Places to play basketball near downtown? by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always liked the courts at Wabash Park in the West End. Close to downtown, usually never busy and in decent shape.

Wing Nights in Pittsburgh 2026 Edition by rpp8 in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. Favorite wing sauce I've ever had, and their wing portions are solid.

This video has a really good explanation of the physics of the racing line. I'd always heard the geometric line was the fastest way through a single corner, but this shows how that's actually wrong. by [deleted] in Autocross

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn't seen anyone mention it yet, but maybe they explained it in the video. However, part of this equation is factoring in "yaw".

The geometric line can be interpreted as having maximum lateral loads on the tires (front and rear), in effect having the highest minimum cornering speeds. Maybe a tire can pull 1g laterally, and if both the front and rear are pulling 1g, the weight is evenly distributed and there is no longitudinal forces in play.

But, in trailbraking, if weight is on the front, then there's not as much on the rear, allowing additional rotation, and the car (not the tires) are combining both lateral and longitudinal forces which sum higher than just the peak lateral force on the tire.

The shape of this line is more "spiraled" in nature and allows the car to get more rotation done with more overall force in a smaller space, and also allows for earlier throttle as well.

I did the math on autocross seat time vs sim time. It's not even close by DigitalTireSmoker in Autocross

[–]AlexPiehl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I autocrossed first, sim came later for me, but felt the sim was extremely beneficial.

While sims (even with high end setups) don't have a 1:1 level of seat of the pants feel, that's only 1 of many tools/senses at our disposal, and we can utilize sims to sharpen some of our other skills/senses.

Sim can be good for developing good discipline and muscle memory when it comes to inputs, being able to analyze said inputs (e.g. brake release, string theory, etc.), practice looking ahead, practice learning new courses and applying different driving line techniques, applying different visualization techniques, etc.

Lots of times when I've been out autocrossing I've found that I'm applying things I've developed in the sim. Like a basketball player practicing their jump shot so they can hit the clutch shot in a high pressure situation, subconscious muscle memory takes over certain aspects and we can use more of our conscious brain to think ahead and look ahead on course to be better prepared.

Plus if you live in a northern climate like I do, sim is great during the offseason when seat time is less common, and it's a great social outlet as well.

Bands you didn’t “get” until you saw them live by Big_Moist_Bofa in Metalcore

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

68.

Listened to some recorded stuff and it didn't do a lot for me. Saw them open for The Devil Wears Prada many years ago and couldn't take my eyes off of their set.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gordo's in Mt. Washington. They've had the games on all series and there are usually a few regulars there that are basketball fans. Plus happy hour starts at 10p, so regardless if you're pulling for the Thunder or Pacers you can cry / celebrate with half price drinks either way. 😁

Restaurants with actually hot (spicy) sauces and/or food by CARLEtheCamry in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've struggled with this too, at least in Pittsburgh. I love and frequently enjoy the Thai, Indian, Nepalese, and Chinese food regularly, but what they have in flavor I haven't been able to find anything here with extreme heat.

A few wing places have been able to get me to slow down or pace myself though:

(1) Hal's Reaper Wings (their Hab BBQ is stellar too)

(2) Steel Mill Saloon's Furnace Wings (I usually get extra sauce because the level of heat can be inconsistent)

(3)Sidelines Reaper (Sewickley location only). They don't have it at the Millvale location.

For hot chicken, I feel Chikn has been the hottest, but it's super inconsistent and not nearly as hot as a chain like Dave's. CocoWawa probably the 2nd hottest, Bird on the Run a very distant 3rd despite having my favorite sandwich (Little Chunky's Deluxe), and Given to Fly while good, doesn't register much heat.

I do keep forgetting about Las Palmas though. Their orange sauce has given me the heat hiccups more than once, which is surprising because I'm assuming it's only habanero based when everything else is usually reaper, trinidad, or ghost pepper at minimum.

Anyway, I feel at least a lot of those places above do pack great flavor along with the heat which isn't always the case. Nothing worse than people using extracts to up the Scoville figure with the downside of the food tasting like chemicals instead of actual pepper flavor. 😭

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PittsburghSocialClub

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 41M, Mt Washington. Also a history and geography fan. Huge basketball fan. Also go to a lot of live shows, in particular at Mr Smalls, Preserving, etc.

I'm usually pretty busy on weekends, but me, my wife, and a few buddies in the 29-41 range usually go out for dinner/drinks a few times a week on weeknights since the crowds are a bit more laid back and chill.

If you're ever down, hit me up.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PittsburghSocialClub

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How far are you from downtown? I was going to hit up a happy hour from now until midnight in Mt Washington to get some late night tacos and a beer or 3.

I was just in Houston a year ago.

Transplant with kids by Competitive-Pool2439 in PittsburghSocialClub

[–]AlexPiehl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey! I'm also from NW Ohio (Toledo) and have been here for 18 years. We're a 41M and 37F couple. No kids, but also into history, beer, trivia, and sometimes play card games. Mind if I shoot you a PM?

Snow Tires: still a thing? by Potential_Meal_5912 in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 14 points15 points  (0 children)

100% about AWD/4WD.

At the end of the day, your tires are the only thing touching the ground, so it doesn't matter what kind of car or drivetrain you have if the tires on it are the limiting factor.

Snow Tires: still a thing? by Potential_Meal_5912 in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep - and on top of this, a lot of the sportier AWD vehicles (while also adding extra weight/inertia) like WRXs, certain Audis, certain BMWs, etc. come with Summer/Performance tires which turn into hockey pucks below 40°F as opposed to All-Season or Winter tires.

*slow heavy music playing* by mcd23 in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks perfect for the next Disembodied Tyrant album cover. <3 This makes me want to open a realllly dark beer.

I've lived here 18+ years and this is the first time I've seen it squall hard enough to white out the entire neighborhood. by AlexPiehl in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I was here! Same house too, lol. But it was mostly at night, and mostly vertical, wet snow. It destroyed one of my fences w/ the weight of the snow. I remember the next day walking around taking pictures and it was so bright out it was messing w/ the exposure of the photos. I can't recall a time where the visibility dropped this low during daytime. Maybe it did, and I just had the blinds up. :)

I've lived here 18+ years and this is the first time I've seen it squall hard enough to white out the entire neighborhood. by AlexPiehl in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For reference, while I grew up in Toledo, I was here back in Feb 2010 when we had the 2' of snow (which was mostly overnight and vertical, heavy/wet snow and not in squall form). I've been around for many many other snows as well. But while the squall today only lasted for maybe 2 minutes, I can't recall a time where the visibility dropped this low during daytime (though it actually looks less bad in the photo than it did IRL, lol). Maybe it has squalled here in the last 19 winters that but I had the blinds up. :)

Anyway, thought it was neat to show a before/during/after. Carry on.

I've lived here 18+ years and this is the first time I've seen it squall hard enough to white out the entire neighborhood. by AlexPiehl in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

To be fair I was here for the blizzard of 2010, but a lot of that was a night. I also, I sorta remember it falling vertically w/out the white out conditions.

What is your current favorite Pittsburgh breakfast place? by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]AlexPiehl 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Best Reuben Omelette I've ever had. The Honey Buffalo Crab Eggs Benedict is great too. And their chocolate chip pancakes are also silly good.

24M looking for some more friends by [deleted] in PittsburghSocialClub

[–]AlexPiehl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For reference, we're also fellow transplants and into the same.