I hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas, and got what they wanted from the Jolly Old Elf. If not, you probably got what you deserved. Frankly, the coal does come in handy. Let's all take a moment and pause in sympathy for the atheists among us, who have nothing but a civil holiday at this time of year. ;-) I was just outside awhile ago, and with the sun still ten degrees above the horizon, could easily spot Venus naked-eye. It should be a very large crescent right now, I may try and detect the crescent with a hand-held bino shortly. Take a look now because in coming days Venus will be nose-diving for the horizon, as it catches up to earth in it's smaller, faster orbit around the sun. It will re-emerge in January in the morning sky, and be a morning object for much of 2014.