- Open-source machine-learning software ecosystem is discussed, with links to the mloss.org repository and a 2010 MPI Tübingen publication on the need for open-source ML tools.  
- Campaign Against Aging (CAA), a new anti-aging awareness organization, reports receiving a legal threat from Charlie Warren’s Campaign for Aging Research (CAR) over name similarity; CAA intends to stay lean, collaborate with DIYbio, and is soliciting low-budget anti-aging research proposals.  
- Interest in low-cost desktop CO2 laser cutters (40 W, ~US$1 k on eBay) for rapid prototyping of microfluidic and fluidic logic circuits; 100 µm channel width deemed adequate for microfluidics, with .dxf as the preferred file format for Epilog laser cutters.  
- MakerBot is noted to be generating ~US$120 k/month in revenue, highlighting the commercial success of open-hardware 3-D printing.  
- Discussion of open-source CAD alternatives: HeeksCAD is compared to SolidWorks, while Blender and PythonOCC are mentioned as additional open-source design tools.  
- A scanned fluidics textbook with silhouettes of fluidic logic elements is referenced; plans to digitize and laser-cut these elements for experimental use.  
- James Cameron’s cyberpunk/biopunk TV series “Dark Angel” is recommended for its transhumanist themes.  
- Backblaze’s open-source storage-pod design (petabyte-scale cloud storage on a budget) is shared as a hardware reference.