- A paper on developmental biology (“Preserving information from the beginning to the end of time in a Robertson–Walker spacetime”) was shared, arguing that fundamental physics sets hard limits on how long any information can be stored, making the search for “eternal” data media futile.  
- Discussion of low-cost hardware: nmz787_i1 proposed using a $15 SparkFun VL6180 time-of-flight sensor to detect when a pipette touches a surface, and chris_99 noted Intel’s $99 RealSense TOF camera offers 1 mm depth resolution.  
- Oculus Rift DK2 availability was debated; superkuh initially warned of multi-month waits but then updated that new orders now ship in one-to-two weeks, while CV1 (consumer version 1) is expected soon.  
- A DIY water-jet cutter project (Hydro) was linked; claimed total build cost is ~$5 k, but participants questioned whether the high-pressure pump was included in that figure.  
- Octopart’s “Common Parts Library” blog post analyzed millions of resistor listings; fenn argued only the E6 series (1, 2.2, 4.7 multiples) is actually needed, calling the 20-million-part dataset excessive.  
- kanzure offered the expiring domain names extropians.org and extropians.com to the channel; no immediate takers, though maaku said he would accept them if they were about to lapse.  
- Several Firefox/Chrome extensions for tab management were recommended: UnloadTab, Tab Counter, Export Tabs, and TabAttack for unloading, counting, and exporting open tabs as plain text or Markdown.  
- A brief aside on tissue-culture humidity control suggested automating flask venting with a 28BYJ-48 stepper motor scavenged from automotive HVAC systems.