This Is Such an Interesting Place to Live.

I got the following in my work e-mail tonight:

THINGS THAT GO BOOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

SOCORRO - If you happen to hear a boom in the middle of the night, don't be alarmed: It's only New Mexico Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) conducting some special tests for the U.S. Government.

Ordnance personnel at EMRTC will be setting off four relatively small (less than 500 pounds) explosives tests behind Socorro Peak (M Mountain), from shortly after midnight until 2 a.m. on Wednesday, November 19.

The tests are being conducted in the early morning hours in order to record and analyze data on the amount of light that explosive charges typically give off during dark nighttime conditions.

They've been pretty big booms, too...