Amy's Blog : Indiana

Old Oaken Bucket

Amy Unger — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:00 GMT

So we have this silly badger speaker. I'm not sure what happened to his belly, but that's irrelevant. I'm also not sure where he came from, but I know we've had him since at least early 2008. He was perched out back for a while, but some way-mature engineers were using the little guy for some kind of target practice. He was since rescued and brought to the woodshop, where he'll be safe and sound at least through the winter. Maybe.

What does this have to do with the Old Oaken Bucket? Very little, really, except with that little football in his paws, it got me thinking about the Wisconsin Badgers. Which got me thinking about the Big 10. Which got me thinking about tomorrow's match up between arch rivals Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers. The hated, detested, despicable Purdue Boilermakers. And I say that while cringing, since about half of all Klipsch employees in Indianapolis went to school there. But that's just too bad.

A case of unfortunate timing, I'll be traveling tomorrow to see some of my old college roomies in Northern Indiana, since one of them is home from the east coast to show off her brand new baby boy. Reason enough to miss a game, I suppose. Although I'm sure I can locate where the husbands and boyfriends will be gathering. They better have the Big Ten Network.

Friday Night Lights

Amy Unger — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:27:00 GMT

The shortened hours of daylight are starting to take their toll on my psyche, but at least I can still find scenes like this when heading to my car...for now. It won't be long before I feel like I should be sleeping in a coffin and avoiding garlic.

Your Chance to Win Klipsch Reference RF-5s ...

Amy Unger — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:17:00 GMT

... and feel really good about yourself at the same time.

Every year, local radio station WZPL holds a 36-hour Request-a-Thon raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. Klipsch has also been committed to helping the foundation for quite some time now, sponsoring events and holding fund raisers whenever possible. So why not join forces? Plus Smiley-in-the-Morning is a fan.

What can you do? The easiest way is to make a donation on our team website, any dollar amount will do. It's simple, fast, and easy. Really. And a child somewhere will thank you.

The Reference RF-5 give-away, you ask? Oh yeah. If you call during a Klipsch sponsored Premium Hour on Thursday, November 19th from 6:00 – 7:00PM with a minimum donation TBD, you'll be entered to win the speakers at the end of the hour.

Not local? You can listen to a live stream of the broadcast anywhere with an internet connection.

Over the past 12 years, the Request-A-Thon event has raised over $2.5 million for the foundation, allowing them to grant over 400 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. It only takes a minute to imagine Steven as a recipient of this unbelievable generosity, and out comes my cash.

He'll never even miss one less toy under the tree.

You've Gotta Get One Of These

Amy Unger — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:16:00 GMT

Saturday was a beautiful fall day in Central Indiana, and we spent every minute of it outside at my stepdad's wooded lake property just south of Rockville, Indiana. The famous Covered Bridge Festival was going on at the same time, but we didn't get that far ...we were having way too much fun riding in grandpa's ARGO:

Not only does it go over virtually any terrain at a sometimes alarming speed, it also turns into a boat with no effort at all. Steven was in heaven, evidenced by the perma-smile. But what would you expect from being able to ride in such style to sites like this:

To do things like this:

Along paths like this:

Although the views were spectacular, I will always remember the day like this:

N'er Yonder Anon Mayhap Prithee Morrow, and all that.

Amy Unger — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:13:00 GMT

Yesterday I went to my very first Renaissance Faire... by accident, really. It was being held behind my go-to place for family entertainment - Conner Prairie - where Steven and I went for the day. We caught the scent of apple dumplings and turkey legs wafting in from the back fields, and needed no further persuasion.

Interesting events, these Faires. Or should i say interesting people. Like Trekkies with bad British accents. It was a blast.

I was pretty proud of Steven for not completely freaking out at the idea of posing with these guys. Note the coconuts were photoshopped in as an after-thought.

You know... Cloppity, clop, cloppity clop...

The Wide Receiver Next Door

Amy Unger — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:46:00 GMT

Something I don't believe I've mentioned on my blog yet (imagine that) is my love of the NFL. It is an unnatural thing, I admit. Most women either have open disdain for the sport, pretend to like it for the sake of snagging a dude, or tolerate it for the tailgating festivities alone. I do have a few girlfriends that truly love it, which translates into a sense of sisterhood in our unnaturalness.

One exception to this is the Colts. Everyone here loves the Colts, men and women alike. Me? I've never cared for them. As a Los Angeles Rams fans since 1978, the Colts weren't even a blip of the radar until they made their way here under the cover of night in 1984. But because the now St. Louis Rams have been a giant snooze-fest since they booted Kurt Warner, and they're never on local TV anyway, I've been making a concentrated effort to follow...and love...the Colts. It's been a struggle, but I'm making progress.

I certainly helps that yesterday they picked up wide receiver Hank Baskett, who is perhaps better known as Kendra's Boyfriend (now husband) from the tacky but highly watchable (now defunct) Girls Next Door. I have yet to catch her new reality show, but maybe I'll give it a try, just to follow the follies of our newest acquisition.

See? I still watch garbage TV too. I'm not completely unnatural.

Go Rams!

Penny the Cadillac

Amy Unger — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:28:00 GMT

At the car show in downtown Carmel this weekend, we got to see Corvettes, Lotus', Porsches, Lamborghinis, among many, many others....but this was my favorite. A '49 Cadillac covered in 38,295 pennies.Classic.

Juani

Amy Unger — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:31:00 GMT

Yesterday Trey, Sarah and I ventured to the Indianapolis Zoo to gather information about a recent Klipsch install. My job, of course, was to take pictures. While the speakers found at the Splash Park, Cafe, and snack shack were lovely, I found a much better subject in the form of a brand new giraffe -- who isn't even technically on display yet.

Less than two weeks old, this little feller came into the world at 6 ft tall and 156 lbs. The only thing I have to say about that is .... ouch.

Summer Fun with Engineers of a Different Sort

Amy Unger — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:59:00 GMT

There was a lot going on at Klipsch today, including the simultaneous launch of our latest headphones, the Image S2 and S2m, and the availability of new Energy branded items such as high quality wire, surge protectors and cables. But that won't keep me from squeezing in my daily blog entry, by George!

Forest Park in Noblesville, IN is one of our favorite summer spots. With two separate playgrounds, endless picnic tables, $3 putt-putt (an original Tom Thumb golf course built in 1926, in fact), $1 rides on the circa 1920 carousel, basketball court, skate-park, and a huge $5/person pool with diving platforms and splash pad, a complete fun-filled day can be had for under $10 per person.

But my favorite part of the park, which again shows my history-geek side, is the Indiana Transportation Museum. This actually amounts to nothing more than several railroad cars lined up in a ghostly fashion, partially restored for the enjoyment of train enthusiasts. Including myself. They even have working trains that will take you to nearby towns for a small fee from time to time, and run the much anticipated Fair Train and Polar Bear Express.

If you're in the neighborhood, check it out.

Not a Bad Place to Spend Eternity

Amy Unger — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:54:00 GMT

Day 4 of my vacation was spent visiting Crown Hill Cemetery, which may seem odd to some, but it's actually been a highlight. Again, it's a place I've never been to and always wanted to see. The highest spot in the Indianapolis area (which isn't really hard to be), it provides a lovely view of the skyline. And where else can you get a close-up of a famous poet, former President, and notorious criminal?

James Whitcomb Riley's grave is the far one in the pic above - situated on the highest point in Indianapolis. Harrison Eiteljorg in the foreground, see yesterday's blog entry.

President Harrison and John Dillinger

View from Riley's grave

Where the Present is being Trampled by the Past

Amy Unger — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:54:00 GMT

Yesterday I explored a bit of Indianapolis for the first time in my 38 years here...the Eiteljorg Museum. Although the western art inside the museum was lovely, even inspiring, this outdoor display was my favorite. I love how it looks like a herd of deer are about to trample right through downtown. It makes me pause to think about what this area of the country must have looked like a few hundred years ago...

Split Second

Amy Unger — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:51:00 GMT

"Knee-high by the 4th of July" is what they say about the speed at which the corn grows around here. Considering it is now waist-high, you could say it has been an unusually rainy and hot month of June. Thunderstorms have been frequent, including a bout with hail a few weeks ago that tore up my roof for the second time in three years. Not a day has gone by since June 2nd that Steven hasn't mentioned hail in some form or another. I think it made an impression on more than just my roof. And this past Friday night, a wicked lightening storm fried three of my DVD players, a TV, and a wireless router. Time to invest in some surge protection, I think!

In light of the recent damage, these storms are good for only one reason I can think of: I've always wanted to get a picture of lightning. Not for any particular reason, just to see if I could do it. It isn't easy, especially if you're trying to calm the fears of a little kid at the same time. After countless attempts (since I bought this camera, anyway), I finally have one I can live with. But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying for more. Because I'm a geek.

In Memoriam

Amy Unger — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:29:00 GMT

Summer begins on Sunday. We're expecting to see a high today of 92, with about 70% humidity. My sister, Sarah, is heading to the Phish concert at Verizon Wireless Music Center, so I must get a plug in to tell her to have fun with that - I hope the usual crowd makes an exception today and wears deodorant!

I generally do not fare well in this weather - unless I'm in the mood to be grumpy at everyone around me. Which I can't imagine why I would be. There isn't much that will get me out for an extended period of time unless it's water-related. There is a notable exception, however: raspberry picking.

Let me back up... My childhood home, which is no longer standing, sat in the middle of a wooded 8-acre plot in what is now a very busy area of Carmel, Indiana - 116th and Rangeline Road, for those of you familiar. On the edge of our woods you'd find an enormous field next to railroad tracks (now the Monon Trail), lined with hundreds and hundreds of raspberry bushes. I looked forward every year to the buckets of berries we'd collect along that field and down the tracks. No matter how much mom or dad warned, I would always eat half of what I picked, ending up with a stomach ache later in the day. Of course, I would conveniently forget that part by the next year.

It didn't matter how hot it was, and it was usually oppressive - I would be out there for hours upon hours. And if those bushes actually still existed, I would probably be out there today.

So early every summer here at Klipsch, as I park along the woods that line our back parking lot, I keep an eye on the distinctive bushes, waiting for that quick burst of memories.

The photo below is now serving as a memorial to the ripe raspberries seen here. May they rest in peace.

Overcoming Fear

Amy Unger — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:28:00 GMT

If you have traveled through Hamilton Co. Indiana this month, you have likely seen a big orange and yellow mass in the sky. This semi-permanent fixture (through Halloween, anyway) is the latest attraction at one of my favorite places - Conner Prairie Settlement. Every time we drive by the circa 1859 hot air balloon, which is often, Steven shrieks about how much he wants to go up in it. Because he has become rather cautious in his old age, I could only figure that he wanted to take this risk because either (A) it is yellow, (B) he has no idea how high it goes, or (C) we just saw the movie "Up" and he thinks the experience will be like a Pixar movie.

But regardless of why, I was certain he wouldn't actually do it. So the weekend before last I called his bluff. He marched into the park with me, walked up to the balloon-ride ticket booth, gazed up at the enormous contraption, and with no fanfare or ruckus quickly turned around and said "I changed my mind, mommy."

No worries, we're Prairie geeks members, so I wasn't out any cash. I thought maybe we'd try again later. Sure enough, last Sunday he announced he was going to "really do it this time." We marched right back into the park, walked up to that ticket booth, and this time made it all the way into an odd, donut-looking metal balloon basket. I was trying to be nonchalant to keep from spooking him, even though frankly - being a balloon first-timer - I was a bit scared as well.

As soon as the balloonist latched the gate and announced it was time, I realized Steven was no longer at my side. I turned to find him swiftly marching right back to the exit door without one word to me. I managed to persuade him back, then sat him down on the floor so he couldn't see out (the basket wall was a solid three feet up before you could see over the edge through netting). The balloonist announced that it was going to be a bit bumpy for a few seconds, then I heard a loud, yet little, voice coming up from the floor saying, "I don't want to go up!!", which drew several uncomfortable chuckles from the other passengers. So I sat next to him and told him it would be fine.

Once we got over the first few bumps, it was a smooth and fast ride up 400 feet. You can see Steven's furrowed and worried brow during our ascent:

At full height, we finally convinced him to stand up and look around. And let me tell you, he was a changed little boy after he saw how everything looked like a miniture version of itself. It was a wonderous land of matchbox cars! He gleefully exclaimed he could see our house, and "grandma's house!," and "grandma's car!" - which of course we couldn't, but it was fun for him anyway.

It wasn't long before he was poking his head through the basket of the balloon. I'd say his fear had subsided.

When we finally touched down, the first thing he said as we walked away was "I wanna do that again!"

Sometimes all it takes is for someone to sit next to you and tell you everything will be all right. Along with no other choice.

Play Time

Amy Unger — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:44:00 GMT

The brown bears are far and away my favorite animals to visit at the zoo. Unfortunately, most times they are sound asleep, but Friday we were treated to a good-natured frolic between the two youngsters. Although it didn't look like a frolic. Or good natured. In fact, it looked downright scary. Turns out these two bears were orphaned in Alaska last year after officials were forced to kill their mother, who had been involved in several maulings. It's nice to see they've found a good home.

Oh, and the zoo has Klipsch outdoor speakers at their commissary. Yay, Klipsch!