Some tidbits . . .

1. First of all, the blog has a new look! Soooo. . . there's that.
2. While we're on the topic, I don't really know much about blogs, per se, and I'm not really interested in learning too much about it (or rather I don't have room in my brain for it). Having said that, if there's anything that you might find useful here in terms of blog setup, or that you like elsewhere, let me know, while I'm thinking about it. I've already set up some stuff to show code a bit better and am in the process of setting up a download page to help you find any scripts and such to download more easily/conveniently. But if there's something else out there I'm interested in hearing about it (as long as it's relatively easy for me to implement:) . . .
3. Secondly, I saw a demo of some pre-alpha stuff that Raf and his team at Anzovin Studios are working on at the NYC-Maya Users Group meeting Wed night. Very cool stuff. Here's a link to their site: http://www.anzovin.com/products/art1maya.html
4. Finally, while we're on the topic, I finally made it to my first Maya User Group meeting. It was fun! Steve Mann did a great job of getting interesting presenters and creating a good atmosphere (there was pizza, beverages, prizes, etc) If you're in NYC, check it out for next time: http://nymayausersgroup.blogspot.com/
5. For those doing VFX or photography, there's  a new book out by Christian Bloch, The HDRI Handbook 2.0. Heard nothing but rave reviews (by some pretty savvy people). Just ordered mine, even though I don't do a ton of VFX work. Check it out: http://www.hdrlabs.com/book/index.html and pass it along.