Former Irish right winger signs deal with Penguins

The Penguins yesterday signed John O'Birch, a right winger who caught the team's eye in an amateur tryout and spent last season running for Pittsburgh City Council.

He had 59 votes in his first primary election bid in May.

A 6-foot-1, 205-pound Oakland native and Notre Dame player, O'Birch is the second right wing politician signed by the team in the last week.

O'Birch had threatened to form his own political party if he wasn't drafted into the NHL. The Penguins quickly stepped in to prevent that. "We can't have any right wingers getting elected and derailing our plans for a new arena," said Penguins owner and Boss-for-life Mario Lemieux.

Female Sharks - The World's Unluckiest Creatures

Female sharks can fertilize their own eggs and give birth without sperm from males, according to a new study of the asexual reproduction of a hammerhead in a U.S. zoo.

Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., said he doubted it was happening anywhere besides in captivity. He also argued that the power to self-impregnate represents "an evolutionary strategy to keep the population and species going when all else fails. Genetically, it's a last resort tactic because it leads to genetic uniformity, and eventually that will catch up with the population and make it less fit.

"But as a short-term alternative to extinction, it has its benefits," he said.

Some things just aren't worth it...

Today's Oneword - Disappointed

Go to the OneWord website and write about today's word.

I am glad that so many people read my blog after I wrote about Joe Hardy and his 22-year-old bride Kristin Georgi. But now, fewer people are Googling Kristin Georgi and I'm disappointed that fewer people are visiting my blog.

Cow Suffers Postpartum Depression, Crosses I-80 Bridge at Emlenton

One of the reasons you live in Emlenton, PA is to be away from it all. Staying out of the limelight is what it's about. Peace and quiet are what you're after. But sometimes that's not what you get.

Sunday, a cow of unknown ownership broke the spell by wandering onto the Interstate 80 bridge over the Allegheny River near Emlenton, PA. The cow, an all-black female cow with a yellow ear tag, apparently entered the roadway near the 45-mile marker, walked across the bridge, turned and attempted a hasty retreat as the Emlenton Volunteer Fire Department arrived.

Actually, the Scott's Spot Bovine Linguistics Department theorizes that the creature retreated when it saw that "pennsylvania" wasn't capitalized on the "Welcome to pennsylvania WILDS" sign.

The cow was reported to have given birth within the last couple of days, according to local bovine experts. Despite the delicate condition of this animal, it bravely walked all the way across the 1700-foot-long bridge, just to get to the other side. No fear of heights, either. The bridge is 270 feet above the Allegheny River at or near the place where Clarion, Butler, Armstrong, and Venango Counties meet.

Today's Oneword - Going

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One of these days I'm going to get myself organizized...Hey, Travis said that, not me.

Today's Oneword - Memorial

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It was a surreal Memorial Day. It was my 24th Anniversary. And we buried my wife's sister-in-law today, after only 1-1/2 years of marriage. Some things just aren't right.

Why Korean Education is Better Than US Education

One of my recent blog hits was from Korea. I'm glad that a Korean can read my site, because I regrettably can't read anything in Korean, although I do know a few words from studying Tae Kwon Do.

The state of education in Korea must be quite good, because my blog hit was from Kyungkidokyoyoukcheongseohyun High School. One of their graduation requirements is to correctly spell the name of the school. Even Larry Page and Sergey Brin's geniuses at Google don't know how to spell it, based on the following result:

Pennsylvania Turnpike Drops Privatization, Turns to Dope Dealing

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, that scenic narrow winding expensive asphalt stretch of death, has been looking at various privatization schemes. But a new business model has emerged. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is going into the drug dealing business.

They will begin by selling some $250,000 worth of ecstasy pills confiscated from two Indiana residents, Sterling Yazmin Long-Payton and Charles J. Good Jr.

Plans were also revealed to replace the crown vetch planted along the highway with opium poppies. "We're gonna make the Turnpike the richest superhighway on the planet, and bankrupt the Taliban while we're at it," said Commission spokesman Pot Huels.



Planting has already begun. The photo at right shows what a typical stretch the Turnpike will look like, at least before harvest.

Today's Oneword - Broke

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Today I discovered my checking account was overdrawn. I was able to transfer funds from another account. That means I'm not broke, right? Right? RIGHT???

Democrats Cave In

You know, you'd think that our elected officials would take the will of the electorate to heart. Republicans were turned out in droves in 2006, mainly because of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. But when the chips were down, they caved. Tonight, Congress passed a war funding bill with no troop withdrawal timetable and only token progress report requirements. Nothing that forces any change to the status quo in Iraq.

Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Christopher Dodd, at least, cast votes in opposition to the bill. But what does it matter. Bush now has the money and a carte blanche to squander it, thanks to the spineless Democrats.

Find out how your Representative or Senator voted. If they voted to fund the war without accountability, then it's time you held them accountable!

Who To Vote For For President

Neal from the South Pole posted an interesting quiz on his great blog. It's a VoteMatch quiz on who should be elected president in 2008. You answer 20 questions and it tells you how you match up with the current field of presidential candidates, based on social and economic issues, and on an overall basis. It's interesting that my co-closest match, at 55%, was Dennis Kucinich. I ended up voting for him in the nearly-meaningless Pennsylvania primary in 2004, not so much on the issues as for the fact that he seemed to be the only candidate who was his own man.


Hillary Clinton
Democratic Jr Senator (NY); former First Lady

Total 55%
Social 38%
Economic 67%




Dennis Kucinich
Democratic Representative (OH-10)

Total 55%
Social 50%
Economic 58%


Al Sharpton
Reverend; Civil Rights Activist;
Democratic Candidate for President

Total 55%
Social 63%
Economic 50%


Barack Obama
Democratic Jr Senator (IL);
previously State Senator

Total 48%
Social 44%
Economic 50%


Chris Dodd
Democratic Sr Senator (CT)

Total 43%
Social 38%
Economic 46%


Joe Biden
Democratic Sr Senator (DE)

Total 43%
Social 25%
Economic 54%


John Edwards
2004 Nominee for Vice President;
Former NC Senator

Total 38%
Social 25%
Economic 46%


John McCain
Republican Sr Senator (AZ);
2000 Primary Candidate for President


Total 35%
Social 38%
Economic 33%


Tommy Thompson
Former Secretary of H.H.S.;
former Republican Governor (WI)

Total 35%
Social 31%
Economic 38%


Jim Gilmore
Former Republican VA Governor

Total 33%
Social 31%
Economic 33%


Mitt Romney
Retiring Republican MA Governor


Total 30%
Social 38%
Economic 25%


Mike Huckabee
Republican AR Governor

Total 28%
Social 38%
Economic 21%



Ron Paul
Republican Representative (TX-14);
Libertarian nominee for President in 1988

Total 28%
Social 44%
Economic 17%


Bill Richardson
Democratic NM Governor

Total 28%
Social 6%
Economic 42%


Sam Brownback
Republican Sr Senator (KS)

Total 23%
Social 44%
Economic 8%


Rudy Giuliani
Former Mayor of New York City;
Republican Candidate for 2000 Senate (NY)


Total 15%
Social 6%
Economic 21%



Duncan Hunter
Republican Representative (CA-52)


Total 15%
Social 31%
Economic 4%


Tom Tancredo
Republican Representative (CO-6)

Total 13%
Social 25%
Economic 4%

Take the quiz!

Today's Oneword - Generate

Go to the OneWord website and write about today's word.

Generate. G-E-N-E-R-A-T-E. I don't want to think about what Joe Hardy and Kristin Georgi might generate. Generate.

I Am A Pack Rat

No surprise there!

You're a Pack Rat

Someday, you'll get totally crushed by a falling pile of stuff. Whether you survive depends on how many old granola bars you have lying around your house.

Are You a Pack Rat?

I'm More of a Visionary Than a Radical

You Are 44% Politically Radical

You've got some radical viewpoints, but you aren't completely nuts. You're more of a visionary than a radical.

Are You a Political Radical?

I Communicate Like a Man

I prefer communicating like a man, although I'm not sure this quiz is perfectly accurate - I certainly do like to wallow in my sorrows!

You Communicate Like a Man

When you communicate, you like to get to the point. You're not afraid to say what's on your mind - and leave it at that. Talking about your emotions drains you. You rather keep them to yourself. You prefer solving problems to wallowing in your sorrows.

Do You Communicate Like a Man or a Woman?

Today's Oneword - Thirteen

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Kristin Georgi is not thirteen. She is twenty-two. But when you're getting married to an eighty-four year old man, what's the difference?

Happy Mothers Day - To Kristin Georgi

Today we celebrated Mother's Day. We went to church. I worked on my wife's car. I did the grocery shopping. We went for a walk in the county park next to our house. My oldest son grilled the London Broil. I called my Mom.

And I also wish a Happy Mother's Day to Kristin Georgi. She is, of course, the new 22 year old wife of 84-year-old 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands magnate Joe Hardy. Only yesterday, I found that she had a 3-year-old kid.

So Happy Mother's Day, Kristin. I'm available in case Joe needs a lesson in changing diapers. I've changed several hundred, so I do feel qualified, just in case we need to have a man-to-man chat. I'm sure you can find me if you need to, Joe...

A Memorable Week at Scott's Spot

It has certainly been a memorable week in the hit counter department here at Scott's Spot. They usually spend most of their time sitting on their thumbs, surfing the internet, and generally just wasting precious space.

But not this week. This week has been the week of Joe Hardy and Kristin Georgi. Joe Hardy, is, of course, the 84-year-old founder of 84 Lumber and owner of the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Spa, Polo Grounds, Shooting Range, Mystic Rocks Golf Course, etc., etc., etc. and most of Fayette County, PA. And Kristin Georgi is the 22-year-old erstwhile Nemacolin Woodlands salon employee who became Hardy's third wife last Saturday, May 5.

Anticipating the hunger for information about the nuptials, we posted several items about the happy couple, including an exclusive photo of the wedding.

The response was amazing. The activity level at Scott's Spot peaked on Monday, May 7 with 1180 hits by 969 unique visitors.


But like the marriage, the activity level has quickly fallen off and is close to normal levels. My staff has gone back to sleeping on the job. Maybe they're dreaming that they'll marry some multi-millionaire and escape their sorry existence...

Subaru Drivers, Chess, and Your Sex Life

I saw this bumper sticker today. The implications are clear. Drive a Subaru. Live a suburban lifestyle. Be intellectual. Play chess. Enjoy better Sex with your mate.

Earache My Eye

Your kid has an earache. Or does he? You never know, especially after growing up listening to Cheech and Chong do "Earache My Eye".

But now, you need to take that complaint seriously. Because Cheech & Chong never sang about Jesse Courtney, who had a Snap, Crackle and Pop in his ear that turned into an earache until it was discovered by his doctors that he had not one, but two spiders dancing on his eardrum. Each of the spiders was the size of a pencil eraser.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my eardrum door.
'Sixteen spider legs,' I muttered, `tapping at my eardrum door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Today's Oneword - Boogie

Go to the OneWord website and write about today's word.

OK, let's be honest about this. I'm 47 years old. I do a lot of things. But boogie isn't one of them.

Paparazzi Photo From Joe Hardy Wedding

It's official. The Las Vegas Sun has published an article confirming that 84 Lumber Magnate Joe Hardy and 22 year old Kristin Georgi were married yesterday, Saturday, May 5. Scott's Spot had to pay through the nose to get this exclusive photo from the wedding.

Today's Oneword - Again

Go to the OneWord website and write about today's word.

She said "Are you on the computer again?" The answer was obvious. It was a good answer on his part. But not on hers.

Happy News From the World of Love

Here at Scott's Spot we love happy news. Especially happy news of love. For example, we are very happy for Chip and Cindy Alternos, who were separated and about to divorce. But they reunited when Chip needed a kidney transplant, Cindy volunteered one of her kidneys to him, and they fell back in love and canceled their divorce.

And that's exactly the kind of news that we're optimistically expecting to hear out of Fayette County, PA, in, oh, November 2007. At that point, Joe Hardy and Kristin Georgi will have been married 6 months. Times will be hard, as Kristin will have asked repeatedly for Joe to fund the expansion of the Nemacolin Woodlands beauty salon. But those demands will have fallen on deaf ears. Kristin will be ready to leave and sue Hardy for all he's worth, despite the terms of the prenuptial agreement. But soon, Joe will take ill and start to lose his hair. Kristin will volunteer to donate her hair to Joe, saving the marriage for the next 6 months, or the remainder of Joe's life, whichever is longer...

Today's Oneword - Delicate

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There are certain situations that might be termed as delicate. Like the conversations at the Fayette County (PA) Board of Commissioners meetings when the marriage between 84 year old (Commissioner and Founder of 84 Lumber) Joe Hardy and relationship between Joe Hardy and 22 year old Kristin Georgi is discussed in hushed whispers.

A Celebration of Young Love

Here at Scott's Spot, sometimes we start feeling our age. But we're still believers in young love. And when it comes to young love, there's no better example than 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy.

Hardy, multi-millionare, Fayette County commissioner, founder and owner of the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, and (and I'm not making this up) Lord of the Manor of Henley-upon-Arden, is soon to be wed to 22-year-old Kristin Georgi, who hails from Masontown, Fayette County, and is an employee at a Nemacolin Woodlands salon.


"I imagine we'll go to Vegas," Hardy told a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter. "It'll be a quickie."

Well, that's one way of looking at it.

A reception in Pennsylvania is planned for a later date. Hardy is still looking for a place to have the reception. I'm sure he could get the Farmington Fire Hall. In fact, he might buy the place.