I Choose Indy!

After a rumor and resulting flurry of activity the Southside Smoosier Tech Club will be getting back together to start-up the new decade.

Anyone that can make it tonight, we’ll be meeting at The Strange Brew coffee house on the far south side in Greenwood at 6:30pm.

Come on down and meet your old friends or make some new ones.

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Will 2010 be the year that Indianapolis inches a little bit closer to offering more options for public transportation? Let’s hope that new developments, support and encouragement does enter the discussion, but until then Indianapolis residents will need to continue to look for places to fill up their gasoline tanks as cheaply as possible.

The IndyGasPrices website can help you do just that. You can search for what location has the best prices in your area, and even help them out by reporting gas prices in your area whenever possible.

Early in December my son wanted to have a small birthday party with just a few of his friends. Earlier in the year we had gone to Laser Flash up in Carmel for another friend’s birthday party and had a blast.

When it was time for my son’s party we knew we were going to head back to the Laser Flash laser tag facility in Carmel.

We decided to go with their Hassle Free Party Package which turned out to be everything we needed and more. Here’s what we received with our package.

• A 40-minute SESSION of Laser Flash
• 10 arcade game tokens per player
• Bottomless fountain drinks for the players
• A gift for the guest of honor
• Coupons for the other players
• Invitations
• Detailed score sheets for all players
• Free membership for all players
• Party table and a Party Coach for two hours
• Paper plates, cups, napkins, fork, and placemat
• Cake knife
• Candles and a lighter
• Peace of mind and a wonderful time

Because my son loves sports and BW3’s we passed on having any food at Laser Flash, but if we’d wanted we could have had them supply a personalized birthday cake or even Donato’s Pizza for our entire birthday party as well.

We all had a blast with our game of laser tag and all the boys had plenty of fun with all of the arcade games available too. Our 40-minute session consisted of three different mini-games. By the end the boys were firing on all cylinders and the two adults were ready to sit down and enjoy the bottomless fountain drinks to recharge.

The staff and team at Laser Flash did a fantastic job of making sure we all had fun, knew what was going on and made it a memorable and fun birthday party for my son’s 10th birthday.

Whether you’re looking for a place to have a great birthday party with your kids, some family entertainment, adult fun with your friends or maybe even some team building with your coworkers, you should think about Laser Flash in Carmel, IN.

Are you a Walmart shopper or a Target shopper? If you’re looking for an opportunity to start off 2010 with some good food, new and old friends and the chance to argue a bit amongst yourselves, have I got the event for you! It’s time for a little retail grudge match smackdown.

Yesterday I had the privilege to meet a guy named Ricky Lee Potts (@rickyleepotts) at #Indiana’s Inaugural Social Media Summit at Scotty’s Brewhouse (@brewhouse).

This Monday night, January 4th 2010, he’s hosting a little Tweet-Up at Scotty’s Brewhouse on the north side to discuss the pros and cons of Walmart vs. Target. Here’s what Ricky has to say about the event.

Yes, folks who are attending must RSVP as I have a limited number of seats. I can only fit 18 folks.  The concept actually started with me simply tweeting and speaking on Walmart every time that I went there. I would check in on foursquare, comment on Twitter and Facebook, and sometimes even mention it in my blog. From that a lot of folks began getting interested in my addiction to Walmart and every time I mention it as the best store on the planet or even if I am simply there folks talk. They began talking about how Walmart sucks and Target is better, giving me reason after reason why Target was better. Each, of course, I had a comment back as to why in fact Walmart is better. I got the idea to just gather these individuals, if applicable, together and talk about these in a centralized setting. So, introducing the first concept based Tweet-Up.

It’s not quite a debate about national healthcare, but it’s sure to be fun and a chance for you to be real-world social with your social network friends.

Just RSVP by sending a tweet to Ricky on twitter @RickyLeePotts.

I’m not sure if many of you have heard about or even witnessed something that not many people, if any, have ever seen in their life. Watch the video below and tell me what you think.

The Bean Cup is a special place. Despite a terribly maintained strip mall that’s both empty and not visible from the road, Chris Carr was able to build a profitable business that employed 7 and improved the neighborhood. It’s always been noted as one of the best coffee shops in central Indiana.

After 3 years in their location, feuds with Horizon Property Group finally put an end to their business. These guys never played fair… they didn’t fix broken stucco on the outside of the mall for 3 years, there are plants growing in the gutters in the back of the building, and worse of all… they continued to up the maintenance fees to cover other issues with their building and the lack of tenants.

A salon that had been here over 25 years was the last tenant to leave, and it was ugly, too. Just check with the owners. There’s a chiropractor shop that appears open, but closed many months ago… giving a wrong impression to those who might drive by thinking that there are businesses in the mall.

This isn’t how to treat a business that has brought tons of traffic from all over Indiana. Right now there are people in here from Fishers, Carmel, Indianapolis, Southport, Franklin and Greenwood. It’s the last day and we’re saying Thanks! the only way we know how. We’re buying coffee and saying thanks to The Bean Cup for the special time that they brought us.

How did Horizon show its thanks? At the exact moment that Horizon Property Group executives were in trying to keep The Bean Cup, they had their property manager soliciting another coffee shop in town to see if it wanted to expand… knowing that the owners were related to Chris. After that didn’t work, they took out an advertisement in the Sunday Star advertising that The Bean Cup was for lease. They mentioned it by name.

They came in and took photos inside the store, walls filled with art that The Bean Cup brought in, so they could advertise how to do it right for their next tenant. They also solicited the employees to see if they’d like to work at the next coffee shop… while The Bean Cup was still in business.

Now, on the farewell day, Horizon Property Group posted posters in the empty store next door to promote that a new Coffee Shop is opening in a couple weeks. I don’t wish ill will on the new owners, but I won’t have any part in the new shop because I won’t support any business in a Horizon Property Group property. I’m boycotting them. This isn’t how you treat people in Indiana. This isn’t the Smoosier spirit.

This isn’t how commercial real estate properties should do business in this economy.

The Bean Cup was a success despite its location. It was a success because of the love and dedication of its owners. The Bean Cup wasn’t the walls or the floor or the strip mall. Horizon Property Group really threw away a gem with The Bean Cup. It was bad business, it was mean, and it was unnecessary. The Bean Cup will rise again at a location where they own the property or the property owners appreciate their tenants.

Just a note: I was never going to ever post about Horizon. But on this special day, a farewell day to The Bean Cup, putting up posters next door was a slap in the face that I couldn’t stand by and watch. I’m posting this at Smaller Indiana as well.