- A new open-source “Control Challenges” site for reinforcement-learning benchmarks was shared: https://janismac.github.io/ControlChallenges/  
- Discussion revisited recent astrophysics work arguing that nested Dyson-sphere architectures violate thermodynamic limits; a new pre-print “Planets, not megastructures” (arXiv:2309.06562) was linked as supporting evidence.  
- DIY transcripts from the 2023 Proof-of-Work Summit were posted, covering Bitcoin hashrate estimation, Caitlin Long’s regulatory insights, Prime’s mining outlook, and Zimmermann’s talk: http://diyhpl.us/diyhpluswiki/transcripts/proof-of-work-summit/2023/  
- Privacy-focused eSIM services Silent.link and CloakedWireless were compared; JMP.chat was recommended as a fully open-source alternative.  
- A debate on large-language-model utility highlighted two camps: one sees LLMs as helpful “spec generators” that shift the human role to expert reviewer, while another argues that non-deterministic, hard-to-debug outputs undermine the core value of machines.  
- A participant began a 10-day 50 mg prednisolone protocol for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (4 dB unilateral drop) and crowd-sourced data on cognitive, mood, and metabolic side-effects; anecdotal reports suggest mild memory impairment but improved focus and “jitterless caffeine”-like energy.  
- Practical advice exchanged included co-prescribing proton-pump inhibitors to reduce gastric irritation, monitoring caloric intake, and supplementing vitamin D/calcium for longer courses.  
- Gastric-acid physiology was dissected: pepsin retains ~50 % activity under PPIs, pancreatic proteases are acid-independent, and HCl’s role in protein hydrolysis versus broader digestive signaling was questioned.  
- A food-science puzzle was posed: why mixing whey and soy isolates yields a much thinner slurry than soy alone—pH and protein-interaction hypotheses were floated.  
- A speculative aside noted the birth-year coincidence between the first rapamycin studies and the first UK school cohort that skipped the TB vaccine, the very disease rapamycin is licensed to treat.