- Suricrasia’s “Basilisk” interactive fiction (https://suricrasia.online/unfiction/basilisk/) was shared and praised for its meticulous formatting and deliberate cryptographic inconsistencies that serve the narrative.  
- Participants debated the real-world cost of child-rearing versus the “profit” of having children, noting that most expenses are discretionary (toys, niceties) while medical costs remain low; tax subsidies rarely exceed actual costs.  
- A discussion of educational construction toys compared Lego, Duplo, Meccano/Erector sets, Strawbees, and polycaprolactone (PCL) for teaching 3-D geometry and mechanical intuition, with consensus that Lego offers the best entry point for young children.  
- FDM 3-D printing was weighed against Lego: printing allows infinite custom parts but demands adult-level CAD skills, calibration time, and safety precautions (e.g., resin handling), whereas Lego enables immediate, iterative, child-driven experimentation.  
- Practical parenting hacks were shared: sourcing second-hand balance bikes and train sets on Craigslist, buying snap-circuit kits on eBay/Goodwill for long-term STEM learning, and delaying Lego Mindstorms until the child is older.  
- One member joked about “building and programming a kid” and storing the “source code” in a Fossil repository, prompting a brief exchange on synthetic DNA and artificial gestation as speculative future options.  
- Financial strategies included staying debt-free, using introversion to minimize living costs, and taking on low-interest loans to invest in health (MRI scans) and cryptocurrencies as a hedge against fiat inflation.  
- A CDC WISQARS link (https://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe…) was dropped for 2019 U.S. mortality statistics, though no specific analysis was provided.  
- The viral “I’m not a cat” Zoom-filter video (https://twitter.com/byDavidGardner/status/1359215155784081414) was shared as light comic relief.