Happy New Year!
And the neighbors around here are definitely in a celebratory mood as it sounds like they're shooting .45s right outside the window, although I think they're fireworks that are a bit more powerful than an M-80 [1]. It actually sounds like there are more fireworks being shot off now than on the Fourth [2], which always reminds me of this:
[Picture of fireworks exploding at ground level; caption: Amateurs: There's a reason professions exist.] [3]
It's something to keep in mind when working with fireworks [4] …
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_(explosive)
![[3] /boston/2010/01/01/amateurs.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2010/01/01/amateurs.jpg){kind=link}