My brother, the odder of the two, rang in the New Year once by firing his cannon (2 inch bore, muzzle loading repro of a model of about 1870, scaled down to about a 30 inch barrel). No ball, just a salute charge.

The police put a stop to that, too. Come to think of it, it's a good thing that he's good friends with the local cops and works for the Illinios State Police.

His kids love him -- "dad's not boring!"