I won't be giving updates about Gridcoin during the Bitshares hangout, but here's some recent updates:

• Mandatory gridcoin client upgrade to v3.6.0.2

  • Fixes security issues
  • BOINC Mag no longer contributes towards stake weight
  • Many other changes in release notes

• Official website got updated, now we're just waiting for the client to get the branding/theme changes and we'll have completely changed Gridcoin's branding for the better :)

Yeah, in order to earn GRC for BOINC work you can either go solo (where you need to buy grc & stake a block to earn rewards) or you can use a pool (Where you don't need an upfront investment).