Fish bladders and more Tuesday news

I paid my Moody Ques BBQ team dues for 2015 this morning, and I have a team update. As I mentioned last week, we lost a sponsor and therefore have less money in the bank than we usually do this time of year – and we have to pay a large entry fee to Memphis in May on February 20. Our team’s board of directors is going to meet Tuesday, February 17 and decide whether we are solvent enough/expect to be solvent enough in the next three months to have a team this year. If it’s decided we are, we will write a check to Memphis in May for the entry fee. If it’s decided we are not, we will refund the money of everyone who has paid dues.

Right now, it’s looking promising, and I tend to believe there will indeed be a team. However, if a few more of you could vote with your dollars to keep the team going, it would sure help.You can pay dues here. If you’re not a member of the team but would like to be, shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com and I will put you in touch with the team leaders.

Programming note before I get started with the news: Blog posts may be a little skimpy through Friday. I have a co-worker leaving and may have to spend my lunch breaks doing knowledge transfer with him. So I may not have a lot of time for news posts. There is, however, going to be a long, introspective, personal post about practices I have gotten away from since my current friend group formed in 2005. I have that in Drafts and may finish it tonight after work.

A kind of gross thing I learned last night while talking a fellow beer lover: Guinness is filtered with fish bladders. Yuck. I don’t know how I’m going to get my next plate done at the Saucer knowing that. Guinness was never my favorite beer by any means, but having to drink 16 ounces of it to get plate credit, thinking “fish bladders” all the way through the beer, just sounds really, really disgusting.

Need a job? Home Depot plans to hire 180 in Memphis.

A new hotel may be coming Downtown. A permit has been filed to build a LaQuinta Inn on the former New York Suit Exchange site at the corner of Union and Danny Thomas.

From Mashable: Super rude hawk crashes through man’s window, poops on everything.

The Silly Goose is doing “Sweet Vicious Valentine’s” Saturday starting at 5, with all food items $5 from 5 to 9, $20 on select bottles of wine, $20 punch pitchers. Single people get free hugs.

That’s it for now. Back possibly as soon as tonight, although if I post tonight it won’t be Downtown news.