Lottery

• I went Google searching a colleague in order to find info on his latest unpublished work and came across his page on RateMyProfessors. Keep in mind, this guy is widely and highly regarded, and is a nice guy. So I'm not sure what it says about me personally that it gave me some pleasure reading all the very negative comments about his teaching. My own comments reflect that I'm a bit tough, but otherwise good (with a few scatterings of negative reviews just to ensure I don't appear too easy).
  
• These physics toys might be of interest.
  
• Do you play the lottery? Your odds may be even less that than you think. I don't quite get the lottery. State governments mandate a state-sponsored monopoly on gambling, presumably with some justification along the lines of, "Well, if the people want gambling, we'll provide a safe and secure way." And then they go and advertise it? Do they want to generate more gambling? If so, then why not just legalize it for non-state sponsored gambling. If not, then "provide" the lottery, but do not advertise it.
  
• Gizmodo link dump:
  
  
  
  • Digital cameras: Hasselblad; Nikon; Canon (I still haven't decided on a new camera...will probably wait for something like what this person wants)
    
  • Perfect spheres
    
  • Cool, combat Ship
    
  • More boats...rescuing a big ship
    
  • Cool, but hardly "solely" lit by magnetic fields
    
  
  
• Is it just me or does the physics blogosphere seem a bit boring lately?