I finally was able to rent Assassin's Creed today, and when I turned on my 360 to play it, I got a pretty, Christmasy Red Ring of Death. Thank God for extended warranties. I was able to take it back to Best Buy and get a new one. I feel sorry for the suckers who have to wait 4-6 weeks to get their's repaired.
Oh, and since 360s are $50 cheaper than when I last exchanged mine, I got a $50 gift card just for getting a new 360. So it was actually kind of a blessing.