- A new, low-energy algae-harvesting technique called “froth flotation” was highlighted: bubbling air through the culture causes the biomass to foam, which can then be skimmed off at an estimated cost of ~$30 per dry ton (1957 dollars, inflation-adjusted).  
- Centrifugation was cited as a competing method costing ~$300 per dry ton (also 1957-adjusted), prompting discussion of cost functions versus simple dollar figures.  
- Additional flocculation triggers were noted: UV light exposure and interrupting CO₂ supply can induce algae to clump for easier separation.  
- Ongoing lab work is measuring algae growth at low pH (as low as pH 2) and under high CO₂ (10 atm yields pH 3.4) to determine tolerance limits and foaming behavior.  
- A collaborative PowerPoint on bioreactor economics is being edited in real time; the latest version is at http://heybryan.org/bioreactor/2008-10-28.ppt and will soon include froth-flotation data and flocculant prices.  
- SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language) tooling was discussed: xp_prg is building a BioBricks-to-SBML front end, while kanzure_ wrestled with libSBML’s Python API for editing reaction species identifiers.  
- Wearable-computing links shared: Olympus prototype HUD reflects a 3.2 mm optical bar into the pupil while the user views a 3.8-inch virtual screen 50 cm away (521 × 218 px, possibly 854 × 480).  
- Open-access resources circulated: “Solar Cells—Materials, Manufacture and Operation” (organic & dye-sensitized cells), “Fuel Cell Projects for the Evil Genius,” and several bio-art event write-ups.  
- A debate on adaptive vs. deterministic UI design unfolded around the CAST suggestion engine; fenn advocated fixed, predictable behavior, whereas UtopiahGHML defended adaptive ranking with user-tunable thresholds.  
- Community file-sharing notes: djvu was dismissed as unused, PDF still dominates; requests were made for PDFs of “Artilect War” and “Ending Aging,” and for Cumbers’ open-source biomining sample-tracking mock-up (Moontank link provided).