Huge crystals

Via Teresa Nielsen Hayden: The Crystal Cave of the Giants.

It sounds as if actually seeing the crystals takes some dedication; it's 150 degrees Fahrenheit and steamy in there, so staying for any significant length of time will kill you pretty effectively. I sort of hope they don't try to make the place much easier to visit; it sounds as if the nearby Cave of Swords has sustained some damage.

toys

I have it on good authority that one is required by law to buy a fancy still and/or video camera when expecting a baby. I was telling myself I couldn't justify the expense of buying a really nice one, when I was informed that various monetary gifts I got for my birthday were required to be pooled toward a new digicam rather than spent on the yu hsiang pork at Sichuan Gourmet in Billerica.

As much as I love Sichuan Gourmet, I had to agree that this was a good idea.

Like derspatchel, I was looking seriously at the beautiful Canon S3 IS and balking slightly at the price, especially considering that you have to budget a bunch of money for accessories on top of that (a decent-sized memory card, battery charger, and case, at the very least.)

I then discovered that its predecessor, the S2 IS, is now available as a clearance item for dramatically lower prices. I've already handled this thing at stores and immediately wanted one. The main differences are that the S2 has a 5MP sensor instead of 6MP, which as far as I'm concerned is no difference at all; and the S2 is silver instead of black, so the camera geeks with 800 dollar DSLRs will laugh at you. I can live with that. DPReview fretted a bit that the S3 wasn't really that much better, though they are both excellent cameras. So I've ordered the S2.

This is good.