To fly, Couch dressed in shirt, sweater, jeans, work boots and sunglasses handed him at the last minute.
He took off at 6:06 a.m. Saturday after kissing his wife, Susan, goodbye and petting his Chihuahua, Isabella.
By Associated Press
And then Kent Couch sat down on his lawn chair- to which over 100 helium balloons were attached and he flew almost 200 miles from his home in Bend, Oregon at altitudes ranging from 11,000 feet to 13,000 feet – to a farmer’s field in Union, Oregon.
I love this story- just love it because Kent Couch took a dream and made a plan and it involved Balloons and Lawn Chairs.
I ask you, did he take his dream that involved lawn furniture and balloons and learn to fly a plane? Did he buy his way onto The Space Shuttle?
Heck no, Kent Couch had this dream; it involved a Lawn Chair, balloons and Idaho.
And he made it happen.
Okay, Kent Couch didn’t actually make it to where he wanted to land in Idaho- he says he came up short. If I had the chance, I’d tell Kent Couch he went much further then he planned.
what can I add to that except- way to go Mr. Couch!
This is for real, read the article and then check out the link at the bottom of the story.
Okay, I’m not taking you to other worlds but this is close.
By Associated Press
LONDON (AP) – Scientists need help sorting through an unusual digital photo album: pictures of about 1 million galaxies.
They are asking volunteers on the Internet to help classify the galaxies as either elliptical or spiral and note, where possible, in which direction they rotate. It would be the largest galactic census ever compiled, something scientists say would provide new insight into the structure of the universe.
“We’re in the golden era of astronomy,” said Bob Nichol, an astronomer at the University of Portsmouth in southern England. “We have more data than we can assimilate, and we need help.”
Astronomers say computer programs have been unable to reliably classify the star systems.
Without volunteers, researchers would need years to wade through the photographs, which were taken automatically by a massive digital camera mounted onto a telescope at the Apache Point Observatory near Sunspot, N.M., Nichol said. With 10,000 to 20,000 people working to classify the galaxies, the process could take as little as a month.
Volunteers would sign on to the Web site, complete a brief tutorial and pick through one galaxy after another. The galaxies would be identified by several people to guard against errors and pranks, and scientists would rule on any disputes.
The catalog would help researchers understand how galaxies form and interact.
“At some level, what we learn about these galaxies could tell us something quite fundamental about cosmology and particle physics,” Nichol said.
The project was inspired by similar projects at NASA, such as Stardust(at)home, which enlisted the help of thousands of volunteers to sift through grains of space dust gathered during a 2006 mission.
November 5, 1979- Ayatollah Khomeini declares the USA to be “the great Satan”
Actually, I remember this when it was on the news. My mom looked up from my birthday cake- which was red velvet with black frosting- stared straight into my eyes and said, ” I don’t think so.”
November 5,1780 – French-American force under Colonel LaBalme is defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle.
An Invader Guy gets his butt whomped by a Native American guy named Little Turtle on my birthday. God I love that.
November 5,1605 – Gunpowder Plot: A plot led by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament is thwarted when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, finds Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the Parliament building.
My Niece was born on Cinco de Mayo and I was born on Guy Fawkes day. I sense a pattern here…
November 5,1935 – Parker Brothers releases the board game Monopoly.
The only game I can play, win and cheat at. Yes, the only game I’ve ever mastered and it was released on my birthday.
These were my top three stories on this blog for the month of June:
#1
My Bruce Campbell Tribute– okay makes sense- the concensus around I.B. is that Bruce is Cool.
#2
A story I wrote about me and how when I was a kid I planned to have pet wolves and fly spaceships when I grew up- okay that was amusing read, especially if you’ve been drinking.
#3
And then there was this one.. Exploding Birds– guys explain that one to me… Exploding Birds.