Extra gravy, a yellow dinosaur and Vagi-Care

It's Sunday, which is the day that Anthony and I make our weekly dinner and grocery shopping excursion.

Today's dinner was at Boston Market at Grant and Tanque Verde.  We've eaten here multiple times and on Sunday afternoons it's quite common that whatever restaurant we choose is empty.  That was the case again today.  I have to give props to Rudy, the guy who helped us with our order.  He gave me extra gravy for my chicken Market Bowl.  Food is always more delicious when there's an abundance of gravy.

When we were leaving, I spotted an employee at McDonald's next door painting one of the dinosaur statues a bright yellow that is outside of the restaurant.  It's obvious that the decision was made to not have that dinosaur continue to be an authentic reptile color.  Maybe that species of dinosaur suffered from extreme cases of jaundice.

The grocery shopping portion of our trip was at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at Broadway and Camino Seco.  I was able to get the usual photo assortment of odd products including wine that was labeled "Hot To Trot" (ladies who drink that will probably make their men happy) and a bin that contained the off-brand version of Vagisil called "Vagi-Care".  I turn into a 12 year old when I run across feminine products.  Anthony doesn't seem to find that sort of thing nearly as funny as I do but I don't care.  To me, it's still funny.

Dinner with Anthony (who is on the right captured with a Sneaky Photo)
at Boston Market at Grant and Tanque Verde in Tucson.
Once again, we ate in an empty restaurant.

Chicken Market Bowl at Boston Market with extra gravy on the side.
Thanks Boston Market employee Rudy for the hook up!

Center of this photo by the pickup truck:
A McDonald's employee painting a dinosaur statue.
Right after this, the dinosaur ate the employee for painting him yellow.
Om nom nom.

14 Hands "Hot To Trot" wine.
Sounds like the perfect drink to inspire making babies.
Or waking the neighbors.

Entenmann's Little Bites Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
That's a cartoon dog with the pink nose on the box.
I wonder if it would do the same thing to Lucky if he ate them.

Pop-Tarts 50th Birthday Edition Chocolate Vanilla Crème
I hope they weren't stored for 50 years and just now put on the store shelves.
It might break a tooth when you bite into one.

Blue Raspberry Campfire Mallow Bursts
Because regular marshmallows aren't sweet enough.
Or blue enough.

Hot Pockets Limited Edition Cuban Style
If Ricky Ricardo was still alive, he'd have these in his freezer.
Chick-chicky boom.

Ben and Jerry's Core ice cream has finally made it into stores.
Hazed and Confused and That's My Jam.
Sounds like a date I've had.

Oreo Fruit Punch cookies
These need to be dunked in vodka.

I asked Anthony if we need this box of Vagi-Care.
2 guys at the grocery store + feminine products = juvenile hilariousness.
Oddly enough, I put it back.

Being the second biggest clown in the joint

Anthony and I went to dinner at McDonald's tonight at Tanque Verde and Grant.  It's the dinosaur themed McD's that we live nearby.

Standing behind the front counter when we walked in was none other than Ronald McDonald!  The folks in the McDonald's marketing department do a great job at finding the right people to put on the fluffy yellow suit and makeup.  He was entertaining a little boy by playing the ukulele and making cute little jokes.  I'm a sucker for mascots so I snapped a photo.  Ronald left the restaurant right after so I didn't get the chance to get a photo with him but at least I got one while he was at the front of the restaurant.  I also got a few photos of our delicious dinner.

Now THIS is what I consider top notch entertainment to go with fine dining.

Ronald McDonald at the McDonald's front counter at Tanque Verde and Grant
He was playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for the little boy in the blue shirt.
It was one of the rare times in my life where there was a bigger clown around than me.

Anthony's chicken club sandwich at McDonald's

Here's my Bacon and Cheese Quarter Pounder
I ordered it without pickle and onion cause that's how I roll.

McDonald's still makes the world's most amazing French fries.
I'd marry them, but I'd rather eat them.
And, eating your wife is a crime... at least in this country.

This wood is dead

There is a tree next to our master bedroom balcony that has finally given up it's fight for life.

There are no green leaves on it anymore.  Today I noticed that the bark is separating from the tree and I could see a gap.  I hope that Ridgepointe management decides to cut it down before it gets too brittle or weak to stay up and just decides to fall down.  It's a pretty tall tree and would likely cause some ugly damage to a nearby building (hopefully not the one I'm in).

If for some crazy reason it falls down before it's cut down, I hope it happens while I'm home so I can at least get photos.  There's the selfish guy in me talking.

The dead tree next to the master bedroom balcony of my apartment
You can see where the bark is separating from the tree.
Termites call this "a buffet".

Dead tree looking down from the balcony

Brown leaves on the dead tree

I call this Ken Carr Photo Art "Dead Wood At Sunset"

Sprouts are sprouting

Anthony's flowers he planted on Sunday have started to sprout.  It's cute that he's so excited they're actually growing.

Here are the photos from when he planted them in their little boxes a few days ago:  Click here

All of the work that Anthony put into making flowers grow has paid off

These are from the second little box of flowers that he planted.
We're still waiting for sprouts from the third one.

My theory on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370

Being a person that works in media, I can appreciate the efforts made by the cable news networks to milk as much out of the drama of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared in March as they can.  This kind of story increases viewership. The 24 hour news channels are always desperate for audience since news ebbs and flows depending on what's going on in the world.

A good mystery generally piques the public's interest.  This story certainly has because a lot of people have flown on a plane at some point in their life and it seems inconceivable that a huge Boeing 777 jet can just vanish.  What if you boarded a flight that had the same fate?  Scary thought for some.

Depending on which day you watch CNN it's possible to get what is now a rotating set of speculation about what happened.  It ranges from mechanical failure, passengers gone rogue, pilots with malicious intent, terrorism, hijacking, you name it and it's been suggested.

I've gotten the sense that I'm in the minority with my theory because in my opinion, it's the most logical.  Most of the theories I've seen floated on television have a more sinister undertone especially since ships, planes, and satellites have searched for any trace of the plane and come up empty.  I think that there was mechanical failure to blame.  Not exactly sinister.

I read an article that was posted by Wired Magazine that offered a really solid explanation:  A electrical fire in the cockpit.  Everything that has happened -- why the plane's location devices were turned off, why it turned west, why there was no more communication from the aircraft, and a host of other events that is clearly known about what the plane did are explained in this article.  The article is written from a pilot's perspective and it offers a reasonable theory.  Read it by clicking here.

One thing this article can't accurately address is where is the plane now?  I have a feeling it didn't go as far as where they are currently searching (off the west coast of Australia).  I also think there's a shot that the plane came down intact and didn't break up when it hit the water.  If the outer skin of the plane was burned through due to a fire in the cockpit then it would have sank fairly quickly but there wouldn't be any debris to spot by satellites because everything is still inside of the plane.  If it didn't break apart then there would not be debris floating in the ocean.  It would all be contained.

It's a sad ending to over 200 lives no matter what happened.  I hope they eventually find the plane so that the families of those on board have some sort of closure and the final chapter is written so we all know the ending.  Then the news channels can go back to boring politics.