# Key Points from the IRC Logs

• Nanopore technology was discussed in detail, including a method for creating nuclear-track etched membranes by bombarding polycarbonate sheets with alpha particles and etching with NaOH, allowing for controllable pore width creation.

• Connections were made between different nanopore approaches, including comparisons between nmz787's sieve technology and Kent Kemmish's demonpore sieve, with references to molecular assemblies and EcoDNA (patent US8808989).

• Neil Gershenfeld's work on digital fabrication and computational materials was shared, including his TEDxCERN talk "Programming a new reality" and his initiative teaching "how to grow almost anything" by using fablabs to create biolabs.

• Von Neumann's foundational work on self-reproducing automata was discussed, with references to his 1966 paper and noting that Philip K. Dick's 1955 story "Autofac" predated some of these concepts.

• Industrial supply chain issues were criticized as an "institutionalized scam designed around vendor lock-in," with specific discussion of quality components like Bishop Wisecarver V-rails and bearings used in CNC router construction.

• A Bitcoin governance article was shared examining power dynamics in cryptocurrency protocol development, titled "A Primer on Bitcoin Governance, or Why Developers Aren't in Charge of the Protocol."