- MIT’s 2003 “Memory Glasses” (Mithril) remains the canonical open-source wearable-HUD reference; participants shared schematics, USB+I²C wiring, and software for a sub-$3 k stereoscopic AR rig built from Kopin 2 k×2 k micro-LCDs and Liteye optical combiners.  
- DIY AR BOM sketched: Kopin LCDs + IMU head-tracking + Cortex-A8/A9 board + 300 mW Li-ion pack yields > 10 h runtime; Arduino suffices for simple HUD overlays, while Tinmith.net offers the most mature open AR platform despite fragility.  
- Biohackers discussed sourcing plasmids pHK724 and pHK555 for bioluminescent plants (AddGene lacks them), gene-synthesis at ~$0.39/bp, and low-cost PCR workflows using $10 DIY thermocyclers, used lab gear from eBay/LabX, and sterile micro-pipette techniques.  
- Open-source CAD/CAM toolchain debate: HeeksCAD/CSG preferred over Blender/OpenSCAD for manufacturable geometry; SKDB packages encode Lego/screw metadata and auto-generate machining sequences, while voxel models scale to billion-unit datasets for matter compilers.  
- Molecular manufacturing progress: DNA origami cited as sub-nanometer-precision bootstrap without clean-rooms; NanoEngineer-1 codebase messy but reusable for nanotube classes and integration with Gromacs/POV-Ray; cryonics and mainstream nanotech since 2000 criticized as stagnating.  
- Austin hackerspace planning: 2 Jan meet-up at 209 Ben White Blvd to finalize walls, Wi-Fi, and a 35 W Epilog laser cutter; jrutherford offered laser-cut robot arm based on oomlout designs.  
- Life-logging hardware roundup: Eye-Fi SD cards now video-capable, paired with Qik/Bambuser for always-uploading streams; i-glasses 230 ($119), MyVu Crystal ($199), and $499 Virtual Viewer 3D VGA headsets compared for low-cost HMDs.  
- Singularity timeline debated: 4 hardware doublings from human-brain equivalence vs. emergence of molecular manufacturing; “Engines of Creation” (free HTML) and Kurzweil’s works recommended, but Randallagordon argues software understanding is the 30-year bottleneck.  
- Extreme research workflows shared: 400-tab Opera sessions, Greasemonkey auto-scroll for Google triage, Google History RSS export for personal data mining, and Google Wave/TweetDeck/Ping.fm for collaborative planning and status broadcasting.  
- SKDB (“apt-get for hardware”) aims to package open designs, tools, and instructions to bypass patents and national-security barriers; Factor-E-Farm serves as a real-world test-bed for open-source farm and workshop equipment.