Comment - I really enjoyed going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org/). We lucked out and got there in the afternoon just in time for a guided tour of the Museum highlights. It was great! The guide explained, in detail, half a dozen major works/exhibit areas.

I was especially impressed by what she told us about the Egyptian Temple from the First Century A.D. The temple was constructed by the Romans, mostly as a political statement about the economic and military power of Rome. Today the tomb is weathered rock, but 2,000 years ago it was painted in bright, garish colors, according to the guide.

The Temple area of the museum was also a major scene in the Jennifer Lopez movie "Maid in Manhattan".

News - New structure to be built at South Pole to house scientists: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/04/science/earth/04POLE.html

Comment -- Scientific research at the pole has become so important that the National Science Foundation, which oversees polar programs, has committed $133 million to build the new station, which can house, feed, entertain and otherwise support 200 scientists and other workers.

Temperatures in the winter can drop to 100 degrees below zero. In dead of winter, most staff have joined the 300 Club by sitting in a 200-degree sauna and then running from the dome into 100-below weather, naked except for rubber boots, around the geographic pole and back.

There are 110 construction workers on site. "Much of the heavy work is done outdoors, where temperatures are often 30 degrees below zero even during the Antarctic summer. Protective clothing weighs 35 pounds. Workers eat at least 5,000 calories a day, including lots of butter and steak."

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