Celestial Box
Mercury Rising
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. – Galileo Galilei
Celestial Box by Robert Yarger
With Spring right around the corner we should see the mercury rising soon. But if you look to the night sky, you might think Mercury is going backwards. A few times a year this optical illusion of “retrograde” motion occurs for some of the planets as their orbit around the sun takes over our own. It’s a celestial phenomenon associated astrologically with chaos and negativity, which is really quite a shame, because we all know that having to go backward for a bit before being able to go forward makes for one fine puzzle mechanism.
“It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the moon” - Galileo Galilei
This box promises the moon and the stars
Speaking of making fine puzzles, here’s another beautiful box from American puzzle master Robert Yarger. The Stickman No. 26 Puzzlebox, aka the Celestial Box, was handsomely crafted from either Cedar, Sapele or Redheart woods and features moving “star” gears in accent woods on top and crescent moons that slide in and out on the sides. The complicated box requires a coordinated sequence of at least 36 steps to reveal the secret chamber, wherein reside the secrets of the universe. Rob says it is unlikely he will ever use cedar for a box again, as breathing the dust it creates is not as nice as the final product. He also notes an interesting challenge he faced in the making of the gears for this puzzle. Typically one would center a block on an axle and mill down the gears around the axle. But these gears don’t have a hole all the way through the center. He made the gears first, then positioned an indented groove in the center, a very difficult process sensitive to being even a thousandth of an inch off. The minor variations created friction points for which he then created a very clever way of finding using wax. Tricky solutions for tricky problems – that could be his motto. The box is nicely proportioned to fit in the hands and is fun to explore, with surprising and changing movements that lock and block your steps, necessitating some retrograde motion at times. It’s just the trick for these chaotic astrological days. Don’t give up, and everything will work itself out again in the end.
Stargazing with Galileo by Lindsay Jones
A box like this makes me want to do a little stargazing. Won’t you come with me? Let’s head to a remote northeastern town on the cold banks of Nova Scotia, where I hear the stars appear en masse. Lindsay Jones, an award winning and celebrated spirits personality, who was Halifax’s Bartender of the Year in 2018, is at the helm of this journey. Her “Stargazing with Galileo” is a delicious coffee, bourbon and amaro treat to peak the senses and stir the imagination.
I'm having coffee with friends
The brown-buttered coffee is particularly inspiring and delicious. “Fat washing” liquids with any sort of fat will impart a rich flavor and texture to the end product, and butter is a common source. It is usually achieved by liquefying the fat over heat and infusing it with the target liquid, which is usually a spirit, such as bourbon, chilling overnight, and straining out the fat solids the next day. In this case, browned butter is infused into strong dark coffee. The result is, as you might expect, a richer, buttery coffee, with a flavor that shines through even with the addition of the other spirits in the cocktail. Try it for yourself and don’t be surprised if you end up a little star struck. Cheers!
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use – Galileo Galilei, 1615
A pair of star crossed lovers
Stargazing with Galileo by Lindsay Jones
1 ½ oz bourbon
1 oz brown-buttered coffee
½ oz Campari
¼ oz Fernet-Branca
¼ oz simple syrup
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass.
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