The Thrill is back with the Shock

The af2 had showed their inability to find answers for Raul "The Thrill" Vijil and he was slated to move up to the AFL before the league went kaput. Now he'll have a chance to show his mustard on the top level of arena football as the Spokane Shock have added him back on the roster. Woo!

The Spokane Shock announced today that WR Raul Vijil has been added to the 2010 roster. Vijil, 5-11 190, is the seventh member of the 2009 ArenaCup Champions to re-sign with the team.

Vijil holds several all-time franchise records including receiving yards (3,869), receptions (339), touchdown receptions (98) and all-purpose yards (6,846).

In each of the last three seasons, Vijil has been selected as a first team all-af2 receiver. In the Shock’s victory over the Wilkes-Berry Scranton Pioneers in the 2009 ArenaCup, Vijil recorded 11 receptions for 108 yards with three touchdowns.

“There is no doubt that Raul has had an unbelievable career in the af2,” Head Coach Rob Keefe said. “Now, as we move forward to a higher level of football, he will be challenged more than ever. With that being said, I feel confident that Raul is ready to step up his game to the next level.”

I'd say that Vijil is already at that next level and he'll be a vital addition to the Shock. This team is shaping up nicely.

Video Bites: Team RadioShack cycling

The December 11th edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite sized videos!

Send your outdoor photos and cute animal photos to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com

Teen's holiday light display:

http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Teens-Christmas-display-is-too-much-for-family-fusebox-78905807.html

Holiday light map:

http://wwwb.thenewstribune.com/gmaps/lights/

(more)

Seattle is a bunch of wusses

Oh no! The world is ending in Seattle...

For the second straight day Thursday, the temperature hit a record low in Seattle

National Weather Service meteorologist Dustin Guy says the low of 16 before dawn Thursday at Sea-Tac Airport broke the low of 21 set on that date in 1972. Wednesday's record low was 18.

Burke says Western Washington temperatures should start warming up over the weekend and might get back to highs in the 40s by Tuesday. He says there's only a chance of snow during the change.

Sixteen is the HIGH in Spokane, where I have to break my car out of a casing of ice every morning. I can't believe Seattle, you whine about everything.

Epic Video: This means WAR!

Just South of North You Tube friend tythompson97 caught wind that I was a Tennessee Titans fan and since he's a huge Seattle Seahawks fan, he put together a video pumping up the upcoming game between the two teams.



That's right, anyone ready for some football?

Check out tythompson97's YouTube Channel.

Epic Photo: This bird is screwed

Awwww crap, should have locked the front door.

JustSON Advice: Should I buy a Droid phone?

I got the following facebook message regarding Verizon's new phone-to-end-all phones... What do you think?

k so do you think that the following are reasons that merit getting an iphone/droid type of phone?

1. while reading the justson blog article on the bowl game congress situation i wanted to look up what college the one 'no' voter went to.( and i was correct in assuming UGA, though i missed harvard)

2. while watching espn and seeing fran fraschilla I wanted to look up if that was his real name... It is

3. while wondering about fran fraschila it prompted me to think about another espn dude, nick bakay... i wondered for years if the espn the magazine writer nick bakay was the same nick bakay that was teh voice of salem the cat on sabrina the tv show... he is.

thankfully i was near my laptop so could wikipedia all of the above, allowing me to not lose sleep over the questions tonight. as such i think i deserve a droid phone as it woud help me sleep better at night! do you think that's a legit argument for spening a couple hundred bucks on a phone and doubling my monthly cell phone bill? i'm not important enough wehre i need email on my phone but rather i'd use the internet capabilities to look up unimportant sports trivia... what do you think?:)

Good question mystery reader, and the answer is... wait, Nick Bakay was Salem the cat? THATS MIND BLOWING! He was so clever, and witty and not annoying like Sabrina. How does he end up on a Disney-minded, self-promoting, megalith like ESPN?

He must of sold out, what a jerk. Should still be walking around pretending to give cats voices. That wouldn't be creepy or anything.

Oh and as far as the phone goes, definitely get one but don't let it become self-aware otherwise we're all screwed.

Mike Lowell traded to Rangers, but will remain on Red Sox payroll

If you're a baseball fan in the Northwest, you've been following the Mariners' wheeling and dealing the past few days. They're not the only ones as the Red Sox have dealt third baseman Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers for catcher Max Ramirez.

Lowell was bothered by a hip injury last year and had the range of a slaughtered Manatee at third base but was productive at the plate. So the Sox looking for an upgrade sent him to Texas, but they will be paying about nine million of his $12 million contract.

Ick. Some Red Sox fans aren't happy about that, because it's rumored that Boston will now go after Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre - who's a stellar third baseman but absolutely sucked at the plate last year. Example?

Fellow Boston Red Sox Fan Dylan Kitzan's Twitter Page.

"In honor of Bill Simmons: Anytime you can trade a guy (Lowell), get a younger version of that guy (Beltre) and pay 'em both, you gotta do it"

That's no exactly a ringing endorsement.

I'm just a little taken aback by how the Yankees are able to trade for studs like Granderson, and the Sox are left picking up the Mariners sloppy seconds. WHAT THE HELL THEO?

If they sign Mike Cameron, I might get a little pissed.

HUGE win for Gonzaga

Wow! Was that ever a tough one for Gonzaga, playing against NCAA Division III powerhouse Augustana last night. They just squeaked by with a 79-40 win in what could be described as the most boring game ever played in the McCarthey Athletic Center. I'm pretty sure that the student section was...

(A) Studying for finals in the stands
(B) Playing a game of "Lets see who can be quiet the longest
(C) Scrabble

Either way, I think that perhaps the school should think about scheduling this play down games earlier in the season (read: summer scrimmage) instead of a game in December. And did you see Augustana? I'm pretty sure I have more muscle tone than their post players and the extent of my physical activity is walking to the fridge.

Go Zags!

Congress hates the BCS

Congress wants a playoff system for college football! Nevermind everyone would like them to work on things like unemployment, this is important stuff!

WASHINGTON -- A House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday aimed at forcing college football to switch to a playoff system to determine its national champion, over the objections of some lawmakers who said Congress has meatier targets to tackle.


The bill, which faces steep odds, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship unless it results from a playoff. The measure passed by voice vote in a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee, with one audible "no," from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.


"With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on," Barrow said before the vote, although he stressed he didn't like the current Bowl Championship Series, either.

I just don't get why not being about to promote the BCS champion as a national champion is going to cause college football to change everything. How about they make the Bowl names sponsors actually be public service announcements.

"Oregon! Ohio State! Square off against one another in the 'Read something to your kid before he's born' Bowl!"

"Michigan State! North Carolina! Big game in the 'Check yourself for herpes on a regular basis" Bowl!"

Just saying, might get somebody's attention.

Video Bites: Seahawks green jerseys

The December 9th edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite sized videos!

Seahawks green jerseys:
http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=275&sid=253946

SNOWatHOME:
http://www.snowathome.com/

Kent Predators:
http://www.kentpredators.com/news.php

Indoor Football League:
http://goifl.com/

Epic Photo: Army football game

Navy... they're coming for you

A United States Army soldier runs with the ball as United States Marines from the 2nd MEB, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion try to tackle while playing a game of mud football following a rain storm at their base in Khan Neshin, Afghanistan, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Found this on Huckleberries.

Idaho vs. WSU ... college basketball nobody cares about

WSU vs. Idaho. The Beer Pong between these two schools must be epic. I hear that when these two play basketball is pretty good. I'd rather play beer pong though. 

PULLMAN – There aren’t many schools that have met more often in basketball than Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

When the two get together tonight in WSU’s Beasley Coliseum, it will mark the 105th consecutive year the two schools, separated by about 8 miles and an invisible state line, have met.

But despite having played 264 (or 263, if you go by Idaho’s records) times, these aren’t desperate rivals. More like two brothers playing in the backyard.

“We played against them this summer, so we know them all pretty well,” said WSU sophomore Abe Lodwick, who did not play in last year’s 55-41 WSU win in Moscow, the Cougars’ sixth consecutive win in the series.

Now you might be wondering who I'm going to root for, and to that I say... GO VANDALS!

Things Tiger Woods shouldn't do at the moment...

1. Go to a Perkins. Although you know they saw in a spike in business from 50-year old golf birds who just had to "try the waters" there.

2. Record a Christmas special with "Santa's Elves"

3. Do a special piece with Playboy Magazine "See the stuff Tiger is doing now!"

4. Change his Tiger Gatorade to a form of Viagra.

5. Become a Student Driver instructor.

6. Host a big party with all the women he slept with. (Something tells me that his mansion might become the second-largest city in Florida if he does that)

7. Write a tell-all book about how he actually wore a wig on the golf course and did Crystal Meth with John Daly once. (And yes, you would expect John Daly to do something like that)

8. Do a sideline interview with Suzy Kolber.

9. Hang out with Bill Clinton.

10. Say "I mean seriously, aren't you a little jelous?"

Shock get new QB

The Spokane Shock announced a new quarterback on the roster today, this time with a guy that had a little bit of big-time football experience.

Spokane announced the addition of three players, including 6-foot-5, 238-pound quarterback Chris Crane, who was in training camp with the Indianapolis Colts over the summer.

Crane backed up Matt Ryan at Boston College before taking over as the starter as a senior. He doesn’t have arena football experience. Crane and 2009 Shock backup Casey Hansen, also 6-5 and 230 pounds, are the team’s only QBs at this point.

Hey getting Matt Ryan would be great. Matt Ryan's backup? We'll see.

High School Football.. a good way to ruin your brain

These concussion studies on the effects of playing football are shocking, and as bad as the pros have it - a concussion by a young kid is much more damaging than a full mature male. Since their brains aren't developed fully, you're just asking for trouble. One thing I think that is overlooked is that there's been a lot of kids killed while playing the game of football and we just kind of sweep in under the rug. And there's this statistic...

It's just one sad data point in what truly is an epidemic of head injuries — an estimated 55,000 concussions in high school football in 2005-06 alone, according to the Journal of Athletic Training. Teenagers' heads, already chock-full of hormones, confusion and dancing images of Megan Fox, are being battered around on the football field, their brains sloshing inside their skull like the coffee in your mug when you take a turn too fast. If you watch Brian Westbrook or Jahvid Best being helped off the field by a team of trainers and doctors, you're seeing exactly what our high school and youth players lack: trained professionals who at least have a basic protocol for dealing with concussions.

Good point. Whereas NFL and college players have a full medical staff to see these things - a lot of high school players are at the mercy of their coach, who's sometimes just a guy reliving his glory days on the gridiron and couldn't give a damn about his players mental health. Seriously, I've seen this first hand - you can't immediately trust the judgment of every coach. Bad coach - terrible situation.

I understand there are a lot of coaches out there that are concerned about their high school players well-being, they still might not have to training or resources to determine if a kid has a concussion. So good coach - bad situation - the player still in the end loses.

And again, this issue is just ignored or under reported. I personally would like to see some sort of nationwide board that would enforce the utmost requirements for equipment (if you can't afford to protect your kids, your can't play football) and coaches (buttloads and buttloads of training, along with a representative constantly monitering how they treat their players).

I know this is a pipe dream, but there are just some terrible things going on with high school football players, probably more so than in the pros which has gotten the majority of the headlines.

Ewoks should be respected

There is a school of thought among Star Wars fans (or as I like to say "those that have not felt the touch of a woman yet") that Ewoks pretty much ruined "Return of the Jedi", because they're basically a furry group of teddy bears and the damn things are a big focus for most of the movie.

I've got to say that I disagree. Anyone remember watching Return of the Jedi as kids? Wasn't that the best movie out of all the Star Wars because of the Ewoks not in spite of it. Not only we're they hilarious, but these things were able to defeat the most feared enforcement troopers in the galaxy. Stormtroopers has freakin' laser guns and Ewoks had rocks.

And the Ewoks won.

I'm pretty sure that makes them bad ass, in fact I think they're the Hell's Angels of the Star Wars Universe, without the bad taste in leather.

So next time you have some extra money, buy a t-shirt with an Ewok on it, or adopt an Ewok. Because they rock.

Epic Photo: So this is what it's like to travel through time?

Or pretty damn close. For more photos like this, go to a walk through time.

Video Bites: Santa Swoop

The December 7th edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite sized videos!

Facebook groups you wouldn't want to be a member of...

"Tiger Woods is a great family man and I respect that!"

"North Idaho people who shave their heads and respect Germany's heritage between 1939-1945"

" I set up peephole cameras for Erin Andrews"

"I don't support the troops"

"Democracy is actually a very terrible idea. What would should really look into is Despotism"

"I have less than five Facebook friends"

"Seriously, add me as a Facebook friend right now"

"Rosanne Barr is a hotty"

"If you Google my name, my criminal record comes up"

How to survive the Spokane winter

So I woke up today and ran into wonderful Spokane winter weather. Single digit temperatures, it hurts when I breathe and I'm pretty sure I saw a polar bear.

How do you survive all this?

1. Find a Star War creature. Kill it. Cut open its guts and crawl inside.

2. Move to Canada, it's warmer.

3. Sometimes its smart to approach a spokie and offer him $40 for their coat. It may smell like piss, but it's definitely worth it because you know it's warm because the spokie is living outside all winter.

4. Instead of putting water coolant in your car, but in butter, it wont freeze.

5. Watch out for the Abominable Snowman. In other cities, gangs are a big problem. In Spokane... this guy rules the streets.

You've been warned.

Media criticizes SNL for Tiger Woods skit, loses my respect

Boy, during this whole Tiger Woods scandal, the news media has really showed their true colors. Forget finding facts, everybody is just naturally assuming there was a domestic incident, despite that not being confirmed by anyone. However, media sources like to just report it like it happened (as if they know).

Not to mention their eagerness to report the numerous ladies that have come forward to say that they have slept with Tiger Woods. This is sound, solid, useful journalism!

And now this media is using their platform to pick on that dastardly Saturday Night Live that basically has done the same thing they've done, except it's funny and entertaining. And by the way, it's a sketch comedy show so basically they're allowed to play around with the rules because nobody treats them as the truth.

In the comedy sketch, Tiger Woods (played by the “S.N.L.” performer Kenan Thompson) gives a series of press conferences attempting to apologize for acts of infidelity. In each appearance, the fictional Woods appears with more bruises and injuries, evidently sustained at the hands of Elin (played in the skit by Ms. Lively).

Around the blogosphere, viewers wondered if “Saturday Night Live” went too far in mining comedy from the subject of domestic abuse — particularly when the show’s musical guest was Rihanna, who in February was assaulted by her then-companion, Chris Brown.

Has SNL gone too far? There was no domestic abuse reported, they're just taking on the humerous angle that Tiger's wife would be rather angry to find that he's been sleeping around. Nothing more, nothing less. It's the media that's jumping off the boat with this whole domestic violience issue. And I'm sure Rihanna didn't actually watch the freakin' skit.

Again, the media has shown they have no shame, morals or even a sense of place when it comes to covering things these days. But.. gasp... at least they're better than that evil SNL.

Cute Animal Photo of the Week: Kitten

This is my baby kitty Flower. It was taken 5 years ago. She doesn't look like a baby anymore, but will always be on in my book! Photo by Heather Roslie/ Winlock, WA

Click on the photo to make it larger.

Think you've got a cute animal 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 Monday for a new Cute Animal Photo of the Week.

Epic Photo: This pretty much sums up my exact thoughts

Deer tree bobcat

Talk about strange news from the outdoor world. I was reading some of the many outdoor blogs that I follow, when I came across this:

Mark this down in the strange but true wildlife tales.
Ron Goade, president of SSI Technologies in Edmond, and his wife, Susie, were playing golf this month in Scottsdale, Ariz., when they witnessed three mule deer does tree a full grown male bobcat.

The Goades were walking to the 10th tee at the Desert Mountain Golf Course when three does chasing a bobcat raced in front of them.

“The bobcat flew up the tree as the deer stood guard,” said Ron Goade, who took some photographs with the camera on his cell phone.

The deer stood hissing at the bobcat in the tree.

“I don’t know what happened before that, but he didn’t want any part of the deer,” Ron Goade said. “We speculate the bobcat was trying to grab a fawn from a herd of fawns and mothers.”

The Goades watched for about 10 minutes but neither the bobat or mule deer would budge, so they decided to play on.

“It was an incredible sight,” he said. “You just never see a deer chasing a bobcat.”

That would have been the craziest thing to see. All I can say is: Herbivores 1, Carnivores 0

(Saw this over on NewsOK)

Sam Bowie would like his name cleared now

... Oden out for the season, Portland fans ready to jump off a bridge. What else could you have asked for in terms of drama this NBA season? With that I would like to present big busts that didn't live up to the hype, just so you don't feel bad about Greg.

1. Ryan Leaf - He's in jail. Something tells me things did not go well for him.

2. Y2K - I remember thinking "If this Y2K thing screws up, shouldn't Russia be sending nukes our way like 12 or 24 hours before we in America even great the new year due to time zones" so on Dec. 30, 1999, I was totally disappointing.

3. Middle Ages - Was supposed to be an era of religous awesomeness, instead the only thing good to come out of this time period was the inspiration to make that Kevin Costner Robin Hood movie.

4. Web TV - The funny thing is, with HD and websites like YouTube and Hulu, it might work now, however back in 1997 with dial up and a crappy screen resolution, people just said screw it and watched Seinfeld.

5. The final Seinfeld episode - Everyone at this point realized that Seinfeld wasn't actually that funny of a TV series.

6. Marriage - Judging by all the divorces, Tiger Woods cheating scandal and people saying they can't stop at McDonalds because their wife inspects their stool - I'm going to be single till I'm 50.

Questions I have after this weekend of sports...

1. After beating the 49ers, are the Seahawks really gonna go on a run and ruin their draft picks? I'm assuming that the Seahawks and 49ers were basically playing for third and second place in the NFC West this year, which honestly doesn't carry a whole lot of weight. Give the Hawks credit, they did win their fifth game of the year but also keep in mind that San Francisco did a couple of things to give the game away. This also confuses the direction of the Seahawks, do you rebuild? Do you bring in some free agents to fix things?

2. Is Casey really the biggest Colts fan in the Northwest? My fellow blogger Casey Knopik must be thrilled that his team defeated my Titans. That probably ended their postseason hopes but you never know. Now Casey has an undefeated team to root for and is the only fan in the Pacific Northwest (except for our good friend Bart) who roots for the Colts. Seriously?! Where are the other Colts fans? They're all located where there are no mountains, large women and corn. Wonderful.

3. Is it time to panic if you're Gonzaga? Whaaat? They lost to Wake Forest? A solid ACC team? Say it aint so! But one thing the Zags should be worried about is their student fan section. As soon as the Demon Deacons tied up the game, that section died and never came back. Lame.

4. Why is Skyline so damn good? So Spokane's Ferris Saxon's couldn't hold a candle to the Skyline Sparatans in the 4A State Football Championship, which makes me very, very sad. Skyline's QB will be going to BYU while Ferris' QB will be going to WSU. Who do you think got the better end of the deal there?

(Interesting question actually. Since BYU allows no drinking whatsoever on campus or withing 1,000 miles, I'd rather go to Pullman, suck at football, and sleep with like 40 girls because I'm on the football team. Score one for the Ferris kid going to WSU!)

5.How did UW defeat Cal? I dunno, but Casey is going to gloat about this as well. What a jerk.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Sunrise

This photo was taken at Sunrise this summer...it also happens to have a cute lil' critter in it. Photo by Heather Roslie/ Winlock, WA



This photo I took the last day that Sunrise was open for the 2009 season. We took a hike up there and man it was darn cold. Photo by Heather Roslie/ Winlock, WA

JustSON Notes: I love how these two photos show the season contrast on Mount Rainier. The first photo shows all the wild flowers in bloom as well as a marmot sitting in the sun warming itself. The second photo shows that winter is beginning to come in. It looks clean and cold. Awesome photos.

Click on the photo to make it 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.

Washington state high school reclassification

I had been hearing for awhile about how the WIAA wanted to reclassify the schools in each division.

They want 66 schools in 4A, 3A and 2A; 65 schools in 1A; and 62 schools in 2B and 1B. Currently, there are 78 in 4A, 68 in 3A, 55 in 2A, 63 in 1A, 66 in 2B and 59 in 1B.

Saw this over on the Tacoma News Tribune:

How Washington’s high schools will be classified for the 2010-11 school year is becoming more clear. WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said Saturday that all 13 Metro League schools will compete in Class 3A. Eleven of the league’s schools will opt up to 3A.

That’s significant for a handful of South Sound schools and every school that’s near the cut-off for 3A and 2A. According to the preliminary enrollment numbers released by the WIAA on Nov. 30, current 3A schools Franklin Pierce, Sumner and Bonney Lake, plus 4A schools Decatur and Wilson stand a good chance of being reclassified into 2A. However, Franklin Pierce, Decatur and Wilson are among the 59 schools that have until Dec. 15 to decide if they want to compete in the classification their enrollment places them in, or opt up to a larger classification. Bonney Lake and Sumner have said they will compete where they are slotted, which looks like it will be 2A.

On Jan. 4, the WIAA will release the list of the new classifications, but schools will have one last opportunity to opt up. But if a school has already opted up, it can’t decide to go back down to the classification its enrollment originally placed it in.

The Bonney Lake and Sumner moves, along with possibly Franklin Pierce would be big news for the SPSL 3A that could lose three teams. My old high school White River is in that league. And it seems the division they are in changes all the time. When I was in school we bounced leagues all four years I was in school.

Football Championship Subdivision playoffs: Quarterfinals

Despite the fact that there was no Eastern Washington football today, the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are still going on. And there was some crazy games.

Mainly the Appalachian State and Richmond game.

These two teams have won the last four FCS titles. Appalachian State claimed the crown in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008 the Richmond Spiders beat Montana.

Two powerhouses, only one could advance this year. And they didn't disappoint.

Richmond scored first with a touchdown. Appalachian State answered back with one of their own. Richmond eventually spread their lead to 24-14 in the early 4th quarter.

Appalachian State would come back with 14 unanswered to go up 28-24 with 4:27 remaining in the game.

But Richmond proved why they were the champs last year as they fought back to take the lead 31-28 with just 3:26 to go.

But sadly for the Spiders that was 3:16 too long.

The Mountaineers of Appalachian State stormed down the field and capped a 70 yard drive with a 4 yard touchdown pass from Armanti Edwards to Matt Cline. After an extra point, Appalachian State lead 35-31. And that's where the score remained. It was an amazing finish.

But this means that there will be no repeat champion this year. Someone new will emerge for the 2009 season. Here's the scores from the other three games:

Montana - 51
Stephen F. Austin - 0

William & Mary - 24
Southern Illinois - 3

Villanova - 46
New Hampshire -7

Needless to say, these other three games were less than close and were pretty much poundings. Nothing worth reporting other than they weren't even close.

Here's how the Semifinals shape up:

Appalachian State (11-2) at Montana (13-0)

William & Mary (11-2) at Villanova (12-1)

Chone Figgins to Seattle

Interesting move by the Mariners as they pick up Los Angeles Angels' third basemen Chone Figgins, who should add a little more hitting to the lineup, plenty of defense, and no pop (seriously, I hit more home runs than he does). While it's a somewhat big contract, it apparently isn't as bad as it looks.

According to several sources, the Seattle Mariners have reached a preliminary agreement with Chone Figgins on a four-year, $36 million contract. The deal also supposedly includes a vesting option for a fifth year that could push the deal to $45 million. The option likely won’t come into play unless Figgins lives up to his deal, so there is little risk to the team.

One thing is for sure, this will be a different looking team next year, and the year after that it will have an even bigger makeover. Hopefully for Mariners fans that's a change for the better.

Reasons why you're still single... you don't wear a suit to the bar

Guys, you might be sitting at home right now wondering why you're watching Stargate: Universe instead of making it with some hot chick. Well here's the reason...

When you go to the bar, you're wearing your freaking Chewbacca shirt instead of a suit. The next time you go out with your friends, make an effort to SUIT UP!

And I don't mean wear and nice untucked dress shirt. You need to freaking wear and actual suit. Tie. The full deal.

Then women will be all over you. Trust me. And be sure to pick ones that have daddy complexes.

From our Flickr Group: a panorama of Spokane

Again it's time to go to our flickr group for some photos. This one is from Jibby! who took a nice panorama of Spokane. Good job!

Why it sucks to live in New Jersey

Good god, how do you people wake up in the morning in that garbage dump of a state? Now, I must say that the absolute worst state in the union is Montana because they don't have electricity, but New Jersey isn't very far behind. Why? Well...

1. You're New York's drunk brother. You know the same brother that doesn't go to college, works at Walmart greeting people and checking bags, smokes a bowl everyday and likes the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yep, that's you.

2. The New Jersey Nets - the Detroit Lions have won more games than you and THEY'RE A FOOTBALL TEAM. Do us all a favor and start playing in the European league.

3. Chuck from New Jersey keeps calling into talk radio shows from his mom's basement. And he's not the only one. In fact, I'm pretty sure 80 percent of people in NJ call talk radio shows from their mom's basement.

4. Is there any sort of famous landmark or natural feature in New Jersey? And the garbage dump heaps do not count.

5. Driving from Maryland to Boston, you pass through a zone that looks like a cross from Blade Runner and Mordor from Lord of the Rings. There are large smoke stacks with flames coming out of them, large pipes everywhere, everything smells like garbage and then you cross a bridge and you're in New York (which is as equally as bad.)

You know what this place is? New Jersey.

Epic Photo: Snowshoe

It's the weekend. Hit the trail.

Video Bites: Cute Animal Photos

The December 4th edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite sized videos!

Submit cute animal photos and outdoor photos to: justsouthofnorth@gmail.com

Tacoma New Tribune: How you can offer support:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/tacoma/story/979837.html

Our hearts and prayers go out to those families.

United States in good position for the World Cup

UPDATE: The United States will take on England on June 12 in their World Cup opener. This is the first time the two have faced off since 1950 when the Americans upset the British 1-0. That's not the first time they upset them, anyone remember the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812? Yeah we owned them.

One of the most exciting days in soccer has happened, the World Cup 2010 Draw and the United States looks like it got a pretty nice pool of teams to play against. The World Cup starts with pool play, with the top two teams in their respective group advancing to the second round or "knockout" round of play. Here's what it looks like for the US.

GROUP C 

England - No. 9
United States - No. 14
Algeria - No. 28
Slovenia - No. 33

The US lost in a friendly match to England 2-0 in 2008 but you can't take a whole lot from that. Also factor in that England tends to choke sometimes and with the improved play of America lately, you've got to think that maybe the US has a shot. Either way they should be able to defeat Algeria and Slovenia meaning that they would advance to the knockout round.

The main thing is they avoided a "Group of Death" which basically means two highly ranked teams in the same group. That's very good.

If they don't advance... that would just be disappointing.

Well now I'm not depressed about unemployment

Basically I've spent the past could of days stewing over the prospect of a rising unemployment rate and no real relief in sight due to a staggering economy. Then a funny thing happened...

WASHINGTON — A surprising drop in the November unemployment rate and in job losses cheered investors Friday and raised hopes for a sustained economic recovery.

The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent last month, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began. The better-than-expected figures provided a rare dose of good news for a labor market that's lost 7.2 million jobs in two years.

The average work week also rose, along with average earnings. And the Labor Department said 159,000 fewer jobs were lost in September and October than first reported.

How the hell did that happen? At least that's some good news going into the holiday season.

(This is from Political Burnout)

It's Comcastic! Hulu survives

Perhaps you heard yesterday that Comcast bought NBC Universal meaning that it's probably the most powerful entertainment entity in the universe, except for that evil empire known as Disney. One of things that got me thinking was that NBC Universal has a lot of content streamed on Hulu, but that takes away from Comcast's own on demand service (which by the way, is one of the most addicting tv services ever), so would they pull the plug on Hulu?

As expected, Comcast announced its buyout of NBC Universal today, a deal that has left many wondering what will happen to Hulu, the ad-driven TV and movie streaming site. According to Comcast COO Stephen Burke the answer is: not much. Burke referred to Hulu's existing business model as "smart and appropriate" and said there aren't any plans to change the site.

Burke noted that NBC has been "careful not to put too much cable content on the Internet." Comcast CEO Brian Roberts emphasized further that Comcast has no intent to "crush [Hulu] like a bug." It's worth mentioning that NBCU is only one of two other studios (ABC and Fox) with a stake in Hulu, so it can't determine the site's fate outright. Roberts also said that a Hulu subscription model isn't in the cards -- but time will tell.

Thank god, that would have absolutely ruined my day.

(This is from Media Chow)

Internet addiction leads to serious issues

Yesterday we heard about the guy that beat World of Warcraft, meaning that he's probably an internet addict. Hopefully he doesn't hurt himself, because apparently people who spend all their time in front of their computer on the internet are more likely to hurt themselves.

Researchers surveyed 1,618 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from China's Guangdong Province about behavior such as hitting themselves, pulling their own hair, or pinching or burning themselves, and gave them a test to gauge Internet addiction.

Internet addiction has been classified as a mental health problem since the mid-1990s with symptoms similar to other addictions.

The test found that about 10 percent of the students surveyed were moderately addicted to the Internet, while less than one percent were severely addicted.

The students ranked as moderately addicted to the Internet were 2.4 times more likely to have self-injured one to five times in the past 6 months than students without an addiction, said Dr. Lawrence Lam from the University of Notre Dame Australia.

The moderately-to-severely addicted students were almost five times more likely than non-addicted students to have self-injured six or more times in the past 6 months, Lam and his colleagues from Guangzhou's Sun Yat-Sen University reported.

Wow, so basically people with no social lives are more prone to physical harm of themselves? Surprise, surprise...

(This is from Tech Rave)

Say hello to the Red Sox new shortstop

And the Red Sox have there first blockbuster deal that is sure to strike fear into the heart of the New York Yankees. Say hello to Marco Scutaro.

He has a career .265 batting average and hit 12 homers along with 35 doubles last year, driving in 60 RBI. All in all, he should be alright at the plate for the Sox, although he is 34 freakin' years old.

(Which is better than the 58-year old Julio Lugo)

But his bat is not what I'm concerned about, it's if he can field better than a bag of sand (something the Red Sox would have been better of with playing shortstop last year). And if he can stay healthy... oh wait... this just in...

But there were some concerns about a plantar fasciitis issue in Scutaro's right heel that forced him to miss the final two weeks of the season and caused him discomfort for several weeks.

ESPN.com reported that Allard Baird of the Red Sox front office watched Scutaro work out near his home in Miami on Tuesday, so perhaps that gave Boston more confidence in Scutaro's health.

Perhaps Scutaro can provide some stability for the next couple of seasons at a position that has been a revolving door for the Red Sox since the trade of Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs on July 31, 2004.

This was on the Red Sox own website. With any luck, his foot will fall off by spring training. Awesome!

Epic Photo: Where in the world is Dick Jauron?

Don't look too closely for head coach Dick Jauron in the 2009 Buffalo Bills team photo. Why? Because apparently he's been photoshopped out after getting fired for the team's poor performance. I'm sure Bears fans wish they could do that with Jay Cutler.

Epic Video: Discovery Channel

I love the Discovery Channel. My favorite channel.

Sodo Mojo for Jason Bay?

Word coming from the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker is that the Mariners are pushing hard for Jason Bay, a BC native and someone who would be quite comfortable in the Northwest.

Ummm, why?

I mean I like the contributions Bay has made to the Red Sox but did anyone in Major League Baseball realize how he dropped off the face of the earth as the season wore on last year?

In June and July he hit .230 and .192 with a whopping five homers. That's a stretch of the season where you don't want your "slugger" going on a free-fall slump. He did rebound for the rest of the season but I never got the feeling that other teams feared him in the lineup. He's a good hitter, but he also comes with a price and do the Mariners really want to shell out eight million dollars for a guy that hit .267 last year? Sure he had 36 home runs but this just reeks of disaster for the M's.

He's a good player, I just don't know if you want to throw a lot of money at him.

And for his fielding? I felt like it was Bay being Manny sometimes out in the field. It's not like he was a train wreck but he's not going to make Web Gems anytime soon.

So Mariner fans... you should be going blah right now.

A state-controlled media coming near you

If you ask me, this is a terrible idea. Never has a government-supported media been free and unbiased. It would be very easy for even the highly touted (cough cough) US government to put the brakes on certain investigative stories and journalists if this model were supported.

The newspaper industry is suffering "market failure" and the government will need to help preserve serious journalism essential to democracy, an influential US congressman said Wednesday.

"The newspapers my generation has taken for granted are facing a structural threat to the business model that has sustained them," said Representative Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California.

"The loss of revenue has spurred a vicious cycle with thousands of journalists losing their jobs," he told a meeting on journalism in the Internet age hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Waxman, who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over the FTC, said the "depression in the media sector is not cyclical, it is structural."

"While this has implications for the media it also has implications for democracy," he added. "A vigorous free press and vigorous democracy have been inextricably linked.

"We cannot risk the loss of an informed public and all that means because of this market failure," he said.

Now I agree that the United States would be in trouble off with no media at all to inform the public, but a government supported media means it would awfully easy to spread propaganda instead of news for the country. That's just as bad if not worse than no hard news media.

This isn't a problem of people not wanting to be informed, it's more because newspapers are refusing to change their 100-year old business model, it's because their content is old and stale, it's because journalists refuse to think outside the box. I'd say that perhaps in five years the current media landscape will look completely different and we could have a lot more "freelance" or "independent" journalists working for themselves on a blog. The newspaper model may not survive, because general media is falling to the wayside and more focused, specialized sources of information are becoming more valued.

And if that's being supplemented by the government, who knows if it's good information at all.

(This is from Political Burnout)

He'll be given the crown of the world's biggest loser

I don't know if I'd call this an achievement, I'd put this in the category of "what the hell have you done with your life?!"

A Taiwanese man has been named the first ever person to successfully "complete" World of Warcraft, collecting the game's staggering 986 Achievements to effectively do everything there is to do in the hugely successful MMO. This is literally the most amazing news of the day.

'Little Gray" beat the game after killing 390,895 creatures, administering 7,255,538,878 points of damage, completing 5,906 quests (averaging 14 quests a day), raiding 405 dungeons and hugging 11 players. I believe we can safely add another statistic to the numbers -- he has had sex 0 times during this period.

Some nitpicky WoW f*ckheads are trying to downplay Little Gray's accomplishment, claiming he received one event-tied achievement (B.B King) due to a glitch, and did not win it fairly.

You've got to be kidding me. I mean not only did this guy spend waaaay too many human hours playing this video game but apparently there are some people out there that want to tear down his loser-dom. Seriously? How big of a loser do you have to be to say that another loser isn't as big a loser as he seems? I feel like it's the same people that live in their mom's basement and eat catfood.

(This is from Tech Rave)

Thoughts on Gonzaga beating WSU

Boy did the Zags ever come out and lay a big fat egg in the first half. And part of the second half.  To a team that everybody expected them to handle somewhat easily (a seven to 15 point victory). This Cougar team came out with more energy and speed but for once I've got to say that Gonzaga showed some real backbone and character in this win.

And that's pretty hard for me to admit.

By coming back from a 13-point 2nd half deficit and defeating a WSU Cougars, the Zags: Next Generation showed that they can fight through a poor night of performance and still win. That's usually the stuff of veteran teams but I guess Gonzaga is skipping the introductory courses on that. And this wasn't against a daisy of a  team either. WSU now looks like they're going to compete for the Pac-10 title because frankly everyone else in that conference except for UW sucks.

Matt Bouldin showed up big, scoring 28 points, Klay Thompson of the Cougars who was leading the nation in scoring was limited to just 15. Elias Harris was fantastic with 21 points in the second half and 24 for the game.

I thought this was over and was drinking heavily from the Cougar Kool-Aid. But the Zags stormed back. Give them credit. They deserved it.

Video Bites: Cute Kitty

The November 30th edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite sized videos!

Submit cute animal photos and outdoor photos to: justsouthofnorth@gmail.com

Robbie Rist: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728411/

Fitness Tracker

Casey's fat.

Yes I am. I sit all day at work and over the past 6 months I've had a round trip commute of two hours a day. And I got fat.

So now I have grown fat. (See pictures below)

And therefore I decided it was time to change this.

And that's what this section is about. It's about me getting into shape.

The JustSON Fitness Tracker.

Here's my measurements from week one (last week).

Weight: 196 lbs.

Biceps flexed: 14.5 inches

Biceps unflexed: 14 inches

Forearm unflexed: 11.5 inches

Chest (at nipple line): 38 inches

Waist (at belly button) 37.5 inches

Hamstring: 23.5 inches

Calf: 14.75 inches

Neck: 16 inches

I'll update this periodically and let you know how the training is going. So far I've started a program for the past two weeks of conditioning for 20 minutes and then lifting weights.

BEFORE:


AFTER: To Be Determined.

A plea to the Red Sox... GET ROY HALLADAY!

To the right of this article is Roy Halladay, who had a heck of shut down season last year and probably is among the five best pitchers in the league. He plays for Toronto, which is not a good baseball team. The Blue Jays tried to trade him this season, but couldn't find a good enough deal (read: an entire team) for him.

However, during this offseason teams are lining up at the door to get him and obviously the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are in the front of the line. While he might be a little past his prime in terms of age, he would definitely be a key pawn in the divisional battle between the Red Sox and Yankees.

Let me be the first to say that the Red Sox NEED Roy Halladay. Why? Because their franchise is floundering somewhat. Some prospects haven't worked out, guys are getting old, there's no "spark" guy in the lockerroom or the lineup. They need something to get everybody excited for the 2010 season, because the current roster- while good - doesn't exactly scream World Series.

And then you have the Yankees, who obviously won it all this year and are sitting on a stockpile of all-stars. They get Halladay, and you can pretty much write off the division for them. That rotation combined with their lineup would be a juggernaut of epic proportions.

While the Red Sox have two studs in Beckett and Lester, they need to get Halladay not so much to bolster their rotation (although that would give the best in the league, hands down), but to box out the Yankees from winning the division in winter.

Come on Theo...

Why Vampires Suck... they don't exist

I would just like to tell all these Twilight fans out there a little secret...

VAMPIRES DON'T EXIST!

You will not find a man out there that has eternal blood lust for you. You will not find a man who will live forever. You won't find a guy that will fight a werewolf for you. You wont find this if you spend more time reading Twilight books than actually going out and try meeting men. Just a thought.

The biggest pop star on earth: Susan Boyle

Who saw this coming? Susan Boyle is killing the sales charts after releasing her first album. While I think this is fantastic, I'm wondering what they're going to do about the music video.

Susan Boyle, queen of the pop charts.

The matronly Scottish singer who rose to unlikely fame on British reality TV has a exclamation point to add to her fairytale success story. Her first album has not only debuted in the number one spot on the Billboard charts - it's the biggest selling debut album from any female artist since SoundScan began tracking record sales in 1991.

The 47-year-old church singer, who makes her home in Blackburn, Scotland, released her album "I Dreamed a Dream" on November 23, and it sold 701,000 copies in its first week, Billboard.com reports.

That beats 2009's previous big seller, Eminem, whose "Relapse" moved 608,000 copies in its first week. The last album to better Boyle's sales was AC/DC's "Black Ice" in October 2008, with 784,000 records sold.

Now when does she do a song with Lady Gaga?

(This is from Media Chow)

I wouldn't call this Obama's war

I understand that Obama is now our president and he can't keep blaming the previous administration but the war in Afghanistan and Iraq are not his fault. He was put in a position where he couldn't please anyone, especially the right, no matter what he did. And here we are, sticking it out in Afghanistan, sending 30,000 troops and now the comparisons to Vietnam are flying everywhere.

But let me be the first one (and I'm sure I'm the first one to do this) to agree with Obama's move. By reinforcing troops in Afghanistan, he's hoping to stop the decline of conditions in that country. However, this "winning" and "losing" concept by most Americans is completely ridiculous and unrealistic. In occupation wars such as the war on terror, troops are on the ground but there's no clearly defined battle lines or signs of progress except for the stability of the country itself. If Obama were to leave the same number of troops or pull out immediately, the destabilizing effects it would have in the region would be disastrous. So those that say "why are we wasting more American lives? Why are we risking more troops!?" are off base since a complete withdrawal would have basically been nixing the sacrifices that the military has made since the initial invasion of the country.

And it's funny how fundamental and value-based the Republicans are, and then they flip-flop, now questioning a war that they basically started. Saying it was a war we can not win. Calling it hopeless and a waste of American troops. Saying that it's just Obama pushing an agenda.

Sound familiar? It's what the left said about Iraq a few years ago. Funny how things have changed.

And funny how things have changed in Iraq, where violence is down and US forces are slowly reducing their numbers. But you won't hear anything positive about that, definitely not from the right. Apparently staying the course is fine when Bush is in office, but not when Obama is. Nevermind that the troop increase in Afghanistan may create the same result in Iraq. Yeah, there's no possibility that it's going to happen.

What is he supposed to do?

Full withdrawal may be years away, it may not be an option at all. I know Obama has set a time table but doesn't everyone realize that it could change regarding conditions. If things improve I'd imagine that troops coming home would happen. If they don't... we'll probably stick it out.

You know, that thing Bush did in Iraq, regardless of public opinion. And now look what is finally happening there.

Funny. Same philosophy. Different faces. Same criticism.

(This if from Political Burnout)

America falls in love with Windows 7, communism

Windows 7 has been a big hit with software critics (who must live a rockstar-esque lifestyle) and the sales charts - but what has the average user been saying about it? Remember, Windows Vista was treated like the plague when it was released and Windows XP was a mess when it was distributed to the public.

Seven? Well, it's heaven.

Windows 7 is scarcely more than a month old. Most of the people who will eventually use it haven't gotten around to trying it yet; those that have are still settling in. And the Win 7 experience will change rapidly as remaining bugs are squashed, missing drivers arrive, and compatibility glitches are ironed out. Even so, it's not too early to start gauging what real people think of Windows Vista's replacement.

So to riff on Ronald Reagan's famous question from his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter, Are Windows users better off today than they were a few weeks ago, back in the Vista era? We decided to ask the Technologizer community, a group of tech enthusiasts with a high propensity to acquire new operating systems quickly and push them to their limits. Starting on November 16th, we surveyed our readers (and Twitter followers) about their experiences with Windows 7.Our goal: to do a reality check on the mostly favorable initial reviews of the new OS (as well as our own survey of largely enthusiastic Windows 7 beta testers back in March).

The 550+ Windows 7 early adopters who took our survey mostly echo the positive response that the upgrade has received from professional reviewers, pundits, and users of pre-release editions. A sizable majority say they're extremely satisfied with the OS and rate it as a clear improvement on both the beloved Windows XP and the widely-panned Windows Vista. Crippling installation problems-the bane of every upgrader's existence, and always a legitimate reason to postpone switching OSes-were rare.

So everyone should go out, sell their Mac, and buy a PC with Windows 7. There, I said it.

(This is from Tech Rave)

Tri-Cities Fever moves to IFL

Back in September Brandon wrote about how the Spokane Shock were joining the new Arena Football 1 league. Well, at that time Tri-Cities was going to join too. But now they've changed their minds and are going to the Indoor Football League. I found this announcement on the Fever web site.

Fellow Fever Fans,

As you already know Arena Football 1 has had the intentions of there being two tiers within one league. Tier one would be made up of the larger markets, such as Chicago and Spokane, where they have arena’s that can sit 10,000 plus and have the population and infrastructure to support the financial model. Tier two would be made up of markets such as Tri-Cities.

In September it was determined that tier two would be made up of at least 8 teams. Due to a variety of circumstances that number dropped to 7 then just two weeks ago to 6. While competing in a tier with only 6 teams caused me great concern I felt that during the first year we could make it work and have future expansion to look forward to.

This past Monday I was on our regularly scheduled league owner’s conference call where I was shocked to hear that our tier two division had now dropped to 5 teams. This has left the 5 remaining tier two teams with a decision.

Do we make the jump to tier one, do we look to participate in another league or do we fold? All five teams have different markets and have to make a decision that is best for them. I have spent the last 2 days making arrangements to do what is best for the Tri-Cities. Folding IS NOT an option and the Tri-Cities could not financially support the Tier one model.

It would only be a matter of time before we failed at that level. I have researched other indoor leagues and have chosen (as well as been accepted into) the IFL. The IFL will now have 26 teams across the United States. We will once again be division rivals with the Billings Outlaws.

We will also be in a league with Odessa Roughnecks, who in 2005 with 2 seconds left on the clock we beat in the conference championship ending their 16 – 0 season. Along with Tri-Cities, my former tier two partner Arkansas has moved to the IFL from Arena Football 1.

Once the initial shock of the change wore off I was able to realize that this just may be the best thing that could have happened. It makes sense for Tri-Cities. We can be competitive in a league that is stable with business partners that I can count on such as Billings, Odessa, Corpus Christie.

The big question on everyone’s mind may be “What about Coach O’Hara”? Coach was my first call on Monday. His response to me was that he believes in us and Tri-Cities and if we are playing football he’s going to be here.

We talk several times a day and rest assured he is still our guy. The IFL was just a day away from announcing their schedule. Because of their accommodations to us they have had to go back to the drawing board.

I anticipate that they will be releasing the revised schedule very soon. You, our season ticket holders and sponsors, are the first to hear this news from me. As loyal supporters I wanted to tell you personally and I hope that you share my excitement (and relief) for the season that is ahead. I am already looking forward to facing the Outlaws!!!

For those of you that want to check out the new league further please visit their website at www.goifl.com. Thank you all for the support you have given the Fever. Your loyalty is appreciated by all of the Fever family.

I look forward to sharing more information with you very soon.

Best Regards,

Teri Carr


Personally I find it funny that the Fever compare Spokane to Chicago and call them a "big market." I guess that means we should tip our hats to the Shock fan base that they have put this idea of a large market into other indoor football teams around the nation.

This is what it's like living with a cat lady

Just a warning to my buddy Casey, who has cats now...

Found this on Facebook Fail.

How bout them Chiefs, eh?

Good news for the Spokane Chiefs who have absolutely been on fire this month. Their goalie, James Reid, who had a bit of trouble at the beginning of the season, has turned it around and been a stone wall between the posts.

CALGARY, AB. – The Western Hockey League announced today that Spokane Chief goaltender James Reid has been named the HUSKY WHL Player of the Month for November.

The 19 year-old goaltender went unbeaten in regulation time through the month of November posting 10 wins and one over-time loss, which included an eight game win streak and three shut-outs. Reid recorded a remarkable 1.09 goals-against average and a 0.964 save percentage, allowing just 12 goals on 335 shots-against in 662 minutes played, averaging just over 30 shots a game.

Reid’s consistent play has helped the Chiefs post a 10-2-1-0 record through the month of November and his efforts also earned him a Three Star selection in five of his 11 games played, with four being 1st Stars. He currently leads all WHL goaltenders with a 2.03 goals-against average and a 0.929 save percentage. Reid is also second in the wins category with his 14-4-2-0 record this season, including wins over the Calgary Hitmen, Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants. The last WHL goaltender to be named Player of the Month was Matt Keetley back in January 2006.

How bout that huh? After listening to the radio broadcasts of the Chiefs (kind of my job), James Reid was phenomenal, picking up save after save. If the past is any indication (Tokarski?), Spokane is in really good shape.

Signs that your girlfriend is a cat lady

According to Facebook, Casey has apparently taken the plunge with his fiancee and they've acquired some cats.

I know, I feel sorry for him as cats are little hellspawns that do the work of Satan. If you'd like to avoid the same fate as Casey, I'd recommend looking for these warning signs that your girlfriend might be a cat lady...

1. She dresses like a slutty kitty for Halloween every single year. Even when her body type has no right dressing up like a slutty kitty. In fact, you beg her not to put on the same slutty kitty outfit, but she does anyways.

2. On your first date, she asked for extra cat hair on her food to get that feel of home.

3. This one is pretty simple... there are FREAKIN' cats in her apartment.

4. She thinks Egypt had it right when they whorshipped cats and wanted to be buried with them. In fact, she's worked up the funeral arrangement where you'll both be buried alongside her kitties.

5. She has more cat food in the apartment than actual human food. Sometimes she eats the cat food cause she can't afford human food because she spent too much money on cat food.

6. She hates dogs.

7. She meows alot. Which, on all accounts, is about the least sexy thing you can do. Ever.

Alright, be alert... unless you want to end up like Casey.

Shake Al Gore's hand for a small fortune

And you thought his long distance calls from the White House were expensive. Al Gore, who famously has defeated global warming with his awesome Man-Bear-Pig theory, will be in Denmark pulling in some serious mula. Being a former Vice President (and failed presidential candidate) must be a pretty easy life considering how much he's charging for a handshake..

"Meet Al Gore in Copenhagen." The official announcement from this fair Danish city says it all. The former vice president is getting star treatment when he arrives with an entire swarm of green-minded gadflies for the United Nations' global warming extravaganza, which begins on Dec. 7.

"Have you ever shaken hands with an American vice president? If not, now is your chance. Meet Al Gore in Copenhagen during the UN Climate Change Conference," notes the Danish tourism commission, which is helping Mr. Gore promote "Our Choice," his newest book about global warming in all its alarming modalities.

"Tickets are available in different price ranges for the event. If you want it all, you can purchase a VIP ticket, where you get a chance to shake hands with Al Gore, get a copy of Our Choice and have your picture taken with him. The VIP event costs DKK 5,999 and includes drinks and a light snack."

Wait, what? How much is that in American dollars? The currency conversion says it all, too: 5,999 Danish kroners is equivalent to $1,209.

"If you do not want to spend that much money, but still want to hear Al Gore speak about his latest book about climate challenges, you can purchase general tickets, ranging in price from DKK 199-1,499 depending on where in the room you want to sit," the practical Danes advise. "There will be large screens, so that everyone will get a good view."

Do you think he washes his hands? And do you have to pay more if you catch swine flu from him? Since my budget is considerably smaller, I'm wondering if I can't just give him a fist pump for $50. That shouldn't be a problem right?

(Found this on Political Burnout)

Wii dominates all

Even though every hardcore gamer (without a girlfriend) will tell you how much the Wii stinks because its graphics aren't as sparkly, the truth of the matter is it's selling a whole heck of a lot more than the other two "superior" systems.

The Wii outsold Sony's PS3 550,00 to 440,000; Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) has not yet published its figures, but said they were "double" the previous November week's, according to vgchartz.com.

Now, the bad news. Although Nintendo sold 550,000 Wii consoles between Nov. 22 and 28, that's roughly 30 percent fewer than the nearly 800,000 units sold during the same period in 2008. And that is also despite a $50 price cut on the Wii this fall. Some observers blame mediocre software on the decline. Others have noted Nintendo has been slow to offer new gaming titles for the Wii; the company's only recent major releases have been Wii Sports Resort in July and Wii Fit Plus in early September. According to reports, Wii Sports Resort is selling well.

In October, the game maker reported lower profit of 69.5 billion yen ($767.8 million) for the six-month period ended Sept. 30, compared with 144.83 billion yen for the same period in 2008. The company expects lower total earnings in 2009 than in 2008 -- the first annual earning decline for Nintendo in six years.

Well what do you expect in an economy like this? Nintendo is still racking in the money, and while I'm not sure about the Xbox - I know the PS3 is a big hemorrhage of money for Sony. Make fun of it's sophomoric graphics but the Wii is a moneymaker, that is for sure.

(From Tech Rave)