- Non-invasive imaging of the human rod photoreceptor mosaic was achieved with a confocal adaptive-optics scanning ophthalmoscope; two key papers (Dubra et al., 2011) were linked: DOI 10.1364/BOE.2.001864 and DOI 10.1364/BOE.2.001757.  
- Discussion of the decline of SL4 and ExI mailing lists: participants noted Eliezer Yudkowsky’s migration to LessWrong and the general shift away from mailing lists toward blogs and forums, with a brief mention of Eugen Leitl’s “transhuman-tech” news feed (postbiota.org).  
- Bitcoin hype was tracked via a Reuters article on U.S. senators’ reactions, plus speculation that a Bitcoin-integrated Google Wave clone could “topple both wave and bitcoin.”  
- A long-running debate over ISO/ANSI technical documentation standards resurfaced; it was argued that the EXPRESS files are the canonical specification, but they are easier to parse for those versed in computational geometry and compiler design.  
- “Space program in a box” was revisited as a civilization-seed concept: a Linux distribution that walks an organization through the technical steps required to bootstrap orbital launch capability.  
- DIYbio community fragmentation was illustrated by a list of abandoned or under-used forums (diybio.biz, o-bio.org, diybioforums.org, biopunk.org) and the observation that mail-to-forum gateways rarely gain traction.  
- Hardware notes included a $70 used Droid X purchase plan, Craigslist N900 sightings at ~$125, and a YouTube video of an encoder-assembly machine (rbkylfpWve0).  
- Cultural commentary touched on Atlas Shrugged (described as “a long mailing-list thread with multi-page rants”), the perceived self-importance of Stephen Wolfram, and the documentary “Flight from Death – The Quest for Immortality.”