It started out like a normal day. I made some modifications to the VFX HQ on the morning of June 4, 1997, like usual. Later in the day, I wanted to update the CON-AIR page, but I ran into a problem. My ISP wasn't picking up their dialup line. I tried another line... and another, but none of them worked. Frustrated, I picked up the phone and called their office. An obviously distraught man answered the phone. It was the president of the ISP (a small company of around 50 employees). He told me that it was all over--the ISP was shutting down, today.

I already knew that the company was in bad financial shape, but I didn't expect this at all--no one did, not even the company's employees. The bank decided to foreclose on the entire installation. They entered without warning, and began dismantling and confiscating equipment. By the end of the day, all employees were let go, and hundreds of clients were left hanging, their e-mail addresses no longer valid, and web sites destroyed.

The VFX HQ was one of those sites. Because I update the page nearly every day, personal backups were executed each month (the ISP backed up the data every day). Besides the massive amount of bureaucracy required to change a domain name server, I had to piece together the VFX HQ with a number of old, outdated backups.

I took this time to update the VFX HQ on a global scale. The home page has been redesigned, along with many graphics around the entire site. The Recommended Reading page has been revamped, and many visual effects stills now downloadable.

Personally, it's also been a tumultuous month. I left my full-time job as an animator at a children's software company, and also changed residences, leaving me off-line for over a week.

Now, I'm back, and have deeply appreciated all the support letters I've been sent over the past four weeks. I have a lot of things planned for the future of the VFX HQ, including some exciting interviews and articles that will be appearing soon. And, if you find any bugs around the site, please tell me about them.

I hope you enjoy the new VFX HQ, and I welcome any and all suggestions. Please, drop me a line.