Outdoor Photo of the Week: Spiked Trails

For today's Outdoor Photo of the Week I figured we'd head down to Arizona.

This photo is from Lórien over at Wayfaring Stranger.

Here's what she said about the picture:

Spiked Trails: A picture of an area near Sierra Vista, AZ where the beginning of the infamous Geocaching "Smile" is.

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.

The worst mistakes in video game history

1. Looking at the wrong screen during Mario Kart - There's nothing worst than thinking you're in first place and then realize you're guy is actually the one in the bottom right corner screen going the wrong direction into a pit of lava.

2. Detonating your own bombs too close to you in GoldenEye - Really who blows themselves up except for terrorists that live in caves and poop in a hole? Yep, just gaming newbs like yourself.

3. Getting beat down in Halo - Wait a minute, somebody killed me with the butt of their gun? They didn't actually shoot me, they snuck up on my while I trying to figure out how to aim my gun and knocked my brains out. I'm a douche.

4. Losing at Tetris - These bricks are stacking up... I need the long line block. Give me that. Not that L-shaped business. Ah wait... a square?!?! What the hell am I supposed to do with a square?

5. Accidentally lateraling the ball on NCAA Football 10 - Pressing the left shoulder button has the quarterback fling the ball out to the right where your running back should be. Problem is, if you're in shotgun formation and you're dropped back to pass, this move means you're screwed.

Epic Video: Newsroom Fight

Top stories of the day, somebody is getting f-ed up!

What to do if a volcano erupts...

Since I've been watching Volcano disaster movies all day and since I'm from the state of Washington (we have had our fair share of volcanoes), I figured I would key all of you in on how to survive an eruption.


DO
1. Get the hell out if you start to notice lakes and ponds turning into acidic pools of death. Except for the Spokane River... that's totally cool. It's normal.
2. Listen to the movie star looking geologist while ignoring the fat geologist boss (because he will die soon, trust me)
3. Evacuate when they say its time to evacuate - that guy thats wants everyone to stay because of the economy of the town? Yeah he's about to get a steaming pile of lava bomb shoved down his throat.
4. Mark out where all the abandoned mine shafts are.
5. Avoid any manhole covers or subway tunnels where there are rumors of a volcano sprouting up in your city.

DONT
1. Jump into any hot springs unless you want to look like the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs... only deader.
2. Go back through a river of lava for the freakin' dog.
3. Go back up the mountain to get freakin' grandma.
4. Be "that journalist" that gets to eager to report to the story and ends up with a stomach-full of lava.
5. Ignore the movie star geologist... I mean, since when is this EVER a good idea? Ask the dead people.
6. Make some sort of selfish move like push somebody down to get out of the way over lava, ash, or general mayhem... karma is a pain and always comes back to bite you.

There you go. Now go out there and find a volcano.

Northwest Photographer of the Week: Sonja Morgan

The coolest thing about doing the Northwest Photographer is seeing all these cool photos from around the region and knowing where they're at. Sonja Morgan is our Northwest Photographer of the Week and she's done just a fantastic job with her images...

Here is what Sonja wrote to us...

I photograph images from all over the Pacific Northwest. I have two lines of work, one in abstracts and one in natural landscapes. Both are extremely popular. I have work in galleries all around the northwest: Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Forks, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Seattle and others as well.

I am really into photographing the Olympic Peninsula right now but I love everything about our region.

You can also view more of her images at http://simplysonja.weebly.com

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

Fitness Tracker update

It's Friday and what better way to start a Friday then with a little fitness news. About 2 months ago I told you about how it was time for me to get back into shape. (Well, I was a shape, just round)

I called this my Fitness Tracker.

In this post I listed my measurements and before photo.

Here's how my measurements compare from back on December 2nd:

Weight: 196 lbs. now 187 lbs.

Biceps flexed: 14.5 inches now 15 inches

Biceps unflexed: 14 inches now 14.5 inches

Forearm unflexed: 11.5 inches now 11.75 inches

Chest (at nipple line): 38 inches now 39.5 inches

Waist (at belly button): 37.5 inches now 35.5 inches

Hamstring: 23.5 inches now 24.25 inches

Calf: 14.75 inches now 14.75 inches

Neck: 16 inches now 16 inches

And now for the photos:


BEFORE
AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I'll update you again soon on how my progress is going. But I've so far completed my main goals. Loosing inches on my waist and getting stronger.

Happy Friday everyone!

Epic Photo: Have a very emo Christmas

Good god, here are some razors... now get lost.

Gonzaga Bulldogs, and Canada's only remaining WWI vet have died

Sorry Zags fans, but last night's game sucked. Sucked. SUCKED. There was roughly 50 people in the gym at LMU to see the best team in the WCC (probably because a 6pm game is terrible for LA traffic), and apparently the boys in blue never showed up. I would go into detail but ever time I talk negatively about GU, I get angry emails and texts, so I'm just going to let it go.

Gonzaga 66, Loyola Marymount 74

In other news, the last remaining Canadian Veteran of WWI, John Babcock, has died at the age of 109. That is big news in itself, but the man had lived in Spokane since the 1930s.

Babcock, who has lived in Spokane since the early 1930s, became a bit of a celebrity in the last few years, especially in Canada. Well wishes for his birthday in July 2009 were sent from Queen Elizabeth II, and the guest list included the Canadian consulate who joined Babcock and his family at the Rosauers on North Division for birthday cake, French fries and tartar sauce.

“I was deeply saddened to learn today of the death of John Babcock, Canada’s last known First World War veteran,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a news release Thursday. “As a nation, we honor his service and mourn his passing.”

“John Babcock was Canada’s last living link to the Great War, which in so many ways marked our coming of age as a nation,” Harper added, noting that 650,000 men and women served in the Canadian forces during WWI.

With Babcock’s passing, Frank Woodruff Buckles, 109, of West Virginia, is the only surviving American World War I veteran.

Babcock was born in 1900, on a farm near Kingston, Ontario, Canada; he outlived 10 siblings.

He enlisted in the Canadian Army during WWI, at the age of 15. 

The thing with losing a living link to the past is that you're losing an actual person who experienced history. After that, it's whatever the history books say... which is tend to not be the most accurate things in the world. However, very cool that he was living in Spokane. How about that?

Good morning mildly hung over people

Is there anything worst than going out on a Thursday night? You have two kinds of people that f-things up.

1. People that have to work in the morning and dont want to drink that much.
2. People that don't have to work in the morning and want to get sloshed.

Problem is, you're either one or the other and you always end up arguing with the person who is the other type. If you're responsible, it always seems like everyone else is unemployed and trying to make you the poster boy for "Hungover: the Documentary." If you're looking for a good time, it seems like everyone is hanging out at home watching Jepordy or nursing their Shirley Temple.

Which leads me to propose this idea... do we really need to work on Friday? Here is how a normal friday goes...

9:10 am - roll in late, hungover.
9:30 am - coffee... good you can see and hear now.
10 am - see your coworker who took off their shirt at the bar last night.
11 am - take early lunch.
1:30 pm - get back from lunch, still slight hungover.
2 pm - realize you only have three more hours to do something productive.
2:40 pm - make quick phones calls and realize everyone at work is doing the same rushed, crappy job as you.
3:00 pm - actually get work done.
3:30 pm - take off early. I mean come on. It's Friday!

So employers... wouldn't you rather just cut Fridays and have us work productively four days out of the week. This would be much more cost-effective. But what do I know? I'm just a blogger...

Afternoon hike in the Issaquah Alps

Today the Northern Rangers headed out for another afternoon hike. We were back at Poo Poo Point. And since we've shown you that hike a bunch we didn't shoot a video this week.

But we did snap the picture above.

The hike today was great. I was finally feeling in hiking shape again. However, because of the amazing weather that Washington has been having there were SO many people on the trail.

And not the normal crowd of paragliders. But just people out for an after work hike.

Normally the trail is spotted with paragliders making the trek to the launching point. And the two paragliders that we did see were hiking back down. I'm not sure why.

It was a great hike to say the least. But anytime you get outside is a good time.

Next Saturday the Northern Rangers are planning another big trip like we did Wallace Falls State Park last month. I'll keep you posted.

(This is from Just Northwest)

National Geographic Adventure is back. Kinda.

A few months ago I posted about how National Geographic Adventure was closing.

Today I found out some great news though. While making my daily trip to The Adventure Blog, I saw that National Geographic Adventure has lived on. Just not in magazine form.

Instead, it has survived in blog form.

I was glad to see that at least the information that was in each issue would still be available.

And while browsing the site today I found that they had some great content on there.

I guess this is just another sign of the changing times of journalism. As more content moves from traditional print to online.

(This is from Just Northwest)

The Brandon Hansen experiment

In case you haven't noticed, perhaps the coolest athlete of the 2010 Winter Olympics is Shaun White.

And because of his flowing red hair, Shaun has the nickname of "The Flying Tomato."

Therefore, today at Just South of North I am going to do a bit of a science project. And no, there will be no test at the end. Now let's get started.

First of all, please note the following two photos:


Now let's compare shall we?

The first photo is of snowboard sensation Shaun White. The second photo is not.

The second photo is actually of Just South of North's very own Brandon Hansen.

Now the next step of this experiment is to list the similarities between these two individuals:

They both have red hair.

....

Whelp, that's about it.

Ok, not as hard as I thought it would be. But this next step will be a bit trickier. Let's take a closer look at each photo and really examine each.

Photo 1: Shaun is hosting an American flag above his head after winning the gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics. His outfit contains his sponsors logos and USA. He is excited cause he just represented his country in the biggest show for his sport.

Photo 2: Brandon is trying to flex his arms. Notice the word trying. Also, he is wearing a Spokane Indians jersey which, I have come to the conclusion he came upon this jersey one of four ways. He either A: found it in the Indian's locker room and stole it. B: was given it while being the honorary first base coach for the Indians during a game. C: Has served as the bat boy for the Indians for the past 12 seasons. D: Bought it from the team store.

Since Brandon is an honest guy that rules out A. And I don't think he was the bat boy, so that crosses off C. Now we just have B and D. And since D involves money, I'm going with B.

Anyway, back to the photo. You'll also notice that Brandon has his thumb out. That leads me to believe that he was probably hitchhiking. Oh, and he's standing on a base, but if you notice there are no other players in the shot. Therefore I believe this photo was staged by Brandon using his own camera and a tripod. Well that, and the fact that I know Brandon couldn't make on base. Well, maybe if he was walked. Maybe.

Alright, now one last experiment:

Who would be more recognizable on the street?

Most people across America know Shaun White. So he has that going for him.

However, everyone in Spokane knows who Brandon Hansen is. Seriously, if you think I'm joking then you don't know the Spokane sports scene. That guy knows everyone and everyone knows him.

So this experiment is inconclusive.

Thank you for taking part in this week's edition of "Brandon or a famous person." Next week we'll be comparing Brandon with Seth Green.

Oh Seth Green. He's funny.

I would do this for Lindsey Vonn as well

Lindsey Vonn's brother apparently did this haircut to support his sis. Fantastic idea (I think). Although I'm pretty sure that I would do a whole lot more for Lindsey Vonn. I mean have you seen her?

(For the record, she might be my favorite Olympic athlete of 2010. That and Shaun White, who it the one and only athletic ginger)

Now does the other side of his head have a V because that would be oh, so much cooler.

Good Morning NBC haters

Is this how you feel when you have to watch tape-delayed figure skating while a very important hockey game is also going on at the same time live? Yeah, sorry about that. You'll have to blame NBC for that.

It's been no secret that the Peacock Network has absolutely screwed the pooch when it comes to the Olympics. Horrible programing choices (why am I watching curling), the lack of any suspense (We knew that somebody won gold ten hours before it airs) and a hodge podge of channels (wait, this one is on CNBC not NBC?) has left people furious.

My thoughts? Yeah they're screwing things up. I don't mind the tape delay because the local affiliates still need to get their local programming in, and people aren't going to be able to watch these events at work anyways. But there is absolutely no available live stream on the internet or any other NBC cable channel. They should let the people that want it live, watch it live on the internet and then have the people that come home at 5pm be able to see it during primetime. Just a thought.

And here's an idea... focus on the main sports, Americans winning medals and stay away from crappy fluff news pieces on polar bears in Canada.

Lebron James has a new teammate...

Everyone's been saying that Lebron James needs some support... and he just got it. Antawn Jamison was traded to the Cleveland Cavs in a three-team trade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached agreement on a six-player, three-team trade that lands them former All-Star forward Antawn Jamison(notes), league sources with knowledge of the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

The Cavaliers are sending center Zydrunas Ilgauskas,(notes) a first-round pick and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic to the Wizards. The Wizards also will receive Al Thornton(notes) from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavaliers will get point guard Sebastian Telfair(notes) from the Clippers. The Wizards will send Drew Gooden(notes) to the Clippers.

Antawn's career stat line?
19.9 points per game
8.8 rebounds

While I'm not thrilled about his apparent lack of passing ability, what the Cavs really need is somebody to take the scoring pressure off of Lebron, who is a much more dangerous player when he has scorers he can dish to. Antawn isn't going to act like the alpha dog on the team either since he's playing with the best basketball phenom since Jordan, he'll know his spot.

This makes the Cavs very, very dangerous.

Epic Photo: Who wants to go to Vegas?

I do!! I do!!!

Epic Video: Singing Bard

A lot of you might not know this about Brandon. But through college he worked as traveling bard. Yeah. He sang and stuff.

Campus Rail Jam Tour 2010

I was cruising around the internet today looking at snowboarding stuff. Why? Because everyone was talking about Shawn White and the Olympics today.

Anyway, I came across this site about Campus Rail Jam 2010. And imagine my surprise to see which schools they are going to but none other than Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington on March 18. (Why they didn't choose Eastern is beyond me. I mean seriously, Eastern is getting red football turf)

The site was pretty neat and the event seems like a lot of fun. Their first stop was the University of Arizona. Yes, Arizona of all places for snow. But I guess that if Vancouver can bring in truckloads of snow for the Olympics, why couldn't U of A bring in a few loads for a rail jam.

You can follow this link to view video from the event in Arizona. The female host is super annoying, but snowboarding in the heat and sun looks like fun.

(This is from Just Northwest)

Epic Photo: Jabba the Snowman

No word yet if there was a snow-bikini Princess Leia either.

Good Morning Ken Griffey Jr. Fans

Okay, so that's not a photo of Ken Griffey Jr for very obvious reasons, but the Mariners great is coming back for another go-around as the highest paid mascot in the American League. Mascot? Well he certainly isn't getting paid for his performance out on the field...

But if Griffey gets enough playing time to qualify, he seems an early candidate for worst DH of 2010. Father Time has come for The Kid. Since 2005, a comeback year in which he hit 35 homers and played his most games since 2000, he has a pedestrian .801 OPS and 105 OPS+ in 513 games — and he's been due $43.5 million dollars for his services.

He's not getting paid as much as he used to, but he just signed a for slight raise with the Mariners and will make $2.35 million plus incentives. Considering Griffey's stature in the city of Seattle, he's getting paid less for what he'll do on the field and more for his name recognition and clubhouse presence. Still, the M's should expect something from him.

I'll say that even though I didn't expect it (I expected the opposite), Griffey was a fantastic influence on the clubhouse and provided a little bit of glue for the team that was really lacking the year before. That's more than likely while the Mariners brought him back, that and to give fans a recognizable name. Anyone would be crazy to argue his actual statistical positive influence, I mean he got a lot of walks buuuut he was a gaping hole in the lineup so you do the math.

What should we expect from Griffey? Lets set the bar low and then either a letdown wont be such a painful experience and if he does somehow get his groove back, than hey! All the better.