I Believe I Can Fly

... I believe I can touch the sky. No, this isn't a posting about R Kelly's legal issues from a while back. But it's still awesome.

This is amazing. The folks over at the NYT have picked up a story out of Colorado. Basically, an attention-seeking family of questionable intelligence owns an experimental balloon that can go up to 10,000 feet. Apparently, said balloon has a plywood box attached to it, and their youngest son (named Falcon - not making this up), climbs in, and takes off. Awesome line:

...the older boy saw the younger one go into a compartment at the bottom of the balloon and fly away.

I love the discussion of how they may have to use small-arms fire to take the balloon down. And even more awesome is the idea of taking a helicopter, and flying it above the balloon to force the balloon down.

In any case, the balloon lands, and there's no box or boy to be found. Could this be a hoax? A misunderstanding? Or did the balloon ditch the kid from 10,000 feet into the Colorado wilderness?

Regardless, it seems that, for the moment, the Freakonomics folks have already pondered whether or not Falcon was pre-destined to fly.

It's a wonder how our species manages to survive. I suppose that it's more to do with quantity, than quality.

Update: Turns out that the kid's alive. Apparently, there was some collusion with the kids. I hope they fine the parents, and beat the kids. Or maybe actually send them up in the balloon.

-Chairman