Via the Indy Star:

Indianapolis, Indiana – Jeri Holland, 25, of the 3700 block of West 10th Street, said a man in a pick-up truck stole the basketball goal in front of her house at 6 p.m.

After backing his silver Chevrolet pick-up onto her property, the robber — about 5-feet, 10-inches tall, and 145-pounds — lifted the goal off the ground and threw it into the bed of the truck.

If I were the thieving kind I’m pretty sure that a basketball goal would be pretty far down the list of things I’d be after.  But hey, sometimes in the summertime I guess you just have to have your hoops.

Via WISH TV:

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Metro Police are looking for a man who gave a Broad Ripple security guard a hard time while stealing several boxes of condoms from grocery store.

Officers were called around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to the Marsh supermarket located at 2350 Broad Ripple Avenue. The security guard told investigators he witnessed a man shoving several boxes of condoms down his pants.

The guard told police he initially followed the man to the prophylactic aisle because the man matched the description of the suspect in a previous condom theft at the Marsh.

Wow. Is a 45-year old man is either embarrassed to buy condoms or find himself a place that gives them away for free?

I won’t elaborate on the shootings in downtown Indianapolis last night but I’ll hit the key points of my thoughts:

• First, check out Abdul Hakim-Shabazz’s Second Saturday Night Special post.  I echo what he’s saying.
• Parents: for those of you whose children were misbehaving last night, what in the world are you doing and teaching your children? And where were you?
• Leaders: where were you on this one?  You think a kid getting beat down for not respecting and listening to the authorities is a travesty and wonder why this sort of thing happens.  I’m not saying that cops should necessarily go out beating people down, but just think about the message that you’re sending to the youth and the community by asserting that you don’t need to respect authority.  This is what that mindset leads to.
• Girls: stop dressing like “street workers” & fighting with each other in the streets! Respect yourselves first and foremost and control yourselves.  Whatever you’re after and upset about isn’t worth it. (Back to the parents.)
• Boys: pull up your freaking pants! I watched live coverage of kids trying to run away from the shootings and there were a handful of you not getting anywhere fast as you’re holding your pants up. I thought the “prison draws” were a fad back when I was in school, but I guess that I was wrong.  Come on fellas.  I’m not saying to wear slacks all of the time, but you can at least do functional baggy in something your size. (Back to the parents.)
• Morons with guns: I’m glad that you’re a horrible shot, but:
  1. where did you get your guns?
  2. are you even old enough to have a gun?
  3. what made you think it was a good idea to bring guns along?
  4. what made you think it was a good idea to start shooting people?
• IMPD & Mayor Ballard: You did the best job you could be expected to and you were on top of.  There were ample officers and no one should expect you to control the stupid actions of a select few.

That said, let me know your thoughts, agree or disagree via comment or voicemail at 317-565-4250.  And keep it civil.

Hey The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the consensus is in and your new logo sucks!

Comments from my Facebook friends:

“GAG, the old logo was OK, but the new one has even less appeal.”

“Haha, or a zit! Ugh, what is the bump anyways?? Does the museum have a bump in it’s design somewhere!? They should have incorporated something iconic of the museum whether out-of-state visitors get it or not, like the clock, or something like that!”

“Looks like a crocodile eye or a terrible skateboard ramp. Either way, I expect record attendance and season pass purchases any minute now.”

“Very dated typography and very conservative.”

“I vote a big thumbs down on this change. Makes no sense. It doesn’t look very inviting as far as a museum geared towards children. Fail.”

“It looks like a stodgy business logo. Not kid-friendly at all. Boo.”

And to my own comments:

I’ll preface this by saying that I love the The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and the logo won’t deter me from personally visiting, but…

Some “marketing” people really don’t get “branding” at all. Yes, update logos once in a while if/when necessary, but not something like this. (UPS is a good example of how to do it right.)

It certainly doesn’t scream “Fun” and I’m wondering if they did any market research with this because I’ve not heard anyone say they really like it. Even my 6 year old tells me “It looks like a mountain or hill & it’s boring to look at all day.” Way to market to your target audience!

Personally if I were in charge of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis I’d have a nice chat with the creative director and the marketing team.  Bottom line, you want something that brings in your target audience, especially out-of-town  visitors.  While logos don’t always need to give a feel for what the business is about (their main purpose is branding), in this case that should be important.  And by all means you don’t drastically change them every 15-20 years.

But I digress and am just happy that’s not something I’m responsible for.

The Indianapolis Colts return to Anderson this year for training camp. Here’s the schedule.

Sunday, August 1 – Players report by 2 p.m.

Monday, August 2 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 3 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (afternoon session is special teams only)

Wednesday, August 4 – 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 5 – 3:30 p.m. (special teams only)

Friday, August 6 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 7 – 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 8 – No practice

Monday, August 9 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (afternoon session is special teams only)

Tuesday, August 10 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 11 – 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 12 – 3:30 p.m. (special teams only)

Friday, August 13 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 14 – 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 15 – San Francisco vs. Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, 1 p.m. (preseason game)

Monday, August 16 – 4 p.m.

Tuesday, August 17 – 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 18 – 9:30 a.m., break camp

Now that sounds like a good Friday night in the summer! If only the Thunderstorm Watch as a bit longer.

If I thought the National Weather Service had a sense of humor I’d think this one was an April Fool’s Day joke, as I have never heard of a “Fire Weather Watch” being called in my entire life of living in Indy. Not even in the “Dog Days of Summer”.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
248 PM EDT THU APR 1 2010

..FIRE WEATHER DANGER WILL RISE FRIDAY…

A strong dry South to Southwest flow will persist over Indiana into Friday. This will bring both far above normal temperatures and fairly low dew points. Relative humidity should fall to near critical fire weather levels Friday afternoon…fire weather watch in effect from Friday afternoon through Friday evening…

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a fire weather watch…which is in effect from Friday afternoon through Friday evening.

This includes the following fire weather zones…in Indiana…21…28…29…30…31…35…36…37…38..39…40…41… 42…43…44…45…46…47…48..49…51…52…53…54…55…56… 57…60…61..62…63…64…65…67…68…69…70…71…72

It is not certain yet a red flag warning will be needed Friday. However fire managers should remain alert for the possibility.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible red flag warnings.

…weird. Be safe & don’t get burnt tomorrow.

If there’s one thing that I love this time of year it’s the chance for a good thunderstorm and the excitement of tornadoes (you just never know when one will level your home…and given an infinite amount of time it will happen eventually). But what I love even more are the random summer-like days we get in February, March & April.  After a long cold winter those days are awesome, even if they’re not around to stay for a few more months.

From Naptown Buzz:

Scotty’s Brewhouse:

Yats: Delicious Cajun and Creole dishes. Did I mention that they’re delicious?!

Papa Roux: Po-Boys, King Cake & other goodies. Special Hours: 10:30am-8:00pm.

Zydeco’s: Various Cajun & Creole dishes. Located in Mooresville, Indiana. Normally closed on Tuesday’s, so I’d give them a buzz first.

Nawlins Creole Cafe: Various Cajun & Creole dishes including an Alligator Sausage Po-Boy (don’t knock it until you try it!). Located in Avon, Indiana. Normally closed on Tuesday’s, so I’d give them a buzz first.

I think that this is the third or fourth year running that I’ve tried to get press credentials for the NFL Scouting Combine that is held here in Indianapolis every year.  And to keep  my 0-fer record in tact I received yet another rejection that goes like this:

We have received your request for media credentials to the 2010 NFL Combine. Unfortunately, due to tremendous demand, we are unable to accommodate your request.

Thank you for your interest in the NFL.

Corry Rush
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

OK, fair enough. Surge Bucket Media is a small potatoes outlet that currently only publishes online via blogs & podcasts. But what gets me is the whole canned “due to tremendous demand” response that is sent out every year.

This isn’t the Super Bowl. This isn’t the Pro Bowl. This isn’t the NFL Draft. This isn’t a game. This isn’t even something related to a specific team. It’s the NFL Combine where they scout the potential incoming draft picks.

Now I know that there are quite a few people in town for it (just try to go to lunch around the stadium and you’ll see that). But go and take a look at the photos & video from previous Combine’s and you’ll see that there really aren’t that many people in the stands watching. Maybe they’re milling around the stadium or back in the media rooms, or at the food court at Circle Centre Mall, I don’t know, but I don’t believe for one minute that there’s “tremendous demand” if that’s derived at just by the number of good seats in the lower level of Lucas Oil Stadium. (BTW, Indy.com reports that the estimated attendance is 3,400 people.)

Anyway, complaining about it will not do any good. But I just wish for once that the NFL would be honest about it. If you don’t cater to smaller media outlets, please be up front about it. That’s your choice as all attendees are your guests. While that would bum me out a bit, that is something I could totally respect.

That said, as long as it’s held in Indianapolis (I’ve not heard if they extended the contract beyond 2010 or not) I will continue to throw our name in the hat. And who knows, maybe one year we’ll be able to attend.  But in the meantime I’ll sit back with the rest of you doing my best to follow what’s going on down at the Combine.