Chimps are very close to being human, DNA-wise.  If you spend time gazing at one of these creatures, they seem more and more human; what you are looking at is a reflection of yourself.

An onyx egg, from the gift shop at the North Carolina Zoo.  As zoos go, it’s a pretty good one, the animals are well treated with big enclosures, lots of qualified keepers, proper care.  I really didn’t go there to shop, but these big hunks of marble felt so good in my hand that I had to pick one up.  It felt like having a miniature desert in my palm.