Well, as I was mulling over the WordPress 2.8.1 code progressing its way through DevPal’s CM automata (yes, Javamancy really IS part of DevPal), I noticed that there was an entry from the WordPress guys (more specifically, Ryan) on their WordPress 2.8.1 release drop, which was officially back on July 9, 2009.
For even more reading fun, here’s the link to the Trac list of issues addressed by the release.
Go figure, folks.