Paul Ryburn's Journal

This limeade-in-a-carton is some of the best stuff I’ve ever tasted. When I wake up in the morning, all dehydrated as a result of the previous night’s beer drinking, there’s nothing better. They have it at the downtown Walgreens, in the refrigerated case. I think it’s $1.79 a for a half-gallon carton.

Just made a new entry to my other blog, A Better, Bigger Deal. My mother, Marilyn Ryburn, who worked in newspaper advertising for 31 years, sent me some good advice on how to use the paper to find Deals. In it you’ll find answers to questions like:

– What day of the week should you buy a paper if you’re shopping for a mattress?

– Everyone knows that big-name retailers like Best Buy and Target run ads in the Sunday paper… but what other day of the week should you look to the newspaper for consumer-electronics Deals?

– Looking to buy a house? In addition to the Sunday real estate and classified sections, where else should you look?

– If you buy the Sunday paper to get the coupon inserts, there are certain weeks when you shouldn’t bother. When?

Answers to these questions and more on A Better, Bigger Deal. Check it out.

Idiotic quote I just heard at the Union Avenue branch office: “I like Syrah a lot, but Shiraz is nasty.” Ummm… I’m no wine expert, but aren’t those the same thing?

I have info on a couple of Super Bowl parties that I wanted to share:

The Majestic Grille will have the game on the big screen, and there will be food and drink specials. They’ll also be giving away free flatbreads at halftime.

At Sleep Out Louie’s, they’ll have $1.50 Bud and Bud Light longnecks, free hot dogs, and popcorn, and there will be door prizes and giveaways. They’re talking about giving away $25 gift certificates to The Chop House Grill, a new fine-dining/steak restaurant in Southaven which is owned by Sleep Out’s parent company.

I’ll be at a private party nearby most of the day, but I’ll be popping in and out of Sleep Out’s throughout the day.

The city schools are closed today! Yay! So I’m sitting at the Union Avenue branch office getting some side work done.

AngieDawn wanted me to let everyone know that, although the Net Impact event on the 8th at EP’s (see my previous post) starts at 5:30 PM, it’s definitely okay to show up later. She realizes that a lot of people will be coming in from East Memphis and may not get there until 6:30 or even later than that. That’s fine – there will still be plenty of time to net work at get information about Net Impact. “Our official meeting will go until 7:30 (including the networking), and hopefully, some people will stay for dinner even after that.” So come on down to EP’s, whenever you can.

Regular blog reader Shane e-mailed to inform me that the Tap Room has put a stage back in for the weekend, and they will indeed be hosting bands for the International Blues Challenge tonight. I’ll probably buy a wristband to get access to all the clubs, but the Tap Room is by far my favorite – good people, and PBR on tap.

Speaking of Shane, he designed a logo for me, which I’m going to print on some business cards later today:

Pretty cool, huh? Kind of has that “Downtown Paul” feeling to it. Maybe the next time I redesign my blog I’ll use it as the logo. Shane’s a very talented artist – check out his MySpace page for more of his work.

All right… got a lot of invites and eVites and crap to send out today, so I’m gonna log off and get some work done. Happy weekend, and be careful driving home if you had to work today.

Everyone is invited to the kickoff of a new organization, Net Impact Memphis, on Thursday, February 8 at 5:30 PM, at EP’s Delta Kitchen at the corner of Second and Beale. There will be networking, drink specials, and information about a wonderful new professional organization coming to Memphis.

So what is Net Impact and why would you want to check it out?

Net Impact is a national organization of professionals, MBAs, nonprofit leaders, and students committed to social responsibility through business. There are professional and student chapters in many cities across the U.S. This will be the first professional chapter in the state of Tennessee; there is a student chapter at the Owen School of Business at Vanderbilt.

Net Impact members nationwide have used the national organization’s resources to effect positive social change through their work. One member convinced her office’s cafeteria to replace styrofoam cups with biodegradable ones. Another member led an initiative to teach workers to file documents electronically, rather than printing out each and every e-mail to be filed in a folder. This, of course, saved reams and reams of paper. These are just a couple of examples… as a member you’ll have access to a wealth of educational materials online, as well as the opportunity to be inspired through hearing notable speakers and attending conventions.

You’ll also have the advantage of networking with like-minded people, and you’ll have access to Net Impact’s career development program. Many NI members find a mentor within the organization to guide them in their careers. There’s also a members-only job board, and if you consider moving to another city, there will likely be a NI chapter there to help you get oriented.

There will also be a national Net Impact conference in November, to be held in Nashville, and we’re hoping to field a strong Memphis delegation.

So, if it sounds like something you’d be interested in, by all means come to EP’s on the 8th. There will be no obligation to join; however, if you choose the $50 Full membership (which is the one I’ll be getting), you get access to all of NI’s resources, and as a bonus you’ll get a 20% off coupon for EP’s. There are also other membership levels available: Free, for those who want to take NI for a test drive first; and Lifetime ($300), for those who fall in love with the organization and want to jump in with both feet.

Note: Net Impact Memphis is not related to Mpact Memphis, other than the fact that they both have the letters “mpact” in their names.

If you have questions, the person to ask would be fellow blogger AngieDawn, who is founding the Memphis chapter. You can also check out the www.memphisnetimpact.org website. You can also check out the national site.

Other notes:

• One more reminder: The Dempseys at the Saucer, tonight, 9:30. Of course, I’m sure it won’t be as good as last Sunday’s show at Huey’s, since big-name, world-famous, A-list celebrity Rob Corddry (aka “THE” Rob Corddry) won’t be there. It was such an honor to be graced with his presence Sunday night. Shame on Huey’s for not rolling out a red carpet through the restaurant’s entranceway for him.
• The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge is happening this weekend at the clubs on Beale Street. Wristband access to all the clubs is available for $10 tonight and $15 tomorrow night. This will probably end up being my plan for tomorrow night. Wonder if the Tap Room is participating this year, now that they’ve taken the stage out?

That’s all for now… got an appointment to get to.

I’m pleased to announce the launch of my latest website: A Better, Bigger Deal.

As many of you remember, from April to December of last year, I wrote a second blog, for the local newspaper. Every Sunday I looked through the ads that ran in the Sunday paper, and picked out the best Deals on consumer electronics and computers.

Something always bothered me, though. I’d find what I considered to be the best deal of the week in the Sunday paper, and then find that even that deal was beaten by online retailers, especially Amazon.com. Of course, the idea was to promote the newspaper, so I couldn’t mention those sources. I felt like I wasn’t really bringing my readers the best information.

I also got tired of having an additional responsibility to fulfill every Sunday morning, on my day off. So in early December I quit.

A Better, Bigger Deal addresses those concerns. In it I will pull the best Deals from everywhere – the newspaper ads, online sources, or wherever else I happen to find them. Also, since online retailers don’t always follow Sunday-to-Saturday schedules, I plan on posting Deals as soon as I find them, hopefully far more often than once a week. So be sure to check back every day… for the first few Deals I’ll alert you on this blog that there’s a new Better, Bigger Deal to see.

In my first post, I take a look at inexpensive computers running the new Windows Vista operating system, and question whether they really qualify as Deals. Comments will be enabled on this blog, although I haven’t got them working yet… I’m using WordPress 2.1 to publish A Better, Bigger Deal and am still figuring out its nuances.

It’s also my first CSS-based web layout. I tested it in Firefox and IE 6; if you’re using a different browser and it looks funny, let me know.

So, check it out and be sure to bookmark www.better-bigger-deal.com.

P.S. I don’t know why the Sharp Dressed Bum post is there twice… I tried to log into Blogger and delete the extra one, but it doesn’t show up in my posts. I guess it’ll just have to stay there.

Having come home from work, a few minutes ago I threw my backpack over my shoulder and headed to the Flying Saucer. As I crossed the parking lot at Second and Gayoso, I saw Sharp Dressed Bum, in his navy snowflake hat and winter coat, walking down Second. He didn’t see me and I stopped for a minute to let him pass.

My plan backfired. Immediately as I rounded the corner onto Second, I saw him ten feet ahead, begging a couple for money. “We’re sorry, we can’t help,” they said, and quickly moved on.

I walked right past him, not even acknowledging him. But he acknowledged me. “Punk ass,” he started. “I’m gonna beat your fucking ass one of these days, mother fucker. I’m gonna knock your head in… you better watch out… punk.” This has been typical conversation from him every time I’ve encountered him for the past three years.

Of course, I know he’s all bark and no bite. But still… how much longer are we going to tolerate people like him on the streets? And how many people visit downtown, get approached by him and decide to never come back? How many people decide to move out of downtown because they’re sick of dealing with him every time they go out?

If you missed The Dempseys Sunday night at Huey’s, you have another chance to see them, at the Flying Saucer tomorrow night. They take the stage at 9:30 and will play until a little after 1. Needless to say, I will be there. I have a possible business meeting tomorrow night, and I’ve told them that the meeting must end by 8:30, unless we meet at the Saucer in which case I can go until 9:30. Business is business, but I ain’t missing the Dempseys!

Maybe we can convince Brad to do The Worm again.

Forgot to mention in my Sunday post… another one of the songs in their “cities, states, counties, towns” medley is “What made Milwaukee famous… made a loser out of me.” As they sang that line I raised my beer glass. Bass player Slick Joe Fick commented, “Well, at least you’re honest, Paul.”

Actually, I was drinking Bud, so I guess it was what made St.Louis famous, rather than Milwaukee, if you want to get technical, that made a loser out of me.

Tied up in meetings with Microsoft all day long… so I get to sit through presentations on SharePoint Services and SQL Server. But the good news is, they’re buying us pizza for lunch!

I have a new website 99% ready to go, and I hope to finish it this evening after work. Look for an announcement soon. For now I’ll just say that it will be a big deal.

Gotta get back upstairs to the meeting, it’s pizza time and if I get there late it’ll be picked over and I’ll be stuck with veggie pizza (yuk). See ya later…

Who cares if he’s talking shit about me… his readers are clicking my Google ads and that’s all that matters.

Apologies to the 99% of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, this is a drunk post.

Congrats to the Rapscallions who won 1st place tonight, bringing our total Saucer gift certificate winnings to $325.

Back sometime Wed. with a worthwhile post.

(Edit: Attn Master Polo: I apologize for calling you a Z-list celebrity last summer, I didn’t know what Z-list was until Sunday night.)

Since the teams for the Super Bowl were determined a little over a week ago, I’ve been trying to figure out who to root for. After a lot of mental debate, I have decided that I will be pulling for the Chicago Bears. Here’s why:

1) I’ll be going to a Super Bowl party at Barton Flats, and the hosts are from Chicago. It would be rather rude to go there and then pull for the other team;

2) At my old job – the one I quit last April – the corporate client I managed who was by far the most annoying/demanding was located in Indianapolis;

3) Peyton = blah. The guy bores me. I just can’t find any reason to get excited about him. I understand he’s Archie’s son and Archie is a big deal around here, but still… yawn.

Therefore, I’m for Chicago.

Some big posts coming soon… within a couple of days I’ll be rolling out a site that is something of a big deal… I’ll also be telling you about a new organization focusing on networking, career development, and corporate social responsibility.

Off for a 4-hour meeting with Microsoft engineers. Fun.