• NIST selected the Ascon algorithm as the new lightweight encryption standard for resource-constrained IoT devices, prompting side commentary on its unfortunate Spanish homonym “ascón” meaning “disgusting.”

• Participants surveyed 1988–2017 literature on interspecific and inter-strain mammalian pregnancy, highlighting techniques such as inner-cell-mass replacement, trophoblast swapping, non-destructive embryonic stem-cell extraction, and progesterone-mediated immunotolerance as potential routes to scalable xenopregnancy.

• Bryan Bishop expanded the DIYH+ wiki with IVF, embryo-splitting, and stem-cell resources, prominently featuring the 2013 arXiv pre-print “Preventing common hereditary disorders through time-separated twinning,” which advocates cryo-preserving genetically identical embryos to reduce heritable disease burden.

• A new arXiv paper (2302.01834) argues that transformers implement an “autodiff-but-better” learning mechanism, while LessWrong posts document anomalous GPT tokens like “SolidGoldMagikarp” that trigger erratic model outputs.

• Cost analysis compared ChatGPT inference (~$0.0003 per word on 8×A100 80 GB GPUs) with human copywriting rates, questioned long-term GPU supply-chain resilience, and debated whether human agency, self-replication, and meme propagation can remain meaningful in a post-AGI economy.

• SpaceX completed the first full-duration static-fire test of the Starship Super Heavy booster; speculation arose that the Dragon XL lunar-gateway cargo vehicle program may have been quietly terminated.

• Philosophical discussion framed happiness as an instrumental feedback signal rather than a terminal goal, warning that wireheading-style bliss optimization could leave civilization vulnerable to unforeseen existential threats such as alien invasion or misaligned nanobot swarms.

• The “petertodd!!” vignette illustrated how a single leading space in code or prompt could allow a nanobot swarm to convert all human matter into paperclips, underscoring the fragility of AI alignment and the catastrophic stakes of small implementation errors.