I'm an amateur stock/option trader, and I check Yahoo Finance every morning. There was a story on Bitcoin in the top headlines section, must have been in early June because it was right before the bubble.

That story really struck me, and I spent the next week reading all about it. Because I wasn't ready to jump all the way in, I missed the bubble run up to $30/BTC and subsequent crash. My cost basis is currently between $14 and $15/BTC.

I've become a little obsessed with mining, but really it's just an excuse for me to learn about building computers and how to use Linux.

What seems obvious now to me is that the mining and trading communities for Bitcoin have seen a lot of development and maturing. Now it's time for the Bitcoin economy and commerce community to really start developing. Hard to see Bitcoin being successful without that. Anyway, that's my two cents.