11 ms·

The man who bought Pine Bluff, Arkansas

143 points by Fraterkes 4y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago
Answered many of the questions I had after reading the original comment. Great journalism :).
- 1270018080 4y ago
  My question was either mental illness or we're not getting the full story. I think that got answered.
  - aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
    May I ask which way?
    - throwaway_4ever 4y ago
      It's not so much mental illness (edit: NVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec and https://youtu.be/eGEISS89Vec?t=26 https://youtu.be/eGEISS89Vec?t=26 ) as it is delusions of grandeur and a mid-life crisis (sorry pontifier). He's proposed 10 entirely different uses for the warehouse (go karts, makerspace, fusion reactor, corporate office, science museum, etc.). He's not paying professionals to get up to code so he can get permits. He doesn't have the money to pay for security (that size would need 6 people, $50k/year, $300k/year). He's still buying more property and imagining huge parties and living in it like a penthouse suite. He mistakenly thought the purchase price was all you need, and you're in business. But you need way more capital to attempt fusion (what?). You need to invest a huge amount into building codes, security, and focus on one project at a time.
      - aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
        My favorite is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec It's like this person is experiencing a manic episode or something.
phpnode 4y ago
I've been reading this site for 13 years and I think pontifier's original post is my all time favourite HN comment. It's perfect in so many ways, and the fusion reactor is the icing on the cake. I think this might be the peak of hacker news.
- elicash 4y ago
  I wish the article had more on the fusion reactor than just the bullet point at the very end, but I suppose they would have needed to interview more people. This was a great read.
  - Kiro 4y ago
    Yeah, me too. I recommend visiting the page of Deuterium Deuterium Periodically Returning Orbit Fusion: http://www.ddprofusion.com/ http://www.ddprofusion.com/
- NonNefarious 4y ago
  He doesn't mention the reactor in the original comment, at least not as it's presented here...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
cooldrcool3 4y ago
I live close to Pine Bluff, definitely not a place a would attempt to start a business of this sort.
- runevault 4y ago
  I worked there for 2.5 years before escaping the state finally. Not a place I'd want to live (I commuted a long distance each way instead).
  - RickJWagner 4y ago
    'Escaping the state' is grossly unfair to most of beautiful Arkansas. I've lived in 8 states and think the Natural State compares well. (Especially NW Arkansas, which is wildly developing yet still home to world class biking, hiking and outdoor life.)
aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
Even the turbomolecular pump for the fusion reactor?!
sdeep27 4y ago
Really enjoyed this read. As someone who has had similar daydream fantasies - maybe not to this scale - it's interesting to see all the ways it can backfire. It also definitely got me thinking about ways he could be dealing with local bureaucracy a bit better (even if the bureaucracy is clearly in the wrong.)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
f0e4c2f7 4y ago
This was a great follow up to an already great comment. I almost posted this as a comment to the original post so I'll post it now in the event Pontifier reads this. Strange as it may sound, I think the most efficient path if you did want to continue would be running for city government.
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
  Or hire a security guard. I kept waiting for that to be mentioned, but it never was.
  - nwsm 4y ago
    It really doesn't seem like he's interested in spending money on anything but assets. He needs to hire someone who can direct his energy in a productive direction and create some structure for at least one of his ideas.
- TigeriusKirk 4y ago
  At least try to find a local attorney you can trust to represent your interests and who can help you navigate all the obstacles. The usual problems you find in any town and the ones local to Pine Bluff in particular. I'd also try to find some way to get some state-level advocates who could help with development grants or special innovation zones or whatever they can do.
a_c 4y ago
This guy's optimism is off the chart.
- allenu 4y ago
  No kidding. If only he could bottle that up and sell it! If something goes wrong in one of my projects, I start thinking about giving up, but this guy doubles down. He seems like one of those crazy business tycoons you read about from, say, 150 years ago that ended up becoming an oil magnate, except in his case, not quite so successful.
  - a_c 4y ago
    Indeed. I wish pontifier the best of luck
- nwsm 4y ago
  Always having money for the next venture will do that to you.
ramesh31 4y ago
Location location location. Cheap land is cheap for a reason. And true arbitrage in real estate is generally a stroke of luck, more-so than something that can be sought out by scouring the country for "deals". Where it can be done, it relies on intensive long term local knowledge, i.e. why real estate agents are still a thing.
runevault 4y ago
Oh man reading this he mentions permitting issues. Software I supported was used by that part of the city and/or county government at one point. 15 years ago now so I doubt anyone I met is still there but wow this is taking me back.
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
> “The Overconfident Optimist and His Ill-Advised DIY Project.” OK, MaxRead, if you're reading this I'd suggest a similar investigation into Bill Gates. The other Bill Gates. He of Midnight Engineering magazine "fame." Midnight Engineering was a great magazine about engineers starting their own businesses while working 9-5. And it was pretty damn good. Until he decided to buy an entire printing press for pennies on the dollar, truck it from Florida to Colorado and set it up in a warehouse so he could run it, alone, to print the magazine. No, he had never run a printing plant before! The magazine's print quality declined far enough after he did this (CMYK registration was so bad it gave me headaches) that I let my subscription expire, but I always wondered what happened to him after that. My guess is that he was overtaken by the rise of the Web and lost subscribers, but it could be a good story either way.
- TigeriusKirk 4y ago
  My favorite part of Midnight Engineering was his column on setting up his printing press. I loved it for the reality of the struggle. All the obstacles and setbacks, spelled out for everyone to see.
criddell 4y ago
This is so bizarre it could be a movie. Look at pontifier's YouTube channel to see the warehouse, videos of break-ins, and the conflicts he has with his tennant. https://www.youtube.com/user/pontifier/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/pontifier/videos
abetusk 4y ago
This is internet content at its finest. Why did this fall off the front page so quick? Was it flagged?
Kiro 4y ago
I replied (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32468137 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32468137) to the original comment that I would like to see a documentary on him (which he didn't seem to oppose), and this article just makes me want it more.
threatofrain 4y ago
Some videos from his YT channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXTjIpWdXk0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXTjIpWdXk0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec
ChrisArchitect 4y ago
so crazy and unhinged. Kept wondering where he got all the money from? Something about a patent? Just seems so deliusional and like unadjusted to how the real world works
isx726552 4y ago
> “People have come to the tent and put a gun in my face at one point, back in 2020 -- while I was waiting for this stuff to happen -- and my dad shot at them, and they ran away. I've got an audio recording of that.” (He does; it’s available on his Soundcloud; I can’t say I recommend listening to it.) Curiosity got the better of me and I went and listened to it, available here: https://soundcloud.com/john-fenley/shots-fired-in-pine-bluff https://soundcloud.com/john-fenley/shots-fired-in-pine-bluff It’s pretty wild. I can’t say if someone were robbing me at gunpoint I’d be arguing with them like he did (“Get that gun out of my face!”).
nwsm 4y ago
As an Arkansas native I predicted the outcome of his idea for a hybrid maker space / amusement park in Pine Bluff run by someone with no knowledge of or interest in the community. There's some sick sense of satisfaction from watching ideas that should fail, fail. But of course we can't be sure unless someone actually does the thing, as he puts it. I still manage to like him - I about spit out my coffee watching the message to Disney. My only real gripe with him is grossly mishandling the Murfie customer data. I'm interested if the HN exposure can glean a review of his proposed nuclear reactor.
- myhumbleopinion 4y ago
  “grossly mishandling the Murfie customer data“. Yep!
RickJWagner 4y ago
I live less than an hour from Pine Bluff. They have an awesome annual holiday light display, but little else that's good. Crime and Poverty seem entrenched. I wish there was some program that could bring in enough jobs and money to bootstrap a recovery, but I'm not sure such a thing exists.
rasz 4y ago
Reminds me of 'The Mosquito Coast' (1986) movie, except remote Caribbean island was replaced by Arkansas :o

143 points by Fraterkes 4y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago

Answered many of the questions I had after reading the original comment. Great journalism :).

1270018080 4y ago
My question was either mental illness or we're not getting the full story. I think that got answered.
- aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
  May I ask which way?
  - throwaway_4ever 4y ago
    It's not so much mental illness (edit: NVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec and https://youtu.be/eGEISS89Vec?t=26 https://youtu.be/eGEISS89Vec?t=26 ) as it is delusions of grandeur and a mid-life crisis (sorry pontifier). He's proposed 10 entirely different uses for the warehouse (go karts, makerspace, fusion reactor, corporate office, science museum, etc.). He's not paying professionals to get up to code so he can get permits. He doesn't have the money to pay for security (that size would need 6 people, $50k/year, $300k/year). He's still buying more property and imagining huge parties and living in it like a penthouse suite. He mistakenly thought the purchase price was all you need, and you're in business. But you need way more capital to attempt fusion (what?). You need to invest a huge amount into building codes, security, and focus on one project at a time.
    - aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
      My favorite is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec It's like this person is experiencing a manic episode or something.

phpnode 4y ago

I've been reading this site for 13 years and I think pontifier's original post is my all time favourite HN comment. It's perfect in so many ways, and the fusion reactor is the icing on the cake. I think this might be the peak of hacker news.

elicash 4y ago
I wish the article had more on the fusion reactor than just the bullet point at the very end, but I suppose they would have needed to interview more people. This was a great read.
- Kiro 4y ago
  Yeah, me too. I recommend visiting the page of Deuterium Deuterium Periodically Returning Orbit Fusion: http://www.ddprofusion.com/ http://www.ddprofusion.com/
NonNefarious 4y ago
He doesn't mention the reactor in the original comment, at least not as it's presented here...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

cooldrcool3 4y ago

I live close to Pine Bluff, definitely not a place a would attempt to start a business of this sort.

runevault 4y ago
I worked there for 2.5 years before escaping the state finally. Not a place I'd want to live (I commuted a long distance each way instead).
- RickJWagner 4y ago
  'Escaping the state' is grossly unfair to most of beautiful Arkansas. I've lived in 8 states and think the Natural State compares well. (Especially NW Arkansas, which is wildly developing yet still home to world class biking, hiking and outdoor life.)

aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago

Even the turbomolecular pump for the fusion reactor?!

sdeep27 4y ago

Really enjoyed this read. As someone who has had similar daydream fantasies - maybe not to this scale - it's interesting to see all the ways it can backfire. It also definitely got me thinking about ways he could be dealing with local bureaucracy a bit better (even if the bureaucracy is clearly in the wrong.)

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

f0e4c2f7 4y ago

This was a great follow up to an already great comment. I almost posted this as a comment to the original post so I'll post it now in the event Pontifier reads this. Strange as it may sound, I think the most efficient path if you did want to continue would be running for city government.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
Or hire a security guard. I kept waiting for that to be mentioned, but it never was.
- nwsm 4y ago
  It really doesn't seem like he's interested in spending money on anything but assets. He needs to hire someone who can direct his energy in a productive direction and create some structure for at least one of his ideas.
TigeriusKirk 4y ago
At least try to find a local attorney you can trust to represent your interests and who can help you navigate all the obstacles. The usual problems you find in any town and the ones local to Pine Bluff in particular. I'd also try to find some way to get some state-level advocates who could help with development grants or special innovation zones or whatever they can do.

a_c 4y ago

This guy's optimism is off the chart.

allenu 4y ago
No kidding. If only he could bottle that up and sell it! If something goes wrong in one of my projects, I start thinking about giving up, but this guy doubles down. He seems like one of those crazy business tycoons you read about from, say, 150 years ago that ended up becoming an oil magnate, except in his case, not quite so successful.
- a_c 4y ago
  Indeed. I wish pontifier the best of luck
nwsm 4y ago
Always having money for the next venture will do that to you.

ramesh31 4y ago

Location location location. Cheap land is cheap for a reason. And true arbitrage in real estate is generally a stroke of luck, more-so than something that can be sought out by scouring the country for "deals". Where it can be done, it relies on intensive long term local knowledge, i.e. why real estate agents are still a thing.

runevault 4y ago

Oh man reading this he mentions permitting issues. Software I supported was used by that part of the city and/or county government at one point. 15 years ago now so I doubt anyone I met is still there but wow this is taking me back.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

> “The Overconfident Optimist and His Ill-Advised DIY Project.” OK, MaxRead, if you're reading this I'd suggest a similar investigation into Bill Gates. The other Bill Gates. He of Midnight Engineering magazine "fame." Midnight Engineering was a great magazine about engineers starting their own businesses while working 9-5. And it was pretty damn good. Until he decided to buy an entire printing press for pennies on the dollar, truck it from Florida to Colorado and set it up in a warehouse so he could run it, alone, to print the magazine. No, he had never run a printing plant before! The magazine's print quality declined far enough after he did this (CMYK registration was so bad it gave me headaches) that I let my subscription expire, but I always wondered what happened to him after that. My guess is that he was overtaken by the rise of the Web and lost subscribers, but it could be a good story either way.

TigeriusKirk 4y ago
My favorite part of Midnight Engineering was his column on setting up his printing press. I loved it for the reality of the struggle. All the obstacles and setbacks, spelled out for everyone to see.

criddell 4y ago

This is so bizarre it could be a movie. Look at pontifier's YouTube channel to see the warehouse, videos of break-ins, and the conflicts he has with his tennant. https://www.youtube.com/user/pontifier/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/pontifier/videos

abetusk 4y ago

This is internet content at its finest. Why did this fall off the front page so quick? Was it flagged?

Kiro 4y ago

I replied (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32468137 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32468137) to the original comment that I would like to see a documentary on him (which he didn't seem to oppose), and this article just makes me want it more.

threatofrain 4y ago

Some videos from his YT channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXTjIpWdXk0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXTjIpWdXk0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKDRbk97Ec

ChrisArchitect 4y ago

so crazy and unhinged. Kept wondering where he got all the money from? Something about a patent? Just seems so deliusional and like unadjusted to how the real world works

isx726552 4y ago

> “People have come to the tent and put a gun in my face at one point, back in 2020 -- while I was waiting for this stuff to happen -- and my dad shot at them, and they ran away. I've got an audio recording of that.” (He does; it’s available on his Soundcloud; I can’t say I recommend listening to it.) Curiosity got the better of me and I went and listened to it, available here: https://soundcloud.com/john-fenley/shots-fired-in-pine-bluff https://soundcloud.com/john-fenley/shots-fired-in-pine-bluff It’s pretty wild. I can’t say if someone were robbing me at gunpoint I’d be arguing with them like he did (“Get that gun out of my face!”).

nwsm 4y ago

As an Arkansas native I predicted the outcome of his idea for a hybrid maker space / amusement park in Pine Bluff run by someone with no knowledge of or interest in the community. There's some sick sense of satisfaction from watching ideas that should fail, fail. But of course we can't be sure unless someone actually does the thing, as he puts it. I still manage to like him - I about spit out my coffee watching the message to Disney. My only real gripe with him is grossly mishandling the Murfie customer data. I'm interested if the HN exposure can glean a review of his proposed nuclear reactor.

myhumbleopinion 4y ago
“grossly mishandling the Murfie customer data“. Yep!

RickJWagner 4y ago

I live less than an hour from Pine Bluff. They have an awesome annual holiday light display, but little else that's good. Crime and Poverty seem entrenched. I wish there was some program that could bring in enough jobs and money to bootstrap a recovery, but I'm not sure such a thing exists.

rasz 4y ago

Reminds me of 'The Mosquito Coast' (1986) movie, except remote Caribbean island was replaced by Arkansas :o