Hudson Star-Observer
Published Friday, January 18, 2008

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon
by Julia Tosti
Special to The Friday Flyer

It was a beautiful morning, one of those mornings where the fog had rolled in sometime prior and settled, nestled in the valley and hugging the lake, giving it a mystical feel.
My husband and I enjoy a beautiful view from Tuscany Hills. We moved here two years ago from Orange County and have never tired of the endless beauty that surrounds our home.
From the back of our home, we have views of Canyon Lake, Mount San Jacinto, Big Bear and, far to our left, Mount Baldy. We watch hawks soar high and ducks and white cranes take flight from Canyon Lake to Lake Elsinore. It seems every morning the view is visited by a new guest that perpetuates this never-ending cascade of attractions. Today was no different.
We sat sipping on our coffee chatting and discussing the day’s tasks. We conversed about the beauty of the mountains, the mystical feel to the lake and today’s surprise guest, a hot air balloon. Typically balloons float toward Menifee, hovering high above the valley east of Canyon Lake, but today’s visitor seemed to be moving in our direction, approaching the lake.
Our excitement heightened as we watched the balloon, seeing the colorful fabric come into clearer view. At this point I decided to document this visitor and ran to get our camera. As the balloon continued to move our way it seemed to be picking up momentum; all the while, I was clicking away with our camera.
The balloon sailed over the lake, coming closer and closer and losing altitude. Our chatter turned to silence as we watched, stunned by the sight. Slowly at first, but then more rapidly, the balloon started to descend until it looked as though it was sitting on the lake. We strained to see if it had actually landed on the lake, wondering out loud if we should call 9-1-1 or the lake “coast guard” or someone! Just as we were about to dial the phone, the balloon started to rise. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was high in the sky. Up, up and away it went over our house, continuing to float until it was out of our sight.
Wow! We love this area – what a great place to live! It seems we are always seeing something of beauty or excitement outside our back view – and this was the icing on the lake, I mean, cake!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5guPhdSq5ZsoMR2sfIlPc_xf3y6FAD93P0JRO0

Balloon pilots somber at NM festival after death

By HEATHER CLARK 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Pilots of hot air balloons on Saturday mourned the loss of one of their own in a fiery crash at Albuquerque's famous festival, even as they said another pilot fighting for his life after the accident would want them to keep flying.

Saturday's weather failed to cooperate. Windy, stormy weather grounded balloons readying for a morning mass ascension, and evening fireworks also were canceled, lending a somber mood to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Keith Sproul of North Brunswick, N.J., was critically injured Friday when the gondola of his Wings of Wind balloon crashed into power lines and exploded into flames over the town of Bernalillo. His co-pilot, Stephen Lachendro of Butler, Pa., was killed.

Sproul remained in critical condition Saturday, a hospital spokesman said.

"Our friend who's fighting for his life in the hospital, he would have wanted us to fly if it was flyable. I mean, that's what we do," said balloon pilot Chris Keefe of Oshkosh, Wis.

Keefe said Sproul was one of about a dozen balloon pilots who belong to the dawn patrol, a handful of balloons that launch before sunrise to test air currents for other balloons that will take off later. The crash occurred around 8 a.m., too late for Sproul to have been carrying out those duties.

The pilots said Sproul would want them to learn from the accident.

Pilot Craig Kennedy of Albuquerque said of Sproul: "I'll bet you that he will share his experience with any pilot who will listen to explain what happened, so that we can learn from it."

Balloon fiesta spokeswoman Kathie Leyendecker said Lachendro was a "very well-loved pilot."

"There's lots of warm conversations and reminiscing going on today," she said.

Pilots and fiesta organizers gave no thought to shutting down the festival, which ends Sunday.

"It provides a lot of joy and excitement for a lot of people," Keefe said. "We don't consider (ballooning) a risk-taking activity. Just like an airline pilot flying cross-country with a load of passengers, he doesn't consider his job a risky thing."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash. Witnesses on the ground said it was windy at the time, and authorities said they received several reports of hard landings within about 15 minutes of the crash.

Six people died from 1990 to 2007 when their balloons hit or snagged power lines during the fiesta. Four died in 1982 when propane tanks on a balloon exploded.

• Sproul's Special Shape Balloons: http://www.skychariot.com

By Gretchen Becker
Posted: October 12, 2008
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A planned $2 million recreation of a historic balloon flight would give Conner Prairie visitors a bird's-eye view of the Fishers living-history museum.
The project was expected to be announced today, said Ellen Rosenthal, Conner Prairie president and chief executive officer.


Beginning in June, a $10 ticket would let museum guests take a 15- to 20-minute hot-air balloon ride at an elevation of 350 feet.
Rosenthal said Friday that the Balloon Voyage exhibit commemorates John Wise's 1859 launch of the first manned balloon intended to travel cross-country, from Lafayette to New York.
"It is one symbolic event that draws attention to how much progress and scientific advancement was being made," Rosenthal said. "At this event, 20,000 people were there. There were only 19,000 people in Indianapolis then. (Since) 2009 is also the 150th anniversary . . . it's now or never to do the exhibit."
Wise, a Philadelphia native, was trying to prove that mail could be delivered across the country by air, Rosenthal said. Winds on Aug. 17, 1859, sent him south instead of east as planned, so he landed 40 miles away in Crawfordsville. Although a train eventually delivered the mail, the landmark launch was still considered a success.
Dan Freas, Conner Prairie's director of museum experience, discovered Wise's story, Rosenthal said. To learn more, museum representatives visited the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., to which one of Wise's relatives donated his journals and notebooks.
Tom D. Crouch, a senior curator of the Smithsonian's aeronautics division, told Conner Prairie representatives he'd waited years for an exhibit like this to introduce people to early flight attempts in America.
The exhibit is to be installed in the current Clowes Common area next to the main museum center. Before that can happen, Conner Prairie must appeal a Fishers zoning rule to allow for the equipment, Rosenthal said.
The museum plans to renovate Clowes Common to make concessions look the way they would have in 1859, Rosenthal said. Plans also call for an outdoor exhibit to engage guests in activities such as filling gas balloons and trying on the helmets of balloon pilots, or aeronauts.
The Balloon Voyage would join other living-history experiences at Conner Prairie, which include recreated towns from 1836 and 1886 and a Lenape Indian camp from the early 1800s, when white settlement of the area was beginning.
• Call Star reporter Gretchen Becker at (317) 444-2805.

For the second year in a row, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was marked by the tragic death of a person in a balloon. Now, Wells Fargo Bank is trying to help the families of those at the center of this year's accident.
Wells Fargo opened the account for the families of pilots Keith Sproul and Stephen Lachendro, who were in the "Wings Of Wind" balloon when it hit a power line last Friday morning.
The gondola caught fire and separated from the balloon envelope, crashing to the ground.

Thieves made off with radios, computers and other items.
Wells Fargo has already donated $1,000 into the account to help the families deal with expenses surrounding the funeral, medical care costs and the break-in .
Donors who want to give to the account can contact Wells Fargo and should ask about donating to the Debbie Sproul account.

THE Warrnambool husband and wife who were burnt in a freak hot air balloon accident yesterday are well-known community volunteers.
Stuart Prince, 65, and his wife, Heather Martin-Trigg, 51, were taking part in an early-morning joy flight when the terrifying incident occurred north of Bendigo.

It is believed the flight was a birthday present which had been postponed from earlier this year due to hazardous weather conditions.

Mr Prince, who suffered serious burns to his right arm and lower extremities, was in a stable condition in The Alfred hospital yesterday after being transported from the scene by helicopter.

Ms Martin-Trigg was taken by road ambulance to the Bendigo hospital and also transferred to The Alfred in a stable condition yesterday afternoon.

The couple are both life members of 3WAY-FM where Mr Prince is a founding member and presenter and Ms Martin-Trigg is the committee treasurer. She is also vice-president of the Friends of the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

They own and operate Henna Street Picture Framers and Ms Martin-Trigg also works with the Vision Radio Network.

The balloon, operated by the Goldrush Ballooning company, was on a regular flight from Bendigo with eight passengers ? two from Warrnambool, two from Rochester and four from Melbourne.

It was under the control of a Bendigo man who has 12 years experience as a pilot.

http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/wellknown-volunteers-recover-after-balloon-crash/1653659.aspx?storypage=1

While Trump Memes have been online for a while by now, the internet has come up with a brand new meme in light of footage of Donald Trump craning his neck over the voting booths to check his wife Melania's ballot. Possibly because everyone has a lot of time on their hands while they wait in insanely long voting lines.

A ball and socket occurs when one bro goes in for the fist and the reciprocating bro acts as if he is gona bump too, but instead grabs the bros fist and shakes in a pivoting motion making for an awkward moment. Thus the ball and socket has been created.

Bro 1: Fuck yea! (Goes for the fist bump)

Bro 2: (secretly going in for the bro move with alterior motives, and grabs the fist and shakes)

Bro 1: awe shit man the ol' Ball and Socket!

We may have to vote by mail or we die. But 22% of mail-in ballots are never counted — that’s well over one out of five. That means, if we go to 80% mail-in voting, we’ll have 25 million lost votes in November. If it were random, it obviously

The post 25 Million Ballots Could be Lost in Shift to Mail-in Voting appeared first on Greg Palast.

I get it:  We all must vote by mail—or we die. 
There is really no other safe choice. But there is much to fear, with a switch to all-mail voting—unless our broken absentee ballot system is fixed. Here’s what the “Go Postal” crowd doesn’t tell you

The post Rush to Vote-by-Mail could cost Dems the Election<div id='sec-title'>Mail-in Voting puts Millions of Minority Ballots at Risk</div> appeared first on Greg Palast.

As stated in the thread title

https://www.gamestop.com/collection/dragon-ball-z-kakarot

Didn’t see it posted and decided to post it in case someone was waiting for it to drop