# Summary of #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion (Jan 23, 2009)

• Discussion of alternative heating technologies, including a Babington oil-fired water heater and criticism of "Amish-made" space heaters that were being advertised but reportedly performed poorly.

• Conversation about a problematic design repository format requiring 136 predefined components with boolean values, highlighting the challenges of creating universal ontologies for mechanical engineering designs.

• Mention of "chainlinks" as a potential approach for handling command line arguments and evaluating compatibility between different parameters in a program.

• Discussion of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), including electrode placement challenges and the difference between tDCS and TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation).

• Several academic resources were shared, including papers on design repositories in mechanical engineering, port ontologies for conceptual design of systems, and why object-oriented approaches may be insufficient.

• Brief conceptual discussion about reimagining refrigerator design to be more accessible and potentially robot-friendly, using a kitchen island with sliding top and layers.