Yo, so this is a bit how I see things:
Bevel & Emboss got a nice spot in about Circle IV(Lens Flare usually hangs out in V). OK there are rare occasions where they work(well not lens flare.. ever.. :sleep:).
Anyway, the Volvo with the MG, don't get me wrong - I'm a fan of ghetto mods, but...
SDK update is preferable yes. :)
There's some community sites out there *cough* but I guess we'll have to wait about a month before the mapping community of Portal starts kicking.
There's some kind of Kansas City Swap-a-dee-doo Hack AFAIK.
The map looks nice. :)
Why not tell your friend to read my signature and spread that map of his/hers. >__>
With Portal v. Ep2 Valve has revealed a will to show players more of the HL universe imo.
So I'm guessing that there will be games in the same universe, but perhaps not under the name Half-Life, just a wild thought though. :P