Happy Thanksgiving

From all of us here at Just South of North, we wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Video Bites: New Moon

Here it is! The newest feature at Just South of North! JustSoN Video Bites.

Hope you enjoy.

*I promise they'll get better as the weeks go on. Pinkie promise.



Eastern Washington University men's basketball schedule:
http://goeags.com/sports/m-baskbl/2009-10/schedule

Chicken man story:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/apheadl...

Send your muffin recipes to: justsouthofnorth@gmail.com

Oprah leaving TV:
http://www.oprah.com/index

New Moon Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYBF3HKzrmE

Fred is a genius

I'm back! Well kinda. Thank you internet at coffee shops. I don't even drink coffee. So instead I bought a muffin. Mmmm....muffins.

Anyway, sorry for the delay in the new features at JustSON. I'll get them going as soon as I have my own internet.

For now, let's talk about Fred. If you've ever surfed around on Youtube, then I'm sure you've heard of Fred Figglehorn. He is the creation of Lucas Cruikshank. And it was the best idea a kid could have come up with. Sure Fred's voice is annoying and sure his episodes are silly. But people watch. And by people I mean millions. He's the 2nd most subscribed to partner on Youtube and his videos have incredible amounts of hits.

He even came out with his own Christmas album. Here's the video. What do you think? Is Lucas a genius or just catering to a young, easily entertained generation? Either way, he's making "cash money."

Moving = no internet

Well I have some bad news for JustSON Nation. I moved yesterday, and since Comcast has yet to put cable/internet in I'm not sure when I'll get it. I've sat on hold for over an hour each of the last three days. Awesome customer service.

I'll try to update from wireless hotspots, coffee shops, public libraries, other people's phones that have internet because mine doesn't, etc.

Which this means that the new features at JustSON may be delayed a week.

New features at JustSON

Don't worry, I wasn't holding the camera. This was filmed on the dash by one of those awesome Gorillapods. I got mine at Amazon.com. Amazing.

Check out previews of the newest sections coming to Just South of North!



EWU might return to Qwest Field for football game

Check out Just South of North on facebook.

New Features at JustSON

Tomorrow, I know many of you will be looking for the Friday Night Lights JustSON edition. But I will be leaving town for the weekend.

The reason:

The forces of JustSON will be uniting. I'm heading east to kick it with Brandon in Spokane/Cheney for the weekend.

With our power combined, that town won't know what hit it.

Also, on an important note, we're going to be starting a new section here at JustSoN. I'm not sure on the name yet, maybe, "Track the Fatty." Or something like that.

For you see, I was once in great shape (aka this summer). But now I've had over an hour commute to work and over an hour commute home from work. So I sit on my butt for 10 - 12 hours a day. Oh, and I eat. So now I look like this guy:


But I just got a new place, so I'll be able to start going to the gym again. Also, I'll be biking to work and the gym. It's time to get in shape.

So this new section will feature yours truly as I get back into shape. I'll update on how the progress is going and hope to motivate some of you readers to get in shape as well.

Look for this new section to be popping up starting November.

Until then, over the mountains I go!

The Battle of JustSON

Tonights NFL game features the Titans and the Colts. Two of our favorite teams around here at JustSON.

Brandon will be wearing his Eddie George jersey tonight while trying to will Titans to their first win of the season.

I will be wearing my Peyton Manning jersey while hoping the Colts can stay perfect.

And then there is the guy in the picture to the right. Umm....

It's Sunday Night Football.

It's a battle of AFC South teams.

It's the battle of JustSON.

Seattle P-I test results still unknown

This evening I came across this blog post by Kenneth Corbin in which he talks about the future of journalism and how the Seattle P-I is testing the waters in this new media age.

And if that's not interesting enough, check out this site. It's called Paper Cuts and it shows exactly how many newspaper jobs have been lost to-date. And also where these cuts have been made. Great time for print journalism right? Well, looks like to survive journalism must adapt. Kinda like JustSON. Welcome to the future.

WASHINGTON -- In some ways, the Seattle P-I is one of the best testbeds the country's got going for what local journalism will look like after the city paper takes its inevitable place behind the glass case at the Smithsonian.

The paper, formerly the beta daily in a two-newspaper town, ended its 146-year print run in March, a victim of declining circulations and the spare economics of digital advertising.

The paper, though eulogized thoroughly, was reborn as a Web-only experiment, a digital news organization pruned from an editorial staff of almost 180 down to about 20.

"It's an adventure," said Monica Guzman, who carriers the title of "news gatherer" at the online-only incarnation of the Seattle P.I.

That title refers to the diversified role of what old-media types knew as reporters. Now, Guzman says everyone on staff does everything. Next Saturday, she'll take a turn at the production shift, leaving her in charge of managing the Web site. All writers are to be trained how to use a camera, to ease the load of the one full-time photographer on the P-I's staff.

"There's this acknowledgment that reporting isn't just reporting in the traditional sense," Guzman said this afternoon at the Gov 2.0 Summit. The event, co-hosted by O'Reilly Media and TechWeb, focuses principally on government and technology, but justified the panel on the future of journalism for the civic good that investigative reporters sometimes provide.

As a "news gatherer," Guzman said she is often cast in the role of facilitator, marshalling the verve of bloggers and citizen journalists by doing things like packing the P-I's site with raw government data that leads to a wellspring of fact-based reporting and commentary, much of it of the hyper-local variety.

"Any time we put up a database online, it just takes off," she said.

So, given the tools, time and inclination, anyone can be an investigative reporter of the sort that helps keep civil servants honest?

Well, it's an experiment. Seattle, Guzman readily admitted, is blessed with a comparatively tech-savvy population that has spawned a vibrant blogging culture. The way she tells it, they're getting street cred in the halls of power. Whereas a couple years ago, press passes for new media types were hard to come by and the desk sergeant might not have given a blogger the time of day, in Seattle of 2009 it's "bad news" for the officials who don't work with the blogging community, Guzman said.

Some of them are even making money, farming out paid assignments, she said.

Enough to shine a light on City Hall, to avoid the descent into the golden age of corruption that David Simon darkly warned a Senate panel about back in May?

Too early to tell. But it's hard to argue that Seattle isn't better off for the online P-I and its burgeoning courtship with the local bloggers. So the experiment continues.

Northern Rangers: Beat the Heat

The Seattle, Washington area had over 100 degree weather yesterday. And the Northern Rangers had planned to hike up a mountain. But instead, we decided to beat the heat another way.

Commuting Crusade: Batman

That's right ladies and gentlemen, today we are starting a new feature at Just South of North.

Since I spend roughly two hours a day in my car commuting to-and-from my desk job, I have been seeing a lot of strange and marvelous things.

So, beginning today check back to JustSON on a regular basis for our new feature section:

Commuting Crusade

Batman.

That's right, today I saw the Batman. He came roaring up beside me in a 2010 Ford Mustang. Dark silver paint job, blacked out windows, black rims, stealth lights, ground effects, racing spoiler and huge fatty tires.

Oh, and the reason I knew it was Bruce Wayne himself.

The license plate read: DRKKNHT

Epic Video: Good Morning

OK, last night I shared with a goodnight story.

Well, this is usually how we like to wake up around here at the Just South of North headquarters.

Good Morning!

Epic Video: Holiday

This song is one of those where the more you listen to it, the more you like it. Kinda like when you hangout with me and Brandon. We take some getting used to. Perhaps this will become the new theme song of JustSON.

JustSON fan page

In our on going efforts to slowly take over the Internet, Just South of North now has a fan page on facebook.

Check it out here:

Just South of North Facebook

Become a fan! Let us know what you think!

The real HOT list

Today Maxim released their Top 100 Hottest Women of 2009. You can view the complete list here.

The list of course included Megan Fox (Transformers), Jessica Alba (Final Four), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer), Malin Akerman (The Watchmen) and Mila Kunis (That 70's Show).

Well since we as Just South of North would probably just drool all over ourselves if we ever saw any of these women in a bar (yeah, in case you didn't know, we're not the coolest cats) we decided to create our own Top 10 List of Hotness.

We weeded out some very close competition, and after much debate (mainly settled with games of rock, paper, scissors) we reveal our JustSON Top 10 List of Hotness.

10. The coffee Brandon spilled on his lap moments ago. He shrieked like a little girl, it was funny.

9. The Kansas City Royals. Ok, minus last night. They have been on a role and Zack Greinke has been on fire to start the season.

8. People with a fever. It feels like they are on fire. The only thing hotter is spontaneous combustion.

7. Which leads us to actual FIRE!

6. Tabsco. Rub this stuff on the edge of your buddy's cup. It is hilarious.

5. Just South of North. It's quickly becoming an Internet hotspot.

4. Facebook. I think it is slowly taking over the world. I also think this Internet thing might be catching on.

3. Tickets to the Seattle Sounders FC. These things are so hot Qwest Field had to open up another 2,000 seats to help meet the demand.

2. Jessica Alba. Duh, she had to make our list at some point.

1. The sun. It's very hot. To be exact, it is 27 million degrees at the core. Yes, that is even hotter than Jessica Alba.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: VanLierop Bulb Farm

Today we headed down into the valley to the VanLierop Bulb Farm. This place is huge and full of tulips and bulbs. While there are some normal flowers, there are also a large range of rarer tulips. Like these "fuzzy" ones pictured below. Photos taken May 10, 2009. (Photos by Al Knopik, Buckley, Washington)



Click on the photos to make them larger.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just South of North? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Happy Mother's Day from JustSON

With kids like me and Brandon, I know that our moms had to put up with a lot. And by a lot I actually mean A LOT!

To all the mother's out there, hope your day is wonderful and Happy Mother's Day from all of us here at Just South of North.

Answers to the Morse Code questions

Alright folks. For those of you who played the Morse Code game on April 27, here are the answers:

1) justsouthofnorth

2) northernrangers

3) wsustinks

Thanks for playing!

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Signs of Spring

Spring is officially in Western Washington as shown by the cheery trees in full blossom throughout the area. Click on photo to make it larger. Taken April 26, 2009. (Photo by Al Knopik, Buckley, Washington)

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just South of North? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Sounders FC still undefeated

I thought this was an interesting statistic:

The Seattle Sounders FC and Kasey Keller have not allowed a goal in their first 270 minutes in the MLS.

Yes, the Sounders played today and yes, they won again. A 2-0 victory over Toronto FC. Seattle improves to 3-0-0.

The next game for the Sounders is next Saturday, April 11 when they take on the Kansas City Wizards at 7:30 PM.

The Northern Rangers will be back out at this game and Brandon will make his first video appearance (despite this, please still watch). Oh, and we'll be wearing some "Easter inspired" outfits to the game. So make sure you check back in to Just South of North.

The Kid Who Climbed Everest

Those readers who follow Just South of North on a regular basis will have noticed by now that we here at the blog think that Bear Grylls is pretty much the coolest dude ever.

Some people have even labeled us as having a "man crush" on him. No, that doesn't mean we are in love with Bear, that means we admire him.

According to Urban Dictionary, the definition of a man crush is: When a straight man has a "crush" on another man, not sexual but kind of idolizing him

Yes, it does appear that JustSoN has a man crush on Bear.

But why? Well, the answer to that question is simple. The man is a badass.

I recently bought one of his books through Amazon.com (It just arrived today, so that's what made me think of this post) and I am very excited to start reading it.

The book is "The Kid Who Climbed Everest: The Incredible Story of a 23-Year-Old's Summit of Mt. Everest."

Here's the synopsis: "Everest," writes British climber Bear Grylls, "is no place to prove yourself. The likelihood of reaching the summit is so slim that you're inevitably setting yourself up to be disappointed."

But, Grylls continues, mountains are most definitely an arena where alpinists express their deepest drives, and he had more ambition than most. Badly injured in a parachuting accident in 1996, he resigned his army commission and cast about for a new career--a decision he succeeded in putting off by enlisting in a climbing expedition to the world's tallest mountain. Now, Grylls points out, the odds of a well-conditioned climber's making the summit of Everest are something like one in a hundred; for climbers under the age of 30, who lack the experience and conditioning that age brings, those odds slim down to 1 in 1,000. Twenty-three at the time, Grylls took his chances nonetheless, despite the "sinking feeling that I had just made a commitment that was going to drag me a little too far out of my comfort zone."

The book sounds awesome. And once I'm done with it, you better believe I'll write my personal review on JustSoN. Also, I'm going to order one of his survival books. Because I figure what better way to learn all the traits of survival, then from the guy who constantly beats the wild in Man Vs. Wild.

And I got some Bear Grylls pants recently for camping in. They are a special brand from a UK company, Craghoppers. I'll get the chance to use them for the first time next week when Jeff and I continue our training for Mount St. Helens and the Wonderland Trail. After that I'll let you know how they work.