Release for v8.1 is about to begin

[John Clements]

The release process for v8.1 will begin in about a week. If you
have any new features that you want in and are relatively close to
to being done, now is a good time to do that.

Upcoming dates:
- 7th: Branch day, merge window starts
- 15th: Merge window ends, testing starts
- 22nd: Testing ends

Thanks!

John