We're expecting The Reaper

We're expecting!  We've got cute little Carolina Reapers in our nursery.  Never has so much pain, and torment been concentrated into such a small package.  The next few months will be interesting among my Chile Head friends...  This way, the thing that should not be, comes...

Aww...  Look, a Baby Reaper...

The Dog Star... Siriusly...

The seeing is good this morning.  All my favorite stuff is up there now.  Venus, Pleiades, Aldebaran, M42, Orion, and this morning I saw Sirius for the first time this year.  Astronomically this means Fall is here even though the calendar says otherwise.  It has been a mild Summer, but looking forward to Fall so my Carolina Reapers will start producing...  LOL!

Bacon Garlic Brussels Sprouts

This is roughly inspired by Southern Collard Greens.  I like steamed Brussels Sprouts, but they need a little more something.  So when you need to make it better what works better than Bacon?  And to take it one step further Garlic.  Mmmm, now were cooking with gasoline...

I had picked up a Roasted Chicken, and was looking for a side dish.  I had some Brussels Sprouts.  I recently had made some Oriental Greens in the Collard Greens style, so I thought I wonder if that will work with Brussels Sprouts?  So I started with a Pan of Bacon.

That is starting a side dish right!  LOL!  In the meanwhile I'm preparing the Brussels Sprouts.  The little ones I'm keeping whole, and the larger one I'll cut in half.  I also diced ten garlic cloves.

As the Bacon finishes cooking I am going to saute the Brussels Sprouts, and Garlic in the Bacon Fat.  I added a little Olive Oil as well just to be sure all the Brussels Sprouts got some of the fat.  I'm starting to add seasoning at this point.  I'll continue to saute the Brussels Sprouts for about 10 minutes.

I'm adding Black Pepper, and Red Pepper flakes because those are my usual flavorings.  When I smoke meats I usually use Tony Chachere's Season Salt, and Black Pepper.  I'm keeping this one a little simpler.  I'm tossing this a lot, not quite as much as a stir fry, but enough to keep from scorching the Brussels Sprouts.

Then I chopped the Bacon, and added a cup of Chicken Stock.  Then we'll let this steam until the Brussels Sprouts get to the desired tenderness.  I like the Brussels Sprouts to have a little bite left when they are done.  Squishy Brussels Sprouts are not what I'm looking for.  They should hold their form when served, and not fall apart.  So, cover, and let it simmer down a while, checking them often.

There, that is perfect...

Caribbean Red Hots

I have harvested a few of the Caribbean Red Hots from the garden so far.  Allegedly they are very similar to Red Savina Habaneros.  I'll find out in a while here...

Happy Roswell Day

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Roswell UFO Crash incident in Roswell, New Mexico.  This event gave rise to Majestic Twelve, the Central Intelligence Agency, and a plethora of Conspiracy Theories.  From my perspective it is an event that made us question everything.  We saw something that made us say "Huh?  Wut?"  Then the reaction from the Powers that Be, "Nuthin' to see here..."

Take a look at this with your higher self.  The evidence suggests that something strange happened over there, but we see this massive impulse reaction from the Powers that Be that say "Oh, Nuthin' to See over There".  That makes me suspicious, even with no evidence.  But then there is evidence, and testimony from people that were actually there, after decades of silence...

Then we see all the Mass Media discreditation.  If you can't cover it up, then make fun of it, and manufacture a unbelievable amount of disinformation, including cartoons mocking the event.  LOL!   If you want to hide something you need to totally ignore it, not point thousands of fingers at it...

There is a story about Plankton growing colonies on the exterior of the International Space Station, suggesting that Plankton exist in, and permeate space.  This says to me that life is everywhere.  We are not the only manifestation of life in the universe, but it is everywhere.  Life is everywhere, and much if it is much more advanced than we are.  They come here, and take a look at us, then say "OK, lets not mess with this planet, they're a bunch of Backwoods Rednecks."  We're literally like the "Trailer Trash" of the Galaxy.  When we see something strange we go get the Shotgun, and shoot at it.  Not a very welcoming thing to do...

Go check out this book.  "The Day After Roswell" by Colonel Phillip J. Corso.  A lot of the things we take for granted today, like semiconductors, lasers, fiber optics, and velcro are directly related to the Roswell UFO Crash Incident....

Impromptu Telescope Mount

LOL!  You gotta do wut you gotta do...  While trying to get over the apex of the house I needed to elevate the Dobsonian Mount of my Telescope.  I've got lots of large trees, and it is not an option to just got further out into the yard.  I needed to go up, and that was the only option.  So I used a food service table that I had made from scrap fence material, and then put a big, thick butcher block on top of it.  Then put the Dobsonian mount on top of that, and finally the Telescope.  Got me some elevation...

Computer Assisted Stargazing

Here is a shot of my setup on Saturday night.  I needed a computer to run the software for the Astrophotography Camera.  The Labtop computer I have is old, and didn't support the software for the camera.  So, I had to bring my main computer out on to the patio.  It's kinda risky to put WOPR out on the patio, in the elements.  But I did get some good shots of Jupiter, and Saturn.  It has me wanting to make a skyward portico on my roof, and automate the motion of the telescope so that I can do all the adjustments remotely, and record images in the study.  Sort of like what I did with the original Astronomical Video Camera...

My setup evolved drastically during my Starshoot session on Saturday Night.  Originally I planned on shooting from the front of the house.  But it was partly cloudy, and I didn't want to make the effort to setup in front if only to get clouded out.  So, I decided to setup in back to see if I could see Jupiter.  That worked, and I was already setup in back.  To see Saturn I needed to elevate the telescope to get over the apex of the roof.  So, I wound up rearranging the patio, moving a bunch of lumber, firewood, and furniture to get the right vantage point.  Now the telescope has a relatively good vantage point to see the southern sky, and all I have to do is move WOPR, my super computer, from the study to the patio.  LOL!  Hardly any effort at all...  Here is a shot of the first setup...