- A participant asked whether anyone has abandoned typing in favor of full-time video logging plus automated transcripts, highlighting early interest in frictionless capture and speech-to-text workflows.  
- Discussion of TENS units for joint therapy: a €25 dual-channel device was reported to stimulate hand muscles at ~10 Hz to increase synovial fluid production, with side speculation on using patterned pulses for data communication.  
- Julius/Sphinx and other Linux-based speech-to-text tools were questioned for real-world usability; Google Voice and Twilio’s transcription API were floated as alternatives, while Festival was noted for synthesis (not recognition).  
- CAD geometry debate: participants explored converting arbitrary polylines/polygons to B-splines for extrusion, citing a 2010 paper on square-distance-minimization approximation and exact NURBS circle parameterizations.  
- A mysterious unsolicited package of six DVDs arrived containing lab protocols (e.g., “EmbryoFreeze_ThawProtocol.pdf”, “Antibody Engineering Methods and Protocols”), prompting calls to restore a shared /papers repository.  
- Raelians were observed promoting DIYgenomics on Yahoo Groups, raising concerns about fringe groups adopting open biotech.  
- CyborgCamp 2010 (cyborgcamp.com vs .org confusion) was mentioned as a relevant upcoming event for the community.  
- Ongoing frustration with proprietary CAD: attempts to run SolidWorks 2010 (pirated ISOs from TPB, gnusha, and tuleremia) under VMware/VirtualBox failed due to installer errors and COM threading issues, with CATIA considered as an alternative.