- SKDB’s comparison.yaml file has been split into three separate files now hosted at http://fennetic.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=skdb.git;a=tree;f=inventory/comparison (though the server may go down soon).  
- A batch of recent high-impact biology papers was shared, including George Church’s “Synthetic gene networks that count,” Smolke’s “It’s the DNA that counts,” and several 2009 studies on humanized FOXP2 in mice and the first transgenic marmoset offspring with germline transmission.  
- Ozgene (http://ozgene.com) was highlighted as a commercial source for ordering custom genetically-engineered mice.  
- Joseph’s “$10 thermocycler” project—built around a TAMU patent—was discussed; the plan is to pair ultra-cheap PCR machines with open-source primer-design software and ship units to developing regions.  
- Kanzure landed a short-term job doing PCR primer design, prompting debate over whether such design is already fully automated and what value-add remains.  
- Infochimps co-founder “flip” contacted kanzure about contract work on 150 GB+ data sets and Bayesian filtering engines; links to the pitch video (YouTube: IIuqJ1QZpvI) and the new test site (http://test.infochimps.org/) were circulated.  
- A data-loss incident was reported: a Wubi-based Ubuntu install (a loop-mounted file inside NTFS) was corrupted after an improper Windows shutdown, wiping a Zotero library and local edits; discussion followed on better backup strategies (git-everything, rsync for large data).  
- KDE configuration issues were traced to stale apt-file caches; running “apt-file update” resolved missing-package searches.  
- Lighthearted chatter mocked buzzword-heavy proposals (“hierarchical Bayesian ajax network systems,” “commons-friendly totalitarian ethics engines”) and pondered TRIZ’s practical value.