Maren also pointed out that the final part of the release schedule ended
seemed rather nebulous.  It can be hard to nail down exact times and
dates for a release when changes are still coming in at the last minute,
but the final steps of the release need to happen swiftly and so need to
be coordinated so they can happen in good synchronicity, and that
requires a clearly defined schedule and a commitment to get each bit
done predictably and on time.  Definitely an area to improve on next
time.  Accept my apologies if the suddenness of the release caused
problems for you; I will try and make it be less surprising next time
through.