Our friends in Columbus, OH will host Rod Johnson on Thursday, January 24, from 6-8 pm. Rod is the creator of Spring and a hero to many in the J2EE community for giving them an alternative to EJBs.  Rod will discuss new features in Spring 2.5.  If you're ANYWHERE near Columbus, I think it's worth stopping by.  I'm disappointed that I won't be able to make it!  I would definitely venture deep into Buckeye territory for that talk.