Category: Uncategorized

The Unofficial Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force Press Conference Drinking Game

Press conferences are normally held at noon Tuesdays and Thursdays and are broadcast on Facebook Live via the City of Memphis account.

Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph says “Greetings, fellow citizens of Shelby County” – 1 drink

Reminder to wear your masks or facial coverings – 1 drink

Reminder to keep your 6 feet of distance – 1 drink

Reminder to practice good hand washing – 1 drink

Rolling new case average (7-day, 14-day, 28-day) mentioned – 1 drink

Positivity rate mentioned – 1 drink

Reproduction rate (“R-nought”) mentioned – 1 drink

Duplication rate mentioned – 1 drink

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris appears to announce a new program that in some way provides relief – 1 drink

Mayor Harris appears at the press conference for a reason other than public relations – 5 drinks

Enforcement mentioned – 1 drink

Reminder that testing is widely available – 1 drink

“Quarantine” – 1 drink

“Isolation” – 1 drink

“Contact tracing” – 1 drink

Health official explains the difference between quarantine and isolation – 3 drinks

Reminder that only health officials or their representatives are legally permitted to quarantine or isolate people or do contact tracing – 5 drinks

“We prefer education to enforcement” or similar – 2 drinks

Vaccines mentioned – 1 drink

New health directive alluded to – 1 drink

New health directive announced – 3 drinks

Good news about the pandemic in Shelby County presented, followed by “BUT…” or “HOWEVER…” – 3 drinks

“Cautious optimism” – 3 drinks

“New normal” – 3 drinks

Schools mentioned – 1 drink

Overflow facility at 495 Union mentioned – 3 drinks

Pipkin Building mentioned as a vaccine site – 3 drinks

Reporter can’t ask question because their mic is muted – 1 drink

Virus other than COVID mentioned (flu, common cold, etc.) – 1 drink

Presenter speaks in a language other than English – 3 drinks

Website URL displayed on screen – 2 drinks

Line graph, bar graph, or pie chart – 2 drinks

Color coded map of regions of Shelby County – 2 drinks

“Stay the course” – 2 drinks

“Remain vigilant” – 2 drinks

“Not out of the woods yet” – 2 drinks

Press conference lasts more than 35 minutes – 5 drinks, 40 minutes – 10 drinks, 45 minutes – CHUG

It’s just too cold

Happy Presidents Day. Happy Snow Day.

Bar owners/managers: Please post to social media what time you will open, even if you’re opening today at your normally scheduled time. Or if you’re going to stay closed today (couldn’t blame ya a bit if you do), post that. It’s a snow day and INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW.

Otherwise, no post today. It’s 64 in this apartment and I have on my Arkansas Razorbacks sweatshirt and my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pajama pants and I’m still cold.

Back tomorrow or whenever there’s news and heat.

Sunday update #2

A few quick extra news items that have come out this morning:

Feelin’ Memphis at 509 S. Main is having a snow day sale this Sunday. Get by there and see what Memphis-themed items you can pick up at a discount.

Max’s Sports Bar at 115 G.E. Patterson will open early at 2 PM for the Daytona 500 and snow day drinking.

The National Weather Service has updated their Winter Storm Warning. It no longer starts this afternoon and is already in effect.

Back tomorrow with more news.

Sunday update

Brrrrr… my heater has been running nonstop since Wednesday. I have it set on 75 in my apartment and the thermometer reads 66. Heaters in Memphis simply are not built for long periods of under-20-degree weather.

Keep an eye on the Super-Regional Radar on MemphisWeather.net as the frozen precip approaches today. As I write this (6:25 AM Sunday). Tulsa is getting pounded with snow. Springfield, MO is about to. Sleet in Nacogdoches in East Texas. I don’t see how this possibly misses us. The MWN forecast has the sleet getting here after 3 this afternoon. That could mess up some Valentine’s Day dates.

The Memphis Tigers’ February 18 game vs. Wichita State has been postponed due to COVID-19 cases in the Memphis basketball program. This stems from a February 10 positive test. With a recommended 14-day quarantine by the NCAA, more games could be in jeopardy.

The Daily Memphian has a look at new Downtown shuttle service Groove on Demand as it asks if on-demand transportation is the wave of the future.

The Grizzlies play the Sacramento Kings tonight at 9.

Since this is kind of a short post today, I’ll throw in a bonus. Here’s a link to one of my most popular articles on Medium, How to Stare Down Uncertainty and Win. In this week of cold and COVID, it might help. Normally you have to pay to read Medium articles but this is a “friend link” that’ll get you around the paywall. I published it on February 4, and a few days later it got picked up by Curious, an online magazine that uses Medium as its publishing platform.

If you’re on Twitter, follow @memphisweather1 if you don’t already. They’ll keep you informed with the latest on the approaching winter storm…

… Just because I like to torture myself, does the Weather Channel still give these things names?

Yep. Uri. Stupid name, but appropriate, since naming winter storms is a stupid idea.

Back tomorrow with more news. Or maybe later today, because, what else do I have to do?

Saturday update

Today may be Galentine’s Day and I wish everybody a happy one, but Saturdays are for the boys so I’m going to start off the blog with a link for us. Lansky Bros. is having a Mystery Sport Shirt Sale. You’ve seen those awesome, intricately detailed shirts as you walk through the Peabody lobby.  How would you like to have one of those shirts (retail up to $125) for only $39.99?

Here’s the deal though… you tell them your size and how many you want, and then they pick the shirts. So you have to trust them. But really, what’s the last time you ever saw a shirt at Lansky Bros. you wouldn’t be proud to own? This is a pretty amazing deal, so you better jump on it while it lasts.

Ladies, if you’re looking for something fun to do with your gal pals today, the Mallory-Neely House in Victorian Village is hosting a Victorian Galentine’s Day tonight at 6. You’ll get to make a succulent arrangement, sip champagne, learn about the language of flowers, and take home a chocolate covered strawberry kit. There are only 20 seats available and the cost is $50 per person.

Chef Tam is doing a private brunch & paint today and tomorrow at her Underground  Cafe. $199 couples, $99 singles.

Seen on social media yesterday: Buster’s liquor store at Poplar and Highland now delivers to the 38103 zip code.

From the CA: The DMC is considering buying the 100 N. Main building and is soliciting ideas what to do with it. I have three words:

“Let’s ask Mongo”

I’m sure Prince Mongo would have many creative uses for the building – plus, it would give him a chance to show what he can do in advance of the 2022 mayoral election.

The MemphisWeather.net blog has a first take on the winter storm set to arrive Sunday night into Monday. With temperatures struggling to break 20 and precipitation most definitely heading our way, it looks like even those who don’t have Presidents Day off as a holiday will have it off as a snow day. In fact, it’s possible that Tuesday and Friday will be the only days this coming week that aren’t snow days.

The Redbirds will find themselves in a reorganized league this year designed to reduce travel between teams. They’ll play teams in the southeast including Nashville, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Charlotte, Durham, and Gwinnett. “Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp” has got to be one of the worst team names in professional sports.

Post Malone and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette are shopping an idea for a Memphis TV series entitled High Heel. The show is described as a strong woman’s version of Breaking Bad.

As your number-one source of news and information about The Edge District, here’s a look at what’s happening at the Edge Motor Museum today:

edgemotor

We will be open as usual tomorrow from 11-3:00. After that we have a LIVE Unveiling Event: Saturday, February 13th at 3:00 PM CDT. Members only at the museum, but available to everyone right here on instagram live.

Want to become a Member? Come by to sign up or visit us at www.edgemotormuseum.com and click “membership”. Membership packages begin at $25!

A developer plans to convert a dilapidated building at Fourth and Vance into retail spaces and 4 apartments.

The Dirty Crow Inn folks have announced they’re taking a week off from their Sunday residency at West Memphis’ 40et8 to celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow. They’ll be back with the wings and the Dirty Mac burger on the 21st, though.

There’s a Guest Service Representative position open at the Sheraton.

The Orpheum is holding a spring camp for children who stutter. President Biden is proof that a stutter does not limit your opportunity in any way.

That’s the news. I’m going to stay home and avoid the cold and get several days worth of writing done on Medium, leaving me free to go out on whatever snow days fall next week. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday update

The Daily Memphian had some GREAT NEWS this morning. Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris had their monthly meeting with members of the Memphis Restaurant Association. They indicated that in Health Directive 18, set to go into effect sometime around February 20, the stupid COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants that have been in place for months will be loosened. Some of the items under consideration include

  • The return of seating at bar areas
  • Increasing capacity from 50% to 75% where social distancing permits
  • Allowing restaurants to stay open for dine-in until 12 AM (currently 10 PM)

These are all fantastic proposals and long overdue. I can’t wait to sit at a bar again, and I would love to see my friends who work at the late-night bars Downtown have an opportunity to make 2 additional hours of money.

There’s all this talk of two masks being more effective than one. I would gladly double-mask if I could have my bar stool back.

Bardog Tavern is doing a Valentine’s Day dinner starting at 5 PM Sunday. It includes

  • Bottle of Bardog Cabernet OR Coppola Pinot Grigio
  • Soup or Side Salad
  • Ribeye or Cheese Tortellini w/ lobster cream sauce
  • Mashed Potatoes & Sautéed Spinach
  • Red Velvet Cake

Friday vaccinations by the Health Department have been postponed due to icy spots on roads.

Peoples on Beale hosts an All Blues and Motown Affair with Yubu and the Ancient Youth Band tonight at 7.

Randstad has a job opening for an Assembler at a company near Downtown Memphis. Hours are 6 AM to 2:30 PM and pay is $13 an hour.

From WREG: Fauci predicts “open season” on vaccines by April, herd immunity to COVID by late summer

Weatherbug’s forecast for Monday: 70% chance of snow with a high of 15; Monday night, 40% chance of snow with a low of 3. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week all have the potential to be snow days.

Grizzlies on national TV alert: They play the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 on ESPN.

Crosstown Brewing Co. celebrates WYXR’s Raised by Sound beer release today noon to 4. There will be a live on-air broadcast and DJ Alpha Whiskey will supply the music. You might score a free koozie whose design was a collaboration with Mempho Music Festival. Downtowners, don’t forget that Groove on Demand can take you there.

If you’re a fan of comedy, the Trumpster’s team will offer a defense in his second impeachment hearing today. The fun starts at 11 AM Central time.

Getting about time to make that long commute across Main Street to work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

I woke up at 3:31 to the sound of thundersleet. Or thunderhail? Who knows. I woke up and opened the blinds and watched torrential freezing rain drop on the Main Street Mall. Today has the potential to be a major shitstorm. I am sick and tired of the #stayhome hashtag but today it’s worth heeding.

The A.W. Willis bridge has already on the island. If you live on the island and have the misfortune of having to go to work today, you’ll need to use the back (Second St.) exit.

The poor kids… this’d normally be a snow day. Now it’s just another virtual learning day.

COVID will postpone what would have been the University of Memphis vs. Cincinnati game tonight.

The Memphis Flyer has a feature called Your Heart’s Desire featuring Valentine’s Day takeout from local restaurants. Downtown restaurants covered include Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe, Catherine & Mary’s, The Gray Canary, Sunrise Memphis, and Cocozza American Italian.

Watching Channel 3… a reporter says there are sounds of tree limbs cracking. Look out for falling limbs if you have to get out.

I watched an episode of Gomer Pyle USMC last night. For those not familiar, that’s a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show where good ol’ boy gas station attendant Gomer joins the Marines. On last night’s episode, Sergeant Carter shouted at Gomer for having non-regulation items in his foot locker. Among those items: A plastic troll for good luck. Yep, trolls were a thing even in 1965. It’s important for trolls to appreciate their ancestry so I moved Perjorie and Mendatius in front of the TV.

Since I work across the street, I have no excuse for not going to work. I’ll be out at Blind Bear a little after 1. Going to go ahead and get this posted, in case this is the only source of news some of my readers check. Back tomorrow with more news.

Wednesday update

Promising news in the Shelby County COVID-19 press conference yesterday. Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph noted that we continue to see improvements in COVID case numbers and other metrics. A new health directive will be drawn up approximately a week from now in response to those improvements.

From Gizmodo: Mortified lawyer appears in court as a cat, blames Zoom filter

Local 24 says a significant ice storm may be brewing today and tonight. Check out those ice accumulation totals! Their model shows two-thirds of an inch of ice in Memphis. One-quarter of an inch is considered the threshold to call such an event an ice storm.

The Memphis Flyer profiles Papi Joe who sells his sauces at the Memphis Farmers Market. They’re also in 40 markets in 8 states, including Whole Foods.

Giant river otter sculptures are coming to Tom Lee Park. They’ll be in the north part of the park near the cobblestones, and kids will be able to climb through them.

Found to be beyond repair, the demolition of the Nylon Net building at 7 Vance could happen within weeks, making way for an apartment building.

If I have any readers in Kentucky, New Jersey, Colorado, South Carolina, and North Carolina, Downtown Memphis Wiseacre beer is heading your way. Wiseacre also announced the release of Bow Echo Hazy IPA as a beer that will be produced year-round.

A COVID-19 case in Shelby County may be the Brazilian variant.

The Grizzlies host the Charlotte Hornets tonight at 7.

Y’all keep a close eye on weather and traffic conditions today at the office. If it looks like roads are going to ice over before evening rush hour, get out early and get home. Back tomorrow with more news.

Tuesday update

Got my taters!

Check your snail mail boxes, folks! Idahoan sent a package of mashed potatoes to every valid address in Memphis as a promotion.

I got myself all set up for the new Groove On Demand transportation service that begins Wednesday. It’s really easy. You just download the Groove On Demand app from the App Store or Google Play and put in your personal info and credit/debit card info and create an account. Then you can catch a minibus to take you anywhere in Downtown, Mud Island, New Chicago, or Crosstown for $1.25 a ride, 7 AM-8 PM Monday-Friday. Let’s ride!

Thursday morning won’t be the time to ride, though:

From the Peabody:

From Tug’s Casual Grill on Mud Island:

The CA’s Jennifer Chandler has a look at Valentine’s treats you can enjoy from home. Charcuterie company Feast & Graze has a special box, and Downtown restaurant Sunrise Memphis is offering Red Velvet French toast in bed.

Holly has even more V-Day ideas on the I Love Memphis Blog.

A new MLGW program makes it easier than ever to give a Gift of Comfort and pay someone else’s utility bill. You need only a debit or credit card, their first initial and last name, and the number part of their street address.

Today is both Pizza Pie Day and Chocolate Day. Recommendation for today: Whichever of Aldo’s Pizza Pies or Silly Goose you prefer, then walk over to the Downtown Dinstuhl’s location at 147 S. Main.

From POLITICO: How to watch Trump’s second impeachment trial like a boss. It begins today.

I doubt I’ll watch the COVID-19 task force press conference at noon today since it’ll be another week before they draw up the next health directive. Back tomorrow with more news.

Monday update: DGX is the best thing to come Downtown since the Grizzlies

Yesterday I made my first official shopping visit to the new DGX store at Main and Gayoso, in the former Yao’s China Bistro space. DGX is a relatively new concept aimed at urban/Downtown areas in large cities. The stores are under the Dollar General umbrella and they claim to offer Dollar General prices along with the quality and selection of much higher-end stores.

Would they live up to their hype? This is the haul I took away:

First of all, let’s talk selection. The Stouffer’s stuffed peppers and Chunky bean & ham soup are two meals that I love (or, should I say, four meals that I love, since I bought two of each) but could not previously find without leaving the Downtown core.

The can of orange Mountain Dew Kickstart was $1.35. Anywhere else Downtown, that thing would be north of two bucks.

The Chips Ahoy were $2.95. At Walgreens they’re $4.29. Now and then they’re on sale for 2 for $6. So DGX’s regular prices are in some cases cheaper than Walgreens’ sale prices. In other cases, DGX’s regular prices are cheaper than Family Dollar’s regular prices, without, you know, the general shittiness of Family Dollar.

Counting tax, everything seen here came in at $16.92. In this neighborhood, where stores are known to charge a premium for convenience, this is a breath of fresh air. DGX is the 5th closest place to my apartment to do basic shopping, but from now on it’s my #1 go-to.

Stuffed bell peppers are a dish that’s universally liked in the Ryburn household. Socially Distant Perjorie likes the peppers themselves and Mendatius likes the stuffing.

Damn, I just read the instructions for those peppers. 7 minutes on high, spoon sauce over them, 9 minutes on 50%, 2 minutes resting after heating has ended. I’m going to starve to death waiting for the peppers to be done.

Life Church is starting a new Downtown campus. They’ll have an Interest Night Sunday, February 28 at 6:30 PM at 409 South Main where you can learn about all of the things that will be happing at the Downtown location.

That feeling when a deadly virus follows you on Medium:

Note to my programmer friends: You have a new reason to pay $5 a month for unlimited reading on Medium. It now includes unlimited reading of the Pragmatic Programmers family of books. There are close to 100 books, going far beyond just languages – you’ll find everything from DevOps to game development to security to Scrum.

The MemphisWeather.net blog says that at this point, it’s a total crapshoot how much wintry weather we’ll get Thursday.

From AdAge: All the Super Bowl ads, reviewed (h/t Morning Brew)

From WREG: Why The Weeknd’s backup dancers wore bandages during the Super Bowl halftime show

That’s it for now. I may get out for a bit this afternoon and enjoy the half of this week that’s not bitter cold. Back tomorrow with more news.