• The RepRap project completed a full migration from its 2 GB Subversion repository to a self-hosted Git system at diyhpl.us, now mirrored at https://secure.diyhpl.us/cgit/reprap/ and accessible via anonymous git:// and authenticated SSH.  
• To preserve history while cleaning up commit metadata, maintainers used git-filter-branch to strip the legacy “@HASH” author tags and temporarily disabled receive.denyNonFastForwards so the rewritten history could be force-pushed before re-enabling safeguards.  
• The new workflow follows the “Linus model”: a pristine master branch that tracks upstream SVN via git-svn, developer feature branches, and a read-only GitHub mirror updated by post-commit hooks; each contributor receives a locked-down shell account managed by custom ‘newuser’ and ‘addaccess’ utilities.  
• Participants debated Git’s limits for large binary CAD files and weighed alternatives such as Fossil-SCM (integrated wiki/bug-tracker), GitHub (rejected for 2 GB and 10-collaborator limits), and rsync-based snapshot storage, while DARPA’s VehicleForge program prompted a policy push to keep all design data in diff-friendly text formats.  
• kanzure announced an open-source CAD kernel written in Python that exports STEP files, intentionally avoiding OpenCASCADE (“bloated”) and BRL-CAD (no STEP output), and is building a minimal OpenGL/wxPython viewer for interactive geometry.  
• A micro-grant experiment was proposed: $50 for a written open-hardware or transhumanist proposal, doubling on each successful milestone ($100, $200, …) to bootstrap projects while capping personal financial risk.  
• The channel explored responding to DARPA’s call for an open repository for cyber-electro-mechanical systems (SKDB), noting that realistic repositories may reach multi-terabyte scale and seeking a prime contractor to lead the effort.  
• A brief scientific debate examined a paper claiming DNA-less cells that replicate at 121 °C; participants criticized the experimental design (ignored autoclave pressure, inadequate DNA isolation) and questioned whether the structures are living cells, lipid emulsions, or terrestrial contaminants.