I'm done with my Xmas shopping. I have the 24th and 25th off from work. Sarah and I are going out tonight (23rd) to stay at her parents' house in Wasilla for the holidays. There will be skiing on the lake, lazing around, and a massive tamale building party. Then Xmas morning, presents and a tamale feed. We head back in Christmas day to celebrate with Rob & Larissa.

Winter break is a time of big change in the academic information technology world because it is a time when nobody is using systems. We use that time to upgrade, migrate and patch. This winter break I'll be upgrading Blackboard from v6 to v8. It'll be a scramble of a project that will take most of the time between holidays to be completed January 4th.

Finally, for New Year's, me, Sarah, and a few friends are taking over her parents' house while they are in Mexico. It'll be a relatively quiet new years with a bonfire on the lake, more skiing and hot tubbing in the snow.

Happy Holidays and here's to a great new year!