What’s the fire sale?

    About Me

    • E-mail: paul@paulryburn.com
    • My Facebook page
    • Twitter: Follow me at @paulryburn (personal account) and @firesale (daily updates on the Fire Sale at the Downtown Flying Saucer)
    • My LinkedIn profile
    • My resume
    • Member, Ques Brothers Memphis in May BBQ Fest team, 2007-10; Third Place, Shoulder category, 2008
    • Founding member, Rapscallions trivia team

    Awards

    • First Place, Best Blog category, Memphis Flyer 2007, 2008, 2009 "Best Of" reader poll
    • Reader's Choice, Best Blog category, Memphis Flyer 2006 "Best Of" reader poll

    Photo Albums

    Little Rock: not a bad city

    Today I drove to Little Rock, because my mother is having surgery in the morning. I got in town fairly early in the day, so I had a chance to drive around town and walk around a few neighborhoods. This is the first time in several years I’ve been in Little Rock for something [...]

    Want cheap gas? Go to West Memphis

    At the time I’m writing this, most gas stations in Memphis are charging anywhere from $1.79 to $1.88 a gallon. But just across the bridge in West Memphis, at Exit 280 there’s a Pilot station charging $1.67, and a Diamond Shamrock station across the street charging $1.66.

    Looks like the huge price increase in gasoline this [...]

    Plans for the rest of this week

    I’m about to go out of town, to Little Rock – my mother is having hip replacement surgery tomorrow. Ten years ago, hip replacement was a big deal, involving months of pain and rehab. Now, from what I’ve heard, it’s routine. People who have had it have told me they were walking without [...]

    What the bums are drinking this week (special edition)

    Friday night I stopped in a liquor store on South Main where my friend Shane works. Because Shane and the owner both know me, I was allowed behind the bulletproof glass where all the liquor is kept; they pass the money and the purchases through a slot in the window.

    A few minutes after I got [...]

    Health care and investments that make sense

    Been meaning to write about this for a while…I’m getting another side business going, that won’t interfere with my credit card merchant services gig. This side venture looks to be a lot more fun and fulfilling.

    It started a few months ago, when I began attending my BNI networking group. There I met this guy [...]

    Downtown Performance Art: Uniform Monday

    Many of you know that I am not a big fan of Autozone. I don’t have a problem with their stores – which actually do have quality products and helpful employees – but rather their corporate office and their so-called corporate “culture.”

    Part of that culture is Uniform Monday, which means that every Monday all the [...]

    What do math tutors make these days?

    Anyone know? One of the servers at my local watering hole found out I’m a former math teacher and asked me to tutor her in calculus this fall. I haven’t a clue what to charge her. The last time I tutored people on a paid basis was 1993, and I charged $15 an [...]

    You’re going to think you’re reading a 6-year-old’s blog, but…

    I LEARNED TO RIDE A BIKE TODAY!!!

    Seriously. I never learned to ride when I was a kid. No idea why. Somehow I got by until I was 16, and then I figured, I have a car, why would I want a bike? But recently, I’ve been thinking, it would be a convenient [...]

    Plans for this weekend

    Tonight (Thursday 6/10): The Madison Hotel’s weekly rooftop party, where the Dempseys are playing. I need to write up a detailed post about the Peabody and Madison rooftop parties sometime.

    So, I encourage you all to join me on the roof and catch the best band in Memphis. But, if standing outside in the [...]

    Pic: hanging out at Empire Coffee

    This pic has been on my camera for a couple of months…this is a pic of me leaning against the counter at the coffee shop, taken in [...]