# Key Points from IRC Discussions

• Participants compared industrial automation protocols (RS485, Ethernet, CAN bus, I2C), noting that CAN bus is preferred over Ethernet in industrial environments due to noise resistance, and discussed how many robotic systems use command sets derived from Cavro's protocols that became industry standards.

• The group explored embedded systems architecture, clarifying that these purpose-built hardware components typically lack standard I/O interfaces and are integrated within other devices like cars or medical implants, with debate about whether large-scale industrial automation uses centralized or distributed control architectures.

• Kanzure described a personal knowledge management system containing 69,199+ YAML entries tracking 14,000+ people he's met at conferences since 2009, which can be queried for relationship mapping and visualized with GraphViz, prompting discussion about YAML parsing challenges and approaches to personal databases.

• Scientific advancements were shared, including a paper on lentiviral hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for metachromatic leukodystrophy, and discussion of using near-field/far-field CW two-photon microscopy with inexpensive CW lasers for biological imaging applications.

• The conversation covered Sci-Hub access issues (including US IP blocking and legal pressure from publishers like Elsevier), pharmaceutical manufacturing variability (particularly regarding Adderall from different manufacturers), and ergonomics in lab equipment and keyboard layouts (QWERTY vs. Dvorak).

• Technical discussions included a JavaScript QR code reader library that could separate codes from background noise, techniques for supercooling pure water to -2°C, and tag cloud visualization approaches using logarithmic scaling for frequency representation.