Paul Ryburn's Journal

Memphis Limelight had a post yesterday on LoLo’s Table, the friendly restaurant on Monroe next door to McEwen’s.  They’re under new ownership, and have made a lot of changes.  You can click through to Limelight to read the complete report, but here’s a quick summary:

• Free food one surprise night a week (bet the Nuh-Uh Girl starts hanging out there)
• HDTVs to watch football
• Happy hour 4:30-6:30 M-F with specials including $2 PBR
• Downtown lunch deliveries
• Thursdays are Downtowners’ Nights with 15% off the check

Hmmm, I don’t have plans for this evening.  I think I’ll check out their happy hour this afternoon.

Seth Godin had a great post today wondering why more companies don’t put as much marketing into hiring for open positions as they do into marketing their product.  Most companies, he says, just go through the motions and put in 10% of the total effort all companies expend in hiring, and wind up with people in the bottom 90% of the employment pool.  The companies that get the top 10%, the best of the best, he says, put in 90% of the effort to find and retain these people.

Although I’ve said I’m on hiatus for hunting from full-time, permanent positions until November 10, I’ve had a few recruiters contact me, saying, “If you change your mind and want to start back early, here are the details of a few positions we have.”  I don’t mind them doing that.  But the position descriptions tell me nothing about whether I would want to work at those companies, because they’re all the same.  “We’re looking for someone with 5-8 years experience as an enterprise developer, with an emphasis on ASP.NET, SQL Server, and (C# or VB.NET, depending on the position).  Knowledge of Java, CSS, Apache server, and MySQL are pluses.  Candidate is required to have a complete understanding of object-oriented development, must be able to process workflow diagrams, must be able to work in a fast-paced environment as a member of a team.  We offer full benefits including 401(k), health plan, and vacation.”

You know what?  That kind of generic job description tells me NOTHING about whether I would actually want to work there.  What kind of environment is it?  Is it constant stress from one day to the next?  Or is it a place where people can relax while they work?  Is it a suit-and-tie place, or can I wear jeans and sandals like I did at the last job?  Are there good restaurants nearby where I can enjoy my lunch break?  Are the people who work in the department fun and interesting, and people I can learn from?  Are they sticklers about punctuality, or do they give employees latitude as long as the work gets done?  I live Downtown – how far of a commute will I have to work?  Any possibility of telecommuting on some days, to save on gas?

It amazes me that hiring managers don’t think to include answers to those kinds of questions in their job descriptions.

So, yesterday marks three weeks since I was laid off.  I told everyone I was not going to start seriously job-hunting until Monday, November 10.  I’ve used the extra time off to really build up my new websites – I’ll be rolling out four new ones tomorrow, as a matter of fact.  I’ve probably been working more than 40 hours a week on them.  But I’ve been doing it at my pace.  If I find myself wide awake at 6:30 AM, I get started.  I felt like taking a half day off after the election, and I did.  Today I ate lunch at China restaurant on Jefferson, and afterward I felt like taking a walk… and I realized that the boss doesn’t mind if I take an extra long lunch break before I get back to work, because I’m the boss now.

The commissions I make from my websites are rapidly accelerating.  I told my health guru AL how much I made in October and she was astounded.  It’s not enough to support me full-time yet, but it’s headed in that direction, which motivates me to work on my sites even more.

Considering what I have written above, I have decided to extend my hiatus from hunting for full-time permanent jobs until December 1.  The only reason I’ll consider applying for something sooner than that is if the position is truly outstanding in some way.  In the meantime, I’m going to work hard for myself, enjoy some time with my friends, and remember what it feels like to be alive.

Leinenkugel Red is the Fire Sale today, after Turbo Dog yesterday and Shiner Bock the day before.  I haven’t seen the list for the rest of the week, but based on their patterns I bet I can name the Fire Sales for the rest of the week – Abita Amber, Killian’s Red, and LaBatt Blue, not necessarily in that order.

After they raised the Fire Sale price to $2.75, they promised us they were going to do a better job picking a larger selection of Fire Sales, going through all the draft beers (except the ones that were prohibitively expensive) before starting over through the list.  For a while they did that.  Now it looks like they’re back to the old pattern of several boring, generic red and amber beers, plus Turbo Dog, LaBatt Blue and occasionally Flying Dog Doggie Style, repeated week after week.

Meanwhile, three blocks up the street, Bardog Tavern has PBR all day for $2.50, all day every day (and $1.50 Mon-Fri 5-7).  A little farther in the opposite direction, Calhoun’s has PBR all day, every day for $1.50.

I had dinner with my health guru AL at Automatic Slim’s last night.  I had coconut-encrusted salmon topped with wilted spinach and a purple cabbage slaw.  It was one of the best meals I had in a while.  AL had the chicken and absolutely loved it.  First time I’ve been to Slim’s since changes took place behind the scenes, and although there haven’t been any major changes to the restaurant itself yet, it’s obvious they’ve got some serious talent in kitchen.

AL says she’s going to make a me a list of foods to eat to improve my metabolism.  Stuff like buying frozen vegetables from Kroger and adding them to soup.  Hmmm.  Okay.  I’m sitting here eating a cherry Hostess fruit pie and drinking Mountain Dew as I type this.

The South Main Association will meet next Tuesday, November 11 at Jay Etkin Gallery at 6 PM.  There will be a presentation on the Downtown dumpster pilot program and plans for recycling.  The 2009 SMA board will also be presented.  Food courtesy of Frank’s Market and Deli, cash bar.  Free for members, $5 for non-members.

The 8th annual Hollywood Casino St. Jude Red Carpet Bash is this weekend – Saturday, November 8 from 7 PM to 1 AM at Hollywood Casino in Tunica.  Shawn and Lana Danko who own Big Foot Lodge are the chairs for this event, so there’s a reason for Downtowners to come out and support.  Black tie optional ’80s event with Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster and DJ Tree; live and silent auctions; dinner; complimentary beer and wine; cash bar.  Tickets are $100 in advance (call 901-373-5051 or e-mail contact@eatatbigfoot.com) or $125 at the door.

I have another idea for Big Foot’s owners to raise money for charity – you know those old-fashioned carnival dunk tanks, where you throw softballs at a target, and when you score a hit, the person inside the tank gets dunked into the water?  Put your bartender Meghan in one of those.  There are a lot of people who would be willing to pay a lot of money to dunk her ass repeatedly.  Throw some piranhas in the tank and we’ll pay even more.

Tug’s on Mud Island is having their first anniversary party Monday, November 10 from 5 to 10 PM.  Complimentary tastings from the menu, and half price drinks and beer.  Free food?  I wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.  Currents across the street is also celebrating its first birthday and is offering several of its signature entrees for $29 any day in November except Thanksgiving.

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  I was going to take my laptop to the Saucer and work, but after seeing that they put Turbo Dog on Fire Sale AGAIN (it was only last Tuesday when it was the Fire Sale) I decided not to.  They’re getting back in a pattern of driving regulars away with one terrible Fire Sale selection after another.

Lots of work to do today.  Yesterday I had ideas for four new websites, all of which I hope to roll out by tomorrow.  That’ll keep me extra busy.  Happy birthday to my friend Eric who does a lot of good community outreach work for the Grizzlies.  I’ll be at the Saucer for happy hour, then maybe at Jillian’s for trivia ($2 Bud and Bud Light, $3 cherry/grape/Jager bombs).

Feel like reading about our next President?  Here are links to books by or about President-Elect Barack Obama (it feels so good to type that):

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance was Obama’s first book, written in 1995 at the dawn of his political career.  It’s not about his father’s life, but rather about Obama’s journey through life.  He traveled to Kenya after learning about the death of his father to find out more about the African side of his family.  He discusses race from the perspective of someone who has been part of many cultures.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream was given to my by my mother as a Christmas present in 2006.  This is the book that convinced me to support Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the primary, and it has led me to believe that he will use the presidency as a bully pulpit to improve Americans’ lives as no president since Theodore Roosevelt has.  If you want to see where President-Elect Obama plans to take America over the next four (or hopefully, eight) years, this book is a good place to start, as he talks about uniting all races, uniting the rich and the poor, and making America a respected world citizen again.  I highly recommend this one regardless of your political orientation.

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise is President-elect Obama’s latest book.  It continues his vision outlined in The Audacity of Hope, explaining how to fix the economy, keep America safe, and deal with issues like health care.  It also stresses the message that you are part of the solution.

The Essential Barack Obama: The Grammy Award-Winning Recordings is Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope in audio-book format.  “A front-row seat to a sincere and admirable agenda,” writes one person who bought this product.

The American Journey of Barack Obama is a biography of the President-Elect by the editors of LIFE Magazine.  This is a good look at Obama’s journey from his early days all the way to the White House.  “A realistic and well-rounded view of Senator Barack Obama’s life as a man, husband, and father,” wrote one person who has read this book.

The Rise of Barack Obama is photojournalist Pete Souza’s account of Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency in pictures.  The photos cover the period from Obama’s first day in the U.S. Senate up to the Pennsylvania primary.  80% of the pictures have never before been published.  If you’re an admirer of Mr. Obama, this would make a great coffee table book.

Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others contains contemporary speeches by Barack Obama, as well as some of the most famous speeches in history.  Others in the book include Fredrick Douglass’ “What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?” speech, Soujourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream.”

I forgot to do one thing in my post earlier this morning – I forgot to congratulate Rep. Steve Cohen on winning a well-deserved second term last night.  In the interest of the kind of unity President-Elect Obama promotes, congratulations and best wishes to Sen. Lamar Alexander on his victory last night as well.

I’m going to start this post with a prediction for the 2012 presidential election:

President Barack Obama 56% and 516 electoral votes
Sarah Palin 29% and 22 electoral votes
A third-party candidate with libertarian views 14% and 0 electoral votes

Palin will carry her home state plus Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.  Obama will carry the rest of the nation.  No idea who the third-party candidate will be, but what the heck, I’ll take a wild guess… Jesse Ventura.

What a great night.  I started celebrating as soon as Ohio was called, after quickly doing a little math and realizing that California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, surely in the bag for Obama, would get him to 270.  Others refuse to believe it until the polls closed in those states at 10 PM, and they were called for Obama at 10:00:03 PM.  We all gathered at Calhoun’s to watch the returns.  Here’s a pic of the gang, taken shortly after 10 PM:

Horrible pic of me, but great pic of everyone else on one of the nights we will truly remember for the rest of our lives.

I have to give the Republicans credit – John McCain was very gracious in defeat in his acceptance speech, and sounded like a true statesman.  The Republicans in the bar with us at Calhoun’s were also equally gracious – a Republican volunteered to take the picture above, as a matter of fact.

As for Obama, he sounded like a uniter in his speech, saying he hoped to mend fences with those who didn’t vote for him, and be their president too.  Certainly a different tone than George W. Bush’s acceptance speeches four and eight years ago.

The only thing I can’t understand is the state of Alaska.  The Senate race there hasn’t been called yet as of the time of this post, but it looks as though they’re going to give convicted felon Ted Stevens another ticket back to Washington.  My only guess why is that it’s a strategic vote – they know the Senate will surely expel him first thing in January, and that will open the door for Sarah Palin to run.

What a great night.  After decades of division and ugliness and nastiness toward one another, we’ve elected a man who can hopefully unite the nation.  I can’t wait for January 20 to get here.

… Calhoun’s.

I would’ve much preferred the Saucer, but I can’t justify being there all night when the Fire Sale (Shiner Bock) is so mediocre.  If I went there, I’d be left with the choice of drinking a beer I don’t really like that much for $2.75 a pint, or stepping up to Dos Equis Lager for $4.25 a pint, when Calhoun’s has $1.50 PBR.

I’ve been invited to Steve Cohen’s victory party too.  May stop by that.  Will probably hit Bardog on the way home.  I’m taking tomorrow morning off from my website work and giving myself permission to stay out late and celebrate.

Here’s a link to a good blog post by marketer Seth Godin on Obama’s and McCain’s campaigns, marketing, and the concept of “tribes.” He has a good explanation why Obama’s campaign has been a success and McCain’s has not.

I’m re-launching Discount Dining, a site I ran for a while last year and then forgot about.  It’s a site that links to Restaurant.com and provides information about their dining discount program.  On Discount Dining, I’m starting mailing lists by city where you can be notified of specials they occasionally run where they sell their certificates for 50% off, or sometimes even more.

Which reminds me… there’s a special going on through November 6.  Use coupon code VOTE at checkout to get 50% off.  That means $25 face-value gift certificates, normally sold for $10, are now $5 with the coupon code. You can also take 50% off Dinner of the Month Club purchase with the code VOTE.  Here are links to the individual cities on Discount Dining:

• Memphis
• Austin
• Denver
• Little Rock
• Milwaukee
• Nashville
• New Orleans
• Phoenix
• San Diego

The Animal Protection Association is having its 2nd annual Santa Paws Party and Art Auction at Stop 345 on Sunday, November 23.  Details below (click the flyer for a larger image):

More info about the APA and the party here.

Still undecided where I’ll watch the election results.  The Saucer would’ve been my pick if they had put something tasty on Fire Sale.  But Shiner Bock… bleh.  It’s not horrible but it’s not one of my favorites, either.  Now it’s a 3-way tossup between Bardog, the Saucer, and Calhoun’s.  I may have to flip a coin to decide.  Or flip 3 coins and odd one out wins, I guess.

Since yesterday I’ve learned of several places Downtown that will show the election results, with sound on:  Jillian’s, The Flying Saucer, and Calhoun’s.  The owner of Bardog told me he’d have the results on, but I forgot to ask if that included sound.  Didn’t hear of any election day drink specials, but Calhoun’s always has $1.50 PBR and the Saucer has the $2.75 Fire Sale.  I asked the manager what it would be and he said Shiner Bock.  “Is that the best you can do?” I replied.  I’ll walk by after the Saucer opens at 11 and confirm that SB is indeed today’s Fire Sale.

Here’s an hour-by-hour breakdown of what to watch for on election night.  As you can see, things could get very interesting as early as 6 PM CST (7 PM EST).

Here are links to my three favorite sites for electoral map analysis:

• RealClearPolitics – in my opinion the best site, links to plenty of political articles from the left, center, and right, as well as state-by-state polls.
• FiveThirtyEight – electoral analysis that uses simulations to predict the winner.  If you love statistics and math you’ll enjoy this site.
• Electoral-vote.com – only updated once per day.  Some people think this is the most accurate of the three.

Wow.  Each day FiveThirtyEight updates their probability of each candidate winning the election (electoral vote, not popular vote).  Today their probabilities of winning are 98.1% for Obama and 1.9% for McCain.  They’re calling all the Kerry states plus Iowa and New Mexico safe for Obama… that’s 264 electoral votes.  All he has to do is pick off one more Bush state and he’ll hit 270.  He’s leading the polls in Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, and Florida.  Any one of those would do it (Nevada would get him to 269 which would be a tie, but if the election were thrown to the House of Representatives, the Democrat would likely win).

If you haven’t voted yet, what are you waiting for?  GO VOTE!!!!!

A few non-election items:

Here’s the tally from The Window Game yesterday, which I played from 4:25 to 8:25:  20 bums, 27 police cars, 6 FUMOTs (f’d up modes of transportation), 1 RUP (really ugly person), 1 hoopty, 0 appearances by Downtown homeless person Scratchy, 6 left turns out of a lane other than the left lane, 1 wrong way up Second, 18 buses, 21 COGIC courtesy cars, and 0 COGIC hats.  It’s early in the week, so the COGIC people aren’t out in force.  If I play later in the week, I’ll probably count over 100 courtesy cars and at least 20 hats.

Otto told me about a very cool service called ChaCha yesterday.  If you have a question you want answered, you can text it to 242242 (CHACHA) and they’ll reply with an answer within a few minutes.  Answers are researched by humans using the best search engines and most trusted sources of information.

Great article on Vaco in the Commercial Appeal yesterday.  Vaco is a placement service that matches job hunters to companies in the IT, accounting, finance, and administrative fields.  When I was hunting for a job a year ago, they contacted me (one of the recruiters found me through my MySpace account), took me to lunch, and sent me on an interview.  Their preparation for the interview was so thorough and professional – they drove me out there, told me all about the company and what they thought the hiring manager was looking for, and gave me a very professional-looking black portfolio to use to take notes.  I ended up taking a different job, but I was thoroughly impressed with Vaco and would absolutely recommend them.  You can contact them through their website.  I’m currently trying to make a go of it freelancing, but if that doesn’t work out, I’ll definitely be talking to my friends at Vaco to help me find my next IT gig.

Still not sure where I’ll watch the election results tonight.  Back later with more posts.

(Post being updated every few minutes – hit Refresh and scroll down to see the latest.)

4:27 PM:  Just got to the Saucer, with my Window Game COGIC edition scorecard.  I brought my laptop with me so I can work while I drink, at least until people get here to talk to.  Figured I’d try something different and do some live blogging.  In the time it took me to boot my laptop I’ve already counted one bum and one FUMOT (F’d up mode of transportation – in this case, a car with its hood smashed up).  I’ve seen cars that obviously contained COGIC people, but there were no visible signs so I couldn’t count them as courtesy cars.

4:30:  There’s a bum.  That makes two.  And a courtesy car.  The bum is the one with the ear tumor who always wears scraggly dollar-store ties.  He’s asking for money so he can get a coke.  The only thing I don’t believe about his request is the word “a.”

4:33:  Up to three bums now.  If I don’t recognize them I have to see visible evidence of panhandling to count them.  Doesn’t have to be the act of panhandling necessarily.  Behaviors commonly associated with panhandling, such as carrying a stack of Downtown Merchant Guides, count too.

4:36:  In the time it took the last update to publish, a fourth bum walked by.

4:37:  Our first wrong way on one-way Second Street!  They backed up back onto Peabody Place, but they turned far enough to be facing north, so they count.

4:38:  Bum number 5, this one being “CAN I AKS YOU A QUESTION.  U GOT 50 CENT” guy.  I also started a custom “hippies” category and marked 3 down.

4:42:  Here comes Pete on his scooter.  Looks like he’s not stopping in.  He knows he’d get his ass kicked at pool if he did.

Sipping a Dos Equis Lager with extra lime.  Brittney is serving me.  This would be waitress Brittney who works really hard, not lazy bartender Brittney who sits on her ass all day.

4:46:  Got our first entry in the RUP (Really Ugly People) column.  Currently at 5 bums, 3 hippies, 3 buses, 3 COGIC cars, 1 police car, 1 FUMOT, 1 RUP.

4:49:  Geo Metro hatchback with green body and red hood, dents all over.  It’s borderline FUMOT but I’m going to say yes.

4:53:  Flower guy on a bike, but I’ve heard he’s affiliated with Blues City and has a permit, so I’ll have to go “not a bum” in his case.  The ones that pick flowers out of public planters and sell them to tourists definitely count as bums.

We may have slim pickings on the bums today, because June Bug and several other regulars are in jail.  You wouldn’t know it from the first 30 minutes though.

4:56:  Melissa’s here.  Melissa rocks.  I loaned her my “I love Romanian girls” shirt and she dressed as me for Halloween.  A third FUMOT just rolled by.

5:00:  6 buses, 5 bums, 4 courtesy cars, 3 hippies, 3 police cars, 3 FUMOTs, 1 RUP, 1 wrong way.  Make that 5 courtesy cars.

5:04:  4 kids about age 10-11 selling candy.  I don’t have a category for that but maybe I should.

There’s a guy in a plaid shirt walking around an awful lot.  He has the look and the body language of a bum, but he hasn’t hit anyone up yet.  So far I can’t count him.

5:09:  The owner of Calhoun’s just e-mailed.  He’ll have the sound on for election night results.  I need to talk to whoever’s managing the Saucer today and find out if they will.  No specials at Calhoun’s for election night, just $1.50 PBR as usual.

5:11:  Crackhead walking down Second yelling at nobody in particular.  Wait, maybe he’s singing.  Yep, singing.  And dancing.  Now he’s stopping in the middle of Peabody Place to finish his song.

A car decorated with “FRO: Highway to Heaven” sign just drove by.  I don’t want to know.  I’m calling FUMOT on it though.  See what you’re missing if you live in Cordova?

Believe it or not, I’ve actually managed to get some work done while I’ve been here, typing copy for one of my sites.

5:16:  All right!  We have our first Sharp Dressed Bum sighting of the afternoon!  I wonder if he still has warrants?  I’m still undecided on whether dancing crackhead counts as a bum… what the hell, I’m going to say he does.  That makes seven.

5:19:  Cool, my College Logo Watches site just made a sale!  Someone from South Carolina.

5:22:  That’s the third pass for SDB past here.  I may have to call the bum patrol on him.

5:23:  Meghan has the 5:00 bartending shift at Big Foot, so I imagine she’s arriving to work about now.  My sympathies to the people at the bar who got used to the good customer service they got from the day shift.

5:26:  Okay, plaid shirt guy counts now.  He’s doing the tour guide gimmick.  That’s bum #8.  He’s talking to everyone now.  Maybe he needs to get his confidence up before he starts approaching.

Bicycle Bobby just pulled up on his scooter.  And here are two more scooters.  It must be scooter club meeting night.

5:34:  Bum number 9.  Another singer.  This one I recognize, so no need to wait for panhandling behavior to mark him.

Dammit, I’m spending so much time looking out the window, that I’m missing waitresses bend over.

5:37:  Otto’s here.

5:38:  Yay!  Mid-South Alcoholic Supply just sold some champagne flutes.

5:44:  Starting on my third Dos Equis Lager.  11 buses, 9 bums, 8 police cars, 8 courtesy cars.

5:46:  Ear tumor bum has a box of KFC now.

5:52:  FedEx delivery for the Saucer.  Hopefully the Romanian waitress I ordered is here.

Looks like it’s manager meeting night.

5:54:  Sold another watch.  University of Texas this time.  See, I’m making money while I drink beer.  I’ll end up getting about 7% commission on all of these sales, maybe 7.5%.

5:55:  El bummo numero diez!  Never seen this one before, but he panhandled Otto at the Saucer window.

6:02:  Left turn out of not the center lane, but the right lane!  That counts as 2.

6:09:  All right.  Tired of having the laptop out.  Gonna shut down.  Will provide a final score in the next post.