Good news for researchers and aficionados of beautiful things — including jewelry. Bad news for anyone hoping to have a productive day doing anything other than poking around online. New York's world-famous Metropolitan Museum of Art has put its catalog online in a searchable form.

Me, I have some deadlines to meet today, so I'm forcibly removing my fingers from the keyboard and heading down to the art department. But for the rest of you, have at it. And here's a taste.

  This happy-looking image (it's not just me, is it?) is a collection of early 5th-century Etruscan jewelry, combining glass, rock crystal, agate, carnelian, and lots and lots of yummy high-carat gold.