Fishers named Best Place to Live

Once again, our local municipality of under 90k residents has been voted the #1 city in America. 

Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, offers a low cost of living alongside high community standards, great schools, a safe environment, and top-notch local services. 

The town is attracting residents and businesses from across the globe. What makes it unique is this huge emphasis on Fishers as a place with an entrepreneurial spirit. Moody’s Analytics projects 11.6% job growth in the city by 2021. Of course, some of that booming growth brings its own issues: traffic. However, they are constantly widening roads, putting in roundabouts, and making infrastructure improvements to ease some of the congestion.

The increased traffic is a small price to pay. “It’s a wonderful place to live. There’s certainly no shortage of things to do. It’s kind of anything anyone would want, aside from having a mountain range or beach in your backyard,” says one local resident. “A small part of me doesn’t want the secret of Fishers to get out.” I think the secret's out. 

Total Eclipse of the Sun

My girlfriend & I met up with my best friend (& his fam) at Deer Run campground in Golconda, Illinois before trekking our way down to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky on Saturday. We watched an exhilarating laser-light show at Golden Pond Planetarium - listening to and watching a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".  Afterwards, we attended the Western Kentucky Amateur Astronomers' star party at the Observatory where dozens of enthusiasts brought their high-powered telescopes and pointed them at the night sky; we were able to see the moons and rings of Saturn! With our naked eye we could see Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and thousands of stars - and the Milky Way 'cloud' lit up like a dream.

On Sunday, we attended the "Little Green Men" festival in Kelly near Hopkinsville, KY. The town celebrates an event from 1955 in which it's reported that aliens visited a local farm. There were hayrides, carnival rides and booths - but I didn't get to buy a t-shirt commemorating the event, because they were sold out! However, I did cop a tee highlighting The Main Event...


On Monday (August 21st 2017) we went to Lake Glendale in Shawnee National Forest near our campsite. After some hiking, swimming, and relaxing in a hammock, we put our shades on and craned our necks for a couple hours to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event: a total solar eclipse. We were directly under the path of 100% totality, which meant in addition to the moon's shadow falling over us, the temperature dropped, the sky got dark, the crickets started chirping. At 1:23pm local time, we witnessed history:

Carmel (again) named best place to live

The past 10+ years have seen countless publications praise Indianapolis and it's northern suburbs, often times ranking at the top of many national lists. However, it's been a couple years since my last power rankings post, so you may have wondered how we still stacked up.

Those questions were put to rest with the latest survey conducted by Niche. Factors include: crime, schools, jobs, cost of living, and local amenities. Despite its reign at the top, I guess some still don't recognize the name. Maybe we should rename it something more catchy, like Roundabout City, USA.

Pura Vida

Wanna get away?
MRW SW flies to Costa Rica for $420: pack my bag, grab my passport, fly to Liberia, take a 40 min shuttle to Tamarindo, and check into the best-rated hostel.
A nice selection of surfboards await.

 Wake up to the sound of waves crashing and exotic bird calls as the sun rules the day: play volleyball, do some snorkeling and of course surfing. Most importantly, taking time to watch the sunset. Then shower, rally yourself, and party til four, and stare at the stars in the sky while sleeping in... and then doing it all over again.

 This is the one of the spots I was thrashin' some groovy waves, dude. Totally gnarly!

Caught some curl at Playa Tamarindo, Playa Langosta and Playa Avellana.

Also practiced some Hatha Yoga, Pilates, and Vinyasa Flow.
The Restoration & Renewal feels like getting massage.

 Hot and humid - and the weather was nice too!

 I found a slice of Indiana thanks to Mikey B - originally from South Bend but now living in Costa Rica. We streamed Pacers games at his place and swam in the pool.

I also enjoyed some zipline across hilltops, at Pura Adventura.

 One wonderful thing about Tamarindo: they mostly speak English everywhere you go. 

Very tourist friendly.

 Very, very friendly.

 Hey there! A lil' too friendly...

Pura Vida is the phrase everyone repeats here; it means Simple Life.  I see why.

More than 40 Hoosiers in the 2016 Rio Olympics

Tamika Catchings - Indiana Fever
Paul George - Indiana Pacers
David Boudia - Diving
Steele Johnson - Diving
Michael Hixon - Diving
Amy Cozad - Diving
Jessica Parratto - Diving
Lilly King - Swimming
Cody Miller - Swimming
Blake Pieroni - Swimming
Amanda Elmore - Rowing
Amanda Polk - Rowing
Courtney Hurley - Fencing
Kelly Hurley - Fencing
Lee Kiefer - Fencing
Mariel Zagunis - Fencing
Gerek Meinhardt - Fencing
Amber Cambell - Hammer Toss
Ashley Spencer - 400M
Molly Huddle - 10kM
Felisha Johnson - Shot Put
Kara Winger - Javelin
John Nunn - Racewalking
Chloe Dygert - Cycling
+ 17 more (with Indiana ties) competing for foreign countries 

LOCAL sports & politics; NATL headlines

Fellow Lawrence Central HS alum Kyle Guy has captured the hearts of thousands of basketball fans, a number that could swell to millions if he reaches the NBA (like dozens of other Indy hoopers). He almost has that many haters, too. Whether he's shushing the crowd or mocking their jeers - the kid's got swag; not to mention, athletic genes. Kyle's dad, Joe, was a standout WR at LC back in 1994. Lee Larkins, one of Kyle's first coaches, predicted he'd win Mr Basketball when Kyle was in 6th grade. JR Shelt inserted him into the starting lineup freshman year and didn't look back. Last season, he led the Bears to their best record since '96. Flashback to my glory days: LC went to semi-state in '98. Ultimately, he chose Virginia over IU because he 'connected' with Tony Bennett better than Tom Crean. That needs to be fixed.

Indiana Hoosiers picked up a JUCO transfer and just in time for Spring Creaning. Priller? Troy? I'm less surprised he chose to test the NBA than Thomas Bryant deciding to stay. Kudos, young man.

Indiana Pacers tied the playoff series at 2-2 and now head to Toronto for a best of three series. #PG13daTroof

Indianapolis Colts Draft this weekend has a lot of great OTs but Colts desperately need a stud Guard/Center combo, like Martin (ND) or Kelly (Bama). And Rush-DE/LB, as always. Who's the gem and will Grigson land him?

Indianapolis 500 is just around the corner and yours truly just did a commercial shoot today, with one of the Indycar drivers, by the last name Andretti... *ahem* Marco! Booyah, my life is dope.

This has been the weirdest Presidential campaign and now the spotlight is on Indiana. Shillary makes her first appearance in Indiana tomorrow while Donald Drumpf defies all logic and continues to lead the field of GOP candidates, now whittled down to 2. Ted Cruz picked up an endorsement from John Kasich just ahead of the Indiana primary. Then Donald counters with a surprise Bob Knight announcement. Boom Baby? #Bern1

*Bonus: Tommy Brady will now have to sit 4 games of 2016, and the Patriots still lose their 1st Rd Pick (again).

Pacers 2015 Draft Pick @ #11

• Last time they had a lotto pick: Paul George
• Last time they had the #11 pick: Reggie Miller

This one has all the excitement you could ask for...

• many think the Pacers go with the guy originally projected in the top10, but now may be slipping down others draft boards:  Willie 'Trill' C. Stein
• or the graduate, NCAA PoY, with 2 Final Fours, and he stretches the D (basically essential in today's game): Frank Kaminsky. 
• there's equal competition from other bigmen, like Myles Turner and Bobby Portis. 
• there's also 2 more* Indy-area drafted in the first round: Trey Lyles and RJ Hunter

Are the Pacers looking for a win-now guy or long-term/franchise guy? Scoring or Defense? Personality or Athleticism? Big or Small? Why not both?

• there are point-guards like Cameron Payne, and Domer grad Jerian Grant
• the player I'll be rooting for, after he stole my heart in the NCAA tournament this year: Samuel J. Dekker

* link does not include: Gary Harris, Gordon Hayward, E'Twaun Moore, Zach Randolph, Zellers, Plumlees and JJs

** Devin Booker's eyes freak me out

Terrific Toronto

...and Niagara Falls,

Indy[car] Honda Toronto, Saturday's qualifying 

lakeside at Amsterdam BrewHouse enjoying Craft Beer (Week)

Biggest sports moments in Indiana history

Yesterday marked the 20-year anniversary of Reggie Miller's 8 points in 9 seconds. I started to wonder, where would that moment rank if it were played in the state of Indiana? Here are some from from recent memory:

• 2011 Indy 500: 100th Anny, rookie (JRH) leads final turn/lap, crashes; Wheldon wins again, his last
• 2006 AFC Championship in Hoosier Dome. 38-34. Cheaters lose
• 2010 Final Four: small, local school w/ half-court buzzer to beat #1 Devils
• 2011 Watshot 3-pt winner at buzzer over #1 and undefeated Wildcats
• 2001 Haston 3-pt winner at buzzer over #1 and undefeated Spartans
• 2014 AFC Divisional playoffs: Andrew Luck's 24-pt comeback win
• The NBA pipeline
• 2000 Pacers reaching NBA Finals

Last Century:

• Jeff Gordon winning inaugural Brickyard 400
• 1993 Notre Dame over #1 FSU (and '88 title)
• Bob Knight's championships, chair-toss & choke
• 1987 Pan Am Games
• Multiple ABA Championships in the 70s (and Nancy Leonard's fundraiser)
• Larry Bird
• Oscar Robertson
• Bobby Plump & Milan HS
• Hoosiers
• Rudy
• Breaking Away
• Slick Leonard
• John Wooden

Honorable mention: Tony Hulman, Mike Aulby, Isiah Lord Thomas, Shawn Kemp, Glenn Robinson, Damon Bailey, Billy Keller, Scott Skiles, Steve Alford

The Perfect Storm

The topic dominating airwaves for weeks is a crescendo this week in Indianapolis. America's best city is hosting another Final Four, this time featuring bluebloods Duke & Kentucky, as well B1Gs: Wisconsin and Michigan State. As if the game needed any more attention, the NCAA (and others) have publicly denounced the RFRA bill signed into Indiana law last week. Legislation was forced to specify a Federal law with similar language after gays were denied cake at a local bakery.

The result of that legal battle that required clarification has rubbed many liberals the wrong way (rightfully so) but Mike Pence doesn't deserve to be called a bigot. Understanding the language of the bill is the first thing everyone should do before you go off criticizing all Hoosiers and boycott the entire state. Bill Clinton signed the Federal RFRA over 20 years ago, and Obama signed the Illinois RFRA as well. So why is the outrage directed only at Indiana? They hate us cuz they anus.

Before you throw a tantrum, keep this in mind: it can be used to defend oneself against lawsuits or administrative action. It can’t be used affirmatively to try and deprive others of the protections of law. By boycotting, you're essentially doing the same thing you're accusing the intolerant of doing - not conducting business with someone based on their (constitutionally protected) beliefs. Religious or not, everyone should follow the Golden Rule, respect karma and maintain inner peace.

Chuchos Y Túmulos

This is an epic about a man and his best friend (and his wife & daughter) as they journeyed through Mexico, Guatemala and the Yucatan.

We decided to drive to Cancun and back, spending a couple weeks in Guatemala and visiting ancient pyramids and other archaeological structures. We camped in a tent on the beach, on lakes, in the jungle, backyards, but also stayed at a handful of hotels. Travis' wife & daughter were able to visit their family while I snorkled, relaxed and paraglided off mountains on Lake Atitlan. Let's begin, shall we?

1st stop: Austin, Texas on Superbowl Sunday. A quick round of disc golf and a bite at Denny's. And why did Wilson have to throw that interception at the goalline?
The next day took us all the way to Mexico City, specifically:

TEOTIHUACAN

Here I am in front of the Pyramid of the Sun.

another shot, this time I'm standing on the Moon. Possibly floating in the clouds at this point. 

On February 3rd we visited Oaxaca. The views here were spectacular.

  

 Because of its remote location and massive size, this was the only place we paid for a tour-guide. He explained how the location was an advantage and how far back the trade routes go. You can see the city beyond the trees.  Here is where we found some ancient artifacts, sprinkled on the ground. 

    

Monte Alban

Colts offseason moves

I promise not to discuss deflated balls. Time to move on to the 2015 season...

Notable free agents that I don't expect to return include Reggie Wayne, Matt Hasselbeck and likely Hakeem Nicks. That leaves a big hole at WR (after TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief) but the rumor mill says Duron Carter has his hopes set on playing with Andrew Luck this fall. Ahmed Bradshaw played great in the games he was healthy, and deserves at least another year - especially at the pricetag of less than $1M/yr. Ballard, Boom and Trent are still on the roster but I don't expect Richardson to stay employed much longer.

The 2 old guys (10+ years experience) entering Free Agency are Cory Redding and Mike Adams. Both of these men are anchors at their positions. Adams' value will be inflated by his Pro Bowl bid but should be a manageable sum around $2-3M/yr. Sergio Brown is quite a bit younger (26) but is quickly proving his worth. Colts need both their safeties to return as one of the league's best Pass Defenses can only get better. That is, as long as their 2 Free Agent corners can stay. Josh Gordy and Darius Butler are both in their late 20s and they're at that point in their careers where they've basically peaked. Do the Colts reward either with lucrative contracts (Butler was already making $2M/yr) or does Indy dive into the deep CB pool on draft day?

The 2 remaining Free Agents the Colts need to look hard at are Joe Reitz and Fili Moala. Maybe I have a warm spot in my heart for overpaid backups, or maybe I see greater potential from both, but this is where the Salary Cap comes into play. As I mentioned above, they are letting go of Reggie and Nicks, which should free up some space. And if they also happen to not re-sign Gordy and Butler, that should leave them around $11M under the cap. Take away ~$5 for the incoming rookies and you're left with some wiggle room, depending on how much the Cap increases this year. Lately, the average increase is about $7M but last year was $10M (to $133M). Thus, I expect this year's increase to be slightly smaller than average, so lets say it only increases $5M. Now we're back up to much more wiggle room, which allows them to possibly sign an experienced backup QB or upgrade at OL.

Yes, the most glaring need is Offensive Line but I argue that their patchwork actually works. As long as Donald Thomas plays, the only major weakness is Center. Lets face it, Harrison and Shipley are not starting-caliber. I suspect it would take a minor miracle to find a stud at this position for a cheap price. Honestly, who wouldn't want to be the battery mate of the best QB in the game??