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One of the really cool events in Indianapolis is the Indiana Historical Society's annual fundraiser “Living Legends”, which helps raise much-needed funds to benefit its education programs and services, while simultaneously recognizing and honoring Hoosiers who have made a lasting impact on Indiana and our nation through their personal or professional endeavors. I'm honored to be a board member of the Indiana Historical Society and look forward to this event every year. Last nights gala was one of most successful ever, and I want to personally thank everyone who helped support it.

This year's Living Legends honorees were the amazing Judge Sarah Evans Barker, of the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana; Dr. William Mays (known simply as Bill Mays), president and CEO of Mays Chemical Company (one of this nation's largest chemical distribution companies), and his wonderful wife Dr. Rose Mays, professor emeritus, Indiana University School of Nursing; and Raymond Leppard, Conductor Laureate of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and one of the nicest, kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of calling a friend,.

Warm thanks to my guests who made our table a fun and exciting time: Mary and Steve Paul, Dr. Michael and Nancy Busk, Jeff Baker and John Pickett, Jimmy and Muffi James, and the beautiful Audrey Larman. (Special thanks to Mary Paul for helping me organize my table -- she did all the work!!!)

I didn't think about using my iPhone to take photos or video until it was too late, I was having such a great time. By the time I thought of it I was talking to Richard Ford and Judy O'Bannon so I shot the very brief attached video of the two of them, along with the goofy photo. Everybody was having a great time!

The History Center, as it's called, sitting on the Downtown Canal, just recently unleashed its amazing new Indiana Experience programs which have attracted thousands of new visitors over the past several weeks, and I urge everyone reading this to go check it out at your earliest convenience. These new exhibits, and how they are displayed (bringing history alive in an amazing techno–manner), is stunning and is getting rave reviews from those who have seen it and experienced it. Hope to see ya there!

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A number of people have mentioned to me that they've missed my blog updates over the past month-plus that I've  not been posting. I'm humbled that anyone would even care to read my blog, and appreciate your interest.


I've been exceptionally busy but will renew my posts shortly.


Kind regards,
Joe

 
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As we approach this Monday's opening of Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in California, where it's widely believed that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will unveil the next version of its hugely popular iPhone, I take a look back at three years ago when tech guru John Dvorak predicted the iPhone would be a total failure. This Wall Street Journal article of March 28, 2007, and the YouTube video shown below, are reminders that pundits and bloggers can, and do, get it wrong.

Even though this year's WWDC stands to be all about the iPhone, a number of other potential annuncements are being talked about. In addition to the highly anticipated iPhone OS 4, for both the iPhone and the iPad, there's speculation that Apple will announce that tethering will be available on the iPhone. There's also speculation that Apple TV will be based on the iPhone OS and the current A4 processor that's being used in the iPad. Of course, we're all waiting with baited breath to see if Apple is going to use a cloud strategy for iTunes and Apple TV.

Apple is finishing off the construction of a huge new data center on the East Coast which most experts believe is the foundation for Apple's use of the cloud to tie all of its various services together online. What an exciting thought!

Finally, now that Apple has a serious competitor to the iPhone in the way of Google's android operating system, we can expect to see even greater improvements and developments in the smart phone market with regard to softwware – and that's good for all of us.

 
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The only children's hospital in Indiana recognized in any category by the nationally distributed Child Magazine, Riley Hospital for Children ranked 11th overall out of almost 250 children's hospitals across the United States.

A leader in pediatric care, not only in Indiana, but around the region, Riley Children's Hospital is Indiana's first and only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children.

One of my first jobs when I moved to Indianapolis in 1972, as a newly trained emergency medical technician (EMT), was working for the largest local private ambulance service. I was frequently asked to drive our new, large ambulance/truck directly to a physician's home–usually on weekends and/or holidays–pick up the doctor, and then drive to an outlying hospital to pick up a newborn infant and safely transport it, in an incubator, back to Riley Hospital.

It was perhaps the first time in my life when I really recognize the value of a human life. I'll never forget the first time I pulled into the ambulance bay at Riley and was greeted by a small group of dedicated doctors and nurses who rushed to our ambulance, removed the incubator containing the newborn infant, and hastily moved into a room where they could perform their magic on the distressed child.

We should all be very proud to have Riley Children's Hospital in our community. Along with the Ronald McDonald House (which sits across the street On Michigan St.), Riley Children's Hospital is saving lives and helping thousands of families every year.

Thank you Riley!


Video below: Riley-produced promotional video explaining their mission and services. Worth the watch.

 
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In the photo below, an attempt by the UK coastal town, Great Yarmouth, to set a world record for the number of people dressed as the cartoon character Wally wasn't successful yesterday when the Norfolk resort amassed 930 Wallys -- 123 short of beating the record held by New York. Nonetheless, it's a striking photo taken by the photography team at the UK's Guardian newspaper for their "Eyewitness" feature.

Every day the Guardian's Eyewitness provides an almost-always stunning photo, along with technical and artistic merits of the chosen image.  And, now, they offer a free iPad app just for these photos.  It's worth the
download!

Note: the 'Pro Tip' for the photo below: The photographer has created a striking image by using a high viewpoint, thereby ensuring the viewer can engage with as many faces as possible.  Click photo to enlarge!


Videos Below: David Levene shows off the Guardian Eyewitness app for the Apple iPad and the head of photography both explain the new Eyewitness iPad app.

 
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The Gulf oil-spill crisis should serve to remind us all of the importance of reducing the amount of oil and oil-related products we use.  There are many ways to cut back, and a great way to help would be with the use of Zip Cars for those of us living here in Indianapolis.

Zip cars are located in dozens of cities and on hundreds of college campuses, including Indiana University in Bloomington. A good friend of mine (and many of my readers), Brad Queisser, who lives in Washington, DC, frequently uses Zip Cars.

We need a Zip Car location in downtown Indianapolis.


See the video below for the ease of use of an iPhone to find, book, locate and unlock your Zip Car!

 
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Yesterday was perfect weather for an afternoon birthday party for Heidi Gealt at their beautiful 200 acre farm near Spencer, Indiana. I drove down with Mark and Nancy Ruschman, and their daughter Alex (who immediately got into my iPad!).

Heidi, the Director of the Indiana University Art Museum, is married to Barry Gealt, an internationally-known Hoosier artist, whose work I've collected for years. In fact, I've recently commissioned Barry to create a piece for my Los Angeles condo, and luckily, was able to see it in-process at his studio on their property yesterday.


Photo above: Barry and Heidi in Barry's studio yesterday. Alex Ruschman in the background.

Video below: a brief 1 minute capture of the party.

 
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Ricky, from Plycar, delivered my Tesla a bit after midnight Thursday, door to door, in about three days from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. Excellent service.


Video is one minute long and shows vehicle offloading and unique, one-of-a-kind charging setup in my garage. Note the custom-designed and built stand which holds the charging unit.

100% Electric -- Zero Emissions -- No Gulf Oil

 
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Finally!  A very cool little place to eat, located very close to my downtown Indy home, right on the Canal.

I walked across Indiana Avenue tonight, and down the steps on the east side of the Canal, to try out the new Left Bank Cafe. It's fantastic! Excellent food!!

It's been open about a month, and I think it'll be hugely successful. I just hope it doesn't get so crowded that I'll have a hard time getting in for fast service! :0)

Photo: © Wil139/Bill, as posted on his flickr® account, here.

 
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The Indianapolis Business Journal reported in February that the Indianapolis International Airport ranked #1 on the list of 64 major airports in the United States with respect to across the board passenger satisfaction -- the results of a survey conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.

Indianapolis received perfect scores of five points in the categories of overall satisfaction, accessibility, check-in, security, terminal and food and retail services. It scored four out of five in the baggage claim category. No other airport received as many perfect scores.

I flew in from Los Angeles last night at midnight.  LAX, the Los Angeles Airport, is no comparison to the Indianapolis airport, which is why it scored near the bottom of the same survey.

For fun, I used my iPhone to shoot a few seconds of the light show overhead in the passenger corridor leading to the parking garage and car rental area. Fun stuff!