Indianapolis is My Home

13
Jun

The Bean Cup - It’s a Must!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Coffee Shops, Greenwood, Local Artists, Local Businesses, Local Musicians, South Side, Things To Do in Indy

After hearing about The Bean Cup a couple of different times from fellow Indianapolis blogger, Douglas Karr, I decided the next time I worked remotely I’d stop by for a visit.

I stopped in this afternoon to get some work done and try out their version of my favorite drink, a chai tea latte. I little darker than my favorite at my other remote office location (I feel dirty, like I’m cheating on my friends there).

I got to meet the two owners, Chris and Jason Carr. A great couple and seem to totally love what they’re doing with running The Bean Cup. The initiating factor to our conversation was that I thought it was cool they they run a place called "The Bean Cup" and their names are Chris and Jason. If you haven’t noticed yet, my name is Jason and my brother’s name is Chris and our last name is "Bean".

The other very interesting thing I learned today was about Douglas Karr, who’s affectionately referred to as "Norm" at The Bean Cup. Himself, Jason Carr and two other individuals and The Bean Cup, was recently featured in BusinessWeek. The group is competing in the Cisco I-Prize competition. Really cool!

The opening paragraph of the article lays everything out beautifully:

The Bean Cup, a coffee house on the southern edge of Indianapolis, is about as far as you get from Silicon Valley, culturally speaking. Shoehorned between an Arthur Murray Dance studio and a shuttered beauty salon in a nondescript strip mall, the Bean Cup bears faint resemblance to the storied Palo Alto work-play spaces where coders spend all night building what they hope will be the next big thing in tech. That’s not stopping Douglas Karr, a bearded, burly Gulf War vet, from using the Bean Cup to incubate his own big tech dreams.

Later on that afternoon I had an iced white-chocolate blackberry latte ( I think that’s what it was) that was delicious as well. The atmosphere is great, they seem to have a very diverse client base so I think everyone would be happy here if you love great coffees and tea and more.

Similarly to The Strange Brew they also feature artistic works from local artists which you can buy right off the wall if you find something you like. The only challenge I noticed was the same challenge I find with every location offering free wi-fi, FAR TOO FEW POWER PLUG ACCESS!!! The Carrs said they’ll be working on that soon so they will be no reason to not go visit and get some work done of your own.

All in all the final score is that the south side of Indianapolis has two great options for locally owned coffee shops where local artists (both artistic and music) can showcase their talents as well as connect with the community around us.

If you’re on the south side of Indy around the Greenwood Mall, stop by The Bean Cup and get your java fix there. If you’re further south, stop on by The Strange Brew. If you’re a regular customer of one already, give the other a try and spread the love. Don’t worry, St. Arbuck’s will get along without you and these local business owners will be more than happy to serve you some great coffee.

09
May

Local Educator Gives Facebook a Black-Eye

Author: Jason Bean, Category: High Schools, South Side

A local Indianapolis educator has filed suit against Facebook for a bogus page that was setup to impersonate him and contact students.

Roncalli dean sues over false Facebook page

Tim Puntarelli, Roncalli’s dean of students, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese are suing Facebook and the anonymous creators of the false Webpage the suit claims contained false, embarrassing, and defaming information about Puntarelli and Roncalli High School

I do believe that Facebook has done the right thing by immediately taking the page down. I’m not sure though if I think they should be required to hand over the identities of those that created it.

I think they might boot and ban them from the site, which in turn might uncover their identities in the long run. One thing about students, they’ll talk and if they notice that Jim & John* are no longer on Facebook, the social media networks will probably be abuzz among those students.

Roncalli dean sues over false Facebook page | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

*names changed to protect the guilty

08
Jan

Silly Safaris Live Animal Shows

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Areas, Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Elementary, Greenwood, Local Businesses, People, Seminars, South Side

If you’re looking for a unique party for your kids birthday and those same kids just happen to love animals, look no further than Silly Safaris.

What kid doesn’t love animals? With Silly Safaris you get to let them see and interact with some really great things they may only see on Discovery Channel.

If you’re a teacher, you can also have Silly Safari come in for a special class or lesson on animals.

Here’s a little bit about what Silly Safari offers:

Read the rest of this entry »

12
Dec

I Need Me a Township Board Position

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Elected Officials, Government, Politics, South Side

I’ve gotten quite a bit more involved in my local community over the past year or so and have become friends with a great group of individuals who are themselves active. One of the people I’ve met wrote an interesting letter to the editor into a local, south side newspaper. The topic involves a local township government board who barely works yet receives a king’s ransom in benefits for the time invested. How’s $4,000/yr and full health benefits for your entire family for $50/mnth sound?

Below is the text of their letter to the editor:

I attended the Perry Township Advisory Board meeting on 11/13, and I was appalled at the behavior of some board members. Evelyn Sayers and Marvin Hawkins seem very unwilling to listen to advice or to allow conversation regarding a merger between PTFD and IFD. Mayor Peterson and Mayor-Elect Ballard both support merging township fire departments with IFD to save money and better protect the citizens. Perry firefighters and Trustee Coons also want to move ahead with merger talks, as do two board members, Decker and Kirchhoffer. One might wonder why other board members stand in opposition, until the underlying facts are examined.

A merger would all but eliminate the need for township government. Each of the 7 members of this board, who meet for less than 24 hours for an entire year, is paid almost $4000 apiece for their service. More shocking is the fact that each board member is eligible for full family health care at a cost of only $50 per month..for the whole family! The remaining cost of this insurance is carried by the taxpayers of Perry Township. Now you know why this board does not allow constituents the right to speak and is unwilling to listen to talks of merger. They have a sweet deal at the taxpayer’s expense, and they want to hang onto it.

Evelyn Sayers indicated that she was concerned about a fellow board member who is self employed, has several children and cannot afford insurance on his own. President Marvin Hawkins indicated that he will be financially hurt by losing the insurance coverage. Welcome to the real world folks! Many of us are self employed. Many of us feel the pinch of high insurance premiums. Employers often provide health care to their full-time employees at a reasonable cost, and when family members are added, the costs skyrocket. Why should the members of this board be allowed any insurance at all on the taxpayer’s dime? Perry Township Advisory Board members work less than one full work week for the entire year! This board needs to immediately vote themselves into an ineligible class and stop this wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars!

Okay, I’ve got to get me one of those jobs. If you know of any openings like this, just look for my resume on Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder or IndianapolisHelpWanted.

06
Dec

Christian Music Christmas Concert Tonight

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, South Side, Special Events, Things To Do in Indy

Hey everyone, I just found out about a concert taking place this evening if you like Christian music and are looking for something to do this evening.

The concert consists of the following groups/artists:

• Superchick
• KJ-52
• Jimmy Needham
• Starlit Platoon

The concert starts at 6:30pm at Indian Creek Christian Church. Tickets are $20 at the door.

06
Nov

Experience "Beowulf" in IMAX Splendor

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Cultural Events, Greenwood, IMAX Theater, Movies, South Side, Special Events

I loved the story of Beowulf when I was a student in high school. I always liked stories surrounding myths. I’m not sure how I feel about the new movie adaptation though. I’m sure it will be good, I just kind of wish it was a live-action film and not CGI.

When I first heard about it I thought it as going to be produced like “300″, which I loved.

Regardless, I’m sure THE way to experience the movie is in IMAX full-screen at Kerasotes 16 on the south side of Indianapolis. Not sure if I’ve got enough friends to worry about seeing it at a group rate, but good idea nonetheless.

Are you going to go see the movie? What do you think?