Today is World AIDS Day. There are many ways you can help this important cause, but with Team UserFriendly.Org your computer can contribute, too. Don't waste those idle cycles — donate them to FightAIDS@Home, and your very own computer will be searching for potential HIV drugs.

This isn't a way for big pharmaceutical companies to rake in cash. All our work will be released into the public domain, and this is the first step to providing cheap, effective HIV drugs to developing countries.

Team UserFriendly.Org have entered the HRC World AIDS Day Challenge. This will be running all month, so keep those results rolling and we will see just how far we can go!

On the left is a new video featuring a collection of different voices united in the fight against AIDS. It includes an interview with Prof. Arthur J. Olson, leader of the FightAIDS@Home lab.

As well as the FightAIDS@Home video, World Community Grid have a promotional video explaining what they do. It is a great introduction — show it to people as part of your own recruitment efforts.

There will be a lot going on in the coming month, so please check back often. Watch out for a new research project, and loads of other stuff, too.

Team members old and new: thank you! We are doing an extraordinary thing, here.

SIX DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE: I've received hundreds of emails asking about the six days of cartoons starting November 10, 2008. I'm thinking about how to present all six, and once I have an answer, we'll be talking to our merchandisers about having the hi-res prints available for purchase. Watch this space: I'll have an answer sometime this week.

The Big UF Book is at the press! It is with much pleasure that I announce we have hit the Magic Number of pre-orders for the Big Ten Year Hardcover Tome of UF! Our publisher, Manning, has shipped the files off to the press and the plates are being burned even as I write this!

My thanks to everyone who took a chance with us on having this volume produced! If you are in North America, you should have your book in time to slip under the Christmas tree this year! International customers, we hope to get the books to you in time, but predicting global shipping can be difficult at best. Please forgive us if it doesn't arrive by December 25th.

If you haven't ordered your copy yet, you have until November 20th if you want to see it as a Christmas present. Keep in mind that this time around we're offering to send out an autographed copy to anyone buying an Evil Genius in Training Membership or higher. You can still get unsigned copies without a membership directly from our merchandiser, ComputerGear.

If you're holding off on getting a copy, please keep in mind that due to the cost of these volumes there will likely only ever be a single print run, and the print run is small, 10,000 units or less for an audience of around 1.5 million. Once they're gone, that'll be it. I myself will only have a few author's copies to keep. Don't say I didn't warn you!