- A proposal for a political-opinion mapping system was floated: eight-option answers (a–h) that encode both magnitude and meta-positions, combined with a Bayesian reputation network and currency-like exchanges between HQ and local chapters.  
- The UK’s new open-data portal data.gov.uk—advised by Sir Tim Berners-Lee—was highlighted as a major public-data resource.  
- Rapid, one-week direct conversion of fibroblasts to neurons was noted as a potential paradigm shift versus the slower, ~1 % efficient iPSC route; Slashdot commentary was referenced.  
- DIY 3-D scanning: source code for the “makerscan” stereo-vision project was posted (abarry.org/stereo/) along with a Thingiverse entry (#1535) and discussion of MeshLab’s Poisson-reconstruction filter.  
- RepRap and MakerBot developments were tracked via new videos from the Michigan group and a critical comparison with the enclosed, heated Stratasys uPrint commercial printer.  
- Open-source hardware momentum was visualized with Google-Trends graphs showing San Francisco and Austin as top US search hubs, with Kansas possibly influenced by Factor e Farm.  
- A CT scan of a Lego-built CT scanner was shared on Flickr, illustrating open-source medical-imaging experimentation.  
- Rejuvepedia (life-extension wiki) celebrated its first birthday; the UCLA “Outlaw Biology” symposium live-stream and Twitter hashtag (#outlawbio) were also circulated.  
- EEG-based image-tagging research reported on Singularity Hub was discussed, along with concerns over pattern-recognition misuse.  
- Links to forward-looking papers were dropped: “Open-Scale Economics” (panarchy.com) and the IFTF “Future Knowledge Ecosystems” report.