Blog Indiana 2009 Less Than a Week Away! – REGISTER NOW!

It’s official! I’m registered for the Blog Indiana conference taking place next week in Indianapolis. It’s the 2nd year for the event and I absolutely cannot wait to see what’s in store. There will be over 50 speakers and panelists at this year’s event and I’m sure I’ll walk away with pages of notes on how to improve, expand or focus my blogging efforts for another year.

I was going to say that if you’re a blogger in Indiana you MUST come to this event! Then I decided that would be too exclusive.

• If you’re not a blogger and just curious about what’s all this hubbub is about. THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!
• If you’re in business and want to know how all this technology could help you succeed! THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!
• If you’re within driving distance from Indianapolis. THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!
• If you’re wondering what all this social media stuff is all about. THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!
• If you’re an "expert" in blogging or social media. THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!
• If you’re breathing. THIS IS THE CONFERENCE FOR YOU!

You get my point.

There’s so much great information to expect from this conference that you’ll want to be here participate. Last year’s conference was a great success and was the first year. Building on that event and moving forward, this year’s conference will be sure to be a success as well.

If you haven’t yet been convinced, visit the Blog Indiana website and find out a little more about some of the great speakers, informative sessions and all-around good time that’s to be had in Indianapolis next Thursday through Saturday. Oh, and while you’re on the site, go ahead and register!

Not Quite Record Breaking Snow Blankets Indianapolis

If you haven’t figured it out yet Indianapolis has finally received a significant amount of snowfall for the first time this year. According to Chuck Lofton on WTHR, it’s not quite record breaking but ranks 9th most in history.

I polled the Indy twitterverse and asked for people to share some photos of their experiences in today’s frozen white stuff. The photos below are posted on TwitPic and can be enlarged by clicking on each one.

We even saw this recommendation and link to a Google Map that shows all the great sledding hot spots in Indianapolis. How cool is that!

Do you have some photos of your own to share available online? Just let us know in the comments. I’m sure we’d all love to see more.

UPDATE:  WTHR has added this page where people can share their photos too.

Dinner at Fireside Brewhouse

My wife and I had the opportunity to have a date-night last night. No kids, just us and what originally was a few spare hours of free time to catch dinner and a movie.

I wasn’t sure where to go and Kim was leaving it up to me to decide on the dinner destination.

I’d driven by the Fireside Brewhouse a number of times since it opened and kept thinking we should give it a try. They’re located off of County Line Road and Emerson Avenue on the south side of Indianapolis. Just off the County Line Road exit of I-65.

Last night we decided to stop in and before we even walked in the door we realized this place must be a good spot to grab a bite. The waiting area was packed and just about every table seemed to be taken. We were told it would be an hour wait for a table, but that tables seemed to be moving quickly so we gave it a shot.

The atmosphere was great. They have a huge bar area with a live DJ and plenty of large, flat-screen TV’s to catch your favorite televised sports. Last night the Indiana Pacers were beating up on the Houston Rockets while we waited.

The menu is loaded with what they call "Floribbean" fare, a combination of Cuban, Latino and Caribbean dishes. The waiting area has a giant window that you can look into the kitchen to see all the bustle of activity as delicious dishes are prepared and served out to guests. As my wife and I browsed through the menu there were more than a couple of dishes we each wanted to try, but we finally landed on two.

We started with a large bowl of the Yukon Gold-Lager Soup, a rich chicken broth, lager beer, cheese and potato soup. For our entrees, my wife chose the County Line Tenderloin and I had the "Mongo" burger. Both were very good sandwiches and the "Mongo" burger lived up to its name.

It was a good burger, I still have half of it I’ll be eating later tonight for dinner. One of the few times in my life I haven’t completed an entire burger like this.

Aside from being slammed and very busy, which is a good sign for a restaurant, the service was great. We did end up waiting for over an hour and we missed our movie, but ended up being okay too. We were both very tired and just came home with very full bellies.

The only complaint I did have involved a server we were lucky enough not to get. With the giant window to the kitchen open, we repeatedly saw one of the servers bit his fingers, rub his nose and run his hands through his hair while waiting for his table’s food dishes to be prepared.

We’ll be back for sure. There’s plenty of more great dishes to be tried and devoured with friends.

Go visit Fireside Brewhouse for a great meal if you’re on the south side.