Category Archives: Pro-PGH

Couchsurfing … Pittsburgh style.

I’m back! I’m back! I’ve been away for the past couple months because of travel and sheer laziness, but I’m ready for more backroom political deals and motorcycle-crashin’ Steelers. Thanks for keeping it real, friends.

While I was traveling, I got in a bit of a pinch with European labor strikes, airport delays, and Barcelona pickpocketers. It was *not* a fun experience. But during my adventure, I discovered an interesting site that hooks up travellers with natives … via couches. Well, I’ll let the site explain:

Couchsurfing helps you make connections worldwide. You can use the network to meet people and then go and surf other members’ couches! When you surf a couch, you are a guest at someone’s house. They will provide you with some sort of accommodation, a penthouse apartment or maybe a back yard to pitch your tent in. Stays can be as short as a cup of coffee, a night or two, or even a few months or more. When you offer your couch, you have complete control of who visits. The possibilities are endless and completely up to you.

Just for the heck of it, I searched for all available surfers within 20 miles of Pittsburgh, PA … and I found 94 people! There is even a Pittsburgh community. If you have a spare room, a couch, a backyard, time for coffee or cocktails … and want to share the ‘burghlove, then consider signing up. (The site has some extensive information about the safety of couch surfing, including some info for solo women hosts or travellers. No one has to host a traveller or respond to a request if s/he doesn’t want to, and there is a validation system in place to authenticate the identity of participants. Here’s the FAQ for more info.)

Now … for all you out-of-towners reading this … you have no excuse not to visit Pittsburgh. With free accommodation, $1 bottles at the BBT, and 20 cent wings at Fat Head’s … you can have yourself a trip for under $20 bucks. Cheers!

I like Hike

The kids from Urban Hike are at it again.  I went on the last Urban Hike and it was a blast!  This is a great, FREE activity and a chance to meet some of the coolest people in Pittsburgh.  So save some time in your Saturday morning for the Urban Hike.

Hike with us in Oakmont August 12th

Hike with us in Oakmont this Saturday, August 12th. Get a great view of the river, walk through some woods with a creepy name, hear about a mysterious bookshop, and see a frighteningly fascinating theater! Don’t be scared, though. We’re all in this together. Meet us at 10 am. Wear good walking shoes, and don’t forget that sunscreen and water. It’s August, you know.  Meet in Riverside Park near the Running Track.

Click More to see more directions to the Hike…
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Congratulations on 100 batches of Beer

From our favorite Pittsburgh brewer’s newsletter – East End Brewing is on their 100th batch of beer…

ANOTHER MILESTONE REACHED: EAST END BREWING BREWS UP BATCH #100!!!
Ah yes, I remember it was just about a year and a half ago when I was
pouring the results of batch #2 from East End Brewing for so many of
you to taste that snowy night at Kelly’s. (Batch #1 was a
mind-numbingly bitter but otherwise tasty batch of Big Hop…not quite
ready for prime time though). Well, 99 batches later I’m still here,
still making beer, and it’s even gotten a bit easier with each batch
now that I know a bit more about what I’m doing. Hopefully the
beer’s gotten a bit better in the last year and a half too! So, what
to do for the big event – batch 100? Well, let’s just say that I
couldn’t let it go by without doing something unusual….

I was reading an article in one of the regional beer publications a
while back, about some American Brewers traveling to Belgium and their
participation in a beer that was a cross between a Belgian Tripel (or
“Triple” depending on your preference) and the much newer Imperial
IPA/Double IPA style. Immediately fascinated by the notion of a beer
that blends the light body and Belgian character of the tripel, with
the completely American over the top hoppiness of these huge IPAs, I
decided to seek one out and taste it for myself. As it turned out, the
idea was more interesting than the beer that I eventually got my hands
on, so I decided to give it a go here to see if I could MAKE the beer I
was imagining in my head – and what better time to do it than for #100!

Are you a New Yinzer?

From the cool kids over at the New Yinzer:

Who is The New Yinzer? It seems like everyone has their own unique perspective on what makes a New Yinzer. We here at TNY would like to hear yours. What do New Yinzers look like? Where do they work? What do
they do with their free time? Help us unlock the mystery that is The New Yinzer.

Email your responses to letters@newyinzer.com by August 14th, 2006 and please limit them to fewer than 200 words. We’ll select our favoritesfor publication in an upcoming special print edition of TNY.

Best,
The Editors

The New Yinzer is a magazine.
http://www.newyinzer.com

We would love to hear your answers too – feel free to leave some thoughts in the comments section.

yinzer on flickr I did a quick search for the word “yinzer” on flickr.com and found lots of interesting pictures – I actually went to high school with a girl in one of the pcitures. This picture is titled “Yinzer Fuel”

Advance Warning – Urban Hike coming soon to Oakmont


Urban Hike

Originally uploaded by egp.

We’ve heard that some people would like to know earlier when our next hike will be. So here’s what we know: it’ll be the morning of Saturday, August 12th, in Oakmont. More details in a few days.

In the meantime, you can check out some new photos on our website, urbanhike.org.

Oh, and do you know of any cool things to see in Aliquippa? We could use your help. E-mail info@urbanhike.org.

This picture is from the last urban hike – and yes this scene is from the city!