Paul Ryburn’s Journal

- Slow posting week for my blog. I’ve been extremely busy at work importing files that a client sent over. It’s been stressful but I got some really valuable experience working with “cursors” which are a way SQL Server provides to manipulate data. I’ve also been developing websites for two friends who live [...]

Saturday night I went to my rooftop for a birthday party for Henry, the building’s owner. Los Cantadores provided the entertainment, and the rooftop was a perfect venue for them. McEwen’s and Stella provided great food, and plenty of neighbors and friends came out for the party.

However, it was more than a birthday party, [...]

After extensive research, I’ve decided upon my red and white “house wines” – wines I’ll always try to keep stocked in the apartment for when guests come over. I’ll still experiment and try different things, but these two represent the tastiest I’ve found so far.

Red:Vina Borgia Grenache. This wine is from Borja, Spain and [...]

Tonight I was up on No. 10’s roof, and I noticed a nicely-dressed couple on the roof of the Madison Hotel. At the exact time sunset occurred (which couldn’t be seen due to a lightning storm in Arkansas) the guy got down on one knee and proposed to the girl. Apparently she accepted, because [...]

(Edited about 6:30 pm Friday night to add more details about Saturday night’s party and another Mpact event. Additions are in bold italic)

I’m going to run an experiment for the next 7 days (Friday-Thursday): I’m going to count how many bums approach me for money as I go about my business downtown. I’m not going [...]

I’ve mentioned how I’ve recently become addicted to this video game at the Tap Room. Fish jump out of a hole in a frozen lake, and there’s a polar bear who hits them down the lake with a bat. Score is measured in number of feet the fish travel. It’s generally better if [...]

The time around 1999-2000 was a transition period for me. A couple of elements that were so much of my life that they had become part of my identity were suddenly gone. For one, I quit teaching at the University of Memphis in May 1999. For five years, I had been “Professor Paul,” [...]

I’ve made plans with some friends from my building and from Mpact to hit the Flying Saucer about 10:00 for Pint Night. Anyone who wants to meet up is welcome to join us.

Summary of this past weekend: Rode in Raiford’s limo and stayed out until 4 in the morning, lost a bunch of games [...]

Last night I was at the Flying Saucer, playing darts with one of my neighbors. Out the window I could see one of the neighborhood crackheads begging passersby for money. I’m so sick of seeing those guys downtown. They give people from other parts of the city the impression that downtown is unsafe, [...]

Ever notice a recurring pattern in your dreams? Every few months, I dream that I’m back in high school. The latest dream in the series occurred a couple of nights ago. I dreamed that I was coming back to school after being out six days – an entire week, and a Monday. So in the dream [...]