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!

Cerebral Overload

Apparently, Sunday was National Bloggers Day. It seems like I missed this national (international?) event the past 15 years or so. To celebrate this special and historic occasion, I am reviewing the Cerebral Overload blog, which, possibly ironically, does a lot of reviewing itself!

First, full disclosure. Ben, one of the individuals behind Cerebral Overload, and I are in a fantasy football league together. Therefore, I thought I should point out that this review will not be clouded by the fact that Ben defeated me in week two and has a much better record than me this season. So with that in mind, let me tell you that Ben’s blog would be significantly better if his team lost to mine earlier this season!

Cerebral Overload focuses on technology news and reviews and has its own podcast. This really shouldn’t be shocking or cutting-edge, but I’m impressed that Ben’s product reviews are done by video instead of in written posts. Any reviews I have ever done have always been written posts, so this seems revolutionary to me. His recent reviews include one of a Pittsburgh photography coffee-table book, headphones (I love the “What’s In The Box” post title), and a very cool flashlight. Ben is quite thorough and gives you the information you need to decide whether or not you want to purchase the product. Cerebral Overload provides tons of useful information on cars and NASA news and is a good source for both. I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to the podcasts, but I heard Ben appear on the Ya Jagoff podcast and he definitely knows his stuff (technical term).

So celebrate National Bloggers Day by checking out Cerebral Overload. A great site if you’re interested in new technical products, cars, and much, much more!

2016 Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event: Top 10 Arcades In Pittsburgh

Today’s post comes from Jenilee Dunson, a geek, otaku, and lover of all things kawaii (I have no idea what this means) who also writes about video games, anime, tech and toys at Geeky Sweetie. This is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. You can see my post over on Lunges, Long Runs and Lattes where I share my attempt to finally become fashionable.

Are you looking for something different to do in downtown Pittsburgh? How about a fun night of games for the whole family? Arcades are a dying art in the United States which makes them increasingly hard to find - especially to find a well maintained arcade without a lot of outdated or worse yet, out of order, games. And when you find a good one, it's like a step back in time to your childhood or for younger kids, a glimpse into a forgotten era.

The following list will examine 10 different arcades in the Pittsburgh area to try to help you decide which arcade is right for you. We'll start our list with number 10 and build anticipation for what we believe is the best Arcade in Pittsburgh.

10. Laser Storm Pittsburgh located at 7715 McKnight Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237. This is a great experience for the whole family. They have an awesome rock climbing simulator that is a must try one of a kind experience. They also have numerous arcade games and as their name suggests - a huge, award winning laser tag arena. All of their units are well maintained and the building is clean and well lit. They also offer the ability to rent the entire arena for $300 and offer many "team building" exercises and events. However, for casual play, it is a bit expensive at $7 a game.

09. Replay FX located at 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Downtown for one week only July 28th - 31st (2016). This is an annual "Pop up arcade" convention that features over 2,500 arcade machines - with guests bringing their own units as well. Not only that but it also has cosplay, table top gaming, and console gaming. It's held every year in Pittsburgh and attracts thousands of gamers from all around the world. Since it's only there for a few days - it is not to be missed. Ticket prices vary - you can do a day pass for under $30 or stay all 4 days for under $100. You can also participate in tournaments and earn real cash prizes. The location is great especially for those not from the area as the convention center is close to hotels, shopping, and dining.

08. Ace's Breakaway and Play located at 417 Smithfield St Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Downtown - This is a tiny little arcade with about 20 different games. The games are well maintained and in good working order. The location is good if you live downtown but probably not so good if you're coming in from outside the city due to traffic and lack of parking space. However, the staff is very friendly and the prices are great - you will need to bring change or small bills to use in the change machine.

07. Pinball Perfection located at 231 Perry Hwy Westview, PA 15229 West View. This is a really neat Pinball "Museum" - they also sell and repair pinball machines as well. It's funny then, that so many of their own dang machines are always out of order and in need of bad repair. However, there are hundreds of machines and they are really old - dating back to the 1940s and onwards. This place has pinball machines that you just will not see anywhere else in the world. Hours of operation and prices also beat many of these other arcades on our list.

06. Steel City Gamerz located at YOUR HOUSE (or local Business) - This one just HAD to go on our list because it's so unique! This is an "Arcade on wheels" that you can rent for your party or event - How cool would this puppy be at a wedding reception? Especially if the bride and groom are both gamers - Of course, it'd be equally as awesome at a children's birthday party or any other special event. My only complaint - they have no Playstation 4 - only one Playstation 3 - meanwhile they have like 6 Xbox 360s and 2 Xbox Ones and 4 Wii U's - What gives?! Where's the love for Playstation?! Not even ONE PS4? - It has theater style seating inside and multiple huge flat screen tv's for your gaming needs. It also comes equipped with over 100 different games - and if you don't see a game you'd like, you can make a special request to have it included. - They are VERY pricey though - $325 for 2 hours - you can go out and buy an Xbox One or Wii U or PS4 etc for about that price and have it forever - therefore this is really only something to do for the "experience" and "novelty" of the idea.

05. Bradish Street Pinball Palor located at 1111 Bradish St Pittsburgh, PA 15203 South Side. This is a really great place to play pinball. They have some of the best maintained machines in Pittsburgh as well as a great selection. The only reason I can't score it higher on our list is because of the ungodly hours they keep. They don't open until 5pm (7pm on the weekends) making this a no-go for families as you're likely to be preparing dinner for the kids or not wanting to stay out late. Like many other arcades on the list, this one is BYOB which shows that they want to appeal to adults. If you are kid free and enjoy the "night life" and staying out til 2am in the morning, Bradish Street Pinball Palor is pretty awesome. They even have pinball tournaments making it more exciting and competitive. When tournaments are not going on, you can pay $15 to play all day, making it an excellent and cheap night on the town.

04. Games n' At located at 2010 Josephine St Pittsburgh, PA 15203 South Side Slopes. If you love retro games, Games n' At should be your first stop. They have a multitude of different retro gaming consoles as well as old school arcade systems from the 80s and early 90s. Adults will also appreciate the BYOB policy which helps keep costs low. A local favorite - many people rave about the "Duckpin Bowling" which Games n' At is particularly known for. They also have several pool tables and air hockey machines. However, Games n' At is in a somewhat dangerous location, making it not ideal for families or for visitors from outside the city. The building itself is also not as well kept as some of the other arcades on the list - and to make matters worse, many of the games are also in bad need of repair - this is however a common problem for many arcades. Overall, Games n' At is a local hidden treasure and a true step back in time for fans of retro video games. Be sure to call before you visit or check on google to see if they are open. They keep weird hours and only open about 3 or 4 days out of the week.

03. Victory Pointe located at 1113 E Carson St Pittsburgh, PA 15203 South Side. Victory Pointe is a clear winner for selection and variety of games. They have literally everything from DDR to fighting to shooting to racing games. Many popular games too such as Mario Kart and Battletoads to name a few - Like Games n' At, this is another BYOB establishment which helps them attract adults who are on a budget by allowing them to bring their own alcohol. This place is much better maintained, cleaner, and less "Seedy" feeling than Games n' At. Not only are the grounds themselves neatly maintained, but the games inside as well. This gives it a clear edge over other Arcades in the area who allow their games to slip into disrepair. The staff here is also really great. I also like that they have seats at the machines which makes for a more comfortable gaming experience. The only thing I would improve is getting some larger monitors for the console games. Their food is comparable to Dave & Busters - but much more reasonably priced. You can also get a "play all day" pass which will give you access to unlimited gaming for your stay - making this a great place for families or large groups.

02. Dave & Busters located at The Waterfront 180 E Waterfront Dr, Homestead, PA 15120 - Okay, I know this is not "distinctively" Pittsburgh. And it may not be as "hipster" or "indie" as the other Arcades on our list - but I love Dave & Busters. It's like a "Grown Up Chuck E Cheese" - Since they are a national chain they have money in their pockets to get all the latest games and keep them well maintained. Their food is delicious though quite expensive. I like that you can preload your gamecard online at home or via the kiosks in the restaurant and that you can save your card and reuse it again and again. They have some amazing prizes that you can win if you frequent the place often enough such as gaming consoles and electronics. And these gamecards can be used at any Dave n Busters which makes it great for those who travel or visitors from out of town. Not only that, but this particular Dave N Busters is at an excellent location. The waterfront is a beautiful, newer, shopping complex with lots to offer, in a great neighborhood with ample parking. After you dine and play your games you and your friends can spend time browsing the shops and other areas. For those who are traveling from out of town or entertaining out of town guests, there's also many hotels at the Waterfront as well.

01. Kickback Pinball Cafe located at 4326 Butler St Pittsburgh, PA 15201 Lawrenceville takes our spot for the best arcade in Pittsburgh - although it only has Pinball machines and doesn't offer the variety of some of the other arcades on our list - the service, prices, location, and "Pittsburgh-ness" of this arcade, secure it in our number 1 spot. Kickback Pinball Cafe is like "Panera Bread with Pinball Machines" The food is very similar to Panera Bread and is priced very reasonably with meals under $10. It's healthy, with salads, sandwiches, smoothies, teas, etc. And it's pretty tasty too. This is where all the "hipster" kids want to be, and for good reason. It's a relaxing and trendy atmosphere with a lot of games and just a great place to hang out. It's clean and well maintained and they add new games to their lineup regularly which keeps people coming back to see what's new. Also, like Games n' At this one is BYOB, which the adults love!

Regardless of which gaming experience you choose, you're sure to create a memorable outing that will have friends and family members talking about this trip for a long time to come. Pittsburgh has a lot of great things to offer - and their selection of arcades is no exception.


Sean's Note: I had no idea there were so many arcades in Pittsburgh. I want to go to there! In the meantime, please make sure to visit all of the great bloggers participating in this annual Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event!

Harvest + Bloom // Yes, Wear That! // jelly jars // Glam and Graffiti // To The Streets // In Pursuit // Pittsburgh & Pearls // Beezus Kiddo // Goodness Madness // Last Minute Panic // Steel City Intrigue // Crank Crank Revolution // Amanda Narcisi // Pittsburgh is Beautiful // From Cats to Cooking // Yum Yum PGH // Breelicious Bites // Parmesan Princess // Coffee & A Blonde // The Steel Trap // Wavy Alabaster // everybody loves you… // Eat with Emily // Don’t Forget to Eat // Sloping in the Sky // From Farm to Turntable // Secrets in the Wall // Red Pen Mama // Feedback Soup // The AP Collection // Blog Or Die PGH // Pittsburgh Happy Hour // Friendly Fitness Foodie // Small Town Dad // Josh’s World // Geeky Sweetie // Sean’s Ramblings // Lunges, Long Runs and Lattes // Try it and You May! // lil Burghers // Orange Chair Blog // Ya Jagoff // Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents // Melissa Firman

Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event 2015

Today’s post comes from Stephen of the Crank Crank Revolution, and is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. You can see my post over on Jelly Jars where I share a never-written about story about trying to impress my wife by biking on our honeymoon.


I don't need to tell many people this, but Pittsburgh is a very interesting city. Its economy is unique, its rich history is amazingly singular, and--most importantly--its people are extraordinarily distinctive.

Pittsburghers pride themselves in being different, in whatever way that manifests itself.

I'm actually quite surprised, however, that there hasn't been a movement to create a sort of Pittsburgh currency. Sure, it's illegal, what with the Constitution stating that only the federal government gets to coin money, but the Constitution also tells you not to make a left turn first at the intersection, so whatever. Still, an unofficial currency that is indicative of the city itself would certainly be interesting.

Let's take a look at how we could pay various costs with some iconic Pittsburgh items. I'm assuming that all items are worth their full retail value, here, because double-entry bookkeeping is for charlatans and suckers.

If you sold 3,296 Smiley Cookies from Eat N' Park, you could have bought the August Wilson Center at a sheriff's sale.

In order to match the profits that UPMC totally didn't make in 2014 because they are a non-profit, you would have to win and then sell 7,600 Lombardi Trophies. There are people in Pittsburgh who think this is entirely possible, and I'm not gonna tell them no.

You would have to sling 1770 baskets of Potato Patch Fries to be able to pay the median property taxes in Fox Chapel. That's a whole lot of trips of sending your servants to an amusement park!

Franco Harris would have to sell 397,674,419 Super Donuts to pay off Penn State's legal bills. He's trying his hardest.

You would have to let 105,541 people into the Carnegie Science Center to match the amount that Henry Clay Frick left to the park to totally square things with all those people he shot in Homestead.

You would have to sell 4,065,470 CDs of Donnie Iris's 1980 debut album Back To The Streets to be able to pay the Pittsburgh Pirates payroll this year. If you are unfortunate enough to live in Lawrenceville, it's going to take 7,738,693 vinyl albums. If you drive a 1995 Ford F150 in Butler County, you would need to sell 62,096,774 cassette tapes to cover the cost.

You would have to sell 154 Wholey Fish Sandwiches to be able to pay for One Trash Can With Luke Ravenstahl's Name On It.

You would have to save 42,799,678 Parking Spaces With A Plastic Lawn Chair in order to pay for the entire North Shore Connector.

It would have taken 440,252 Terrible Towels to match the payout from the lottery that Nick Perry rigged in 1980.

Heinz would have had to shoot 6,533,200,000 pounds of Mount Lebanon venison in order to merge with Kraft.

I don't know about you, but I think Fuelperks just got a lot more interesting.


Please check out all of these amazing Pittsburgh bloggers participating in this now annual event:

The AP Collection

Lucy Quin

A Body of One's Own

Oh Honestly, Erin

My Blog n'at

Josh’s World

Pennies, Pints, Pittsburgh

Beezus Kiddo

The Wheezy Runner

Lunges, Long Runs and Lattes

Sole for the Soul

Gardening in High Heels

The Fashionable Eye

The Steel Trap

30-Something therapy

Pittsburgh Happy Hour

Pittsburgh is Beautiful

Downtown Living

Crank Crank Revolution

Sean’s Ramblings (hey, that's me!)

jelly jars

In Pursuit of Happiness

Red Pen Mama

Orange Chair Blog

Last Minute Panic

Emily Levenson

The Pittsburgh Mommy Blog

Pittsburgh Taste Buds

Don’t Forget to Eat

101 Achievements

Nicky D. Cooks

In Pursuit of Simple

The Almond Eater

Parmesan Princess

Yum Yum PGH

The Foodtasters

Small Town Dad

A Librarian’s Lists and Letters

everybody loves you…

 

You can also like Sean's Ramblings on Facebook.

Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event 2014

Today’s post comes from Tyler of YinZSTER, and is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. You can see my post over on Small-Town Dad, where I write about preparing to be a new father again.

Guest blogger in the house.

There are actually 29 guest bloggers in 29 different houses today, and even one in my house at YinZSTER (what has happened to the moral fabric of our e-society?). But of all the featured blogs, I would be willing to bet that my random insertion at Sean’s Ramblings is the toughest to detect because dude is all over the map and I love it! We’ve got sports, we’ve got anecdotes, we’ve got cats, we’ve got politics, we’ve got things out of the basement, we’ve got EVERYTHING in NO PARTICULAR ORDER at Sean’s Ramblings. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I realized that this page has been producing more than one post a day for over the past nine years. That’s incredible, and very different from my approach at YinZSTER (because I’m very lazy), so I’m super excited to be featured on here. It’s a privilege.

But wtf am I supposed to write about, when I can clearly just write about whatever I want? That is, as they say, a lot of rope to hang yourself on. Should I write about how orcas are the scariest living thing on the planet? How I always perspire when I write posts (Sean, am I the only one who sweats while he writes? Or is this how you know you’re doing it wrong...)? Should I write about a cool new development in Pittsburgh, like rideshare services? Should I write about how I woke up this morning with all the lights on in my apartment, still wearing every garment of clothes from the night before while lying on top of the covers on my bed? No, right?

I fretted over this, but when it came down to it I wanted to represent for Sean, so I scoured his posts and found what I think I might be best capable of replicating with a little flair: interpretations of song lyrics. I chose three of the Top 10 songs from Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40, which is kind of fun because I don’t listen to much music that humans like. I’m just going straight lyrics here, people, as if these words were found within the pages of a poetry notebook (and, dear God, I’m glad they weren’t). I don’t recognize any of the three songs I chose, which kind of makes me question my lifestyle since these are three of the ten most popular songs in western civilization or whatever it is that Billboard represents. But oh well, that’s for another time and place.

I chose:

• “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Last week, my good friend Emily scolded me when her coworkers at Branding Brand made a music video that mimicked the video for this song, because she could tell I had never heard the song, or of it, or seen the video. But I do know the guy has a weird hat.
• “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry. Katy Perry is pretty hot, and some of her older songs are guilty pleasures of mine. She has done a lot to surmount the obstacle of being one of those Katy’s who ends her name with a “y” instead of an “ie”.
• “Counting Stars” by One Republic. This is the only one that Sean didn’t touch in his recent post. I had a really great night in February that ended with One Republic songs being played on repeat at The Livermore in East Liberty (lovely place). I don’t know if this was one of them or not, but it doesn’t really matter though because I’m glad to be reminded of that night.

Ahem

“Happy”

Verse 1
Pharrell: It might seem crazy what I’m about to say
Tyler: *braces himself for the craziest thing ever*
Pharrell: Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
Tyler: *slumps in chair*
Pharrell: I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
Pharrell: With the air, like I don’t care baby by the way
Tyler: Holy sh*t, none of this is going to make any sense, is it?

Hook
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

Tyler: I put some serious thought into “if you feel like a room without a roof” and I’m really struggling with what he’s going for here. It sounds like a terrible thing to be missing the most critical component of your design, but that doesn’t fit into the context with the rest of the lyrics. Put another way, I take this as “clap along if you feel super insufficient to serve the only task you are capable of doing – because I’m happy”. Right? Clap along if you feel like a skateboard without wheels, clap along if you feel like a television with no screen, clap along if you feel like a toothbrush with no little brushy things part. These should be lyrics to an R.E.M. song. It’s actually totally sad, if you think about an image of someone who feels this level of despair and is clapping their hands to this song with a long face…

Verse 2
Pharrell: Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah,
Pharrell: Well, give me all you got, and don’t hold back, yeah,
Pharrell: Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
Pharrell: No offense to you, don’t waste your time here’s why:
Tyler: Really? Nothing can bring you down from this temporary mood? Mr. Williams, your entire family was killed in a horrific accident.

Bridge
Pharrell: Hey, come on
Pharrell: Bring me down can’t nothing bring me down
Pharrell: My level’s too high
Tyler: The other vehicle was full of puppies.
Pharrell: Bring me down can’t nothing bring me down
Pharrell: I said (let me tell you now)
Tyler: The lone survivor was a serial killer driving the puppy car
Pharrell: Bring me down can’t nothing bring me down
Pharrell: My level’s too high
Tyler: Mr. Williams the serial killer is en route to your last known address
Pharrell: Bring me down can’t nothing bring me down
Pharrell: I said

And then he goes on with more of the same incoherent babbling. Conclusion: I suppose if I had the Number 1 song in the world with this style of writing, it’d be hard to bring me down too.

“Dark Horse”

I’m just gonna skip the Juicy J. lead-up stuff, but he does finish that part with “Let’s rage” which I like.

Katy: I knew you were, you were gonna come to me
Katy: And here you are but you better choose carefully
Katy: Cause I, I’m capable of anything
Katy: Of anything and everything
Tyler: Where’s the like button?

Katy: Make me your Aphrodite, make me your one and only
Katy: But don’t make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy
Tyler: What if this was some chick’s online dating profile?

Katy: So you wanna play with magic. Boy, you should know what you’re falling for.
Katy: Baby do you dare to do this? Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse.
Katy: Are you ready for, ready for a perfect storm, perfect storm?
Katy: Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine there’s no going back
Tyler: Dear bro who this song was meant for, you’re courting a praying mantis.

Katy: Mark my words, this love will make you levitate
Katy: Like a bird, like a bird without a cage
Tyler: Caw-caw!
Katy: But down to earth, if you choose to walk away, don’t walk away
Katy: It’s in the palm of your hand now baby
Katy: It’s a yes or no, no maybe
Katy: So just be sure to give it all to me.
Tyler: Where can I sign up? You don’t sound crazy at all.

And speaking of not crazy, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Juicy J!

Juicy J: She’s a beast, I call her Karma, she eats your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer
Tyler: Wow, little intense there brother. But at least you left out the part where she tries to zombify you by injecting acid and hot water into your skull, like Jeffrey Dahmer.
Juicy J: That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor, she can be my Sleeping Beauty I’m gon’ put her in a coma (woo!)
Tyler: WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!
Juicy J: Her love is like a drug, I was tryna hit it and quit it, but lil mama so dope I messed around and got addicted.
Tyler: So romantic. Maybe if I applied more cannibalism, coma-induction and drug abuse into my courtship practices I wouldn’t be blogging on Friday nights.

I’m done. Get me out of this song.

“Counting Stars”

This post is already too long for me to write about “Counting Stars”, which is just another way for me to say, “Mannnn these lyrics are terrible.” All you need to know is the lyric “No more counting dollars, we’ll be counting stars”. Ugggghhhhhh. Alright, One Republic, how many stars did you count? I have a nephew who can count to 100 – can you get to that many? There is absolutely no point to this song. It’s trying to do the whole, man I got all this money but it isn’t fulfilling at all so let’s just marvel at nature thing, but it fails miserably. Moving on.

Anyway, this is as good a place as any for me to thank Sean for the spot on his page. I look forward to checking out the posts on here in the future, as should you Mr./Ms. Sean’s Ramblings Reader. Like I said at the beginning, I chose the writing style of his that I thought would be the most fun, but there’s lots of cool day-to-day stuff on here and the guy really shoots from the hip. I enjoyed the opportunity, and also have to thank Alexander FIV for hooking us all up. See you around the block, Pittsburgh bloggers!


I hoped that you enjoyed this special April Fool's Day post as part of the 2nd annual Pittsburgh Guest Blogger event. You can also find plenty of other special guest blog posts by checking out #PghGBE on Twitter.

Crazy Fantasy Football Championship Finish

I'm in 6 fantasy football leagues this year. In hindsight, this is too many leagues. Actually, I realized that this is too many leagues by week 3. Anyway, perhaps due to being in too many leagues, I had a terrible fantasy football season. I only made the playoffs in 2 of the 6 leagues and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in one of those leagues. However, I reached the championship in the Pittsburgh Bloggers fantasy football league only to see one of the weirdest and wildest endings in fantasy history. Well, at least my extensive football history.

Going into Monday night, Sean's Team (yes, that's my actual team name) led Shrimp Shack Shooters ("SSS") by 4 points. I had the 49ers defense while SSS had Tony Gonzalez starting. Here's your fantastic finish:

With 2 minutes and 10 seconds remaining, I had a 5 point lead.

2:09 - Tony Gonzalez with a TD catch, but there are two flags on the play...both on SF. The TD catch gave SSS 6 points while causing my DEF to lose points. Instantly, SSS took a 4 point lead.

Atlanta recovers an onside kick. Tony Gonzalez makes another catch or two increasing SSS' receiving yards (& fantasy points).

1:10 - NaVorro Bowman of the SF intercepts a Matt Ryan pass and returns it 89 yards for a TD. The 8 points (6 for the TD & 2 for the INT) gives me a 2 point lead. Woo!

:21 - Gonzalez with an 11 yard catch reduces my lead to 1.

:05 - Gonzalez with a 9 yard catch. While I believe that we're tied, all of a sudden, I'm down 2. I get very confused. (I later discover that Gonzalez's catch gives Atlanta 402 total yards. In the league you get -1 points if your defense allows 350-399 yards but -3 when your defense gives up 400-449 yards. We need to change this next year.)

Last play of the game - SF intercepts the Hail Mary pass. We're tied!

Go to the league rules for tie-breakers, but there are none. Who is the Commissioner of this league? (It's me. Crap.) Well, I'm blaming Alex since he created the league and the rules last year.

So we have a tie and no tie-breaker. I can't say that I'm a fan of a co-champions. Am I the Miami Hurricanes while SSS is the Washington Huskies? One possible solution is to use bench points as a tie-breaker. In this scenario, SSS would win. While I'm fine with giving SSS the title, but we can't really make a new rule on Christmas Eve, right? Christmas spirit or fantasy integrity or something?

Regardless, this was an exciting ending!


Update: For some reason, ESPN determined that SSS won the league. Maybe because he had a better regular season record than me?

Is The DC Blogging Community Dead?

I'm a blogger between two cities. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, so I often write about Pittsburgh sports. I have lived in Northern Virginia for more than a decade, so I often write about my experiences living in the Washington DC area. Within the past year, I was invited to join the Pittsburgh Bloggers group, I participated in a fantasy football league consisting of Pittsburgh Bloggers and I was part of the Spring 2013 Pittsburgh Guest Blogger event where 30-40 Pittsburgh Bloggers wrote a guest post on another blog. Although I don't live in Pittsburgh anymore, the group has been extremely welcoming, so it's a little disappointing when I can't participate in events for Pittsburgh Bloggers including a recent TweetUp or attend the Pittsburgh Opera Bloggers Night.

Meanwhile, I don't see any of this happening in DC for bloggers. I attended a DC Bloggers Happy Hour almost five years ago and Lacochran organized a group of bloggers to run a 5K about three years ago. Please note the phrases "years ago" from the last sentence. The Washington Post had a local blog directory, but that doesn't seem to exist anymore. While I like DC Blogs (even though my posts don't appear on the live feed until hours later and then get lost in the middle of the page) to highlight some of the best blog posts and as a blog directory, I don't see any activities or camaraderie among DC Bloggers.

Are blogs played out in DC where they aren't in Pittsburgh? Perhaps the problem is that DC is too spread out. At this point, it is unlikely that I would attend a DC Happy Hour because I'm old(ish) and want to see my family after a long day and commute home. (Although I would jump at the opportunity to get free tickets to a DC Bloggers Theater Night!) However, a Northern Virginia Happy Hour in Fairfax, Vienna, Chantilly or Reston could be a possibility.

So is there still a DC Bloggers community that I just don't know exists or is there little to no DC bloggers community anymore?

Spring 2013 Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event

Today's post comes from Ya Jagoff! ,and is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. Enjoy (and make sure to read all the way to the bottom to see where you can find my guest post)!

Hello to all the Sean fans!!! Happy April Fool’s Day!

For those of you that know Pittsburgh, you may be familiar with the term “Jagoff” which is a word that can be somewhat confusing to non-Burghers.

1) It’s not a swear word
2) It can be used to express your ultimate affection for someone.. “I love you, Ya Jagoff!”
3) I can be used to express shock, “You scared the CRAP outta me Ya Jagoff!”
4) It can also be used, as I used it on my blog, to call out anyone that is embarrassing the rest of us Pittsburghers, doing something stupid or attacking those of us that live in Pittsburgh, i.e. “Learn how to drive, Ya Jagoff!” or “Hey Rogeeee Goodell, just because the letters G, O and D are in your name, you are not GOD, Ya Jagoff!”

Today’s example...people that leave the Penguin’s games early.

The Pens have become so popular and prices to the good tickets have become so high that, it has become a “status symbol” to own hockey tickets. Similar to driving a Double-crew-cab, full-time 4 x 4, double hemi-something-or-other-all-decked-out-with-chrome-and-running-boards monster-sized, pick-up truck at current gasoline prices!

The point, hockey die-hards find it hard to get to games and, when they D, they are soooooooooooo glad to be there that they stay, not only until the end of the game, but almost until the crews come by with the brooms to clean up all the food left under the seats. (As a side note, do people eat like that at home or are they just sloppy eaters at arenas and stadiums?)

So I’m at a game, that’s close in score, closely played, late in the third period and……people like the people in front of us that vacated the seats in the above photo, made the choice that BEATING TRAFFIC was a priority.

Traffic? Junior has to get up early for school? Gotta pee before I head out for that long ride home?

All those beat watching the end of this game?? Can’t understand this at all!!

So, to those Early Exiters and Exit-trixes that are all decked out in their expensive Pens gear vs. the die-hard fans sitting there in their Barrasso and Pronovost shirts, here are my thoughts...

If I paid $200/ticket OR was GIVEN a $200/ticket to see a Pens game, we wouldn’t give two @#%#s about traffic or getting home to get my make-up or those uncomfortable dress shoes off. I’m a real hockey fan and I’d still be clutching to the seats as the janitorial staff were trying to clean up the spilled popcorn 3-hours AFTER the game ended.

To those of you that use your hockey tickets as a status symbol, pa-leeeeeze stay home the next time so that, as the final minutes of the hockey game wind down, I don’t have to watch you gather your things, hug, kiss, look around the section to waive goodbye to your friends and BLOCK MY VIEW of the game, Ya Jagoffs!

Thanks again to Sean for letting me post on his blog!!!


I hoped that you enjoyed this special April Fool's Day post. You can see my post over on Love The Burgh, where I share my favorite, definitely non-trendy, Pittsburgh restaurants.

You can also find more special guest blog posts by checking out #PghGBE on Twitter.