ended up being a money suck. Rates were jacked up out of the blue. Hidden fees assessed willy nilly. This time, I'm not going to let that happen. I pummeled the woman handling my account with questions. Before I opened it. I asked her:

- What, if any, are the hidden account fees?

- Can I hook my account up to QuickBooks? Is there a charge?

- Who can I talk with on a regular basis to monitor the health of my accounts?

- How secure is your online banking? What kind of encryption do you use?

- Can I get one of those pretty picture Visa business credit cards?

(Yeah, that last one. I really did ask. And I asked a whole lot more. She seemed overwhelmed. I can't say this loud enough: overwhelm people with your questions!)

3. Make it legit

Making your fledgling company legal in the eyes of the tax people probably sounds like a pain and a hassle. It is neither. It is a pain and a hassle if you run into trouble. (Two resources I've found to be helpful with understanding the steps to legitimacy: Entrepreneur.com and SBA.gov)

4. Don't compare, dumb down, minimize or otherwise tiny-fy yourself

This is huge! Even if you're a micro-brand, even if your product is "tiny" or "just starting out," the level of confidence with which you talk about what you do is the level of confidence your buyers have in your. Forever and ever, amen.

Perhaps because it is a micro-brand it is just that much more special. Think about it. You can't buy it in a big box store. It's not mass produced. Bottom line: it's unique. The more one-of-a-kind, the more you can charge.

5. Invest in a USB-powered glitter pocket rocket

You may think this is a joke. It isn't. Surround yourself, your workspace, with the elements that make you happy. This is for your long-term health. It's easy to burn out as an entrepreneur. If you surround yourself with the things (and people) that encourage you to grow, you'll grow. So ask yourself: what's your pocket rocket?

Speaking of BlogHer. If you're in the Denver/Boulder area and want to join us tomorrow for a BlogHer pre-meet & greet, please do. Would love to compare notes on your (inner) entrepreneurial experience!