Astronomy has come a long way in 20 years. Just 25 years ago we were finally finding tiny little moons in orbit around our solar system neighbors. Now, because of super-advanced, bad-assed, hyper-awesome astronomical devices, we can actually view things going on millions of light years away in other galaxies. (Well, technically things that were going on millions years ago in another galaxy).

In this instance, a system of galaxies called 3C321, the larger galaxy is bombarding a smaller companion galaxy with cosmic radiation. It is a widely accepted theory that most, if not all, galaxies contain a Supermassive Black Hole at their galactic core. Just as the Moon orbits Earth and Earth orbits the Sun, it is speculated that all stars withing a given galaxy must also orbit something. Since we cannot directly view the center of our galaxy (there are lots of stars, dust, and other particulate matter obscuring the view), we must observe it through X-Ray detection and by other means. Something is definitely there.

Just like stars, black holes and supermassive black holes emit energy in the form of cosmic radiation, X-Rays, gamma rays, and the like. The dose of radiation is so massive that, where it to reach Earth it would be lethal on a planetary scale, even millions of light years away. Fortunately for us, because of their physical make-up and the gravitational distortions involved, black holes only emit their energy from their poles, so this energy is directed away from the object in a relatively focused beam rather than in all directions like a normal star.

Here, the radiation from the larger galaxy is blasting directly into a smaller galaxy about 20,000 light years distant (about the distance of the Earth to the Milky Way's galactic core). The radiation is expected to not only destroy the stars, but the massive dose of energy could quite possibly provide the necessary energy for new stars and planets to form.

Because of human advances in astronomy, we are going to be seeing a lot more astronomical phenomena just like this. Who knows, we may even be looking down the barrel of a supermassive black hole pointed right at Earth!

Merry Christmas!!!

Shawne Merriman, Linebacker, San Diego Chargers: tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2006.
Punishment: Suspended for four games of the 2006 season. Also won The Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to the Pro Bowl to represent the AFC.

Ricky Williams, Running Back, Miami Dolphins: violated the NFL's substance abuse policies FOUR times.
Punishment: suspended for four games after the second violation, suspended for the 2006 season after the fourth violation, played in the Canadian Football League during his suspension, NFL eligibility reinstated Oct. 2007. Terry "Tank" Johnson, Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboys: In February '06, arrested and charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest while on probation. In Dec. '06, charged with violation of probation and possession of unlicensed firearms.
Punishment: Received two sentences; 120 days on one charge, 45 days on a separate charge. Allowed to serve the sentences concurrently, spent 120 days in jail. Released by the Chicago Bears. Suspended by the NFL for 8 games. Signed by the Dallas Cowboys. Reinstated Nov. 11, 2007 and currently playing football.

Chris Henry, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals: Arrested Dec. '05 for possession of marijuana, driving without a license, and driving without auto insurance after being pulled over for speeding. Arrested Jan. '06 for concealment and aggravated assault with a firearm. Violated NFL policies regarding personal conduct and substance abuse policies in Oct. '06. Jan. '07, pleaded guilty to charges of providing alcohol to minors stemming from an incident in the spring of '06.
Punishment: Suspended by the NFL for 2 games because of the Oct. '06 violations. Sentenced to 90 days in jail because of the Jan. '07 guilty plea. Only served 2 days, the remaining 88 days suspended. Suspended by the NFL for 8 games in '07 for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Reinstated by the NFL on Nov. 5, 2007. Allegedly assaulted a parking attendant on Nov. 6, 2007 (currently under investigation.

Michael Vick, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons: Principle financier of a dog-fighting operation based in Newport News, VA. Plead guilty to "Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture." Prior to this, Vick had a clean criminal record. Punishment: Sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. By law, will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. Still faces state charges and, if found guilty, could have his sentence tacked on to the time he serves in federal prison. Suspended by the NFL indefinitely. Because of his sentence, will miss at least two NFL seasons, and possibly a third.

Can someone please explain the reason behind this disproportionate treatment of Michael Vick by our justice system and the NFL? Just what kind of message are they trying to put out there? That it is worse to mistreat dogs than people? This is really fucked up.

And, of course, I would like to point out that we're talking about Pit Bulls, here. If Michael Vick and his buddies hadn't "mistreated" these dogs, they'd probably all be out there biting the faces off small children.

No, I'm not kidding. (Scroll down to the "Catchy Caption of the Day.")

That's pretty damn funny, right there.

UPDATE: Fixed that link! (Thanks Pastor Dave)

6 eggs
4 slices bread (I prefer whole wheat)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (shred your own, don't use that bagged pre-shredded crap)
1 lb. ground sausage (I prefer organic when I can find it. No reason you have to ingest preservatives, additives and all that other shit to enjoy sausage)
2 cups milk

1 tsp ground dry mustard. And for pete's sake, use whole mustard seeds and grind your own*. That pre-ground junk has absolutely no flavor. You can reduce this amount or omit it if your sinuses aren't up to it, though.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the sausage and drain thoroughly (I put mine out on a paper towel after draining). Cut the bread slices into 1 to 1/2 inch cubes and layer evenly in the bottom of a 2 qt. casserole. Layer the sausage evenly on top of the bread. Ditto for the cheese. Beat the eggs, milk, and mustard together and pour over into the casserole, making sure it is evenly distributed throughout. Bake for 45 minutes or until the egg has set in the middle. Let rest for 15-30 minutes before consuming.

Now that seems like a lot of preparation for a Christmas morning meal when the kids are opening presents, but here's the thing: you can make the casserole the night before. When you wake up in the morning, all you gotta do is preheat the oven and pop it in, (obviously, you want to let the casserole come up to room temperature, or at least not take it out of the fridge and put it straight in the oven or your casserole could break.) Open the presents as breakfast cooks, and enjoy a hot breakfast when you're done. Goes best with a hot cup of coffee and a couple dashes of Tabasco. On the casserole, not in the coffee.

The OTHER good thing about this is that it is modular. You can double it, half it, one-and-a-half-times-it; depending on how many people you need to feed. You can add some herbs and make it savory, or you can do like I do and use honey wheat bread and maple sausage which will make it slightly sweet. Add some green onions and hot sauce to the eggs for a little extra color and zip. Rule of thumb is, if you would eat it in an omelet you can probably add it to this.