Dr. Thomas Ho's blog @ Windows Live Spaces: Indianapolis

Indy as a high-tech city?

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:09:43 GMT

For several years, enrollment in my academic program Computer and Information Technology at IUPUI has suffered and we have largely attributed this trend to the MISconception that there are fewer jobs in information technology. Whether or not national trends support this view, it is evident from this article that Indianapolis is a bright spot on the national scene. Since most of our graduates remain in central Indiana, this is especially good news so we must do a better job of getting this good news out! Could this be an opportunity to apply social media?

Link to

BarCamp Indy 2008

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:55:21 GMT

Well, BarCamp Indy 2008 is now history and I'm glad that I participated! It's getting pretty good reviews and I'm sure that you'll be hearing more about it over time.

I must admit that when Scott Wilder first proposed this last fall, I was skeptical especially after he picked a date that was only a few months away without yet having a venue, sponsors, and with only a little planning at that point in time. Well, he pulled it off with the help of a few friends and I wish that I had helped more. I intend to make up for that by being more active in organizing subsequent BarCamp Indy events.

I hope that you will join us by helping to organize as well as by participating in future BarCamps in Indianapolis. In the meantime, I hope that you'll check out my BarCamp Indy 2008 "presentation" about "Creating an online identity"

live from the Unleavened Bread Cafe

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:20:44 GMT

[where:3001 N. central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46205]

Today is the launch of AskAnythingSaturday.tv so I'll be placeblogging from the Unleavened Bread Café. We're getting a bit of late start, but we're on the air now. Be sure to tune in every Saturday at 1500 GMT.

Pastor David Scott is hosting and Sister (or Mother?) Elease Womack who started the café just gave the history. Neil Cox who started AskAnythingSaturday.com just gave its history. Stand by for more because I'm going on the air soon.

Google adds "street view" maps of Indy | IndyStar.com

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:29:18 GMT

[where:46268]

I had been waiting for Google to "get around" to adding Indianapolis, BUT now that it's finally happened, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I recall feeling that it was "spooky" when I first saw a satellite view of my house from the forerunner of Microsoft's Live Search Maps. Since I've had time to "get over it", you'd think that I'd just "take it in stride" BUT it does "hit home" when it comes to my neighborhood!

Web site adds close-up view of Indy | IndyStar.com

Lafayette Road Ethnic Food Corridor - Indianapolis

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:32:28 GMT

[where:Lafayette Square] [where:46254]

It's good to know that Terry Kirts, the former culinary writer for NUVO and currently the restaurant critic for Indianapolis Monthly, shares my passion for the Lafayette Road Ethnic Food Corridor.

Where Indy’s going, where it’s been - NUVO.net

Meijer plans to join Anson as anchor | IndyStar.com

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:49:26 GMT

[ where:46075]

You might be wondering why I even care about this development because I've never "place-blogged" about this location previously. Well, there are (at least) a couple of reasons. Most importantly, my daughter attends Traders Point Christian Academy which is just west of Anson so we spend a fair amount of time up there. I'm also blogging this to make myself clear about how I feel about Meijer since someone MIGHT have noticed my tweet yesterday while I was waiting to checkout at the Pike Plaza Meijer off W. 38th Street in Indianapolis. I shop there most often, especially while my daughter is at Indianapolis Children's Choir twice-weekly rehearsals at Butler University which isn't far from this Meijer store and it is the Meijer closest to my home. I have nothing against Meijer, but I just don't like shopping at the Pike Plaza store for a number of reasons which I won't elaborate. I prefer shopping at Meijer's Carmel store so I am looking forward to being able to shop at this new store up in Boone County although I am wondering IF the Zionsville "crowd" will try to mount a campaign against this development as they successfully stopped Wal-Mart who wanted to build on the Hamilton-Boone County line in West Carmel.

I have a related "funny" story about Wal-Mart who is finishing a store near Lafayette Square Mall in Indianapolis. I was attending a meeting of the Lafayette Square Area Coalition when a Wal-Mart representative was attending shortly after Wal-Mart's announcement. He said that it was so nice to be WELCOME somewhere for a change!

Meijer plans to join Anson as anchor | IndyStar.com

What a day!

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 06:22:46 GMT

[WHERE:46268] [WHERE:46254] [WHERE:46222]

Yesterday (October 26) was the BEST DAY that I've had in a long time!

First, I was able to sleep in (NOT too late though) because my daughter Tabby is on fall break from Traders Point Christian Academy. I figured that it was going to be a pretty good day because I was having lunch with the "Indy Christian Geeks" group (more about this later) which meets on the last Friday of every month.

Second, on my way to lunch, I noticed that there were (at least) a couple of AT&T vans in my neighborhood Crooked Creek Villages. I've been on the "lookout" for them because I've been anticipating the deployment of AT&T's U-verse service in my neighborhood for some time! Instead of going on to lunch, I decided to turn back to find out more. Actually, I was hoping for "good news" so that I could "brag" to my lunch buddies that I would be getting U-verse soon. So, I went to talk to one of the technicians and indeed, he told me that they were "grooming the copper cable plant" in the neighborhood and that I could expect U-verse to be available by the end of the year! That made me a "happy camper" so I headed on to lunch, but as I was leaving the neighborhood, I noticed an AT&T van on MY street and as I pulled up, I noticed that the technician was working in MY yard! That was really exciting so I talked to him and he told me that I might be getting the service even sooner than the end of the year...that "made my day" so I headed off to lunch thinking that it couldn't get any better...

Third, as I entered the Saigon Restaurant, my favorite for MY "comfort food" of the Asian variety, I was thrilled to see that EIGHT of them had showed up for lunch:

This event started a few months ago when Tom McCormick and I met to have our respective favorites (mine is wun tun mein...you'll have to ask Tom about his because I can never remember the Vietnamese name) and the group has grown somewhat since then although I think that as recently as a couple of months ago, only a couple of us showed up. I invited a few more guys this month and as the saying goes: "when it rains, it pours" so I praise God that He's pouring out "Christian geeks" as I have yearned for fellow brothers in Christ who also share my love of information technology. I'll be praying that God has bigger "plans" for this group than just meeting monthly for lunch and I intend to do MY part by encouraging the group to seek God's will. I hope to have the group over to my house during November so maybe we ought to just skip lunch next month and get together at my house instead for dinner. Then, we could spend some time on planning AND PRAYING.

As I said, it was a VERY GOOD DAY!

Let's Improve the Neighborhoods of Crooked Creek

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:22:02 GMT

[where:46268]

I live in the North Michigan Road corridor in Pike Township on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It appears that my neighborhood is very close to the epicenter of the Neighborhoods of Crooked Creek which is among the neighborhoods identified by the Great Indy Neighborhoods Initiative (GINI) so it looks like I have found a cause that is very near and dear to my home and to my heart!

Let's see what Web 2.0 can do to help this cause! I'm excited!

Let's Improve the Neighborhoods of Crooked Creek

Neighborhoods of Crooked Creek

del.icio.us Tags: Crooked Creek , Indianapolis

Lafayette Road ethnic food corridor

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:50:13 GMT

Those of you who know me well know that I'm a "foodie" and that I have an "adventurous" palate for different ethnic foods. For some time, I have been trying to promote the ethnic restaurants in the Lafayette Square area as the "Lafayette Road Ethnic Food Corridor" so I decided to create a Google map.

If I've done this right, this blog entry should also appear in outside.in because I've been trying to create Indianapolis-oriented content so that outside.in will create an Indianapolis "presence" on their site! I hope that others will join me in this endeavor because it's very easy to do!

[where:46254]

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=115731772525054733494.0004383ef595b88b74afb&om=1&ll=39.822049,-86.233062&spn=0.046013,0.1157&z=13

"Week of Hope" team

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:12:48 GMT

This is the team:

Susan Horvath, New Castle, PA
Megan Jackson, Mount Vernon, IL
Carl Nicklas, New Castle, Pa
Samantha Gotterson, Detroit, MI
Lucas Rockwell, Milford, IN
Robert Strength, Freedom, PA
Kelly Follmer, Freedom, PA

Here is a "geo-tag" for this story:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=3001++Central+Ave,+Indianapolis&sll=39.936856,-86.150665&sspn=0.091609,0.2314&ie=UTF8&ll=39.813646,-86.149592&spn=0.011472,0.028925&z=15&iwloc=addr&om=1

[where:46204]

Group WorkCamps "Week of Hope"

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:26:05 GMT

Today is Faith, Hope, and Love "Urban Projects Day" in Indianapolis! There's a "Week of Hope" team here from Group WorkCamps. The team is led by Sydney, a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, from North Carolina. I'll be telling you more about the team later.

They're getting ready to make sandwiches for tonight's Vacation Bible School held by Greater Faith House of Prayer whose pastors are Joseph and Gail Reaves.

Here is a "geo-tag" for this story:

[where:46204]

I never expected to see this happen in Indy!

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:06:27 GMT

This is actually the "rage" in Singapore from which I just returned. However, in Singapore, only 80 percent of the owners have to agree for the sale to go forward, BUT they get a LOT MORE MONEY than we would get in Indianapolis!

Article Detail Page