Lucky frolics while Ken watches

It seems I have actually done something right for once.

Lucky has made some real progress in the last week.  He's gotten more responsive to Anthony and I.  He's also wagged his tail for the first time and has done it almost every evening when he thinks its about time to go for a long walk.  Tonight he was almost giddy.

The other interesting thing he did tonight was that he got halfway up on the couch so he could be petted.

The big change seems to be how he has responded to giving him more physical contact.  I've always petted him.  But, I decided that maybe if I got down on his level more that he might positively respond and he has.  He snuggles up and lays on his back to get a tummy scratch, he licks my ear, and if I scoot over while on the floor he moves over to lean against me.  Its really cute actually.

He still demonstrates a lot of skiddish behavior but its getting mixed in with more relaxed behavior.  I'm still not convinced he'll have a one hundred percent turnaround.  However, he seems to be doing much better with us.

In other news, while walking Lucky tonight, I discovered that Ridgepointe is a bit more crime ridden than I knew.  Keely (one of my neighbors) was telling me that an apartment was burglarized last night, at another one someone tried to open a sliding door, and several cars were burglarized in the parking lot.  I posted the damage from one of the break ins earlier today.

I've learned over the years that there is a strong likelihood that its either someone who lives in the complex already or who lives in the vicinity.  This complex has some serious lighting issues (as in lack of).  That is especially true in the parking lots where its very dark and what lighting exists is relatively dim.  I can hope it gets addressed but HSL, the company that owns the property, is notorious for poor maintenance service while charging high rents.  The only security presence I've seen here is someone who comes by to lock the swimming pool and hot tub gates at 10 p.m.  But, I am always optimistic that the best will happen... so maybe its just a set of freak occurences.

Car break in at Ridgepointe Apartments

I was leaving for work this morning and spotted a car parked near mine with glass on the ground.

A quick peek revealed a smash and grab.  I'm guessing the owner hadn't seen it yet.  The dashboard was still intact.  So, the break in artist wasn't after the stock stereo.  My theory is that something valuable was left in the backseat and an opportunistic thief helped themselves.

The lighting in that complex is hideous at night.  Lots of burned out bulbs, broken light fixtures, and its super dark in most areas.  I'm amazed it doesn't happen more often.

Here's the definition of "that sucks".

A laptop and Kleenex

I found this when I got up yesterday morning.  I thought it made for an amusing photo.

There are several possibilities:
- Someone visited a really sad website.
- Allergies / cold
- The couch needs more cushion and someone is resorting to facial tissues to add padding.

You be the judge.

I wonder if Lucky has been using the laptop late at night...

Jury duty again

I received a summons for jury duty again.  This time, it's Federal jury duty.

I have been called for jury duty in San Joaquin County, California and once in Pima County, Arizona.  Both times for county court.  This time, its the big time.

I have to report on September 8.  I was dismissed the last time because I knew too much about the case before it started.  I doubt I'll be lucky enough for that twice in a row.  I'm kind of looking forward to it because I will likely Tweet on Twitter about what's going on while I'm there so it'll be fun!

In other news, Lucky wagged his tail for the first time since we've had him.  That's 2 1/2 months!

Anthony and I were taking him for a walk and let him sniff and greet a few other dogs from neighboring apartments and he wagged in excitement.  I couldn't believe it.  He hasn't done it since then but I search for any breakthroughs that I can.

I've been trying a couple of new things with Lucky.  I have been sitting on the floor each night in the living room with him and petting and hugging him for long periods of time.  He's actually responded well to that by snuggling up and seeming happy that its happening.  I've also let neighbors pet him and let him sniff other dogs now that I'm confident that he won't suddenly attack.  I'd be liable for him hurting anyone or anything so I had to feel like he wouldn't do that.

The last bit of news for this post:  Anthony and I went to Walmart Neighborhood Market at 22nd and Craycroft on Thursday night and one of the items we purchased was Blue Bunny Red Carpet Red Velvet ice cream that also has cream cheese icing mixed in.  Its a creation of Chef Duff from the TV show Ace of Cakes.  I saw the commercial on TV and when I saw it in the store I had to buy it.

I've had one bowl of it so far and its pretty good.  Its rich, so if you're on a diet it won't help you.  It also turned my lips red (which made me feel darned sexy).  I'd recommend at least trying it.

Twitter is down and I'm suffering withdrawals

Twitter, which has been more reliable than Facebook in the last year (after years of frequent outages), is down / offline worldwide this morning.  As of this blog post (at 9:43 a.m. Tucson / Pacific time), it has been down about 30 minutes.

A bit of research indicates that Twitter engineers are working on the problem but there has been no indication as to how long they estimate it will be down.

I'm suffering withdrawals.  It isn't as fun to Facebook in the bathroom as it is to Tweet.

UPDATE: It came back just about 10:30 a.m. and has worked fine all day since then.  Three cheers for the Twitter engineers for getting it fixed fast!  The cause was two data centers that failed simultaneously.  Normally they can switch to a second one if the first has a fail and two took a dump at the same time.

What Is Lucky Thinking?

Lucky's latest thing:  He likes hiding in the bathroom.  He does it a lot when its thundering out.  Since the monsoon season has been more active than normal, that's been a frequent occurence in the last couple of weeks.

He went in there when I came home from work and I decided to see if he'd hold still for once to get some video of him.

Then, I had an idea...





Direct links to the videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLsGov2xSbs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyzbmINOISI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl2I5zSqnwo

Photos from a drive across Tucson

A trip across Tucson yesterday afternoon to play bingo at Casino Del Sol gave me the opportunity to take some random photos on the way.  That was because I convinced Anthony to drive.

This fenced off and now closed Burger King at 22nd St and Columbus is pretty much torn apart inside.
But someone working on the now closed building has a sense of humor with the drive-thru sign.

This man crossing 22nd Street is proof that the mullet is still alive and well.

'A' Mountain

Its well known that the worst drivers in southern Arizona come from here.

This person was driving like they were on a suicide mission on I-19.
Now whoever drives Arizona license plate AXE1262 has been called out.
Slow it down buddy.

Driving west on Valencia Road.
Cactus / sahuaros on the right.
Welcome to the desert.

Casino Del Sol Resort as seen driving down Valencia Road.

Scenes from a monsoon storm

Here's a video I shot and edited yesterday of scenes from my apartment balcony during yesterday's monsoon thunderstorm.  The storm was quite a rain dumper.

To access the direct link to the YouTube page this video lives on, click here.

Butt sex bingo dauber

Anthony and I went to bingo last night at Casino Del Sol.

I had to show you the dauber I chose on the bingo machine.  It's a bit naughty (if your mind works like that... and, mine does).

While we were there, someone won a $10,000 jackpot on the "VIPickem'" game.  Unfortunately, it wasn't me.

To view the direct link to the YouTube page, click here.

Monsoon rain at work

I was working in my office late this afternoon and started hearing what I thought was some rain.  Either that or it was a toilet that was running in the restroom down the hall.

It turned out to be rain.  Its supposed to be an active couple of days for monsoon storms and showers.

The office chair in this photo must be glad its under the satellite dish to stay dry.

Water dribbling from a satellite dish.
That's about the same amount of liquid I drool if I drink too much.

Ridgepointe Apartments at night

For fun last night, I decided to take a photo from the balcony in front of my front door with the ISO turned up to 6400 on my Lumix DSLR camera.

I think it looks kind of artsy.

I'm an artist dammit.

Car-B-Q

We had a car dealership on yesterday that did their segment in conjunction with one of Tucson's best butcher shops.  The car dealer's July promotion is "Car-B-Q".  They're flipping cars (like flipping houses, from your old one to an improved one) and flipping burgers.

They had some barbecue sauce labelled "Car-B-Q".  I am pretending its named after me.

I'll take a bath in it later and let you know if I become tender and delicious.

Tangy yet sweet.

Lucky ate his harness and other random news

Here are some highlights (and a lowlight or two) of the last few days:

Lucky ate his harness.  More specifically, he chewed through it... while he was wearing it.  He's tough to figure out sometimes.  He hasn't chewed anything that doesn't belong to him.  But, he has eaten holes in two beds and he's chewed through his harness.  $27 at Petsmart for a replacement plus a collar as well.  We're taking the harness off of him now when he's inside so that shouldn't be a problem again.  Its a little annoying that he does that kind of thing occasionally but I can't be too mad since he's stayed out of stuff that he shouldn't get into.

I was reminded today that I need to be careful what I eat at work.  We had a local chef on doing a cooking segment and he made this really delicious dish that I ate some of.  I won't name the restaurant because I'd like to keep my job... thank you very much.  Anyway, the food gave me a raging case of diahrrea that has lasted all day.

I posted on Facebook earlier this week asking if my FB friends would be interested in seeing me vlog.  One of my Twitter buddies, @frankiezzy, suggested a while back that I should try vlogging.  I've had video cameras for a while and occasionally post videos but have never done it with any regularity.  I had a very positive response on Facebook to the idea.  But, I felt that before I dive into a project like that I should do a little research.  Considering the work that is involved in shooting and editing something that looks halfway decent (which is roughly what my skillset in making videos allows), I want to feel confident that I can have a regular release schedule and that the content would have some level of consistency.  Most of that involves having at least a general plan to start with and if it evolves that's fine.  I may try to dive into that a bit this weekend.

I have a new neighbor that I actually know.  I was out walking Lucky after work today and we were near the parking lot and I heard someone yell my name.  A woman got out of a car and I recognized her.  Keely!  She's the daughter of a woman I worked with during my days at KRQ.  It turns out she lives in the next building over and recently moved in.  That makes three Facebook friends and two co-workers who I know that live at Ridgepointe.

I'm going to wrap this up for now because I'm writing in my home office and getting dive bombed by a fly that I apparently let into the apartment at some point tonight.  I'm not wearing a helmet so I have no way to defend myself.

Here are a couple of photos for your KENjoyment:

Lucky runs away from the camera.
This was the last night wearing his old harness before he chewed through it.
He doesn't like the Kenparazzi.

This is the TV in my office at KGUN.
The satellite feed from ABC froze yesterday afternoon and this image of a spray bottle
stayed on the screen for about five minutes.
I thought for a moment that the inside of the screen was dirty and it was being used to clean it.

Ice Cream Oreos

I find myself posting often about trips to the grocery store.  Maybe I need a more exciting life.

Anyway, if I bring a camera, I always find something new or unusual to blog about.  Last night's trip was no exception.

The folks at the Oreo cookie company continue to try creative variations of their cookies.  I found a limited edition called "Ice Cream Oreo".  It tastes like rainbow sherbet.

Rainbow sherbet ice cream Oreos.
The gayest Oreos ever made.

This clump of brown sugar tried to escape but it didn't get very far.

The Kenparazzi captures Anthony looking at spices.
I don't know what he was doing with his left hand.
Maybe the sight of nutmeg got him a bit 'excited'.

Video: Driving in a monsoon storm

Anthony and I made the trip across Tucson on Saturday to Casino Del Sol.  I had the opportunity to shoot some video with my Kodak Playsport while he drove.

Approximately halfway there we ran into a monsoon thunderstorm.

I threw together a little movie of the drive with "Staying Alive" from the Bee Gees as the soundtrack.

To view with the YouTube direct link, click here.

Shoes for School

I shot and edited this video that airs on the Morning Blend today for Shoes for School.

It may be an effort to help out my old radio station but gosh darn it, I'm a giver.

To see the video using the direct link, click here.

Fun with giant cookies

Anthony and I spent yesterday afternoon and evening at Casino Del Sol.

They had their July birthdays event.  Last year I won $50 in freeplay at that event.  This year I didn't win anything.

We stayed after the event and had an early dinner at Moby's, then played bingo.  I did win a bingo (woohoo for scoring $75!)

They have a snack bar in the bingo hall and regularly offer giant cookies.  They are not quite the size of my head but they sure seem close.

Being the pig that I am, I ate them both.  In hindsight, it was a mistake because I was up several times during the night with liquid poop.  It sure seemed like a good idea when I was eating them though.

Before I ate them, I had a little fun with the cookies for the camera.

I only have eyes.... for cookies.

Is it cold in here?
Or does it just seem like my nipples are as big as cookies.

If Mickey Mouse had cookies for ears... I would have eaten them.

I can't hear you.

Eating cookies... double fisted.

C is for cookie.
That's good enough for me.
Om nom nom.

My bingo win!
The number I won on... was O69.
How appropriate.

Shout outs from KRQ and the Tucson Weekly

Today was exciting.  I scored two awesome shout outs!

John Schuster of the Tucson Weekly wrote about "Tracking Tucson's Twitter Stars" in his Media Watch column.  He discussed local Tucson media outlets and personalities and how successful (or not successful) they were in attracting followers on their Twitter accounts.

The part he wrote about me:  "News producer Ken Carr boasts a lofty 2,500 followers. Perhaps more impressive: He's tweeted more than 31,000 times."

I've been on Twitter almost four years.  I do Tweet often.  He didn't mention my second Twitter account with more than 6,200 followers (I'm happy I was mentioned at all).  But, I was excited that I didn't look too shabby among the media outlets and personalities in Tucson on Twitter.

To read the Tucson Weekly column, click here.  For my @kencarr Twitter account, click here.  And for @whatsuptucson, click here.

Then tonight, I was walking Lucky around Ridgepointe.  We reached the back of the apartment complex and I heard music and shouting coming from the east.  I realized I was hearing Joejoe's voice, the evening disc jockey on 93.7 KRQ that I worked with until 2005.  He was doing his show live at the Teen Jam at Golf N Stuff, which is located four blocks to the east.

I sent him a Tweet letting him know while he was on the loudspeakers doing his show for the crowd that Lucky decided when Joejoe's voice and Flo Rida's "Low" came on, it was time to stop and poop.  It was a pretty funny moment.  Although I was far more amused about it than Lucky was.

Joe sent me a Tweet back along with a video.  He did a shout out!  It was awesome.

Check out the video out of the shout out by clicking here.

And Joejoe, Lucky appreciates your wonderful voice that allowed his colon to relax.  He'll sleep comfortably tonight thanks to you.

A brief shower

I packed up my stuff to head home from work today and was surprised by a quick rainstorm as I was leaving.

I don't like to get wet fully dressed (especially adding in that it was 100 degrees and it makes for a pretty uncomfortable feeling).  So, I waited for a few minutes under the cover where the TV live trucks park for the shower to subside.

While I waited, I took a photo.  See below.

I tried to take Lucky out to poop when I got home.  It had stopped raining at my apartment complex but it was still thundering.  I learned today that Lucky won't poop when it's thundering.  Normally thunder scares the shit out of someone.  In Lucky's case, it scares it back in!

I don't like rain.
It ruins my hair.

History of a fallen light post

A light post near my apartment has been a source of fascination for me this past month.

Usually these types of posts are made of metal, anchored in cement, and it would take an extremely large and clumsy person tripping and falling into it for it to fall over.

That may be what started its decline.  That will remain a mystery.  But, I have watched it slowly go down, come apart on the ground, and today... almost a month later... it disappeared with only wiring and an indentation left.

Here's a photo recap of the mighty light post's demise:

The light post's first sign of failing on June 10.
It started with a lean.

The light post fell down three days later.

The top started coming off later the same day.

It stayed this way until...

...almost a month later when it was removed, an indentation of the pole remained,
and a clump of wiring with the tops taped off now remain.

This seems awfully safe.
Not.

Lucky gets a Kong bed

Lucky has chewed holes in two beds now.  We purchased a third one in hopes this one will be less destructable.

A visit to Petsmart gave us plenty of choices and we decided to try a 'chew resistant' bed made by Kong.  That's the same company that makes those nearly indestructable chew toys that some people put stuff inside to keep a dog busy -- like peanut butter, dog treats, or panties from the girl you took to prom.

The best description I can offer is that the Kong bed is made with the material that camping tents are.  His previous two beds were soft and cuddly and easy to chew a hole in.  This is soft but the material has a little bit stiffer of a feel and hopefully will be less easy for Lucky to bore a hole into.

I took him into the bedroom where he sleeps at night and he was about to get onto the bed and stopped with that "what the hell is this" look on his face (I've seen it dozens of times).  A little shove put him on the new bed.  He seemed very weirded out about the material and the feel of it.  You'll see the reaction photos below.

It'll be two months on the 12th since we brought him home.  The progress to help him feel comfortable and happy has been very slow.  He looks stressed and scared about 95% of the time.  Bright colored things frighten him.  He'll come when called but very hesitantly and only after multiple tries... and he has a look suggesting he'll get beaten when he does.

Its been a lot of petting, encouragement, hugs, and trying.  I hope one day he'll seem to be happier.  I'm not giving up though.  He's a sweet little guy.

One other thing:  I have finally discovered the one food he'll take out of my hand.  I've tried various dog treats, hot dogs, meat, potato chips, french fries... anything to see if he'll do it.  It turns out he's a big fan of Kraft American Cheese Singles.  He'll actually eat pieces of those from my hand and responds to them.  I don't want to feed him too much because I'm concerned it'll upset his stomach but I am encouraged that there's something he's excited about.  And, he has that in common with me because I like them too.

Lucky tries out his new Kong bed

He tries moving on it and has some trouble

He looks at me as if to say "Hey, where's my old bed?"

I have a feeling ol' nervous Lucky may not get much sleep tonight!

How to eat a weiner

Anthony and I try to find something fun to do on Saturdays.

Last night we went to Casino Del Sol and played bingo.  They don't do Cosmic Bingo anymore but we have gone the last couple of Saturdays to play the evening session.  Its about $25 a piece to play for three hours but we'd probably spend that at a bar if we went out doing that so its not extraordinarly expensive.  And, sometimes one of us wins.  Although that wasn't the case yesterday.

There is a snack bar inside of the bingo hall and most of the stuff they offer I'm not interested in but they do sell hot dogs.  I'm a sucker for a good hot dog.  Its not an amazing hot dog, but its pretty good.  They charge $3.50 for what I'm sure costs them about 50 cents.  For that kind of profit margin the hot dog should be having sex with me and giving me cab fare home.  But, I buy one when I go anyway.

I find it funny to be in photos eating.  One of the funniest foods to be photographed eating... is a hot dog.  Its a little naughty without being naughty.  Here's what I mean:

The key to successfully eating a weiner is to take the right amount into your mouth.
You don't want to nibble, but you don't want to choke.

Staying up late is fun

I'm writing this at 1:35 a.m. so this may give you some clue... staying up late is fun.

Anthony and Lucky both went to sleep a couple of hours ago.  I don't have to be up early today so I'm enjoying a late Friday night.  I'm having a couple of Bud Lights, listening to the emergency scanner, and reading the random stuff people are posting on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

I've attempted to believe that people who are up at noon are as interesting as people who are up at midnight.  I've lived 46 years.  I don't think its true.

I've come to realize that people who are up at night let their hair down.  It may not be so practical to be up late much anymore since I have a daytime job but I hold a deep appreciation for the adventurous people who make night time interesting.

A toast to you... people of the night.  Because everyone is better looking in the dark!

First taste of The Taco Shop

Anthony and I tried a new (to us) restaurant tonight:  The Taco Shop.

There are a number of restaurants that serve the same Mexican style food in the Tucson area.  Nico's, Los Betos, The Taco Shop... all dish up similar food with the same formula.

The location we went to is on Speedway Blvd east of Craycroft next to an eegee's in the same strip mall.  It hasn't been open that long.

Its a pretty plain restaurant.  A handful of yellow booths covered in Formica, lots of brown tile, a small exposed kitchen, and a difficult to read menu.  Food is served in styrofoam containers and on paper plates or paper wrappers.  There is nothing fancy about the food served at The Taco Shop (or Nico's or Los Betos for that matter).

I had a carne asada burrito.  It was $4.50.  Anthony had a $7 order of super nachos.  Add drinks and our bill together was $16.25.  I was worried that I wouldn't get what I ordered because the nice woman's English was difficult to understand.  But, she nailed it so she's obviously a professional.

You get a decent sized portion and it tasted ok.  My burrito had pico de gallo and guacamole.  The tortilla was the best part actually.  I am a sucker for a good tortilla.

They do have a salsa bar with four kinds of salsa and a fifth choice that was labeled as "jalapenos and carrots".  I'm not an expert on Mexican food so I can only guess as to whether that is something which is popular or not.

I've usually only eaten at this type of restaurant after a night of drinking.  It always seems like a good idea after half a dozen beers and then I pay for it with a rapid exit from the other end the next day (you get the idea).

I hear the toilet calling my name.

25 year anniversary in broadcast media

Today is the 25th anniversary of the start of my career in broadcast media.

My first day on the radio was July 5, 1987 in Kearney, Nebraska from midnight until 6 a.m.  It was a station that was a hybrid of top 40 music and classic rock.  My first night on the air at Power 99, I drove there on my motorized scooter after watching fireworks and anchored a show called "The All Night Album Replay".  I hadn't gone to school for broadcasting and had no prior skills.  But, I apparently interviewed well enough with the Program Director of the station (Jeff Stevens) that I got a shot.  I made my debut on the air three days after my 21st birthday.

It was the beginning of an unbelievable 25 year odyssey.

My career has taken me to cities large and small.  I was on the air in a variety of dayparts, voiced thousand of commercials, done thousands of personal appearances, and even moved into management including the titles of Music Director, Assistant Program Director, and Program Director.

I have met thousands of interesting people along the way and had the chance to do things most people dream of.  From stage announcements in front of crowds of thousands to interviews and meeting some of the world's best known celebrities, its been amazing.  I've signed autographs and posed for pictures.  It still amazes me that I'm remembered for work I did years ago.  Guests who visit the Morning Blend regularly recognize me even though I'm not on the air anymore.

More recently as I've moved into the world of television, I've had to learn new skills and make adjustments to take on roles as news producer and now executive producer.  The adventure hasn't stopped.  This week I wore a Spiderman suit on TV!

I've also added social networking to my career skills.  At more than 11,000 friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter plus readers of this blog, I'm fortunate that I continue to have many people who find my content interesting / entertaining.

I have a long list of people to thank for the chance to learn, grow, and contribute.  If you're a person I've worked with, you've listened to me on the radio, or watched on television, you've been a part of my career.  I couldn't have done it without you.

Here's to another 25!

Monsoon rain on July 4 Part Two

Not long after I posted the first monsoon rain photos from today, a real storm rolled through Tucson's east side.

The east side typically gets less monsoon storm action than the south, west, and northwest sides of the Tucson metro.

I've mentioned this multiple times... but rain is a big deal here.  Its the desert.  We get rain basically two times a year... during the winter and for about an eight week stretch in the summer.  It also doesn't drop nearly as much as other places so seeing a puddle is more unusual than you might think.

I'm listening to the police scanner right now and there are multiple locations in the Tucson area with flooding issues.  I hope they don't have to do too many swift water rescues from washes and roads due to people deciding they can drive through areas that are too deep for their cars.

Back to my apartment... I still had my camera out, so I gave it go to take more photos.

Monsoon rain on July 4

I have the day off today.  Happy July 4th to me!

Its also forecast to be the coldest July 4 on record in Tucson.  Its not supposed to break 90.  Its also raining.

I stepped out onto my apartment balcony and thanks to the 18x digital zoom on my Lumix camera, I was able to get a couple of photos to share of rain on a puddle in the parking lot about a hundred feet away.  I could have walked down to get it close up... but that defeats the purpose of being lazy on my day off.

Puddle in the Ridgepointe parking lot

Splish splash -- a cab drove through the puddle.
This cab driver has no idea he's now famous on the internet.

SpiderKEN

I've made myself look like a fool many times in my career.  I did it again today.

Carl's Jr. is doing a promotion for the new Amazing Spiderman movie.  If you wear a Spiderman outfit into a Carl's Jr. on July 4 you'll get an Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger free.

I was asked to facilitate a segment on the Morning Blend for this promotion.  I knew I'd have to wear a Spiderman costume and I also realized I'd look ridiculous.  The guys who've played Spiderman have had to undergo serious weight training to look as awesome as they do in the Spiderman suit (ask Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield).  I looked more like a fluffy cheeseburger eating Spiderman.  But, it got done and no real actors were harmed in the making of the segment.

Behold, the amazing SpiderKEN.

SpiderKEN, Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers, and Ann on the Morning Blend.

Little known fact: Spiderman wears Chucks with black socks.

Look! Eyeholes!

SpiderKEN on the KGUN 9 news set.
If Guy Atchley or Jennifer Waddell ever want to go on vacation, I'm ready.

Sitting at the KGUN 9 news desk.
Breaking news: I look ridiculous.

My spidey sense tells me if I don't stop trying to climb on the KGUN news set..
I'm going to get fired.