# Summary of #hplusroadmap IRC Conversation (July 25, 2009)

• A user shared information about PyScholar, a tool being developed for extracting metadata from academic papers across multiple platforms including IEEE-Explore, Nature, PLoS-One, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink, with discussions about implementing XPath for parsing HTML documents.

• The conversation included technical discussion about file transfer methods between computers, with participants debating the merits of SCP, SFTP, netcat, NFS, and udpcast for reliable data transfer.

• A link to the BioBricks Parts Registry (http://partsregistry.org/Main_Page) was shared, which is a repository of standardized biological parts for synthetic biology applications.

• A participant shared a link about a ten-year-old child producing homemade aerogels (http://adzoe.8m.com/Aerogelsa.htm), prompting discussion about DIY science.

• One user mentioned working on research proposals for culturing rat mesentery endothelial cells and developing a microfluidics DNA synthesizer, with links to DNA synthesis papers being shared.

• The group briefly discussed OpenCogBuntu (http://www.opencog.org/wiki/OpenCogBuntu), a specialized Linux distribution for artificial intelligence research.

• Participants engaged in a philosophical discussion about the value of time spent on activities that don't directly advance scientific knowledge versus social interactions.