Traffic Laws Photo Enforced

I got home from work last night and spotted this sign next to the entrance at Ridgepointe.

I thought for a moment it was one of those annoying political campaign signs that someone forgot to take down.  I realized it was a warning for the photo enforcement van parked half a block down the street.

The Tucson Police Department frequently parks a photo radar van on Pima Street near where I live.  Apparently people drive a little too fast there.  The speed limit in that area is 35 mph.  But, if you aren't an idiot, you'll keep your speed under 10 mph over that and the photo radar van won't take your picture.

They put out this silly sign.  And yet, some people still get tickets.  I don't get it.

Traffic Laws Photo Enforced sign on Pima Street in Tucson
They should put a hot naked person next to the sign... that would slow down traffic.

Meeting Tora Woloshin

Tora Woloshin, who made it into the top ten girls on the X-Factor TV show, was a guest today on the Morning Blend.

She was super nice, and politely laughed at my jokes.  That's all I could have asked for.

Tora is also a very talented singer and it was awesome to have her on to perform her single "Guns and Roses" along with doing a cover of a Jackson Five song.

She was also kind enough to pose with me for a photo.

Ken Carr and Tora Woloshin
I thought I was clever in this photo.
Yeah, not so much.
(It also appears that I was grabbing onto the plasma TV so I wouldn't fall down... that is very likely).

Cheeseburger, donut, french fries, margarine and soda

One of the adventures in producing the TV show I work on:  Receiving pitches for segments.

I talked to a woman today who said that she's some sort of holistic health coach.  I find this sort of thing ridiculous, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't go on the show occasionally.  I throw my own beliefs out the window when it comes to work.  But, I have to wade through lots of pitches for these types of books and segments to get to a few I think viewers would find interesting.

The holistic health coach e-mailed me a document with the headline:  "5 foods Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Clinton would never eat during the holidays... and neither should you."

The five foods listed are:  cheeseburgers, donuts, french fries, margarine and soda.

I looked up the website associated with this coach and she wears so much makeup its scary.  That was enough to not want to book this guest.  Then, there's the part that really bothered me:  All five of the foods named are among my favorite foods (except for margarine, I am okay with real butter).

I'm sorry holistic health coach, you may have to find another TV show to appear on.  I don't trust what you're selling... unless you bring me donuts, a cheeseburger with fries, and a Diet Coke.  Then I'll reconsider.

Accident: Bicyclist struck by car on Ridgeway near Pima Street

The citizen journalist in me kicked up for a few minutes tonight.

I heard sirens outside of my apartment just after 7 p.m. (it would have been weirder if they were inside of my apartment!) and they sounded close.  I looked out the west windows and could see a reflection of red and blue lights so I knew some sort of emergency vehicles were either at Ridgepointe (where I live) or very close.

I grabbed my camera and headed out the door in case there was something to photograph.

It turned out that someone riding a bicycle was struck by a car near Pima on Ridgeway.  It looked like the car had been heading south and the bicyclist landed on the other side of the street.  It was difficult to tell.  However, I didn't see until Anthony and I went to Petsmart later to get Lucky dog food that the Honda that hit the bicycle had a smashed windshield and had to be towed away.

I hope the bicyclist will be okay.



Bicyclist accident at Pima Street and Ridgeway.
View from the parking lot of Ridgepointe Apartments.

Tucson Fire Department paramedics working on the victim.
The bicycle is to the right of where they're standing.

View looking over the wall of the apartment complex.
Bicycle is the shiny thing on the right.
The Honda that hit the bicycle is to the right of the ambulance out of the frame.

10,000 Twitter followers

Ten thousand followers on Twitter.  I reached that milestone today.

There's a footnote to the story:  Its a combination of followers from two accounts (@kencarr which has 2,717 followers and @whatsuptucson which has 7,289 followers).  But, they're both mine so I added them together for a total as of this writing of 10,006.

I remember when I first signed up for Twitter in 2008.  I was teased by my co-workers at Journal.  They thought it was amusing that I was so excited.  I really thought it had a good shot of taking off.  I was on Twitter before anyone ever reached a million followers (that honor went to Ashton Kutcher).  It turned out my hunch was right and Twitter is a huge communications platform these days.

I am proud to say that I have more followers than most people working in local Tucson media.  And, when you combine my two Twitter accounts I have more followers than any local media outlet (TV, newspaper, or radio station) and @whatsuptucson has more followers than 2 of the 3 local TV news departments.  That's why I consider it an accomplishment.  Especially since I'm no longer an on-air personality anymore.

If you are kind enough to follow me on Twitter, thank you.  Due to your generosity, I've reached a goal that has been years in the making.