This Chinese New Year, we had the fireworks event right in our new old home after dinner. Boy, have the prices shot thru the roof?! I remember buying a pack containing a dozen “moon traveler” rockets (lil inexpensive gunpowder rockets on a stick with a small bang after reaching a height) for less than a ringgit. Today, it’s like ten bucks for a dozen. Large rockets we like a couple of ringgit each.

Hmm, the escalating costs of “wars”. Back in the good old days when one was a teenager, we used to have lots of firework wars with our neighbors in Ipoh and Penang. Rather belligerent bunch of people we were indeed. Hawks thru and thru. Any misfire by any neighboring kids that landed into my uncle’s compound in Ipoh drew immediate retaliation. We were also a well funded super-power — many uncles had supplies us with more ammo than the neighbors plus we had superior technology (string guided rockets and a bazooka launcher). We also had time to experiment that a moon traveler dropped three feet for every fifty it flew. I remember my brother and I spending countless afternoons performing “weapons research.” My goodness how fun were those days. Maybe that’s why we’re all intact together, nary a missing finger or blinded eye. Research and proper safety. I remember having water, foam, and aluminum foil and styrofoam padded protection! Do not try these at home 🙂

The only shot that worked but while my 580EXs were recyling fast enough to keep up with my burst sequence, the 430EX II lagged, hence I lost my sidelight.

Bazooka Mark II in “ground mode” — didn’t want to be a bad influence on my nephew by hand holding it. Anyways, the extraction pipe and laser sights weren’t fitted yet 🙂