Paul Ryburn's Journal

Now and then I like to pose hypothetical questions to myself to keep my mind occupied. And this week I came up with a doozy.

A little background: My ultimate career goal is not to make as much money as possible. It’s to find work that allows me to do my work on my own terms. Over the years I’ve learned that I’m at my creative and productive peak when I can take my laptop to coffee shops, Wi-Fi enabled restaurants, even the library – and work from there. I’ve also learned that I tend to be at my mental peak when I go to bed around 2 AM and wake up around 9. No matter how good a job is in every other respect, I will always feel somewhat imprisoned by a cubicle and an 8-to-5 schedule.

So here’s the question I posed to myself. What if someone called me and said, “Paul, we saw your resume online and are interested in talking to you. We need someone to program and administer our ASP.NET/SQL Server website. You’d be able to do it when and where you want… as long as you have an Internet connection, it’s up to you where you work, and what hours. We’d be willing to pay you what you’re making now, at your current job. Would you be interested?”

“Sure!” I would say. “Of course I’d be interested!”

“Well, there’s just one thing,” continues the hypothetical caller. “The site you’d be working on is a porn site. You wouldn’t appear the site, obviously. You’d just take care of the back-end programming and administration. Everyone pictured on the site will be over 18 – there’s no child exploitation or anything like that. And we plan on having mechanisms in place – which you would help to develop – to make sure that the site is only viewed by people who are of age. So, given that, would you have any objection to programming a porn site?”

Wow. That would be a tough call. On one hand, I’d do just about anything to escape Cubicle World. And although I’m not into porn personally, I have no moral objection to other people looking at it, if that’s what they’re into, as long as everyone involved is of age.

But, on the other hand, if I took the job I’d be “the porn guy.” Everywhere I’d go, I’d be viewed through the frame of my job. Would normal, well-adjusted, professional women want to date me, knowing what I do for a living? Would they think, “oh my god, what do I tell my friends, my parents, when they ask what he does for a living?” And also, how would I list the job on my resume? No matter how good my programming skills, I’m sure quite a few prospective employers would toss my resume in the trash the moment they typed in the site’s URL and saw what I had been working on.

Another problem is, working on that type of site would limit my ability to do my work at Wi-Fi coffee shops and restaurants. I mean, can you imagine me working at Starbucks, testing my code, with naked people on the screen doing all sorts of things to each other, in full view of the college student studying at the next table, and the three old ladies at the table behind me? I’d be too embarrassed to do my work at the Saucer where the waitresses might see it. As for my other favorite Wi-Fi spot – Sleep Out Louie’s – the employees and regulars would probably encourage me to do my work there, and in fact take such an interest that they’d frequently want to see what I’m working on. But then the general managers of the corporation that runs Sleep Out’s would hear about it and they would tell the staff that I can’t do my work there anymore.

And then the other problem is, if I worked on a porn site I’d have to sit there and look at porn all day while I test my code. After a while, would I still be able to maintain normal, healthy relationships while viewing porn 40 hours a week? Or would it eventually seep into my brain and affect the way I act?

So, after thinking it all over, it’d be damn tempting but I’d probably turn it down. Guess I’ll have to come up with an alternate plan to escape from Cubicle World.

As I was surfing through the comments on Thaddeus Matthews’ blog, I came across a link to this CafePress store that sells T-shirts about Memphis politics.

A few of my favorites:

• “Memphis: Our officials have more baby mamas than yours”
• “Welcome to Memphis. Hold on to your purse”
• “Memphis Elections: (rows and rows of tombstones) At least they voted”
• “I went to Memphis to visit Graceland, the FedExForum, Elmwood, the Peabody, and Beale Street, and all I got was robbed”

Hilarious. Best Memphis-themed T-shirt store I’ve seen online.

Local political blogger Thaddeus Matthews has been covering the downfall of Councilmen Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford and businessman Joe Cooper since the story broke. I’ve checked Matthews’ blog occasionally in the past, but I must say I have gotten downright addicted to it over the weekend.

Matthews has a lot to say, and at times it’s up to the reader to separate what is fact from what is gossip/hearsay in his blog (especially in the comments that are left), but there’s no doubt that it’s an interesting read. And give the man his due – over a year ago in the aftermath of the E-Cycle scandal, he was saying that more officials would be brought down on charges of public corruption – and he was right.

Furthermore, he’s saying that we’re still not done. He’s hinted that Peete and Ford could flip and become government informants themselves, leading to other indictments. Ya know what, I wouldn’t be surprised if Matthews is right. I don’t have any particular names in mind when I say this, just a gut feeling that this investigation is going to net a BIG fish by the end of 2007.

My only other comment about the whole thing is that Rickey Peete sure has a name that lends itself to making jokes about his predicament. Tricky Rickey. Sneaky Peete. Re-Peete. Etc.

Thanks to Andy Meek of the Memphis Daily News, who saw the post I made yesterday about The National Conference for Media Reform, a convention to be held here next month. He sent me a link to a story he did on the conference last September. The story contains a lot more info on why the conference is being held, and what will happen there. Thanks Andy.

Every now and then I check my tracker, which among other things tells me how the last 20 visitors found my blog.

Just looked at it a few minutes ago and there was a hit from one of the guests at the Peabody. Well, I assume it was one of the guests and not one of the employees, but who knows. Anyway, this person found my blog by searching for “downtown, memphis, hookers.”

Now we know what people visiting downtown are really looking for. I’ve told some of you that I have a new Downtown Memphis-themed website scheduled to roll out in the spring. Maybe I should add a section on where to find hookers.

Found this while surfing the Memphis Flyer website… there will be a convention called The National Conference For Media Reform in downtown Memphis the weekend of January 12-14. They have some big-name speakers lined up, including Jane Fonda, Bill Moyers, Jesse Jackson, and Phil Donahue. The major topics include media policy; media literacy, critique and accountability; independent and noncommercial media; civil rights, social justice and the media; and media reform activism.

The conference is open to anyone with an interest in the subject matter. It’s kind of expensive to attend – the regular registration fee is $195. However, bloggers can apply for credentials which will get them in for $75, and there are also volunteer opportunities and scholarships available.

Here’s a complete list of topics and speakers. They also have a blog which is where they post updates about the conference.

Don’t know if I’ll go, but if anyone planning on attending the conference is reading this, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about Downtown Memphis. Just e-mail ’em to me.

All right. I know why people REALLY read my blog. It isn’t because they want to know what’s going on downtown. It isn’t because they want to read about which restaurants have hired Romanian waitresses or what the bums are drinking or what statues the pigeons are crapping on.

No, the real reason people read my blog is because they want to see pictures of CARMEL in a TUBE TOP. And it’s time to give my readers what they want. So here ya go.

Here are a few more select scenes from the evening:

This is what success looks like.

Team member Skippy emphatically makes a point.

Mike prepares to unveil his plate.

Someone used up almost the entire tab ordering expensive Chimays. No, wait, that was Rapscallion Party I.

Oh, no!

Click here to view the entire photo album (125 photos). Congratulations to Mike on reaching the 200 milestone and getting his plate on the wall. I can’t believe we drank $370 worth of beer. Wait a minute, yes I can. Thanks to our Beer Goddess, Amy, for taking such great care of us, and for inventing new and tasty beer mixers for us to try. Thanks to Mikey the Camera Nazi for snapping most of these pics. No thanks to Blogger, whose photo upload module was being a bitch, adding an additional 40 minutes to the time it took me to create this post.

Arkansas vs. Florida for the SEC championship today at 5:00. Go Hogs!

Happy Friday and happy December! I’m sitting here in the Second Street branch office, where they now have their seasonal Christmas beers in stock. I remember Young’s Winter Warmer from last year – had a really unique, delicious, fruity taste (raisins?), although it tasted a lot different on draft than it did in bottles. Other new beers – Abita Christmas (draft), Rudolph’s Revenge (bottle), Bad Elf (bottle). Next time I see local beer expert Mike W. I’ll ask if he can recommend some Christmas beers for me to try. I have a feeling I’ll see him soon.

In today’s Memphis Business Journal, it was announced that the Lawrence Building at 60-62 S. Main will be redeveloped as apartments rather than condos. The developers explained that there is more of a need for rental units in the area than condos. This is one of several signs I’ve seen the past 30 days that the condo market downtown is indeed becoming oversaturated. I’ve seen a couple of other units around downtown that have been repriced at closer to their fair value, whereas six months ago they were priced at a 20-30% premium. There are still plenty of units that are way overpriced, so I don’t think the bubble has burst yet, but it has started.

Last week I mentioned that I bought two Polartec 200 fleece jackets and two windbreaker v-neck shirts from Cabelas, a hunting and fishing store. They arrived a couple of days ago, and since it’s windy and 30 outside I decided to layer – one of the new fleece jackets over one of the new windbreaker shirts over a long-sleeve T-shirt. When I walked the three blocks from my parking garage to the Second Street branch office, I was completely warm – the freezing wind didn’t make any headway through the layers. My heavy black leather jacket, which I normally wear at these temperatures, is at home in the closet. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s probably at home on the floor – I am a single guy after all. Anyway, I highly recommend you check out Cabelas if you need some comfortable and nice looking winter wear.

By the way, the Polartec 200 fleece is considered their mid-weight fleece – they have a Polartec 300 that is even heavier. Currently the fleece jackets (the 200s) are on sale for $19.99 for regular sizes, and so are the windbreaker shirts if you buy two.

Another purchase that worked out well is the HP Photosmart C3180 all-in-one (printer, copier, scanner) that I bought last month at Amazon.com. I have now used all its features, and it prints out beautiful looking documents (both B/W and color, both documents and copies) and it does an outstanding job scanning as well. Amazon currently has it for $79.99. One reviewer comments that the difference in document quality is negligible between this machine and ones in the $250-300 price range. Another reviewer writes that it drinks ink – I haven’t noticed that to be the case, but then again I haven’t printed a ton of documents yet on this machine. Highly recommeded based on what I have seen.

Today, December 1, is National Day or Union Day in Romania. On this day in 1918 the region of Transylvania (formerly part of Austria-Hungary) became part of Romania. Transylvania had always been majority Romanian in its ethnic makeup anyway, and one of the reasons Romania entered World War I on the side of the allies was to add the region to its territory. You know, tourists go over there to look for vampires… if I went there, my attitude would be, “Who cares about the vampires… where are the GIRLS?”

My plans for this weekend: Keeping them quiet for now, but there will probably be a new photo album online after it’s all said and done. Whatever you do, have fun and stay warm!

BREAKING NEWS: Councilmen Rickey Peete, Edmund Ford, and businessman Joe Cooper indicted on federal charges – bribery for the councilmen, money laundering for Cooper. Click here for more info

I’ve read that it’s bad to throw computer equipment in the trash – instead, it should be taken someplace where it can be properly recycled. Question – does anyone know where in Memphis to take this stuff? I have an old monitor and two non-working printers sitting around the apartment, and I’m sick of looking at them and want to get rid of them. I’d prefer to do it the environmentally friendly way but I’m not sure what that is…

Mpact Memphis is having several meetings in December to plan its agenda for next year. For those of you not familiar with the organization, it’s a group of people, generally 21-40, who have come together to meet each other, to promote the city, and to work on projects to make the city a better place and to get other people in the 21-40 age range involved. I used to be a very active member of Mpact, but a little over a year ago they restructured the organization and picked a boring (although worthwhile) theme – financial literacy – as their central focus. It drove a lot of their members away, and now they’re getting back to the way things used to be. Mpact was a whole lot of fun in the 2002-04 era and if they can recapture that magic, I’m all for it.

There are two committee meetings I will probably attend. One is the Social Committee, which will meet Monday, December 4 at Side Street Grill (2078 Monroe) from 6 to 7 pm. That committee will plan fun events that will allow members to come together, socialize, and (god I hate this word but everyone uses it) network with each other. In the past they have planned happy hours, wine tastings, cooking classes, and all kinds of fun things. If you’d like to have a hand in planning those events (or if you have ideas of your own), please come out!

The other is the Promote Memphis committee meeting, which will take place Thursday, December 14 at Davis-Kidd Bookstore (378 S. Perkins) from 6 to 7 pm. Back in ’02-’04 when I was a member of this committee (committees were called “pillars” then) they hosted an intern program so corporate interns from other cities would get to see Memphis and meet locals; they hosted a program for college students teaching them how to network and find jobs; they created programs to showcase local art and music; they created an information packet for new Memphians. Hopefully they won’t narrow their focus to “what can we do to help Memphis corporations recruit and retain talent?” as they did toward the end of the Promote Memphis Pillar’s run in ’05 – I think there’s a lot more to promoting the city than simply asking how we can help corporations find and keep talented people. Anyway, I’ve had a lot of fun on this committee over the years, and look forward to re-joining it.

Couple of other committee meetings which I probably won’t attend but they may be of interest to you: A group will be meeting at Celtic Crossing (South Cooper at Oliver) this Sunday, Dec. 3 from 3-4 pm to plan Mpact’s annual party and fundraiser. Mpact has consistent hit it out of the ballpark with their annual parties and I’m excited to see what they come up with for 2007. Another group will be meeting at the Memphis BioWorks Foundation (20 S. Dudley, suite 900) to plan membership benefits for next year – for example, soliciting local restaurants and businesses to give discounts when an Mpact membership card is presented.

If any of this sounds like something you’d like to get involved in or hear more about, please come out, even if you’re not a current Mpact member. They’re rebuilding the organization and your input would be appreciated.

Hmmm… I have a suggestion for the Promote Memphis committee… “The Memphis Orientation Program for Hot Romanian College Students”… now that’s a program I would be happy to chair. We could hold the orientation sessions at my apartment to keep expenses to a minimum. I have lots of liquor, so, open bar for our overseas guests.

Wow, I actually went two entire weeks without mentioning Romanians. That’s probably a record.

Let’s move on to the “where can I find free alcohol downtown” portion of the post. Lansky at the Peabody will have free wine and cheese tomorrow, Friday, December 1. They will also be offering 20% off on their clothing.

Mode du Jour, a clothing store at 509 S. Main, will hold their grand opening Saturday, December 2, with brunch and mimosas from 10 until noon, and wine and hors d’oeuvres from 2 to 6 in the afternoon. They’ll also be offering 15% off purchases.

The annual St. Jude marathon and half marathon is Saturday morning – so if you’re driving downtown, be aware that there may be delays or detours. Here’s the route map, if you want to know what streets to avoid, or if you want to go out and cheer the runners. Thanks to regular reader Carmel for sending a link to the map. There’s a marathon after-party at Peabody Place mall from 2 to 4 pm, so come on by for that, whether you ran or not.

That’s the news for now. Temperature has dropped from 71 to 50 since I started this post. I think I’ll stay in tonight.

Today I’m blogging from work as I eat lunch. I went to Costa Vida, a new Mexican fast-food place at Poplar and Holmes. I’m having the shredded beef enchiladas with medium sauce. As someone who lived in San Diego for a while, I know quality Mexican fast food when I taste it, and Costa Vida gets my stamp of approval. I went in wondering if I would like it better than Blue Coast Burrito, but I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re both equally good and both worth trying. Check out their menu – they have burritos, enchiladas, and tacos with your choice of sauce – hot, medium, mild, or mango. I just can’t see putting mango sauce on a burrito, but maybe it appeals to some people. Anyway, this place is definitely worth a try. If you dine in they have a big-screen TV for you to watch while you eat.

Beer recommendation: Hacker Pschorr Dunkel Weisse, a draft beer that just landed at the Flying Saucer. It’s a medium-dark wheat beer with slightly fruity (banana) flavor. Also, one of the Beer Goddesses invented a beer mix Monday night that was really good – half Hacker Pschorr Dunkel Weisse, half Avery White Rascal. Since it was invented by Amy (waitress Amy, not bartender Amy) we named it the “A-Team.”

Congratulations to the Rapscallions, who rolled on to another first-place victory at trivia last night, defeating Team PDA who were cheating right out in the open. Again, good triumphs over evil. We now have $270 in Saucer gift certificates, and one of our team members is having a plate party which will coincide with our gift certificate party, bringing the total to $370.

In the news: America breathes a collective sigh of relief as Bill Frist announces that he won’t run for president in ’08. Even he would be an improvement over the White House’s current occupant, but not by much. Hopefully the Republican Party will learn its lesson from the midterm elections and turn to more moderate candidates like McCain or Giuliani.

Crash Kole and Josh Lemons play Sleep Out Louie’s Friday night. Bobby Durango may be there as well, not sure as off yet.

Mayor Herenton boxes Joe Frazier tomorrow night in a charity match. With crime out of control all over the city, I have a feeling King Willie will take a much worse beating in the next mayoral election than he will in tomorrow’s bout. As someone who follows the news, I realize he’s doing what he can to fight back against crime, but it looks like he’s expending a lot more time and effort on this boxing match and I think that’s going to hurt his image in the long run.

I found a lot of good online coupons at MemphisTravel.com, which is the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website. They have discounts for most popular area attractions (theatres, museums, etc.), dining coupons for Corky’s and Maggie Moo’s, discounts for Shelton Clothiers and Memphis Magazine, and more. The site is obviously designed with visitors in mind, but I don’t see any reason why locals can’t use these coupons too.

I got an e-mail this morning from a recruiter looking to fill a MySQL database administrator position. If anyone is interested shoot me an e-mail and I’ll forward the contact info to you.

That’s all for now – time to finish my enchiladas and get back to work.