[sinz]

Whoa, baby! Awesome prize! I would use the Vapor 15 on a trek to Devil's Thumb in Alaska, no question!

The real problem is that none of these commenters have any idea what the allegations are. They don't allege that he took a banned substance and he isn't being accused by the French. He's being accused by former teammates of *BLOOD DOPING*. This means that while training in the mountains, where more red blood cells are generated due to the high altitude, blood was taken from him and frozen. Then, in the evenings before the stages of the Tour de France he, and other team members who had also had blood taken, were given blood transfusions in order to put the "doped blood" (the blood with the high red cell count) back into him so he would have an edge over other racers the next day. The US Federal Government is investigating him because the team he was on during the period which the allegations cover, was the US Postal team, and was funded by government money. The government wants to know if its funds were used to finance the blood doping, in which case anyone implicated would likely be charged with fraud.

Again, this has NOTHING to do with the French not wanting to lose the tour to an American. Making such baseless claims is more prejudicial and ignorant than what people are even claiming. Get it together.

http://antiduckface.com/
That is all.

Without a doubt my vacation destination has to be Reykjavik, Iceland. With the economic woes the country has been having lately prices are down and there hasn't been a better opportunity to visit such a beautiful country. It also doesn't hurt to inject a few tourism dollars into the economy of a country in need. I've been wanting to visit Iceland for a long time but it was always a bit out of my reach. Hopefully this summer will give me the opportunity.

Oh wow, I'd totally love to win this. I've heard stories and seen pictures of the Skybar and would love to experience it first hand. I've also never been able to make it over to Asia so I've been itching to experience the culture shock and explore all that Bangkok has to offer.

I find it extremely hilarious that you write for this blog and made a lewd (and funny) comment on another blogger's post. Kudos for keeping things humorous.

I'm amazed. You can file this post as one of the 5 Reasons Gadling Has Jumped the Shark.

When traveling the cheapest, most personalized, and best souvenir you can ever bring home is a photograph you took while on your trip. Sure, they may not be professional quality, but you sure as hell aren't going to get any closer to taking better pictures if you leave the camera at home. The suggestion that one should purchase a post card or view the Gadling photo pool instead of taking their own pictures is absurd and you should be ashamed. Perhaps no one should ever attempt to cook a recipe or paint a picture and they should just dine in five star restaurants and buy paintings because, well, we'll never get it right and should leave it to the professionals.

If you think the point of taking pictures is to force others to endure a slideshow upon your return then maybe you think the point of taking pictures of special family moments is to show the pictures off to friends as well. That is deeply saddening and I pity you a bit. Just recently I was at a family member's home following a funeral and do you know what it was that lightened the mood? Photographs. The vacation photos from when our whole family got together and the "remember that?" moments and memories those photos allowed us to have were instrumental in everyone's ability to cope as well as inspiring us to get together more often.

As far as creating a barrier, I believe you're wrong there too. So many times I've asked someone to take a picture of myself with or without others and it enables me to interact with the locals or others travelers, practice their language, ask a few questions, and possibly strike up a friendship. Many times I've ended up hanging out with people in other countries who I may have forgotten had I not taken pictures of them. Bringing home photos of them allows me to look back and remember their story, which in my eyes builds a bridge to other cultures rather than a barrier.

Sure, a camera may be one more thing to worry about on a trip but there is always insurance to cover any loss or theft and the real treasures are the memory cards or rolls of film which can be easily carried in a much safer place. I believe the biggest loss would be the missed opportunities should you decide to leave your camera at home.

I suppose you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but to suggest that readers should "leave it to the pros" is bordering on offensive. I suppose then, that it's a good thing this post wasn't written a year ago as I might have had second thoughts about picking up a camera, teaching myself the basics of photography, and subsequently having several photos licensed and published. Perhaps, Sean, you should leave writing to the pros.

While I love Prague, this image isn't currently the largest in the world. The largest is a similar panoramic shot of Dresden.

"With a resolution of 297.500 x 87.500 pixel (26 gigapixel) the picture is the largest in the world. (stand December 2009) "

It can be viewed here: http://www.dresden-26-gigapixels.com/dresden26GP

I'd love to use this camera in my travels to make a short (probably time lapse) film giving viewers a unique perspective of various cities and countries around the globe using a mode of transportation relevant to the local culture, regardless of it's practicality. Bicycling in China, riding Vespas in Italy, cross-country skiing in Scandanavia, dogsledding in Alaska, doing a lap in a car around the Nurburgring in Germany, horseback riding in the southwest United States, Zorbing in New Zealand, etc.

PSP-3000 for sure!