Merry Christmas! Wishing the best to you and yours this holiday season. Be safe, try to take it easy on the eggnog, and enjoy the time with your friends and family.

When historians look back on the years that yielded the most monumental scientific impact, they will certainly earmark 2014 as one that laid the framework for the future discovery. About a month ago, the European Space Agency landed its Rosetta spacecraft on a comet, and just last week NASA successfully launched Orion, the vehicle that will hopefully send man to Mars.

As a Florida resident, the space program is a pivotal cog in our culture and economy. But with the shuttle program coming to a close in 2011 combined with a bevy of federal budget cuts to NASA, thousands of Floridians were left without work, and future space exploration was left in a state of flux.

Scientists and celebrity-scientists alike petitioned the White House to refrain from further budget cutbacks to the agency, citing the importance of space missions to the field of science and humanity at-large. It appears Bill Nye’s urging has worked. A program that was seemingly heading down the path to relative obscurity has surged back, from high-profile missions such as the Curiosity rover landing on Mars in 2012 to spaceflight newcomers such as SpaceX building the rockets and capsules of the future, NASA is alive and as active as any time in its history.

The Orion spacecraft, launched successfully last Friday after numerous weather delays, may prove to be NASA’s most ambitious and greatest endeavor to date. The Orion program was designed with the ultimate objective: human footsteps on The Red Planet. We are many, many years away from that dream becoming reality, but with the agency’s concerted strides and sufficient funding from the federal government, it may not be as far off as we all imagine.

Black Friday shopping has been a hot-button issue around many Thanksgiving tables since it became the requisite ode to consumerism, but the debate this year seemed more heated than holiday seasons past. With a handful of companies extending their Black Friday sales into Thanksgiving and forcing many employees to work, the dinner conversation of upcoming deals turned into an ethical and moral discussion of valuing dollars over family.

It appears those on the side of preserving family time have won.

Initial reports are showing an 11% decline in Black Friday shopping this season, with many deciding to avoid malls and shopping centers like the plague. The mere existence of websites like Black Friday Death Count is enough to dissuade individuals from risking their lives for discount blenders, but aside from the physical danger and mental distress of racing through a K-Mart like a maniac, society seems to be coming to terms with the sheer ridiculousness of Black Friday.

We’ve all seen the pictures and read the stories. Tent-cities erected days in advance on storefront sidewalks. People selling their places in line for hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of dollars. Shoppers accosted in parking lots for their newly purchased merchandise. During a time of year that puts an emphasis on gratitude, family and giving, Black Friday is the mess in the living room that the cat dragged in.

And judging by the numbers, many people have simply had enough.

Of course, the funeral dirges for Black Friday may merely be a statistical anomaly as many have taken to Cyber Monday for their deals—and personal safety—, but with more and more corporations pushing shopping discounts into Thanksgiving and requiring stores to stay open, it seems to me that they’ve overplayed their hand in the name of profit. Potential customers are becoming turned-off by this uninhibited display of commercialism, and choosing instead to enjoy time with their loved ones as opposed to risking life-and-limb to save $15 dollars on a waffle iron.

Seasons Greetings!

Russell and I want to wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your friends and families, and don’t overdo it on the sweet potato casserole (impossible).

We are in the office through tomorrow, and then returning ten pounds heavier bright-and-early on Monday.

Be safe, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Veterans Day is a time to honor all of those who served, and thank them for their service. Their courage and sacrifice in defense of their country deserves our endless respect and admiration. So if you encounter a veteran today, be it family, friend or stranger, let them know how much you appreciate them.

With Veterans Day in mind, I’m also going to recommend that all of our readers, if you haven’t already, watch the documentary “Restrepo.” Directed by photojournalists Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington (who was later killed covering the Libyan Civil War), the film chronicles the experience of the 173^rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

It is a visceral documentary, to say the least, depicting a group of soldiers dug-in on a mountainside observation post over the course of a year. It shows the horrors of war, but also has a distinct human-interest aspect to it, serving as a reminder that these individuals who volunteer in our country’s defense—the ones whose acts of bravery and heroism are celebrated on Veterans Day—are also young men and women—many still teenagers.

“Restrepo” shows the strength and sacrifice of the American Soldier, and it comes highly recommended (I believe it’s on Netflix).

So while we should show our respect and admiration for our veterans daily, make sure you make that phone call or shake that hand on the street today. These people put their lives on hold to protect us, and deserve to know how much they are appreciated.