As inconvenient as I know it is to take a vacation right after starting a new job, I'll be away for the holidays tonight through January 3rd. (Unfortunately, I made unbreakable plans before I knew I'd be starting at Open.) That means I won't have a chance to look at new posts, make Editor's Picks or answer questions until then.

But don't worry: There will still be new front-page content for Christmas and throughout next week. Thomas Rogers will be checking in from time to time, Monday through Wednesday, to update the cover. And later in the week we'll be featuring the most viewed and top-rated posts of 2009, according to our metrics. The "top-rated" cover will be comprised of the Editor's Picks that OS users rated the highest this year -- that is, the posts that represent both your and our favorites. As for the "most viewed" posts, the only ones we haven't included are those by authors who have since taken down their post or artificially inflated their page views by padding their entries with strings of random, popular images. Other than that, you'll see exactly what was popular on OS in 2009, from Michael Jackson to Megan Fox to Beth Mann's hilarious riffs on pop culture. Also look out for "favorite Open Salon posts of 2009" pieces by some of our best-known bloggers.

Happy holidays, everyone! I'm turning off the comments on this post because I won't be around to check them.