# Key Technical and Project Discussions

• Kanzure described "Gitduino," a GitHub-like platform for hardware projects that automatically renders 3D models from OpenSCAD files when changes are pushed to repositories, including implementation of post-receive git hooks for PNG rendering.

• Developers debated technical architecture options for hardware documentation platforms, considering Django-based solutions, extending Gitorious (though kanzure noted it "sucks"), or creating a JavaScript client leveraging GitHub's API.

• "Piny" was discussed as a web-based platform for hosting projects with automated setup of repositories, wikis, and mailing lists with granular access controls, with jrayhawk offering server space at pdx.edu.

• The group debated distributed bug tracking approaches, with kanzure advocating for structured formats and tools like Bugs Everywhere (BE), while jrayhawk preferred simpler text file approaches for git repositories.

• Technical challenges were identified for the rendering service, including handling race conditions with multiple git pushes, managing filenames with spaces, and isolating rendering processes on separate servers.

• Participants shared the MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering blog (mitnse.com) as a reliable source amid sensationalist coverage of the Fukushima incident, demonstrating the group's interest in evidence-based information.

• A study was referenced showing that Russian Academy of Sciences members maintained steady increases in life expectancy over 60 years, seemingly isolated from mortality fluctuations affecting the general Russian population.