- Discussion of Wi-Fi triangulation and fingerprinting techniques for indoor positioning, including the use of Kismet on multiple laptops and the potential of 802.11n beamforming to improve accuracy.  
- Mention of Ion Torrent’s Personal Genome Machine (PGM) as a new benchtop DNA sequencer using semiconductor-based detection of hydrogen ions during nucleotide incorporation.  
- Reference to the Life Extension Conference (lifeextensionconference.com) with sessions on anti-aging advisors, Greg Benford’s rumored nutrigenomics service launch, and limited Quantified Self participation.  
- Link to DIYbio-NYC event at Columbia GSAPP on “Field Reports: Design and Synthetic Biology,” highlighting grassroots synthetic-biology outreach.  
- Richard Thieme’s BarCampMilwaukee talk on biohacking archived at archive.org under “BioHacking-AnOverview.”  
- Technical CAD chatter: Alibre Design natively exports STEP files via Dave Loffredo’s STEPcode libraries from steptools.com; comparison questions about Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 vs 5.0 and the apparent abandonment of Pro/DESKTOP.  
- Observation that CATIA documentation spans four DVDs, underscoring its size and complexity.