Random Ramblings: I'm Old Edition

* Look, I understand that I’m old and am increasingly out of touch. I recently read in my Ithaca College alumni magazine (yes, a print version!) that “The hottest career choice is no longer doctor, lawyer, or actor. It’s now content creator” with 57% of Generation Z (people born between 1997-2012) saying they would become an “influencer” if given the chance.” I think I’ve heard of the biggest content creators/influencers. There’s Mr. Beast who makes videos and seems to give away significant amounts of money. I don’t know what Druski does, but he’s in several commercials with Snoop and Zoe Saldana. I’ve heard the name Alix Earle though I’m not sure what she does either except that she spent time with Tom Brady at a party. This brings me to Kendall Vertes. The Pittsburgh Pirates shared pictures of her throwing out the first pitch at a recent game. Despite having nearly 11 million followers on Instagram, I had never heard of her. 

Apparently, Kendall is/was on Dance Moms and started on the show as a child when she was definitely not a mom. But if the show is about the moms, shouldn’t her mom have 11 million followers? Since Kendall seems to be a big deal, they should rename the show Dance Moms and Dancing Kids. Maybe create a new show called Dance Kids Who Are No Longer Kids? I’m sounding older and older as I continue to type this, so I’m stopping now.

* Based on the schedules of my kids’ activities, I haven’t been able to work as a soccer referee this spring. I worked one game as an assistant referee a few weeks ago, so I was excited to have two games as a center over the weekend. Just before I was about to leave my house, the assigning app gave me a notification that my games were canceled. I figured it was a mistake, and since I was running a few minutes late and the field was about 25 minutes away, I ignored it and drove to the field. When I arrived at the sports complex, the parking lot was mostly empty. There was an adult soccer game occurring on one field but no one else was there. I checked my email to see two more notifications that my games were canceled. Apparently, the county (not the county where I live) closed the grass fields due to rain from the night before. My particular field was absolutely playable. One of the coaches was there and grumbled about county officials not actually visiting the field before making a decision to cancel games.

I got back to my car and emailed the referee assigned to see if any other games were available. She gave me several options in the afternoon, but I couldn’t do them. Instead, I took one U-12 girls rec game in the exact opposite direction. The game was fine as I really enjoy teaching and mentoring younger referees and explaining rules and calls to the players (and sometimes coaches). Still, I drove 16 miles to the original field, 33 miles to the second field, and back 19 miles to Luigi’s flag football game. That’s 68 miles just so I could make $30 for a game with 30-minute halves. While I joke that I get paid to exercise when I referee, I’m not sure the paycheck will cover the cost of gasoline!

* I loved the TV show Jury Duty from a few years ago. The show was made up of all actors except for one guy who thought he was a member of the jury in an actual case. Highly recommend seeing it if you haven’t. I was skeptical about the new series, Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat since I wasn’t sure how they would do it again. Despite the awkward title, the show was just as good as the original.

* A few weeks ago, I wrote how I thought (but wasn't 100% sure) that retired Browns and Steelers cornerback Joe Haden was a coach in my third grader's flag football league. It's now confirmed that the 3-time Pro Bowler is a coach. The Moose got a picture with him at Luigi's last game, and we talked to him for about 30 seconds. He was in Pittsburgh to announce a pick at the NFL draft on Friday evening and then flew to the DC area on Saturday to make it back in time for his team's flag football game. That's dedication!

* My kids’ elementary school holds an annual Heritage Night where the gym is filled with tables of families’ cultures/countries. It’s such a fun event, and the kids (and parents) get to try different types of foods from all over the world. 

* I might have been 100 feet from US soccer great Clint Dempsey last week. Men In Blazers, maybe the biggest soccer podcast/show in the US, held a contest for the Best American Soccer Bar. Ireland’s Four Courts near where I work in Arlington won, so Men In Blazers held a live event which featured Dempsey. I walked by the restaurant a little before taping, so I might have been close to him.

* In the next few weeks, I plan on writing two "serious" posts. I have general notes and ideas but need some time to fully form them into posts. They're going to be a little different for me.

Wordle

I've written before that I consider most of my blog posts to be like long-form articles and that I share my quick thoughts on other social media sites. Today's post is going to be one of those quick posts.

Last month, the teacher of Luigi's third grade class sent a message to The New York Times about what Wordle has meant for the classroom. Every week, Luigi's class plays Wordle, and it's something that the kids look forward to as an engaging and meaningful activity.

The New York Times' Wordle editor replied by sending a very kind note and video to the teacher/class and provided some Wordle swag. Luigi is so excited about his stickers and keychain. 

So cool. Well done, New York Times and Wordle!

Jeremy Renner Attends a Riverhounds Match

Jeremy Renner is an A-list actor. Look at his credits. He got nominated for two Oscars for his terrific work in The Hurt Locker and The Town. Great movies! Throw in some Marvel movies, Arrival, American Hustle, a Bourne film, and more, and you have an incredible career.

Over the last few years, Renner has starred in the Paramount series, Mayor of Kingstown filmed in Pittsburgh. That last part is key since Renner and some of his castmates attended the Pittsburgh Riverhounds match against Detroit City FC on Saturday evening. The Riverhounds won 2-1, becoming the only Pittsburgh professional sports team to win at home on Saturday. Anyway I’m impressed that Renner wore Riverhounds gear at the game, and in honor of this, he gets a blog post dedicated to him!

Please click here for more Celebrities in Pittsburgh Gear posts!

Photos by the Riverhounds and Ed Thompson.

The DoorDash Grandma

Perhaps you’ve seen the news recently. No, not about the war with Iran. Not President Trump picking a fight with the Pope. Not Trump claiming that he is a doctor in his social media post. 

Since all doctors dress like this, particularly on The Pitt. 

No, the news about the “DoorDash Grandma” delivering McDonalds to Trump. By the way, getting McDonalds to the president at the White House seems very inefficient. Although there's a McDonalds only a few blocks away from the White House, it's going to take some time for the DoorDash driver to arrive at the gate, get through security, park, and deliver the meal to the president. The Big Mac and fries are going to be cold once the president gets his meal!

Anyway, the DoorDash Grandma earned $11,000 in tips in 2025. While I'm not completely familiar with the legislation and her actual finances and I'm not an accountant, it seems like she is going to save some money by not having to pay taxes on tips. (Again, she earned $11,000 in tips, she's not saving $11,000.) Doordash Grandma has 10 grandchildren and her husband has cancer. In the interview on Fox News below, she mentions wanting to spend more time with her grandchildren. Now this should be the bigger story.

Does she want to work or does she have to work? I saw a story where she and her husband went through their savings to pay for cancer treatments. You know what would be better than saving money by not having to pay taxes on tips? Not having to pay significantly more money on cancer treatments! Maybe the administration and Congress should try to expand and improve on the Affordable Care Act. Universal health care would be nice. But nope. We're going to talk about Trump getting McDonalds and maybe how people will save money by not paying taxes on tips while the DoorDash Grandma goes back to Arkansas to try to support herself and her husband while trying to figure out how to pay their healthcare bills.

Random Ramblings: April 2026 Edition

When I was in preschool or early in elementary school, my mom worked as a real estate agent for Howard Hanna. While I don't think she worked in real estate for very long, and I don't remember much of her time there, all of the families were invited to a BBQ at a nice house with a big backyard. Phil Garner of the Pittsburgh Pirates was at this gathering, and I got his autograph. Garner passed away on Saturday at the age of 76.

Luigi is playing flag football this season and had his first game over the weekend. About half-way through his game, we saw another team, the Browns warming up for their game. I'm 98% sure that the Browns are coached by 3-time Pro Bowl cornerback of the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, Joe Haden. The coach definitely looks like Joe Haden and he wore Browns shorts with Haden and #23 on them. I also overheard some other parents mentioning that he played in the NFL. The only reason I'm not 100% certain that the coach is Joe Haden is because I can't figure out why he's coaching a 2nd-3rd grade team in Northern Virginia. Apparently, Haden lives in Bowie, Maryland, which isn't that far from the Northern Virginia field, but it's not necessarily close either. Luigi's team plays the Browns in mid-May. The Moose wants to meet him!

Since my wife rarely reads this blog, I'm going to share something personal today. I always throw in a dryer sheet for each load of laundry I put in the dryer. She never does. I don't understand this. Why have staticky clothes when the load finishes when this is easily preventable? 

Just finished season 3 of Shrinking. Loved it! I read that the show was renewed for a fourth season. While I think season three ended at a perfect spot and another season isn't necessary, the cast and writers are so good that I'm sure they'll figure out a way to make another season great.  

The Moose is playing recreational basketball this spring in a league of 9th and 10th graders. Even though he just played basketball this winter, the kids seem much bigger this season. Apparently, some of the kids on high school basketball teams play rec now that the high school season is over. The team The Moose faced on Sunday had two players that were at least 6'3"!

Best of the 'Burgh

Let's get this over with. Voting for Pittsburgh Magazine's annual Best of the 'Burgh is underway through April 20th. I'm honored to be nominated in the Local Writer category. Thanks to everyone for submitting my name as a nominee and thanks if you vote for me or for one of the other finalists in this category.

As many of you know, I live in Northern Virginia. While I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, I am not likely considered a "local" writer if Pittsburgh Magazine has a specific definition of local. I mean, I'm local to Pittsburgh compared to the Artemus II astronauts circling the moon but that probably doesn't count. With that written, many of my posts are Pittsburgh related or have Pittsburgh references. Not including this post, I have written 13 separate posts in 2026. Of course I'd like to write more, but that's a different topic for a different day. 11 of the 13 posts include some type of mention of Pittsburgh. The other two are about my youngest son participating in a spelling bee and about my passing the Brimley / Cocoon line. (For the spelling bee post, I included a story about how I participated in a spelling bee when I was in third grade. Although I didn't actually name the school or my teacher, that spelling bee occurred in Pittsburgh.) I think a spelling bee and reaching a certain age milestone are universal for residents of Pittsburgh and beyond.

If Pittsburgh Magazine and the Best of the 'Burgh voters want someone who lives in Western Pennsylvania, I understand. If they want someone to write only about local topics, I understand that too, though I believe that the great Hal B. Klein is the only nominee that meets this criteria. If it helps my candidacy as a local writer, I can write about very specific local topics such as why it's "sus" (as the kids say) that the longtime Woodland Hills High School Band Director and Director of the Spring Musical retired just a few weeks before opening night of Young Frankenstein at the auditorium named in his honor. Or I can write about two of my kids being in the background of a story filmed by WTAE last week. Is that local enough? Look, I haven't lived in Western PA for many years but Pittsburgh and the region will always be part of me. 

I Met Josh

In the late 2000s through mid-2010s, there were thriving blogging communities in Pittsburgh and Washington DC / Northern Virginia and I imagine other places as well. While there were various in-person events (such as happy hours and blogger nights at grand openings for venues), there were also online directories and groups for bloggers and guest blogger exchanges. Through these online activities, I got to meet some really cool people though rarely in person with a few brief exceptions. I met Nicolas of Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies fame at a Penguins-Islanders game and had brunch with Heidi of The Steel Trap and John of Ya Jagoff!

One of the people I got to know over the years is Josh of Josh's World. Josh is one of the few people from over a decade ago who still maintains a blog, but we also participate in multiple fantasy sports leagues and Oscar pools together. Plus, Josh is always up for participating in any of my silly predictions blog posts. Despite being Facebook friends, we never actually met in person.

Last month, Josh announced that he bought a restaurant. Although I don't think there will be a movie about this starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, this was very exciting news, and I was and am very happy for Josh.

With spring break approaching, I decided that I wanted to support Josh and visit his restaurant. I also wanted to attend a Penguins game and buy some cheap T-shirts in the Strip District, so I took a road trip to Johnstown and Pittsburgh with The Moose (now 15!!) and Luigi.

We got on the road a little later than I wanted thanks to some type of blade in my tire and the time it took for the repair. Because of this, we didn’t arrive at the Corner Coffee Shoppe until after 2:00. About a half-mile before the restaurant, we passed a Long John Silver's. I love this chain, and since there are no franchises near me, I briefly considered stopping there instead. But no. We were on a mission!

Corner Coffee Shoppe is located in the corner of the Bel Air Plaza. The shopping center also has a Dollar General, Japanese restaurant, an escape room, and more but there's a big vacant spot in the middle in what might have been a Value City based on my 45 seconds of internet research. The restaurant itself is unassuming from the outside but is very cool once you go in. There’s an old-fashioned diner counter set up on the right part of the restaurant, and booths and tables for the rest. 

Although I sent a message to Josh a few days before letting him know that I planned on visiting, I didn’t give him an exact day or time of when we would arrive. Not that we were invited to the festivities, but we missed the new ownership ribbon-cutting ceremony. Josh made the news! 

The crowd from that event died down by the time we arrived, and I didn't see Josh when we were seated. I was actually a little nervous about meeting him. I was basically showing up at his job somewhat unannounced. I wanted to say hi, but I didn't want to bother him. After we got drinks, I saw Josh go back and forth between the kitchen and a table where he was eating with his family. I definitely didn't want to interrupt that. Maybe 15 minutes later and when we were finishing our meal, Josh walked towards the front of the restaurant by our table and I introduced him to my two kids with me and we talked for a few minutes. It was a fairly brief conversation since Josh was heading out, and again, he was with his family and already had a full and eventful day. Still, it was cool meeting him in person and checking out his restaurant. The food was good (I need to get dessert next time!) and very reasonably priced. Plus, I love the placemats highlighting local businesses. More places need to have this. 

Once things settle down for Josh, I'd love to interview him about the experience of owning a restaurant. In the meantime, if you're in or around Johnstown, please support Josh and enjoy a meal at Corner Coffee Shoppe!