Tuesday update

– Mayoral candidate Herman Morris has proposed a “green” use for the Pyramid. He suggested that the city could install a photo-energy cell farm on the empty arena to generate electricity, reducing the city’s need for a coal-burning plant in South Memphis. The Daily News has more details (you’ll need to scroll down, it’s the third story).

– Speaking of the mayoral race and other local elections, I had an idea this morning… the concept of negative votes. What if voters were given the option of voting FOR a particular candidate, adding 1 vote to that person’s total, or voting AGAINST a candidate, which would subtract 1 from that person’s total? Seems like that would be a more accurate way for voters to express their true sentiments. I know there are a lot of people in this city who haven’t made up their mind between Morris, Chumney, and the other candidates, but they’re dead-set against Willie. In a race with more than two candidates this could be a really effective way to measure the will of the people.

It could even be taken to a national level. For example, in 2004 I wasn’t all that excited about John Kerry, and would’ve voted against Bush rather than for Kerry if I had the option of negative voting. Then again, in a two-person race I don’t know that it would make a lot of difference.

– According to the CA, early voters are hitting the polls in record numbers. There have been almost 30,000 votes cast so far and it’s estimated that early voting may make up 30-50% of the total. Early voting ends this Saturday, September 29. Have you voted yet? Here’s a list of early-voting locations, and you can vote at any of them, whereas on October 4 you have to go to your assigned polling place.

– Did anyone make it to EP Delta Kitchen for Monday Night Football last night? If you do, shoot me an e-mail and let me know what you thought of it. I was going to head down there, but I was at the Saucer and a friend who was having a birthday showed up, so I had to buy him a birthday beer. Then my opponents on the pool table kept buying my partner and me beers, and I certainly wasn’t going to turn that down!

– Tonight’s trivia night… we’ll see if The Rapscallions can get their third consecutive first-place victory. Last week we had a record 21 people on our team, and we took up an entire rail (the rail is designed to seat 6… the poor waitress had her hands full). The team sitting at the table behind us was blatantly trying to overhear our answers. This week I’m going to try to get there early enough to grab the other rail, which isn’t near any tables.

– For those of you who think East Bumblefuck is so much safer than Downtown, here’s a story from Eyewitness News about a woman who was carjacked in Cordova. It happened at the Kroger on Macon Road at 7:30 AM, and the carjacker fled with her child still in the car.

… And that’s all I’ve got for now. Time to get some work done.