Category: Uncategorized

Not a whole lot to report today, but I’ll see what I can do to make this interesting.

This Sunday is Soup Sunday at the FedExForum. It’s a fundraiser for Youth Villages. For those who haven’t been before, here’s the deal: You get to walk around and sample soups from about 70 local restaurants. It’s a great event but I’ll say what I say every year: If you’re going to go, GET THERE EARLY. The event runs from 11 to 2 and I suggest that you be at the door at 11 sharp. If you get there late you’ll have to stand in long lines and some of the restaurants will have run out of soups.

I won’t be able to make it to Soup Sunday this year because I have to be at church at 11. Well, not church actually, but a bar. It will be week 2 for McGuinness in the 2-week brunch rotation. You know where we’ll be afterward.

Speaking of church, we have now entered the time period known as Lent, when you’re supposed to give something up. Otto: “I’m giving up sobriety for Lent.”

And now it’s time for the review of last night’s episode of “Paul gets drunk at the Saucer.” We’ll start with the beer summary:

Previous total: $38.00

Bud Light bottle in honor of John D $3.25
Shiner Bock (Fire Sale) $2.75
Flying Horse $10.00
Tip: $16 x ~30% = $5
Total: $21.00

Grand total: $59.00

Other stuff that happened: I un-retired from darts, and vowed to retire again when I lost a game. Thanks to a good partner I’m still un-retired after 4 games.

Air Traffic Mike bought me a car bomb. He came in carrying food, and a waitress immediately came running over looking for a handout. It reminded me of when I was a kid, when the cat would come running to the kitchen whenever she heard the electric can opener.

Oh and later in the evening I got to second base with the aforementioned waitress. She and I have this thing where we punch each other on the arm. Obviously I don’t punch her hard, since she’s a girl. So last night I was listening to the band, and she walked by and I attempted to punch her on the arm and missed, and accidentally punched her boob. She thought it was hilarious. Hope I didn’t ruin her dream – she probably envisioned it happening with soft music in the background and candlelight and champagne. But hey, that’s how I roll.
The Flying Horse bottle was an Indian beer and it was huge. I drank it out of the bottle as if it were a 40. I commented to a few people that if there were a Raiford’s in India, they’d sell Flying Horse.

“It’s an Indian beer?” someone asked. “Do you mean it’s brewed by Native Americans, or is it from India the country?”

“Indian as in, the ethnicity of most of your classmates if you take a computer programming class,” I replied.

The Friday night episode of “Paul gets drunk at the Saucer” looks to be a good one. This time there may be pictures.

Time to head back to the world of C# and XML files and compiler errors.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs. Well, here it is. There’s a project called Startup Weekend that travels to cities around the globe. If we can bring it to Memphis, locals with an entrepreneurial spirit will be able to attend the Startup Weekend conference and build a tech business from start to finish in a mere 54 hours. Attendees will then all own equal shares in the new business (with Startup Weekend owning 5%).

This is a great opportunity to create something and work with some of the brightest minds in the city. Even if the conference doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, please vote for Startup Weekend to come to Memphis anyway and forward it to anyone you know who might be interested in starting a tech business. If it does sound like something you’d want to participate in, check the about page and the FAQ page for more information.

Lots to talk about today.

The Phoenix Club e-mailed and asked if I’d mention an upcoming Mardi Gras party they’re having.  They do a lot of great work with the Boys and Girls Clubs, and that’s where the party’s proceeds will go.  Their party is Saturday, February 16 at the University Club starting at 8 PM.  $40 ticket in advance, $50 at the door covers admission and beer and wine.  ’80s band U.S. will provide the entertainment.  There will also be a High Roller room, $100 to admit one person and a guest, which gives you access to top-shelf beverages and a seat at the Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament presented by Harrah’s.  When the casino closes at 11, you can exchange your chips for raffle tickets to win a variety of prizes such as overnight hotel packages, VIP tickets to sporting events, jewelry, and clothing gift certificates.  Tickets can be purchased online or through a club member.

Calhoun’s Sports Bar & Grill has a new beer on tap… none other than PBR, and they’re selling it for a buck fifty.  That’s not a discount only good at certain times – that’s the regular price of the beer.  Oh man… Calhoun’s is trying every trick in the book to get me to be a regular.  Next thing I know the owners of the bar will e-mail me and tell me they hired some Romanians.

John D continues to be a fountain of useful knowledge.  Sunday he used the word “rheostat.”  “A light dimmer switch is a rheostat,” John D explained.  “The volume knob on your stereo is a rheostat.”  Apparently drinking Bud Light makes you really smart.

I’ve heard about another new .NET programming position if anyone is looking for one.  It’s not with my company, but I’ve been told it’s a very good place to work.  E-mail paul@paulryburn.com if interested.

I don’t announce a whole lot of non-Downtown events, but I will mention that the Young at Art group at the Dixon is holding their ARTini party Friday, March 7 from 7 to 10 PM.  I’ve never been but have heard this is a particularly good event.  Free for YAA members, $35 for non-members, $50 for couples.  Music by Susan Marshall, a silent auction, and of course, martinis.

Kennedy from Q107.5 e-mailed to remind me that you can still listen to the radio station on Thursdays to find out how to get into EP’s for free and get free drinks and food from 8 to 9 PM.  Haven’t made it in a few weeks… not sure if I’ll be back tonight, but soon.  Seems like I haven’t put in a lot of time at Hoop’s Bar lately, not sure why because I still love the place.

Plate update:  Knocked off beers 7, 8, and 9 last night.

Previous total:  $21.75

Beers:
Old Scratch (Fire Sale) $2.75
Pyramid Apricot $4.00
Foster’s Oil Can $5.50
Tip:  $12.25 x 30% = $4.00 (I round the tips to the nearest dollar)
Total:  $16.25

Grand total:  $38.00

The bums were in hog heaven last night, thanks to the Tiger game.  My apartment building’s owner saw me outside Slim’s and told me I should watch the students walking to the game and how much they were giving to panhandlers.  So I took a window seat perch at the Saucer, and I was appalled at how many times I saw students pull out dollas and give to bums.  College students haven’t had a lot of experience with them and don’t know any better… they think they’re helping the homeless (which is NOT the case) or they feel like they may be in danger if they don’t give.  I even saw one student chase down career panhandler/convicted felon Sharp Dressed Bum to give him money.  I’m thinking about contacting The Daily Helmsman, the U of M campus newspaper, and seeing if they’d be interested in doing an article on panhandling before and after Tiger games.

I stopped in Circa briefly to say happy birthday to regular blog reader Mendi (her actual birthday was last week, but she was celebrating last night).  While there the GM gave me a sample of the new Boscos pale ale they’re now serving, and it was good – really, it was better than any pale ale I remember trying.  That’ll probably be my beer of choice at Circa from now on.

Time to go to work and write some C# code.  Have a good day everyone.

(Edit:  Just got a text saying that tonight’s Warsteiner glass is different from the one pictured below.) 

Occasionally I’ve had people tell me, “I wish there was a second trivia night Downtown on Tuesdays. Right now the only option is to go to the one at the Saucer, and face off against the unstoppable Rapscallions.” Well, you’re in luck. Tug’s, the casual restaurant inside River Inn of Harbor Town on Mud Island, is starting a Tuesday trivia night next week. The contest will begin at 8:30, with $1 off drinks, and $50/$20/$10 prizes.

I still haven’t been to Tug’s… need to get over there and check it out. They also do $1 off drinks during their 3-7 PM happy hour. Wednesdays they play host to Tigers and SEC fans and offer half-price drinks, and Thursday is Ladies’ Night with half-price drinks for females.

The Westin is starting a Blues Night in their lobby bar area Fridays from 5:30 to 7:30. The great Charlie Wood will kick it off this Friday. Blast! I won’t be able to make that one due to conflicting plans. I hardly ever get to hear Charlie anymore. When I first started doing Sunday brunch at Sleep Out’s, Charlie played every week.

This article, written before Super Tuesday, shows that the fight for the Democratic nomination almost certainly will go all the way to the convention. To win the nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 delegates. But, only 3,253 are pledged delegates, who are required to vote as dictated by their state’s primary or caucus. With Clinton at 900 and Obama at 824 according to RealClearPolitics, it’s doubtful that either candidate will get to 2,025 by the end of primary season. There are only 22 states, D.C., and some little islands left to vote.

That means there will probably be some wheeling and dealing at the convention to sway the 796 superdelegates one way or the other. Superdelegates are Democratic members of Congress, past Democratic presidents, Democratic state governors, and other bigwigs in the party, and they can vote however they please. As the article points out, if it comes down to a battle at the convention, Hillary has the advantage, as people in the party owe the Clintons a lot of favors from the past 16 years. However, her team will have to be careful, as African-Americans and those tired of politics as usual could see the brokering for Clinton as a maneuver to steal the nomination.

Wonder if the Republican ticket will end up being McCain/Huckabee. I have to admit that would be a heck of a ticket, certainly a lot better than the ass clowns they’ve given us the last two times. If anyone could straighten out the Social Security fiasco, it would be those two. I’d prefer to see Obama or Clinton in the White House next year, but I could live with McCain and Huck.

Posting this from home in my lunch hour. On the walk over here I got panhandled for ’bout 8 dolla. Damn bums are getting greedy.

(1) Memphis plays SMU tonight at 8, but the real game to watch will be (2) Duke vs. (3) North Carolina, also at 8. Go Tar Heels! I hate Duke. The Duke/NC game will be on ESPN. Calhoun’s Sports Bar will carry the Tiger game via Internet feed.  (Their MySpace page is a good one to bookmark.  They keep it regularly updated with the games they’ll be showing.) Since I have to get a Warsteiner glass at the Saucer there’s no chance I’ll make it down to Calhoun’s for that one.

Oh yeah, I said I’d look for the Warsteiner glass pic on my laptop. Here ya go:

Pretty cool glass huh? As long as I’m posting pics and talking about the Tiger game, I may as well post this pic of regular blog reader Meredith in a Memphis shirt:

 

Unusual to post a Meredith pic in February… she usually shows up on the blog several times during June for Tube Top Month.  For new readers who aren’t familiar with it: Every June this blog’s theme is Tube Top Month, where every post has to contain a mention of tube tops or a picture of someone in a tube top, no matter how irrelevant tube tops are to the subject matter of the rest of the post.  I was actually considering not bringing Tube Top Month back for a fourth year, but I had females protest:  “No!  You HAVE to do it!  I’ve already bought clothes for it!”

Yikes!  This post has consumed my entire lunch break.  Time to hit Publish and get back to the office.

Congrats to my trivia team The Rapscallions on yet ANOTHER first-place victory last night.  That brings our gift certificate total to a massive $415.  Not even tornadoes can stop us!

The Majestic Grille still has a few spots open for tonight’s wine dinner, led by Jim O’Fallen of Osborne Wines.  Here’s the menu:

Tapas:
Manzanilla olives
Jamon y Chorizo – sliced Serrano ham & chorizo sausage
Patatas con Aoili – potatoes with aoili
Gambas con Steas, Ajo y Vino Blanco – shrimp, mushrooms, garlic and white wine
Osborne Fino Sherry

First course:
Paella valencia
Traditional paella with chicken, seafood and chorizo
Blanco viura 2005

Second course:
Lomo de Cerdo Relleno de Higos
Pork loin stuffed with figs & almonds
Served with Swiss chard and potato casserole
Dominio DeMalpica

Dessert:
Chocolate con churros
Rich chocolate pot with warm churos
Osborne Shiraz Tempranillo 2004

$55 per person plus tax and 20% gratuity.  If any of the wines strike your fancy, a rep from Joe’s Liquors will be on hand to take orders.  Only a few seats left, call 522-8555 to make reservations.

Beer report:  The Saucer was nice enough to put three beers on Fire Sale last night in observance of Mardi Gras.  Needless to say those were my three UFO beers of the night, bringing the total to 6.  Let’s take a look at the scorecard:

Previous total:  $10.50

Last night’s UFO beers:
Abita Turbo Dog, $2.75 Fire Sale.  God that was a horrible beer.
Abita Purple Haze, $2.75 Fire Sale.
Abita Amber, $2.75 Fire Sale.
Tip:  $1 x 3 beers = $3
Total last night:  $11.25

Grand total:  $21.75

Tonight is “buy the beer, keep the glass” night, and it’s one of the few I actually care about getting – Warsteiner, which comes in these really cool glass beer steins.  I have one already and want more.  I have a picture of it somewhere on my laptop.  If I can find it I’ll post it later today.  So I’ll do Warsteiner draft, the Fire Sale and a bottled beer tonight.  Maybe I’ll do a Bud Light bottle in honor of John D.

According to RealClearPolitics the delegate count for the Democrats is 900 for Clinton, 824 for Obama.  This race is going to go all the way to the convention or very close to it.  Clinton may be ahead but Obama is building momentum.  McCain looks like he has the Republican nomination.  Congrats to the Republicans for choosing someone with a triple-digit IQ for the first time in 12 years.

Time to get to work.  Having a lot of fun writing code to move XML files around.  See you later!

Go vote, if you didn’t early vote already.

This is going to be a very interesting night.  I’ve talked to several people who I just assumed would be automatic votes for Hillary Clinton… and found out they’re voting for Obama.  Hopefully we can convince the Saucer to put one of the TVs on election results while we play trivia tonight.  Although, no promises we’ll be successful on that, because most of their patrons consider it a tragedy if ESPN Sportscenter isn’t viewable from every angle in the entire bar.

Scratch what I said about taking the laptop up there tonight… it looks like heavy rain’s moving in.  Just got the pics downloaded from my camera, organizing them into various folders:  “superbowl08” for the Super Bowl pics, “2blog” for random pictures that will one day make it onto the blog, and a few pics went in the “bums” folder.  Soon as I get a chance I’ll run Picasa through the Super Bowl folder and post a photo album.  Won’t be right now though – got to get back to work.  They’re finally letting me code!

As I walked down Main Street yesterday, John and Carlos, the owner and GM of Circa, stopped me to give me an exclusive:  Starting today (assuming the delivery shows up) Circa will be carrying one of Bosco’s beers.  Boscos has a warehouse at Main and Crump and they’re now wholesaling beer to a few select restaurants, and Circa will be the first place Downtown to carry their product.  They tell me the first beer they carry will be a pale ale, with a cream ale to follow next month.

I drank my first three Pint Nite beers last night, so I’m starting the running total.  They were

Bridgeport IPA, $2.50
Woodchuck Pear Cider, $2.50
Rogue Dead Guy, $2.50
Tip:  $1 x 3 beers = $3
Total: $10.50

My actual tab was $0, because when I went to pay I found that one of my blog readers had covered it.  Thanks!  Sometimes it’s nice to be a blogger.  I didn’t get a chance to taste-test Bridgeport vs. Avery because they were out of Avery.

A friend of mine pointed out a flaw in my “plate in 67 days” plan:  There are only 10 Pint Nites in those 67 days.  Due to the 3 per day rule, that means I’ll only be able to get 30 of the 68 or so Pint Nite drafts at the $2.50 price.  So there’s no way I can do a plate in 67 days and do a plate as cheaply as possible.

I’ll do beers 4, 5, and 6 tonight at trivia.  Think I may take the laptop with me tonight.  There’s a lot of Downtown info pages I want to add to the blog but haven’t had time.  Need to get Super Bowl pics up too.  That means there may be a drunk post tonight.

Time to decide where to go get lunch… I definitely want a burger, just not sure which burger.  It will either be the cheeseburger from Elliott’s, the mushroom swiss burger from Court House Deli, or the chili burger from Sam’s.  All excellent choices.  Hmm… leaning toward the chili burger.

I’ve decided to go ahead with my plan to get a second plate at the Flying Saucer.  Tonight I’ll start on the list of 200 different beers.  If I do 3 a day until I’m done, that would put me on track to finish Thursday, April 10.

Since it’s Pint Nite, my strategy for tonight will be “draft beers that do qualify for Pint Nite but never appear as Fire Sales during the rest of the week.”  That means I’ll have to resist the temptation to make Dos Equis Special Lager my first beer, as it very occasionally shows up as the Fire Sale.  Hmmm… IPAs seem to never be Fire Sales… maybe I’ll order Bridgeport IPA and Avery IPA at the same time, and taste-test them and figure out which one I like better.  Bridgeport has always been my IPA of choice, but I have friends who are big Avery fans, so I’ll give it a chance.

One question my friends and I have long asked is, “how much does it cost to get a plate?”  I’m going to attempt to answer that question by keeping a running tally the next 67 days.  Here’s how I’m going to count it:  The cost of the three beers plus the tip on those three beers, using my regular tipping strategy of 30% or a dollar a beer, whichever is more.  I’m not going to count the cost of food or additional beers ordered beyond the three that count.  If someone buys me a beer I’ll make note of it, but the amount I would have paid and tipped will still count toward the running total.  Needless to say I’m going to try to get the plate as cheaply as possible, avoiding the two $30 beers and some of the other pricey ones if I can.

Looking forward to learning about some new beers… a lot of the current ones were not around when I completed my first plate.  Not looking forward to having to deal with Turbo Dog and some of the other really disgusting beers.

Will be up there about 5.  Hmmm… forecast is high 72, low 62, bet the windows will be open today.  I may have to play the Window Game this evening.

People have been asking all week who I’ll be rooting for in the Super Bowl.  Really, I don’t have a favorite team in this one.  I’ll be happy to see either team win.

Really, I don’t have much of a favorite team in the entire NFL.  I guess if I had to pick one it’d be the Titans since they’re nearby and they played here for a season.  Mainly though, when I watched the NFL this season I rooted for one thing:  The complete and total defeat and destruction of overrated, overhyped, overexposed Peyton Manning.  I wanted a season that would prove he’s not the football god that the media, Colts fans, companies whose products he endorses, and my favorite blogger/MILF make him out to be.  I’m sick of “Priceless Pep Talks.”  I’m sick of that commercial where he’s running down the hall.  I’m sick of his presence on my TV.
And that’s why I win either way today in the Super Bowl.  If the Giants win, little brother Eli did what Peyton was supposed to do this year.  That means companies who want commercials made will be talking to a different Manning next year.  I don’t have a problem with Eli.  If the Patriots win, then Tom Brady led his team to a perfect season.  That means there won’t be any question whatsoever that Brady is the best quarterback in the league, not Peyton.

If you agree with my opinion of Peyton and are on Facebook, there’s an “I hate Peyton Manning” group you can join.

(Edit:  A couple of people corrected me on this paragraph, he didn’t grow up in TN, he just went to school here.  Doesn’t matter.  He still sucks.  Wasn’t it great to see him sitting in a box watching the Super Bowl yesterday, instead of on the field?)  Yeah I understand that the guy grew up in Tennessee.  I still don’t understand why that means I should like him.  I can name many people who grew up in Tennessee and nonetheless suck.

Another reason I’ll win either way:  My friend Chuck is making his Italian roast beef for the Super Bowl party today.  But before I go to the party, I’ll hit McGuinness for this morning’s brunch, then the Saucer to see if Pete wants his Sunday ass-whipping on the pool table, then to Second Street Shoppers to pick up beer.  I’m so glad that little convenience store/deli is there.  Yesterday I was told they have wings at the deli now and that they’re really good.

Random stuff people asked me to put in the blog:  From Fancher: Canada you had a hell of a Saturday you punk.

Recap of yesterday:  Watched the game at the Saucer.  Hung out there until 5:00.  Got a bum thrown out who tried to panhandle me for a dollar in the restroom.  Got really wasted.  Watched the dart board fall off the wall.  That was weird.  Got a pic of it but I don’t have the camera right now.  Went to Rio Loco, thinking Mexican food would sober me up a little.  It would have, had I not ordered that jumbo margarita with dinner.  They gave me a T-shirt from their 2nd birthday party.  I’m  wearing it today.  After Rio Loco, it was time to go back to the Saucer.  Then to Hoop’s Bar, but only for a little while as I threw in the towel after only one beer.  I didn’t want last night to be a late night – wanted a full night’s sleep so I’d be ready for today’s Super Bowl party.

Time to get the day started… everyone have fun watching the game today.

Last night I went with the gang to The Cove, a chic dive bar on Broad Avenue in the spot that used to be The Beer Joint.  I was completely impressed with this place for a number of reasons I’ll get into later in this post.  Very rarely do I deem a bar worthy of a car ride away from Downtown, but this one deserves it.  Let’s start with a few pics of the decor, featuring a nautical/sailing/pirate theme.

The nautical theme even extends to the cocktail napkins.  In the next picture we see Skippy holding one of the napkins:

Next, let’s talk about the drinks.  They have a very, very extensive drink menu.  All of their drinks are made from scratch – there are absolutely no mixes in use anywhere.  This means that the bartenders may spend several minutes making your drink – but it’s made the RIGHT way.  I ordered a mint julep and the bartender carefully crushed the mint, spooned out sugar, and then poured in carefully-measured ingredients.  A friend of mine ordered an old fashioned and was very happy.  Another friend told a story of an earlier time when he had been in, and detected a hint of licorice – but just a hint – in his drink.  “That’s because, for that particular drink, we rinse the glass in licorice before we pour,” the bartender told him.  Elegant little touches like that tell you that, although it appears to be a dive bar at first glance, the people at The Cove really know what they’re doing.  Drinks are reasonable too.  My mint julep was $6.50.  The PBR bottle I drank was $2.25 (but you really should skip beer and try the mixed drinks there).

Oh, and John D was extremely impressed with the Bud Light bottles he had at The Cove.

While I was at the bar, the bartender showed me a bottle.  “Absinthe?” he asked.  He explained to me that absinthe – REAL absinthe, not the fake stuff – became legal in the US only five weeks ago.  He then told me The Cove was the first place in Memphis to have it.  So I ordered a drink, which he mixed with a sugar cube and water (they don’t have the spoons yet though).  Damn.  That is definitely not a drink you want to chug.  Just smelling it from four feet away got me drunk.  Here’s a pic of my glass of “the green fairy” and also a ginger beer that The Cove carries.

I’ve been told that absinthe gives people all kinds of weird hallucinations, but I didn’t drink it fast enough, or I didn’t drink enough of it, to experience anything like that.

Let’s move on to the food.  They have a small menu but it works.  Apps like hummus and pita bread; several sandwiches including vegetarian options; pita pizzas; shrimp cocktails; oysters on the half shell.  Here’s a pic of my friend Robin having the oysters, which she said were some of the best she’s ever had.  The oysters are expertly shucked by an alumnus of the late, great Anderton’s restaurant.

And now we come to the part of the post that everyone’s been looking forward to, the “random pics of us drinking” section:

Me with our BBQ team captain Chuck.  One of the bartenders had tattoos of sailing ships and a pig on his arm.  Chuck, who likes to go sailing on Lake Michigan in the summer: “Now that’s a man after my own heart!”

 

The Nuh-Uh Girl and Chuck pose for a picture.

 

The gang at the bar (front view).  Note the Bud Light bottle in front of John D.

 

The gang and random people in suits at the bar (back view).  Note the ’50s movie being shown on the plasma HDTV.  They also showed a British zombie movie and The Big Lebowski while we were there.  It’s refreshing to walk into a bar and not see ESPN Sportscenter on TV.

 

Skippy tries to convince the Nuh-Uh Sister to take him to Maui on the trip she won on Wheel of Fortune.

 

I once again have to say how much Picasa rules.  Its auto-contrast feature rescued about half the images shown above.  They were practically unusable before I imported them into Picasa because digital cameras have so much trouble with dim light.

By 10 the bar started to get crowded, and we headed back home.  A very good time was had by all.  Looks like we aren’t the only Downtown barflies to find out about this place – I saw several people I recognized from my usual haunts.  Good to be back home Downtown, but The Cove will see me again.