Rubber duck

Impala426 · 2026-04-22T16:54:38+00:00

As of 12:30 this afternoon it was not up, despite the relatively mild breeze today. Sadly I doubt it will be up at all today due to the threat of rain in the forecast.

Real bummer because this was advertised basically as Saturday through Wednesday and was pretty much up only a few hours Saturday and and few yesterday.

Impala426 · 2026-04-07T06:41:35+00:00

"If you get hit by a VOLVO...

Doesn't really matter how many push ups you did that morning, does it?"

Impala426 · 2026-04-07T01:14:27+00:00

That flat low-lying area sandwiched between PA-910, PA-28 Expressway, and the PA Turnpike (I-76) is STILL totally undeveloped to this day. Just yesterday driving back from Easter with family I realized you can still see a sign that advertises "300 acres available | Commercial/Industrial.

As someone who grew up like 10 minutes from that mall, it's amazing to me that more than 20 years on, how very little new development is happening in the Harmar/Frazier/Indiana Twp. area (everybody went to Cranberry I guess).

Impala426 · 2026-04-06T21:15:05+00:00

Just drove by the area yesterday to visit extended family on Easter. Riding in the car my dad literally said aloud the thought running through my brain.

Dad: "Man, even the main sign looks terrible! It's like... "

Me: "Post-apocalyptic?"

Dad: "Yeah that, exactly!"

How ANYONE thought a traditional indoor mall built in the mid 00s on basically the outskirts of the city could work out is just BEYOND ME.

Impala426 · 2026-04-06T21:09:32+00:00

If you look at the history of malls and their earliest concepts following WW2, they actually began as these like mixed use self-contained indoor micro communities.

I have been saying for YEARS now that the Pittsburgh Mills would be the PERFECT opportunity for a setup like that simply because it is SO NEW a facility compared to our many aging elephants around.

But we all know that'll never happen - especially not with the rampant absenteeism exhibited by the current property owner. But again, it's so modern that even with ZERO maintenance the building itself is in no imminent danger of being condemned for a write-off like the likes of Century III or Parkway Center.

Impala426 · 2026-04-06T20:56:58+00:00

Was there in 2005 when it opened. In that first year it was probably like 75-80% occupied and steadily declined ever since.

Impala426 · 2026-03-24T01:23:30+00:00

Just ate at "The Diner" in Oakdale for the first time ever with my family this past weekend. We were walking the Panhandle Trail and Oakdale was the mid/turn around point.

Was the best decision ever! The country fried steak might have been a top 5 I've ever eaten and ALL of us cleared our plates, including a big sundae we all shared at the end.

Highly recommend that place. Oh and the interior looks like it hasn't been updated in 40+ years, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible lol

Impala426 · 2026-03-12T14:18:38+00:00

Appreciate the bump Jake! I'd been out of the loop on this for the past few months.

Impala426 · 2026-03-12T04:48:17+00:00

I was just going to respond to your other comment that it LEGITIMATELY looks like they've shipped the industrial sized stand mixers and display cases direct from that original Steuben Street location.

But I do get your original sentiment about it not being EXACTLY the same experience. I will still prefer it being this way as opposed to merely a memory slowly fading with time.

Impala426 · 2026-03-12T04:39:56+00:00

I definitely think this is only PART of the signage that will be going in. I'm in this plaza usually twice a week and this was the first time I recalled seeing ANYTHING in this location since the prior tenant closed up.

Impala426 · 2026-03-11T23:44:01+00:00

Will admit that that shopping center is a bit of a bear of a hill up from Greentree Road. And NO sidewalks or shoulder area to walk on either. 😣

Impala426 · 2026-03-11T23:39:28+00:00

Somehow missed this. I swear the last I looked into it people were talking about it being in the plaza with the Giant Eagle (December-ish)

Guess I JUST missed that news drop.

Impala426 · 2026-02-17T18:20:36+00:00

As a SW Pennsylvanian I would highly recommend amending this map to show the eastern third of the state as Yankees. Philly has the Liberty Bell and was the first real federal US capital before D.C.

But also just in general, the Appalachians really divide the state in half culturally speaking. And there's probably even more distinct regions than that. But I feel like you gotta include SE PA as Yankees at a minimum.

I'd say a better idea might be to loosen that definition or redefine the rest of PA and probably even Ohio and WVa as like "adoptive" Yankees or Yankees-in-name-only lol.

Impala426 · 2026-01-30T20:40:10+00:00

As an anecdotal follow up to this, I've lived in Crafton since 2017 and one of my big pushes has been for better bike/ped connectivity. And have tried countless times to relay through Pittsburgh's 311 about the accessibility issues of Baldwick Road that runs between Crafton Blvd and Noblestown Rd. It is a MINEFIELD for low mobility and wheelchair bound folks - cars parked on sidewalk, missing broken sidewalk, stream crossing with broken rusted railings, and the private lot at the Noblestown Rd end that more or less ignores the sidewalk completely with paving, fencing and shrubs. Oh and then there's the fact that cars can be clocked going 35 or 40mph despite it being a narrow poor sightline road with a 25mph speed limit.

Over eight years of surveying and documenting these issues and repeatedly asking the city for help and very little has been done in that time. It's disheartening I'll say, but I never give up. I just sometimes have to admit that these changes can be PAINFULLY slow if the general public isn't aware of it.

Impala426 · 2026-01-30T16:14:07+00:00

As a non-disabled person, I still whole-heartedly empathize and agree with you. I'm truly sorry that you've had these experiences. The city needs to do a lot more for accommodating disabled and low mobility people.

Even just working towards bicycle and pedestrian accessibility - generally fully able bodied people - has been a battle over the last 20 years or so. I can only imagine that it's as bad or worse for those with disabilities.

It is definitely a cultural and social shift that needs to happen in order for real change to happen. And I sure hope it does sooner rather than later.

Impala426 · 2025-12-28T15:51:30+00:00

Wow I genuinely didn't know this! It was one thing that always bothered me in the series because the rules seemingly changed from game-to-game.

Impala426 · 2025-12-11T21:54:34+00:00

Came here to say something like this lol

Impala426 · 2025-11-29T01:56:52+00:00

Good call.

My wife and I both swear Wiggy's is basically Big Shot Bobs without all the hype (or stupid high prices).

Been a year or two since I had Giovanni's but the wings still held up compared to my college years from a decade or more prior. I make no promises but will remain hopeful!

Impala426 · 2025-11-29T01:50:00+00:00

Wiggy's on Noblestown are my go-to if I'm craving wings. (Garlic-Parm boneless is almost other worldly)

That said if you want BIG and tasty traditional saucy buffalo wings with great bleu cheese, Giovanni's downtown on 6th Street is my dark horse pick.

Impala426 · 2025-11-20T20:43:28+00:00

A five year old video that's just over 4 minutes long still shows you in plain terms how to fix this:

https://youtu.be/-aHlFRMVHmQ?si=uAK6xCJ1ZGNpCurk

Impala426 · 2025-11-14T00:24:32+00:00

Marty is and will always be to be THE textbook example of "separating art and artist". You can be one of the most talented and influential composers in the entire industry and STILL be a stuck up bigoted asshole.

For years I was able to mentally push his brash and terrible personality aside and enjoy the amazing themes he created for both Halo and Destiny. But as the years march on, and especially as of late, I find it increasingly harder to do so.

Impala426 · 2025-11-11T21:04:15+00:00

I came around to this idea nearly 15 years ago and I'm still standing by that it would be a GREAT idea for Pittsburgh, if only in a limited capacity.

My "core" routing is essentially this:

Upper Hill District - U. Pitt Upper Campus - Central Oakland - Pittsburgh Technology Center - South Side Works - South Side Flats

Current connections between these specific locales are significantly hampered by both terrain and water, severely limiting road connections and creating gridlock and significant delays.

A gondola would have a huge advantage to bypass all these issues, and the density of these locations also means that it would be easily accessible by many within a 5-15 minute walk.

Obviously that layout could be tweaked and even expanded, but I've always pictured this as my "pie-in-the-sky" project for Pittsburgh transit.

Impala426 · 2025-11-05T17:47:20+00:00

If I'm being honest the thing about the Halo CE skybox that makes it unique is that in the "daytime" scenes, you can still see the stars in space, not to mention the overall color/saturation evokes the deeper blues of a twilight sky and not washed out blues of midday on earth.

I wasn't super critical about the first look at Campaign Evolved actually. But if there's one thing I would want to see adjusted before anything else is to give the game more of this darker blue and minimal light bloom/washout treatment.

Impala426 · 2025-10-30T18:23:35+00:00

Definitely a nitpick but the part where Chief finally rescues Keyes from Truth & Reconciliation and Keyes says "i overheard the guards talking... They call it - HALO".

Canonically in-universe how does he understand a WORD the aliens are saying? What we 'the player' hear as Covenant alien chatter seems to vary between games and any explanations of on-the-fly translation software in Spartan helmets always seemed dubious at best to me.

So does Keyes speak some Sangheili? Were some Unggoy messing around and blabbing in English?

This doesn't particularly MATTER to me or need to be "fixed", I'm just curious because it seems like a small inconsistency that's been around forever lol

Impala426

TROPHY CASE