Apr 21, 2011

Statue of Liberty Stamp Actually Shows Las Vegas Version

A new stamp intended to commemorate the Statue of Liberty actually featured the Las Vegas replica instead.

The post office, which had thought the Lady Liberty “forever” stamp featured the real thing, found out otherwise when a clever stamp collector who is also what one might call a superfan of the Statue of Liberty got suspicious and contacted Linn’s Stamp News, the essential read among philatelists.

It takes a real student of Lady Liberty to notice the contrasts in a stamp-size photo of her head. The hair is different. The replica’s eyes are much more sharply defined. A rectangular patch — a plaque, maybe? — is on the replica’s center spike.

But the post office is going with it.

“We still love the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway,” said Roy Betts, a spokesman. Mr. Betts did say, however, that the post office regrets the error and is “re-examining our processes to prevent this situation from happening in the future.”

Apr 19, 2011

Gluttony Isn't Just for Americans


Japanese Burger Kings are about to “double down” a new burger that wants to make veganism passé.

The burger consists of two hamburgers, a chicken breast, two slices of cheese and three slices of bacon – with just a few veggies, of course, to balance it out. It also comes with lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Want some personalization? You can douse the thing down in teriyaki sauce, add an egg, or give it extra-human strength with a fish patty.

To match, this monster will pummel your stomach with a whopping 1,160 calories without all the fixings. A normal Whopper, in comparison, has only about half the calories.
The Meat Monster might be a Japan-only creation, like McDonald's Ebi Filet-O. And if you're wondering what that is, imagine a fish filet, but stuffed with shrimp.

Thankfully out of reach, we'll be safer from further increasing the rate of heart attacks in the States. You don't need to super-size the fries and drink with this doozy of a burger.

Apr 11, 2011

Four Concentric Circles

It's hard to believe that the image below is not a spiral, but four concentric circles. Trace it with your finger. Freaky!


Apr 7, 2011

Golden Ray Migration

In 2008, Sandra Critelli shot this excellent photo of Golden Rays off the Mexican coast. 

She said, “It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind. It’s hard to say exactly how many there were but in the range of a few thousand. We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too."
Golden Rays grow up to seven feet across and migrate within the Caribbean.

Apr 1, 2011

Bay County Running Event Route Maps

When preparing for a race, I like to familiarize myself with the route so there are no surprises on race day. I also like to know where the divisions are so I can make sure I'm on pace. Unfortunately, I've really had to dig to find the info, sometimes using the county's website to examine 'approved parade routes' for the events. I'm publishing them here for my own benefit, and for other runners who may be interested in one of these events in the future. I've competed in all of these events, so I can vouch for their accuracy.

You can click on any of the maps to see them in larger scale.

Gulf Coast Sun Run 5K - Out-and-back route.

Holy Nativity Episcopal School 5K - Circular route.

Trot for Tots 5K - Out-and-back route.

Trot for Tots 10K - Out-and-back route.

Mar 30, 2011

Rescued by Rover

This is a 1905 British film starring Blair, the first canine movie star. This film played to so many packed movie houses that the film had to be remade three times to replace the negatives that wore out from overuse.

Mar 28, 2011

Eyeglasses for Lovers

Staring at each other all day without interruption. What’s not to like?

Mar 24, 2011

Big Shark at Panama City Beach

Captain Linda Cavitt caught some footage of a 20-foot basking shark from the safety of the pier right here in good ol' Panama City Beach, Florida. Josh, the kayaker, was a bit closer.

Mar 23, 2011

Man Built Scanning Electronic Microscope in Garage

Did you make something cool in your garage last weekend? Well, whatever it was, it’s not as cool as what Ben Krasnow made: the dude built his own scanning electron microscope in his garage!