# Key Points from IRC Log

• Marshall Brain's "Manna" was mentioned as a work that participants on the extropy-chat mailing list were discussing, with some criticism that many commenters hadn't actually read it despite discussing it.

• Kanzure mentioned establishing an office in Vietnam with hired programmers to help develop mobile games and web applications, as he had "too much software to write on my own."

• Lab automation was discussed extensively, including the trade-offs between conveyor systems and robotic arms like the Agilent BenchBot for moving microplates between instruments in automated laboratory setups.

• Participants discussed pipette contamination in molecular biology, noting that disposable tips are standard practice in biological applications, while fixed tips (like those in Tecan systems) are primarily used for chemistry applications and require autoclaving.

• Border security and digital privacy were discussed, with advice about traveling internationally with sensitive data on hard drives, including suggestions for encryption and cloud storage alternatives.

• Labotix (www.labotix.com) was mentioned as a company working on laboratory automation systems.