If you’re stuck at home (and I hope you are, or at least someplace warm and safe), check out Mike Woycheck’s Twitter feed as he live blogs the Snowmaggedon in truly Carbolic Smoke Ball fashion.  Some gems include:

To avert Pittsburgh drivers from using major roadways, PennDOT erecting banners from recent Pittsburgh Pirates mktg. campaigns at roadside.

TERROR IN SHADYSIDE: Women are forced to shield their bronzed skin and styled hair from falling snow using Louis Vuitton handbags.

You can also watch the real Liveblogging, going on at WTAE (a combination of twitter feeds and user and reporter comments), but it is not nearly as entertaining.  Except in some kind of Schadenfreude way.

Stay warm and stay safe!  I can’t wait to see all the pictures tomorrow!

Update to add this thought: I typically hit the publish button, swear, then go back and spell check.  After the obligatory cursing, I went back to see what I misspelled, and had put a double ‘e’ instead of a double ‘g’ in ’snowmaggedon.’  I’m going to assume that since it’s the title, that is why, but the correct spelling came up in spell check.  Awesome!

Heinz unveiled a new design for the ketchup packet today, and it’s pretty awesome.  Firstly, it holds three times as much ketchup as before.

And secondly, it provides the option to squeeze or dip.  I didn’t even know I wanted to be able to dip from a ketchup packet!  I’ve always just squeeze a bunch of packets into a big pile on a napkin and worked it that way.

Now I don’t think this will revolutionize eating, and eating on the go, as some people are predicting, but hey, I don’t have kids, so maybe it’s more of an issue than I realize. 

This now makes me wonder if “old style” packets will now be some sort of weird collectors item.  Maybe if you hold on to them long enough they’ll turn that nasty color of Hunt’s Ketchup.

Couple changes to PAT.  First, new fare boxes.  Apparantly the old ones would take anything it seems and accept it as money.  Now we’re faced with fare boxes ready to spit stuff back out, like vending and pop machines.  Such is the way of the world I suppose, although the reject rate is 1.2 percent for valid currency.

Excitingly though, the new boxes are ready for the soon to be installed Smart Card system, allowing riders to slide their card across a space on the box, deducting money.  I’m really excited for the smart card system, which reminds me my ID from college.  I’m also kind of hoping I see someone try to butt-scan the fare box.

Please don’t try that, but if you must, make sure I’m around to capture it.

And a change to a change: the first phase of the TDP will go in affect April 4 (previously slated for March).  60 routes are affected, check out the information here.

Primantis or Luckys?

I’m watching Man v. Food right now, and it is a repeat (I remember the segment about Chicago deep dish pizza), but I don’t think I’ve ever watched the last segment before.

The host has to eat three overstuffed sandwiches in an hour, and while the sandwiches seem to be bigger than Primanti’s, there are a couple other differences, mainly the bread (Lucky uses French bread).  Update: He ate all three in about half an hour and won the challenge

I took a look at Lucky’s website and here is what they say:

Lucky’s is Chicago’s home of the overstuffed sandwich. This style of sandwich can be found in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Florida and Maryland.

Maybe imitation is the best form of flattery, but we’ll still claim home to the original.  Speaking of, I had Primanti’s yesterday due to their special with Destinta (take in a ticket stub, get a discount on a sandwich and a drink) and once again have to recommend the General Tso’s wings.

If you’ve turned on a radio this week, things are different.  I’m sure I’m missing some of the changes, but here is what I’ve found so far:

• DVE’s morning show got split up
• B94 is sports talk now (I guess to compete with 1250)
• Bubba is now back at Star on the morning show
• The B94 set list has been merged in with Star’s

That’s what I’ve found so far.  There are probably more details and rumors floating around, I’m still getting used to everything, not that radio is a huge factor in my life.  Is it sad that I still miss the days of talk radio 1250 with Lynn Cullen, Ann Devlin and Uncle Dougie?

Remember when I was taking bets about if my bus would be on time yesterday?

I think I owe you a dollar, because it was on time!  I don’t know if my constant complaining did the trick, and honestly, I don’t want to hold my breath, I still have to get home three more times this week.  We’ll see how this plays out.

Also, on a related note, I just found People of Public Transit (it’s like People of Walmart, but you know, for transit).  Here’s one of my favorites:

I have a feeling I’ll be referencing them a lot…

Aaaaaaand we’re back.  I wish it was on a better note.  Sometimes I feel like I’m always complaining in these columns, and maybe I am, but not to fear, I have at least two more in the works (one of which I can remember off the top of my head) that are of lighter fare.  Oh see, it’s also a pun, kind of, since the fares were just increased.

Speaking of, the fares went up.  And service disappeared.

That correlation was disheartening to say the least.  For the past two weeks, ever since the start of the New Year, my bus in the evening has either not showed up or been half an hour late (at least).  And while typically I can go with the flow, this is one, annoying, two, crappy service, and three, very cold.  And yes, I can survive in the cold, I’m bundled up enough when I need to be, but I have been concerned for some of the other riders on my bus, especially those with small children.  Standing out in the cold for half an hour, to catch a bus that never comes, to catch a different bus to a park ‘n ride, to wait outside another half an hour, to take a slower bus line home is not fun, nor could it be with small children.

So I did what any reasonable person would do.

Read more

I graduated from Saint Vincent College (more on that later this month), and every year, we sent a group of students, professors and administrators down to Haiti to volunteer.  During the year we fundraised, and generally, I feel, learned more than the average person about the poorest country on the planet.

If you haven’t heard, the island nation was rocked by a 7.0 earthquake (I haven’t heard anything about the Dominican Republic, so I’m guessing they were not affected, which I find confusing, but I’m not a seismologist), centered very close to its capital city.  Reports are streaming in, The Daily Dish has some excellent coverage here (from that post, leading to twitter, youtube and blog posts).

And locally, Virginia (I still want to type PittGirl) over at That’s Church has a plea from friends and native Pittsburgher’s who run the BRESMA orphanage in Port-au-Prince:

“i want to make sûre évryoné ùnderstands we cant stay in haiti and thé kids will not live if théy stay. Riots will start within two days.”

Virginia continues:

This is my plea to you to work any connections you have to help get Jamie and Ali McMutrie out of Haiti along with the children that already have adoption papers set for adoptions in U.S. homes.

I’m looking at you, local and state politicians with Washington connections.  I’m looking at you, rich people with private planes.  Please don’t look away from me.

Otherwise, these children will not survive.

I am not rich, I don’t know anyone who is, but maybe someone who has those connections will see this post.  We have to try.  The power of the interconnectedness of the web rarely fails me, don’t fail us now!

In the meantime, want to give?  All you have to do is pick up your cellphone:

• Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to the Yele Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean.
• Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee
• Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 to the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International
• Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.

Also, screw you Pat Robertson.  You give humanity a bad name.

For your Friday afternoon mental health break, I would just like to add how much I want my own special playground with slide!

While the rest of the ‘Burgh was desperately trying to stay warm as the wind chill dipped to -4 degrees, a few of the penguins at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium got to go outside and enjoy the weather. As part of the zoo’s animal enrichment program, designed to give animals new sensory experiences, aquarists take the penguins outdoors when the weather is appropriate, letting them play in the snow and enjoy a small penguins-only playground behind the aquarium, complete with a tiny slide.

I set up a poll, but have no idea how to get it to show up on the main page, or anywhere for that  matter.  Curse you WordPress!

Anyway, leave a comment, let me know what you want to see more on Pittsburgh Metblogs in 2010:

• Sports
• Politics
• Culture/Life
• PATransit Tuesday
• The July Project
• Other feature

Just quickly checking in to wish everyone happy holidays.  Things have, of course, been crazy here, and I’m sure everyone is still recovering from too much food, wrapping paper, and quite possibly an excess of nog.

There has been all kinds of excitement around here it seems, sirens (both police and fire) all day, although so far, it seems everyone is okay.  I’ll probably be heading out to brave some of the shopping conditions tomorrow, but until I get back up to regular posts again, in case you didn’t see it this year, here is an all-time classic for you, and happy holidays!

I’m really not sure what to make of this, I really don’t.  One on hand, it’s kind of cool.  A nice bit of nostalgia, and some cool, retro designs (obviously).  And I love the Penguins, and it comes with a pass holder, and they’re just kind of cool.

But on the other, don’t we have more important things to be worrying about, you know, like the upcoming rate hikes, and service changes.

But I’m still unsure.  I just don’t know what to think.

Anyone?

Thoughts?

Bueller?

Once again, I participated in National Novel Writing Month, where people around the world (yes, it says National, but it’s really international) set out to write 50,000 word novels in 30 days.

It’s crazy, a lot of fun, and I went to a lot of really awesome write-ins this year, where I donned my viking helmet, and we were also graced by pirate hats and bunny ears.

Anyway, Pittsburgh came in 40th place, writers in the Steel City producing over nine million words.  Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Now that it is over, I find myself with all kinds of extra time, and most free moments I stop and think that I should be working on my novel.  More posts coming soon, enjoy the snow everybody!

Kicked off this weekend by a fundraiser at Las Velas(best phrase/fundraising idea ever: Shots for Tots), Make Room for Kids is now accepting donations, courtesy of the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

Head on over to That’s Church to make a donation.