All the chile news I have on hand + a caution

A wonderful idea from the subcontinent … never mind grapeshot, just give them a whiff of habanero. "Indian defence scientists are planning to put one of the world's hottest chilli powders into hand grenades." All of that here on the BBC Web site.
Like Pecos cantaloupes and Lower Valley Ruby Red grapefruits, the green chiles from Hatch, NM, north of Las Cruces, are the benchmark for an agricultural product. The wicked effects of globalism are showing themselves in yet another way:

Economic globalization and trade liberalization have wrought profound changes in New Mexico’s chile pepper industry. Competition from imported Mexican, Chinese and other chiles contributed greatly to the reduction of harvested chile acreage in the Land of Enchantment from about 34,500 acres in 1992 to slightly more than 11,000 in 2008.

Read it all here on the Newspaper Tree site. Not only are Mexican and Chinese chiles nipping at the Hatch jewels, the Chinese imports are crowding the Mexican-grown poblanos. 'Friends don't let friends eat imported chiles.'
We did a lightning trip up to San Antonio today to visit the Edward Gorey exhibition at the McNay museum. A little more whimsy than I want all at once, but entertaining nonetheless. Returning home, we found the roads heavily patrolled and Herself The Lead-Footed caught a nine-miles-over ticket from a constable – a constable – in one of those inkydink ugly little towns along the way. Straitened municipalities are maybe making the budget everhow they can. Be wary!