Indianapolis is My Home

03
Jul

PHOTOS: Indy Lights at Night by Brian Bonner

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Downtown, Indianapolis Photos, Local Artists

I recently got a couple of more photos from local Indianapolis photographer, Brian Bonner. This time he’s sharing some photos with us of a couple of locations in downtown Indianapolis.

You can probably recognize these locations pretty quickly as different points along the Canal downtown. Be sure and visit Brian’s site for lots of other photos and great macro shots.

Do you have photos of Indianapolis you’d like to share? I’d love to see them.

26
Jun

Pacers Trade Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Indiana Pacers, Indy Pro Athletes, News, Sports

Nothing has been really confirmed at this point and won’t be until July 1st and players pass their physicals. From what I’ve heard from a variety of people though, the ongoing health of T.J. Ford seems questionable to me. I also think we should be able to get a lot better than this for Jermaine O’Neal.

The Toronto Raptors have agreed in principle to acquire forward Jermaine O’Neal from the Indiana Pacers for point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, the 17th pick in the draft and a player to be named, Yahoo reported Wednesday.

In fact, I think I’d be trying to ditch some other players before Jermaine, even if I couldn’t get much out of them. We need some fresh players and fresh faces, perhaps more importantly and absence of some of the players we’ve been seeing a little too much of in the newspaper and courtrooms for things other than basketball stats.

Yahoo: Pacers to deal Jermaine O’Neal to Raptors - Yahoo! News

25
Jun

Subway Jared Fogle Dead?

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Chain Restaurants, People

I have absolutely no basis for this but just throwing it out there because I have heard other people saying something about it. Does anyone know anything?

24
Jun

Jon McLaughlin Performing "Perfect" at Colts Fan Fest

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Local Musicians

Here’s a video of Jon McLaughlin performing "Perfect" as his opening song at the Indianapolis Colts Fan Fest event in Indianapolis this past Friday.

I’m not sure what happened to the audio a little ways in. We were right in front of the speakers, wonder if my camera’s mic couldn’t handle it?

Hmmmm

20
Jun

Indianapolis Colts Fan Fest TONIGHT!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Local Musicians, Things To Do in Indy

If you want to meet some Colts players and cheerleaders and get their autographs you’ll want to be at the Indianapolis Colts FanFest event tonight. Jon McLaughlin will be performing as well. Great opportunity to hear him perform for free.

Here are the details:

The Colts Fan Fest will be in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday, June 20th.

Location:
Downtown American Legion Mall
700 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN 46206
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Autograph session with Colts Players, Cheerleaders and Blue
7:30pm
Free Jon McLaughlin Concert

Fan Fest Elements include:
-Make It Personal with Colts players
-Meet Colts Cheerleaders
-FREE community concert by Jon McLaughlin
-Visit Blue the official team mascot
-"Colts City" inflatables
-Bring a new or gently used children’s book for "Books for Youth"
-Register for the Colts Kids Club
-Register to win tickets to a Colts pre-season game
-Pick-up free Colts giveaways
-Check out the re-designed Colts In Motion

Special notes:
The Colts would like to encourage all fans to arrive early.  The line for player and cheerleader autographs may be cut off at any time to ensure the players schedule remains on time.  Inclement weather or traffic may cause late arrival or early departure.  All Fan Fests will take place rain or shine.  Team practice schedule and meeting times may cause players to arrive late or depart early. Colts player names will not be announced prior to the arrival in each city.  Fans will be allowed one autograph per person, however, fans may get back in line for additional autographs.  All Colts Fan Fest times are local.

Stay tuned to www.Colts.com/FanFest for an up-to-date listing of locations.

17
Jun

Take a 10-yr Old’s Advice - It’s worth it!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Elementary, Environment, Government, Indianapolis Star, Local Businesses, People, Students

Wynn Brower isn’t really the person you’d expect to be taking advice from these days but it turns out this Bloomington resident has got some stuff many of us should probably be thinking more about.

For a class science project he determined that his family could save a $1/day by just turning off their computer at night. Multiply that be how ever many computers you’ve got going while you sleep, multiplied by the number of homes like yourself and you’ve got a big savings in energy every single night.

It doesn’t stop there though, what if the city governments did it as well?

Wynn demonstrated how he used a device to test the energy use of a laptop and desktop computer, then extrapolated the results to the county’s 550 computers. He came up with a savings of $25,000 a year if all computers were turned off at the end of the workday.

Lot’s of people talk about being "green" and conscious about the environment. I think there are loads of opportunities out there for everyone to make an impact in our city that don’t require buying a hybrid or installing solar panels on our roofs.

Why aren’t we hearing more about these little ways we can all do our part?

10-year-old tells county how to save $25,000 | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

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.

11
Jun

Indianapolis Hard Rock Revamping and Ready to Rock

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Chain Restaurants, Concerts, Downtown, Local Musicians

Okay, I’ve got to make sure I attend this concert. I’m thinking I should get there early enough to at least be in the room for this concert. I’ve become a huge fan of Jon McLaughlin since I’ve been introduced to him and purchased his CD.

Anyone else planning on going?

10
Jun

Free Bowling This Summer

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Families, Sports, Things To Do in Indy

I received an e-mail from a friend awhile back letting me know about some free bowling that’s now available through a Kids Bowl Free program.

Available at our following centers:

• Woodland Bowl - 3421 E. 96th St. Indianapolis IN 46240     
• Western Bowl - 6441 W. Washington St. Indianapolis IN 46241     
• Southern Bowl - 1010 U.S. Highway 31 South Greenwood IN 46143
• Jubilee Bowl - 7420 N. Michigan Rd. Indianapolis IN 46268     
• Expo Bowl – 5261 Elmwood Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46203     

Two Free Games of bowling anytime lanes a re available (Open to Close).

Starts  Sunday, April 20, 2008 and ends Saturday, August 23, 2008.

Not to be used with  any other coupon offer. One coupon per person per day. Not valid during Cosmic  Bowling. Not to be used for field trips. Must be 18 years of age or younger. ID  may be required. Reservations recommended but not required.

Call (317)465-8484  to reserve your lanes

09
Jun

Attention Indiana Bloggers

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Indy Bloggers

blogINDIANA

Are you a local Indianapolis blogger, or just Indiana blogger in general? You may be interested in an upcoming conference that’s being developed and setup just for you! The blogINDIANA conference will be loaded with valuable and interesting sessions and information for bloggers in the area interested in improving their work and enjoyment.

2008 Indiana Blogger Census

You can also complete the 2008 Indiana Blogger Census as well. What a great idea! Also, if you’re a local Indianapolis blogger, be sure and let me know in the comments. I’d love to check-out your blog.