It's hard to imagine that you're getting invitations to holiday parties already, but we're going to be one of the first by having our holiday celebration happy hour on Thursday, December 4th at Molotov.

We're happy to announce our sponsors for this event are The Ginac Group, a leading provider of career development services, and TechRanch Austin, a new technology incubator.

Why Molotov? We held the very first Austin Tech Happy Hour at Molotov back in mid-2007. So there's definitely some nostalgia. But more importantly, new owners Brad and Chad Womack have redesigned the interior, created an appetizer menu that is incredible, and added valet parking. We're also in the process of beefing up the wireless, courtesy of MyTurfWireless.

Since we have all that solid wireless capability, we thought that we'd start something new called the Technology Spotlight. We'll showcase a couple of emerging technology companies at each happy hour. If you'd like that to be your company, contact us about it. We'll provide the tables and the wireless, just bring your laptop, mobile device, or demo station to show off your latest stuff.

How much are tickets to the event?

Free -- We're giving away a certain number of free tickets. If they're already gone, you should make sure you're on the happy hour mailing list. Go to the website, and enter your email address on the main page.

Early Bird ($5) -- Buy your ticket as an early bird special, and your $5 will get you two drinks tickets worth more than $5. You really can't beat that deal.

Regular Admission ($7.50) -- If you missed the Early Bird special, no worries. Again, make sure you're on the happy hour mailing list, and you won't miss it again. Your $7.50 will get you two drink tickets with some fun people.

Door ($10) -- If you ignore all our attempts at getting you in cheaply, and insist upon showing up at the door we're going to soak you for ten big ones, and still give you two drink tickets.