Various (but not sundry)

• Uncertain Principles talks about his work in the machine shop. I'd like to hear more. I imagine that many of the people reading these physics blogs are pretty current on the latest theories, but do they know what a machine shop is like? It's wicked cool, as my Massachusetts friends would say. Where are the machinists' blogs? I'd like to hear stories about what it's like to be in the control room of one of the big physics experiments.
  
  
• This isn't physics, but I'm happy to report that Delay's name has to stay on the ballot for the upcoming election in Texas. What happened to the days when people simply disagreed about controversial issues, instead of the war we have now?
  
  
• There's some discussion about possible changes to the introductory
  physics curriculum...started by Gordon Watts and continued at Uncertain Principles. My $0.02 is that it may all be for naught (a great word). "Six Easy Pieces" doesn't work, the material has to be covered even if covered in high school, and there's no good solution. Well, having a good teacher helps.
  
  
• Having linked to a certain blog twice in this post, a good name for a group blog occurs to me..."Uncertain Principals"
  
  
• What's going on at Cosmic Variance? First there was that strangeness with Clifford and now he's at a Monastery? And Sean goes to some strange, fancy-schmancy trip (seems kind of a like Hollywood's answer to the Jason group).
  And now Sean is discussing poker again (I've got the answer to his little question easily with no help from the comments!). Anyway, not sure from where Mark will turn up...maybe from a kibbutz in Israel?
  
  I propose we get a virtual game of poker among us physicists. Does Party Poker allow people to get their own table?
  
  
• Finally, Big Brother gets going tonight. CBS sticks a bunch of meatheads together in a house with no TV or cell phones and boredom commences. Eventually, people start running around naked and screaming at each other, the perfect recipe for unscripted TV. But, and here's the rub....wait for it.....(and give me the royalties I'm due):
  

  
  What if some network did this with physicists and mathematicians?