Jumbo Fish Davlu with chilli powder- Umm Umm that is some good eating

Ok so I was in the "Grillen" to get some hotdogs on the 4th of July. While I was in there, I saw three local girls eating what I could only describe as straw. They would pull the stuff out of the bag by the hand full, fold it down and cheww it like cows chew hay. So of course I had to try it. The girls didnt speak english so I asked Susy (our local cafe girl) what the crap it could be...and she said dried fish...and I could get it from the DVD store. Cools! So I went around the corner to the DVD/Game/Candy/ what ever they had that day store and dropped 45 krowner on a bag of the stuff. I couldnt bring myself to try it until today and well....it is actually good. It tastes like dried imatation crab meat. Humm maybe this could be the new americain taste sensation... No more chips which are full of saturated fats and bad stuff...eat the fish!!!

~J

Crazy but I had to do it --Barefoot Iceberg Surfing lol

Ok so this pretty good sized iceberg was slamming into the dock out in back of our cabin about 1:00am. I grabbed Logan, Anthony, and Eric and we went out side to try to hope on it. Unfortunately the one I could have stood on was just a bit to far out but there was a decent sized one on the side of the dock. Now you must realized that we have been talking about getting on an iceberg since we got here so this was our chance. Eric and Anthony punked out but Logan and I were all about it. Logan weighs about 100lbs lighter than I do so we actually got on. I am gonna post the film but since I couldnt I did the next best thing......barefoot iceberg surfing lol. I tell you one other thing too; my left foot hit tat water for a split second and I can honestly say the ice was warmer lol. Good land that water is cold lol.

~J

I couldn't sleep....and I am glad I couldn't (1:30am Ilulissat)

I don't have the words to express the raw beauty Greenland posses. I went to get a glass of orange juice early this morning and to be honest nearly cried at the seer awesome beauty I
beheld from my kitchen window. I had to put on some clothes and just go down and listen to the waters, smell the air, and thank God I was given the opportunity to witness it.

~J

Tweaked my ankle on hike

So today we were off because the airport was closed. We all decided to take this 6 Km trail to see the Yackosloven Glacier. I was all pumped till we hit this area I lovingly call ankle twister alley about 3 Km in. Yep...it happened and yes I cried lol. Just kidding but I did turn beat red. The funny part is I saw the spot and decided it would probably be a problem so I carefully, gentally, rolled my ankle. I dont think it is broken just a bad srang but it did go pop. Eric helped me hobble my way back to the hotel where cold water, elevating the leg and pain pills have fill my day off. If I am still in this much pain in the morning I am going to hit the local hospital. I can move it though so I think it will be ok. At least I got some pretty sweet picts with I will post a bit later.

Scholarshp entree Video

Tour of the Cabin and some Icebergs

Internet Finally!!!

So much to tell but to cut to the chase Greenland is amazing accept for the many, many, many, MANY FREGGIN MOSQUITOS!!! Yeah they dont exactly put that in the brochures lol. Anyway I am a couple days behind but I upgraded my Flickr Account to a pro account and I am uploading like a champ. I have a few vids I will post too. Doing my absolute best to geotag all of them. I will be in touch too. So enjoy the pics and I will get into my many stories a bit later. But to just sum it up...the Polar Grid is up and functional!!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.......

Any bets on how much these bags are gonna cost on commercial airlines?? I am so not looking forward to that bill. Thank goodness we are flying with the military from NY to Kanger. I am so gonna drive back when I get back into the states or at minimum catch a train. At the same time I have a good while to plan for that. I will post my gear tomorrow cause right now I am beat. Those "honey-do's" were killer but at least I know Sony will be taken care of.

Documenting and Sharing Greenland Pictures

Ok so crunch time is here for the trip. I needed to make some decisions on how I am going to document my trip. Originally I was just going to bring my Canon SD300 and call it a day, but after tons of other people going "What!!!!????" I decided to get a camera specifically for the trip. After talking with two of my buddies that just happen to work for Canon Lance and Dirk, (we were trainers together there lol) I decided on purchasing a new Canon SX100 IS. It has a 10x optical zoom and still slips into the pocket. A slight bonus in the case of the sheer amount of videos I make have to take is that it is also a decent video recorder.

The next thing I needed to figure out is how to show everyone back here in the states my images/videos semi-real-time. After some soul searching I decided on working with Flickr. The cool thing is that I can geotag my images and then post directly this blog. I am going to take a long a portable GPS to get the Lats and Longs and just take a picture of the readings while I am in the field and then add them manually when I upload. I got the process from a MAKE blog. I guess you will see how it works out though I think I may still throw some Twitter in there some how.

~J

I will be staying at the Hotel Hvide Falk

The Hotel Hvide Falk is located in Ilulissat Greenland. I am really starting to worry now that the date is only two weeks away. Although I think I have done all I can to prepare there is just still that sense of unpredictable chaos that awaits me. Sitting here in this 90 degree heat doesn't exactly allow you to picture yourself there either. Temperature there is in the 30's to 40's this time of year so that is another adjustment along with altitude change I am going to have to mentally prepare myself for. Dont get me wrong I am excited and looking forward to accomplishing the first goal of the Polar Grid Project, but I am just being a worry wort.

Anywho I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good way for me to document this trip. I really want to add GPS points to my pictures and keep a daily online journal if I can. I will have internet access but I want to do this the best way. I am all ears!!

~J

iLuv both sucks and blows

As yall know I'm getting ready for a trip to Greenland. I knew I wanted to take some speakers with me to play my new iTouch through and I also wanted to show my videos on the tv or projector or what ever. I originally was gonna by a Dock and the composite cable from Apple for about $100. Then I was gonna pickup some decent computer speakers to be the sound system. While I was surfing I came across the iLuv that is a boombox with Aux-in and A/V out for the iPod and only $59 at circuit city. I'm thinking cool beans solves all my problems and is cheaper plus radio is bonus. I fully expected no bass but at least descent sound. I fully expected to be able to hookup my iTouch and go for it according to the compatibility list. Well I was wrong on both accounts. Remember the old unpowered computer speakers from back in the day?? How nasilly they sounded?? Well that is what this thing sounds like. I figure I can deal with that as long as it outputs my videos, right?? Wrong, only supports old iPod Videos. WTF!!!! So I am gonna do my original plan and get the dock and the cable and the speakers. Crap!!!

Helicoptering near Ilulissat, Greenland

The count down has begun for May 3rd trip to Greenland!

My Gear I Need for Greenland

Along with all the crazy medical stuff I have to do before I go,,they sent this for us to buy.

Science party participants are responsible for their own cold weather clothing. Fabrics to consider are Polar Plus Fleece, Polypropylene, Capilene, wool, and silk. Avoid cotton fabrics and jeans for remote field site use.

Recommended Cold Weather Gear:

• 1 each Insulated Parka with hood
• 1 or 2 pair Insulated bibs, Carhartt
• 1 pair Wind pants, bib non-insulated
• 1 each Pile/fleece jacket
• 1 each Pile/fleece pants
• 1 each Lined wind jacket with hood
• 2 pair Long underwear
• 2 pair Expedition weight thermal top/bottoms
• 1 each Sleeping bag (rated to -40 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 1 each Sleeping bag liner
• 1 pair Sorel boots with spare liners (Glacier Model)
• 4-6 pair Wool socks
• 1 each Hat, musher style with earflaps
• 1 each Hat, pile or wool cap
• 1 each Neck gaiter
• 1-2 pair Leather work gloves
• 1-2 pair Insulated ski gloves
• 1 pair Expedition mittens

Recommended Personal Gear:

• 1 each Towel
• 1 each Day pack
• Quantity Chapstick
• Quantity Sunscreen
• 1 pair Sunglasses
• 1 each Water bottle
• Quantity Medications with copies of any prescriptions
• 1 pair Hiking boots
• 1 each Walkman/CD player
• Quantity Batteries
• Quantity Reading material
• Quantity Toiletries