Sunday, May 31, 2015

Blue margarita and Hulk angry that kale is on pizza

It's Sunday, so it's dinner and grocery shopping day.

Dinner was at Macayo's at Broadway and Kolb. Anthony was kind enough to buy dinner (thanks Anthony!) and he had a blue margarita and mini chimichangas, and I had a carne asada burrito. It was a delicious dinner.

Grocery shopping at Walmart Market at Broadway and Camino Seco. Very uneventful except that I did find bee and wasp spray to use in an attempt to disable the bee hive in the little stone structure in front of our house. Now I just have to get up the nerve to use it. I've never had a bee sting before and I'd like to continue that streak.

It's the end of another weekend. They always go by so fast!

Anthony's blue margarita
at Macayo's

Anthony's blue margarita
photo bombed by a nearly
empty restaurant.
Sundays are a great night
to go out if you don't
care for crowds.

Anthony drinks his blue margarita

My half eaten carne asada burrito.
I forgot to shoot a picture
before I started eating it.

California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza
at Walmart Neighborhood Market.
KALE ON PIZZA?!!
This should be illegal.

The Hulk on a Corn Flakes box.
Hulk angry that Kale is a
pizza topping.
You won't like Hulk
when he's angry.

Meet Me Downtown 5k 2015

Once in a while I like to try something I've never done before. I figure that if I don't try new things before I'm dead that it will be much more difficult to attempt when I'm six feet under in a box without a shovel to dig myself out of a grave.

Yesterday's new thing was participating in the Meet Me Downtown 5k night run and walk. I've never had a lick of athletic ability so the run part was not going to happen, but I did take a crack at the walking part.

Heather, one of the hosts of the TV show, put together a little team of people from the show and TV station as well as a co-worker of her's from the Gaslight Theatre -- along with a few significant others. Heather arranged to get matching shirts made for all of us and we looked like a real team.

I've walked that far a few times in my life but it's been years. I'm not that far from 50 years old and figured there were a number of possibilities that would be the outcome of participating: I'd have a heart attack and die, I'd be so awesome that out of our group I'd be the only one that finished, a giant meteor would strike the event route and I'd be the only one there with a camera and get photos that I could sell for millions, or the most likely outcome would be that I would finish it pretty effortlessly (along with my teammates) and be able to say I did it. That's exactly what happened.

The side note for this -- is that yesterday was the first 100 degree day we've had in Tucson this year. It increased the difficulty level slightly but other than my legs being a little stiff in the last mile I did just fine and had no problems. It would have been more fun if a meteor had landed so I would have an epic story to tell, but it wasn't meant to be.

The complete set of photos that I shot can be seen by clicking this link. Here are a few highlights:

Start / finish line in front of the
Children's Museum Tucson
about an hour before the
Meet Me Downtown 5k
was scheduled to start

People getting massages.
Woman on the table on the left
looks like she was waiting
to be mounted.

Tucson's finest providing security
for the event across from the
San Carlos Apartments

Calm before the storm...
looking north on 6th Avenue

Lawn in front of the
Children's Museum Tucson

Cool sign on a 6th Avenue building
near Armory Park

Food trucks

My teammates begin to arrive.
Tina, Brin, Alex, and Jacinda

Of course there's a beer garden
at a fitness related event.

The Morning Blend team assembles:
Brin, Alex, Tina, Jacinda,
Heather, Aaron, Summer

Alex chats with Daniela
of the Children's Museum Tucson

Participants of the kid's run line up
at the starting line

Children's Museum Tucson was one of
the beneficiaries of the funds raised
from the Meet Me Downtown 5k

The Educational Enrichment Foundation
was another beneficiary.
That's Randy Accetta of the Southern
Arizona Roadrunners in the
yellow hat.

The kid's run gets underway.
It was a one mile course and
if I could have gotten away with it
I would have participated
in that instead.

About 3000 runners and walkers
participated in this event.
Photo of the crowd as the
sun sets on a hot day.

Heather winks, everyone else
waits to get started

We get in position

I brought up the rear of our team
so I could get a photo of
their rears.

Behind Greg, Heather, Summer and Aaron
one block into the course

Action photo of the participants
behind me.
In case you're wondering, they
all passed me shortly after this
photo was taken.
I'm slow.

A few folks in the downtown neighborhoods
sprayed people to keep them cool
as they went by.

Tucson Firefighters going by.
Yes, they also passed me.
I'm slow.

Another squirter

A squirter behind a fence

Heather dances in the water

I finally know where KY is made.

"Ugly But Honest"
That should be my slogan.

We made it one mile!
Woooooooooo!

Live music performed at various
locations throughout the course.

I tried one of these cups of water.
Best described as "warm"

Ken Carr Photo Art:
I call this "Four guys on a roof"

Tucson has drive thru liquor stores.
Here's one of them.

One block from finishing the 5k.
Wooooooooooooooooo!

Summer and Aaron lead the charge
to the finish line

If you pretend you're running at
the end of a 5k, will anyone
believe it?

Waiting for noodles
at a food truck

This food truck had a flat screen TV
showing sports.
In unrelated news, this guy is missing
a shirt and I was worried he'd catch
a cold in the chilly 95 degree
night air.
I asked him, he said he was ok.
I tried to be helpful.

Table in the beer garden.
Runners / walkers are apparently
a thirsty group of people.

Tina, Alex, Greg sitting on a chair,
and Heather pose for a photo

Team Morning Blend at the
Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run and Walk
We did it!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

The buzz at the Ken Carr World Headquarters

The buzz this week at the Ken Carr World Headquarters is from.... bees.

I was doing yard work at my house over the weekend and noticed bees going in and out of a hole in one of the little stone structures that is out by the front sidewalk.

I finally got around to shooting a couple of photos today of the bees in action. I'm making the assumption that there is some sort of hive. I haven't decided whether to go to the store and buy some bee killing stuff and try to shoot it in there or whether to hire a bee removal company to get rid of them. The cost conscious part of me is leaning toward the attempt at doing it on the cheap, then buying something (foam maybe? or chewing gum?) to plug the hole.

Our landlord (Anthony's mom) said she'd pay to have someone come and deal with it, but I hate to waste her money if I can take care of it on the cheap. Saving money always trumps personal safety in my world.

While I ponder how adventurous I am willing to be, here are the photos:

Bees going in and out of that hole
in the middle of the rocks

I don't like you.
Can't you just go away?

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Chickens on TV

One of the guests we had on today's TV show was a company called Rent The Chicken.

Rent The Chicken does exactly that. You pay a subscription-like monthly fee and you get two chickens, a coop, feed, and instructions for how to care for the chickens. The chickens then lay eggs and you get to enjoy straight from the chicken fresh eggs at home.

I booked them because I thought it would be awesome to have chickens on the show. Animals are always a hit for us -- we've recently had a kangaroo, penguins, an owl, a rolling pigeon, a mini-horse, goat, dogs, and now the chickens.

The hosts also held two chicks and their reactions were awesome.


Two chickens waiting for their
turn to be on TV.

Chatting with Homestead Jenn and
Homestead Greg from
Rent The Chicken

Holy crap!
I'm holding a baby chick!

What do you get when a chicken lays an egg on top of a barn?
An eggroll!