• Kirka patched NanoEngineer-1 to run in a VM by disabling hardware acceleration and fixing >10 source files, enabling large-model loading and the Atoms tool; the group is now planning a full refactor to decouple the GUI from the backend and replace heavyweight graphics with simpler Python libraries.

• A <$2,000 open-source STM project using piezo-disk actuators is being scoped; kanzure offered to fund the BOM if the design is released openly, and links were collected to 1990s Geocities builds, ChemHacker schematics, and Muenster University’s granite/air-damper vibration-isolation design.

• Detailed electronics discussion for the STM: 16-bit DACs giving ≈25 pm Z-steps, 10 kHz servo loop on an MCU with four ADCs/DACs, pico-ammeter stage with LF411 op-amps, and candidate microcontrollers (Parallax Propeller 8-core 96 MHz $8 vs ATtiny/ATmega) for real-time control.

• MakerBot’s claim of 150 employees was dissected—estimated across support, web, firmware, sourcing, HR, assembly, and shipping—and Bre Pettis’s doublespeak on IP was criticized; meanwhile, BGI-Shenzhen’s $117.6 M acquisition of Complete Genomics (NASDAQ: GNOM) sparked debate over China “buying what it couldn’t steal.”

• FBI/DIYbio collaboration was noted: annual FBI meetings with community members, 2012 transcripts posted, and skepticism voiced about Amplino’s “DIY” malaria qPCR claims; a DIYbio Google group was proposed for protein-folding experiments and ML discussions.

• Nootropic self-experiments were shared: sourcing choline citrate, using dual-n-back or flash-card benchmarks to measure memory retention, and the lack of rigorous personal data collection.

• Philosophical debates touched on cognitive materialism, the no-cloning theorem, finite vs infinite thought-space, and critiques of Reddit and democracy as “mind-destroying weapons.”