Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating, Happy Christmas to those in the U.K., and of course, Happy Xmas to those who enjoy strange abbreviations.

We brought home our own little holiday cheer yesterday, Gunnar the poodle (I was informed by MrsBlue that I had first-person shootered the spelling of his name, though we are pronouncing it Gunner). Gunnar is a bit of a prodigy... we were told he'd be paper trained, but he had a pair of accidents upon arriving at home that were nowhere near the paper. When he again started making the same whine he offered before each accident, I realized he was actually signaling to go out. Several successful trips outside later, we can confirm that at 7+ weeks old, he has toilet trained himself... he had only gone on the paper indoors at the breeders, but upon arrival in his new home, he decided he needed to go out to take care of business, and that's what he does. Buggy (not that I'm complaining mind you). Anyway, he's a great little guy, and in response to demand (I won't claim it was popular), here are a couple of Gunnar photos.

Links of the Day:	The 12 Days of Crunchtime.
Stories of the Day:	Amazon denies 'ruining Christmas'. Paper Prints Only Good News in Christmas Issue. Company Rents Eco-Friendly Christmas Trees.
Science!:	Santa Workshop Said Under Threat from N.Pole Thaw. Mercury, Mars, Venus in Rare Alignment. Paul McCartney smiles.
Images of the Day:	Something Awful's Retrofitted Gaming Classics. More Polar Bear Gifts.
Media of the Day:	Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah. Thanks David. Santa Santa Santa Badger Style. The Snowman. Thanks David.
Auctions of the Day:	Naughty kids lose gifts to eBay. Thanks Steve.
Follow-ups:	'Spiderman' Climbs World's Tallest Building.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.