Welcome to December! In the U.S., this week and next are about it for “real work” this year, at least for the non-holiday businesses (and worker attitudes). Work for the holidays and varying gift giving obligations are just ramping up, of course.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break, assuming you’re in an area that celebrates tradition with massive amounts of massive poultry followed by a massive dessert selection.

Yes, it’s Thanksgiving week in the U.S., which means cheap TVs for sale on Friday. And, of course, giving thanks for the family and friends who invade your house and make fun of your current TV while switching to the football game they want to watch.

Counting down the days until you get some time off for Thanksgiving? Those of us in the U.S. are certainly yearning for a break. Even if that means you have to be nice to people you didn’t choose to hang with, as in family.

IoTPlaybook Insight: One of the best ways to learn about IoT is a conference with classes, demonstrations, and exhibits. HPE just compiled a list of 10 IoT and Edge Computing conferences worth checking out. You're in luck if you live in California, since most are there.

Have you rigged up dancing witches and staggering zombies to scare trick or treaters with IoT motion detectors for Halloween yet? How about a candy-cam over the bowl to catch your spouse dipping into the stash? No? Just wait a year or two, and these things will be on the market.

Microsoft is showing the partner ecosystem it is all-in with IoT and aims to accelerate their time to value, according to the firm’s Rodney Clark (pictured).