Um... Is this thing on?

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while. Here in the LA office, we've been busy assimilating Houdini 12 before release. So much new, awesome stuff coming up in 12, I won't list it all here, but you're going to love it. Aside from that, we've had an awesome summer and a brilliant SIGGRAPH, and it's really good to see Houdini being noticed for its strengths beyond being "that particle package." Meeting with lots of different people during SIGGRAPH was a huge stoke, because the things they want to use Houdini for are so varied and amazing, it gave me project envy almost on a daily basis. So if you're always the one stuck doing dust puffs for the whole show, or debris, or sparks, or missile trails, take heart, because there's some really exciting work out there ready to challenge your skills, your intellect, and your artistic sense. And noobs, remember that the current crop of dust-puff people are looking to move up food chain, so I'm sure they'd be more than happy for you to take over that onerous task so you can get your feet wet.

 With that in mind, I can't stress this enough: Now is a REALLY good time to be a Houdini user. Remember that old government PSA for reading? "Each one teach one." So pick it up, learn it, and teach a friend.    In my perfect, blindingly nerdy world, we would have Houdini 'battles' at clubs, where users show off their skills, like a nerdcore version of 8 Mile or Step It Up.  OK, maybe I'm a little too into this, or I've been doing it too long, but on a scale of 1 to awesome, it sure wouldn't be 1.