• OpenPCR.org raised $6.8 k on Kickstarter for an open-source PCR machine, yet no hardware had been designed or built, prompting skepticism about crowdfunding versus actual deliverables.  
• A 1967 MAPS newsletter PDF circulated describing experimental LSD-25 use to enhance computer-programming productivity, framed as a historical datapoint in cognitive-enhancement debates.  
• Participants reverse-engineered STEP (ISO 10303) file internals by tracing TopoDS shape serialization through the 200+ MB OpenCASCADE source, highlighting CAD data-interoperability complexity.  
• NIST’s STEP Class Library (SCL) was evaluated as a backend for a Python CSG/solid-modeling API; antique C macros and missing yacc led to discussion of SWIG wrapping.  
• A debate on AI definitions contrasted “strong AI” as self-modifying software with a pragmatic stance that intelligence is measured by task performance, referencing OpenCog’s history and premature-optimization risks.  
• Infrared-fluorescent proteins (900 nm bacterial phytochrome variant) were proposed as a BCI tool: calcium-triggered emission through skull tissue at bone-waveguide wavelengths for non-invasive optical readout.  
• Archive.org was mined for freely redistributable EXPRESS data files (normally $300+ from ISO/ANSI), with participants bypassing wget robots.txt and timestamp quirks to bulk-download historic STEP parts.  
• Links shared included Andrew Hessel’s synthetic-biology talk at Singularity University (YouTube), Keith Curtis’ “After the Software Wars” e-book, and a PCB-design tutorial from alternatezone.com.