Photography

I'm a long-time point a shoot camera guy who is interested in taking the plunge and getting a nicer DSLR camera with full 1080p video support as well. The 2 cameras I'm looking at are the Canon T2i and the Nikon D3100 (both at pretty good prices at Costco, and both have what appear to be good starter packages). Any recommendations out there? I'd prefer ease of use, and intend to take advantage of both still photography as well as HD video. I also know that getting the right lenses is important, though I'm pretty uneducated when it comes to all that.

I've had lots of point and shoot digital cameras over the years. The resolution keeps getting higher, and the features more sophisticated, so I'm struggling with the decision of what camera I should buy?

1 - Should I go with a standard point and shoot model, or opt towards a more advanced DSLR and get more serious about photography as a hobby.
2 - More to the point, I like the really small form factor of point and shoot models (easy to carry around, can take pictures just about anywhere you're at), yet I can see the advantage of a more sophisticated DSLR with interchangable lenses, ability to connect to my telescope, etc.
3 - Price - always a decision point.

Advice, experience, anyone?

Recently a friend and I snuck into an abandoned home that is near where I was to take some pictures. What we found was actually pretty interesting and CREEPY. Feel free to post some pics of abandoned home you may have or any cool pics from random photo shoots that you and your friends have done! This is a picture of one of the rooms in the house.

Everything is clearer behind a lens.

I have a Meade ETX-90 telescope, which I love, but have never been able to get the AutoStar Controller setup and working right. Since this was one of the main reasons I bought the telescope - an automatic way to find just about anything in the sky - I'd really like some help to get this working right. Anyone out there been through the same experience who could help me out?