- Carboncopies.org and the feasibility of substrate-independent minds were discussed, with a pointer to Randal Koene’s article “Achieving Substrate-Independent Minds: No, We Cannot Copy Brains” (kurzweilai.net) as the latest statement from the project’s administrator.  
- Participants explored using low-cost 3-D printers (e.g., RepRap) to fabricate personalized pill boxes and even entire pill-making machines, highlighting open-source hardware as a route to customized medical devices.  
- A whimsical but technically grounded proposal emerged for software that automatically designs compact Rube-Goldberg-style mechanical pill dispensers, constrained to fit inside a medicine cabinet and exhibit different behaviors on each use.  
- The long-term viability of Drexler’s rod-logic/mechanical nanocomputers was debated; QuantumG emphasized that their value lies in extreme stability across generations rather than raw speed, especially under conditions that would destroy conventional electronics.  
- Resveratrol-related research drew attention when it was claimed that Procter & Gamble invested ≈ $750 million into Sirtis (likely “Sirtris”), underscoring big-pharma interest in longevity compounds.  
- Links shared include the Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines survey (molecularassembler.com/KSRM.htm) as background reading for self-replicating mechanical systems.