Jesse has a crush on one of the girls in his 5th grade class. It's so innocent and so cute to watch...private phone calls at night, cutesy nicknames...you know the deal.

Last night, Jesse and I finished some Christmas shopping. We were in the Jeep, which means that Jesse can sit up front (no passenger airbags). I ask Jesse if he's going to get a present for The Girl. He seriously ponders it, and then says, "I want to get her diamonds."

You try to keep a straight face when your son is sitting where he can see you as he's talking.

"Diamonds? Why do you want to get her diamonds?"

"Because the commercials all say, get diamonds for that special someone."

(No, he didn't get her diamonds. But he did get her a lovely sterling silver cross on a necklace.)

Registration is open for the Sixteenth Annual WritersUA Conference, held in Portland, Oregon, and you have one week to take advantage of the early discount. Joe Welinske has put together another top-notch program covering a variety of topics, including tool-specific tips and tricks, conceptual information, cutting edge techniques, and more.

I'll be co-presenting a session on collaborative editing of online Help with Geoff Hart, and I'll be moderating a panel of pundits as we discuss key issues in Help authoring tool selection.

Check out the agenda and then tell your boss that you need to attend this conference. And save money by registering by December 15, 2007.

Hope to see you there!