Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Great Eye of Sauron



Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have released a rather remarkable Hubble image of a ring of dust around star Fomalhaut, described by New Scientist as resembling "the Great Eye of Sauron".

Fomalhaut, aka Alpha Piscis Austrini, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, lying around 25 light years from Earth and weighing in at roughly 2.3 solar masses. Its name comes from the Arabic fum al-ħawt, or "whale's mouth", although we reckon "Sauron's Eye" might be a suitable new moniker.

Mallie's offers record-breaking 150-pound burger





Detroit-area restaurant owner believes he has broken the world record for “largest hamburger commercially available.”

After 12 hours of preparation and baking, the 134-pound burger emerged Saturday at Mallie’s Sports Bar and Grill.

The “Absolutely Ridiculous Burger,” made with beef, bacon and cheese, was delivered on a 50-pound bun, The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press reported. It sells for $350, and orders require 24 hours’ notice.

Flipping the burger required three men using two steel sheets.

Owner Steve Mallie told The News he wanted to show that he has the biggest and best burgers.
Authenticating Mallie’s claim could take a few weeks. His burger would outweigh the 123-pound burger made last year by Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub, of Clearfield, Pa.

Man survived after being run over by train

A 34-year-old man was expected to survive after being run over by a train early Saturday morning.

Longmont Police say Todd Hirsh was sitting in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks in the 400 block of Atwood Street at about 3:11 a.m. when the incident occurred. According to police, a southbound train pulling 76 freight cars had to make an emergency stop, attempting to avoid running over Hirsh. Authorities say the train didn't stop until it had gone 75 feet south of where Hirsh was sitting. Longmont Firefighters and Paramedics were able to remove Hirsh out from under the second engine of the three engine train. He was then transported to Longmont United Hospital where his injuries were said to be non-life-threatening. Police charged Hirsh with trespassing. They say, according to preliminary reports, Hirsh smelled like alcohol.