Make stuff with eMachineShop and Pad2Pad
Dylan writes “First, eMachineShop. They are an online custom machine shop. You download their program, design the part you need, send in the spec, they machine it, and then it arrives in your mailbox. How cool is that?! They do injection molding, rubber molding, milling, turning, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, wire EDM, tapping, bending, blanking, punching, plastic extrusion, thermoforming, and casting. And the list of materials you can use is just silly. Second, Pad2Pad. Same deal as eMachineShop (it’s a sister site), but this time with custom printed circuit boards. You download the software, design your PCB, send it in, they make it, and then you get your PCB in your mailbox. These sites have got to be handy sites for people doing projects like the ones you see in Make.”
David from Combots writes “The best flame-throwing, high-energy, steel-crunching robots in the world come to SF for the championship (Sat/Sun, Nov 12-13, 2005). Biohazard, Sewer Snake, Megabyte, and other famous bots weighing up to 340 pounds will spew fire, flip their opponents, and spin hundred-pound weapons faster than Bruce Lee on meth – all competing for the $10,000 grand prize.” 
This book is on my list to check out – “Hacking Digital Cameras, recently released at the end of September, is the first and only book on the market that is aimed for the DIY photographers. It contains numerous hacking projects for the camera, lenses, accessories, tools, and storage. Whereas other photography books aim to explain how to use camera equipment, control lighting, and framing the shot, Hacking Digital Cameras shows the reader how to build lighting tools and hacking their camera to get the desired picture.” Anyone try this out yet? Post up a review in our comments. 
Here’s another book on my list to pick up. “Whether you’re just discovering Tetris or you’ve been a Pong junkie since puberty, Chris Kohler’s Retro Gaming Hacks is your indispensable new guide to classic games. Kohler has compiled the how-to information that used to take weeks of web surfing to find and presents it in highly readable Hacks style. Serving up 85 hard-nosed hacks for reviving the classic games, including tips on hacking ancient hardware, home-brewing classic software, and adapting today’s equipment for retro games, Retro Gaming Hacks hands you the joystick” 
Michael is looking for more advanced electronics kits…“I love building electronics kits, but I have run into a slight problem: there aren’t many out there past the “solder these 20 things” level. I’d love a complicated kit (too bad Heath Kits no longer exists). I would love an article on complex kits you can buy (maybe highlight a few in each price range). The last kit I bought that I really loved was an RGB LED Blinky from Ramsey Kits. You assemble a little tiny SMT circuit board (that was challenging, quite fun) and the one LED (which is 3 in one) glows all different colors. Very cool to show off.” 
Handy guide for the home automation Makers…“Home automation systems that are a step beyond your basic “X-10″ light control usually consist of a mechanism for controlling and monitoring digital input and output modules. These systems may include an Ocelot with SECU16(I) and/or RLY8-XA expansion units, Caddx Security Systems, Elk M1 Gold Systems, JDS Stargate and others. Their basic functionality of simple, digital inputs and outputs serves most automation and security purposes.” 
Doug writes “Just was reading the