one man's junk is another man's treasure...

At our apartment building, right inside the door there is a huge shelf on which people can put all kinds of things they don't want anymore. I pass by this shelf multiple times every day and see all the neat stuff people want to get rid of. There are board games, armchairs, clothes, dishes... all kinds of stuff. If people don't take it after a couple of days, they take it out to the trash. But it usually gets taken by someone else in the building.
When I am walking with my roommate, she never lets me pick things off The Shelf. She hates The Shelf for the same reason she hates Goodwill and garage sales. But I love The Shelf, and when I am alone, I take things. Later, when my roommate asks me about them, I rapidly change the subject of the conversation so she will not find out they are used (by someone other than me).
I am telling this story because today on The Shelf there is the best thing EVER. It is a clear mug with a Twilight Zone inscription on it. I am debating whether or not to take The Mug off The Shelf. Probably by the time I decide I want it, it will be gone. But seriously. A free Twilight Zone mug. The world is a cool place...

Also, today in my molecular biology class I learned about something really neat. It is called the "Tree of Life" and it is a website on which you can find categorized information about any living organism in the world. Biologists from all around the world contribute to it. It's amazing. check it: http://www.tolweb.org/tree/