Giant Potholes Got You Down? Tweet for Relief.

Pittsburgh City Council’s 311 Twitter account brings complaining into the 21st century.

(h/t reddit Pittsburgh)
 

 

The polar vortex gave the beaten-down the city of Pittsburgh one final middle finger in the form of pond-sized potholes unearthed by the thaw. The one pictured above has turned Fifth Avenue into a Need for Speed course.

Thankfully, now you can do something about it.

Introducing @PGH311, the new Twitter account for Pittsburgh’s non-emergency response service. Next time you take to the Twittersphere to #rant about the road conditions, you’ll be able to tag somebody who can do something about it.

If they don’t fix that one on Fifth, at least we can play a solid game of pond hockey when the weather turns cold again.

Speaking of which!

— John Lavanga
 

 

#Sadness: Winter is coming … back

Hope you’ve all enjoyed your warm snap because Pittsburgh’s about to be turned back into a frozen wasteland of numb toes and icy tears. Here are the National Weather Service’s 6-10 day projections.

 

 

#Tech: Duolingo raises $20 million in venture capital

Instead of sitting around lamenting the demise of Flappy Bird, why not try Pittsburgh’s app with a bird mascot? According to a new report from the Pittsburgh Business Times, Duolingo this week continued its ascendance to the top of the app kingdom, raising $20 million at a Series C financing round.

For those of you who aren’t venture-capital gurus, a Series C financing round essentially is a type of investment pitch conducted by a company looking to expand and grow.

But Duolingo isn’t stopping at raising some extra scratch — it’s looking to turn the language-learning business on its head. In the Business Times article, Duolingo co-founder Luis von Ahn said that in addition to adding more languages to the free teaching app that the company offers, it’s aiming to launch another app that will offer language certification for $20 — a burgeoning industry that currently involves paying hundreds of dollars for standardized tests.

It may be a groundbreaking idea, but I’m we’re not sold on it just yet. Unless there’s a certification for Pittsburghese.

Check out our feature on Duolingo and other Pittsburgh translation companies making an impact on a global scale.

— John Lavanga
 

 

#Rebel: Nude man far too pleased with warm weather

The sudden (and temporary) 30-degree temperature jump may have all of us wearing fewer layers, but let’s hope Yinz can handle the warm spell better than the man who appears in a recent video making an au naturel run from police.

Officers approached the man, whose identity is unclear, after authorities received reports that he was disrobing near the Rachel Carson Bridge and throwing his clothes into the Allegheny River, according to CBS Pittsburgh. As officers tried to arrest the man, he reportedly tried to give officers the slip, his state of undress be damned. The video ends before the officer subdued the bandit in the buff with the help of a stun gun.

Watch a censored version of the video on CBS Pittsburgh’s site.

— Gideon Bradshaw

 

#FridayFun: Red pandas in the snow? Red pandas in the snow!