joshedwards.com

If any of you visited the site on Wednesday, saw the redirection to the SOPA Strike website and were confused or worried, I apologize.

It was a late-night, last-minute decision to join in on “Black Wednesday” so I didn’t have time to warn you.

For more information about the protest visit SOPA Strike or your local library …

Just because I like a good protest, this site’s going dark as part of SOPA Strike.

So when it hits midnight you’re going to see some serious shit.

I thought this was a fascinating take on the Burj being in the new Mission: Impossible movie: “The Burj Khalifa two years later: With help from Hollywood, the world’s tallest building asserts its status as a global icon, but real estate and urban planning problems remain“.

Looks like I spoke too soon! Apparently the U.S. Mint is not going to make any more of the Presidential $1 Coins for circulation, check out this article from three weeks ago: “Treasury to stop producing unneeded dollar coins“.

The Administration will still be required, by law, to continue to produce a relatively small number of the coins to be sold to collectors, at no cost to taxpayers. Instead of producing 70-80 million coins per President, the United States Mint will now only produce as many as collectors want.

The program was only 20 Presidents deep when it was canceled, but there is still a 1.4 billion coin backlog hanging out in Federal Reserve Bank vaults.

The real losers are the fans of Chester A. Arthur; his coin is coming out February 16, 2012, but only to collectors.

I used to follow coins and collecting more. With so many changes recently in pennies, nickles and quarters my numismatic interest has severely waned.

First we had the 50 State Quarters program.

Then District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters. The Westward Journey nickel series, the Lincoln bicentennial cent, the Union shield cent and the terribly unpopular Presidential $1 Coin Program (who can wait until 2014 for the Warren G. Harding coin?!?)

Thus I was surprised to read about a new Maine special quarter coming out this year. Apparently the “America the Beautiful Quarters Program” started in April of 2010?

Oops.

Check out the article in the Bangor Daily News, “Bass Harbor lighthouse, Acadia to appear on new quarter“.

It’s a pretty cool coin, actually:

At some point I’d like to sit down and put together a “Year in Review” for 2011 – it’d be a doozie.

Until then here are some fun facts about Maine from the Bangor Daily News:

The Institute for Economics & Peace ranked the Pine Tree State the most peaceful state in the country in its first U.S. Peace Index. Factored into that: The number of homicides, jailed inmates and police officers.

Related to that ranking: Maine recorded the lowest rate of violent crimes in the U.S. in 2007, according to the U.S. Census. The figure: 118 incidents per 100,000 people. South Carolina, on the opposite end of the spectrum, counted 788.

Read the rest at, “The ways Maine is No.1“.