# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion (October 30, 2010)

• Participants discussed DIY biology and media coverage, noting an alarmist stance in a Danish engineering publication regarding bioterror risks from garage biology activities.

• Frustration was expressed about OpenPCR's delayed design release, with references to an earlier documentation attempt at abundancestudies.org/openpcr from July 2010.

• Several users shared detailed experiences with DMT (dimethyltryptamine), discussing common visual hallucinations including "machine elves" and debating whether the similarity of experiences across different users stems from cultural bias or represents something more fundamental.

• A technical discussion covered regularizing learning in graphical models, specifically focusing on MCMC-based learning that incorporates prior domain knowledge about sample structure.

• Participants explored the philosophical relationship between extended human lifespans and the need for "playgrounds" including virtual reality environments, alongside questions about whether VR experiences are perceived differently than real-life experiences.

• Resources shared included an induction forge demonstration video, scholarly works by Covert on cell simulation, and "The Laboratory" talks (thelaboratory.org/talk/).