Binocular astronomy, exams and more exams

After spending awhile now thinking about taking up amateur astronomy I found that purchasing a pair of 10x50 binoculars is how most astronomers start out these days. I thought long and hard about this and decided that a good pair of binos could also be used for bird spotting also as well as other things. So I spent time researching this and decided to get a Nikon Action 10x50. I am stunned by the results. I could never have believed that you could get such quality without resorting to expensive telescopes. Here is a list of what I was able to see to date.
31/7/2008
-Ursa Major
-Arcturus
-Vega
-Lyra
I noticed that with the naked eye I could see 1 star with lyra but with the binos I could see like 25+ stars in that region.
1/8/2008
-Cassiopeia
-M103
-Cygnus
-M29
I viewed Cassiopeia and Cygun and picked out M29 and M103. They were faint (I am in the city some light pollution) but my heart literally stopped when I managed to see M103. I didn’t think it possible with binoculars to see Nebulas.
3/8/2008
-Andromedia
-Cepheus
-M110
Used a new cheap tripod. Some steady shots but handheld still works well. Could not see M51. I saw Andromedia and Cepheus. I focused back on Andromeda and above it viewed M110, the Great Nebula in Andromeda.
4/8/2008
-Arcturus
-Bootes
-m3
-Canes Venatici
5/8/2008
-Draco
-Ursa Minor
6/8/2008
- Tip of cresent moon
- Planet Jupiter
- Sagittarius (partial)
10/8/2008
- Moon in Waxing gibbous
- Lacerta
- Hercules (partial)

It's a great new hobby. I highly recommend it and I am going to learn more about it by learning the constellations as best as I can.

With respect to study this month has been difficult. My exam for Earth History was focused almost exclusively on geological processes, in particular strata identification, the K-T event, igneous formations and evidence for sea level changes. I cannot stress how much geoscience is in science but I think my blog called 'The Ancestor's Tale, 24 and Earth Story' goes into a little more detail. I will get my results back soon. I am currently working on an exam for quantum mechanics and fundamental particles. Studying for that was heavy but I enjoyed it more than rocks. Having said that, I don't mean I don't like geology (I am working towards doing some hobby geology) but geology is a lot heavier (excuse the pun) than quantum mechanics IMO. I am on the last leg of this course. It is called life in the universe and is a short book on the search for the origins of life and life in the universe. Also I have a huge end of exam paper that combines all the work I have done to date so I have started working on that. The next five weeks are going to be very important. There is a lot of work for me to still get done.