- Open-source CAD and its user interface were identified as the critical bottleneck for distributed hardware fabrication; the underlying parametric-engine data structures were judged “not technically complicated.”  
- A plan emerged to secure ≈ $100 k in grant money to install a 6-axis Haas vertical machining center at Les’ FabLab in Austin, with the goal of creating a repeatable, open-source industrial-grade CNC design.  
- Concerns were raised about the lack of precision and economies-of-scale in small-batch open-source CNC builds; Haas machines (≈ 50 µm accuracy) were considered “bottom of the barrel,” and second-hand Mori Seiki units were recommended instead.  
- Academic hexapod calibration research was dismissed as unusable because code is withheld and e-mails to researchers go unanswered, forcing community members to re-implement automatic calibration from scratch.  
- The Polonator DNA-sequencing instrument (polonator.org) was criticized as over-engineered (5 nm resolution) for the stated $1-genome goal; an earlier open-hardware DNA synthesizer (bioinformatics.org/pogo) was recalled as a simpler reference.  
- Pink Army Cooperative—an open-source, individualized cancer-virus initiative—was formally launched; kanzure volunteered to build its first website and began iterating on layout and color schemes with community feedback.  
- Spirulina was proposed as an alternative chassis for recombinant insulin production; kanzure contributed codon-bias analysis of the algal genome to aid vector design, noting easy harvest via surface skimming despite clumping issues.  
- A logistics discussion covered moving fenn’s lab from Indiana to Austin: options weighed included a 12-ft trailer, U-Haul ($1 k + gas), Enterprise cargo-van rental ($170/day), and even buying/selling a used truck to turn a profit.  
- An inventory of fenn’s possessions (92 fish tubs, chemistry sets, etc.) was encoded in SKDB YAML files to facilitate packing and eventual replication of the lab setup.  
- A speculative transport concept called UNITX—underground urban corridors with autonomous “logibots” carrying 60 × 60 × 45 cm cargo pods—was shared; participants preferred the simpler “banana monorail” design as a more feasible open-hardware alternative.