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Tuesday, February 20, 2007Up, Up and Away
  Can you believe that the hot air balloons in the above photographs are made out of garbage bags and masking tape? Jonathan, my fourteen-year-old aeronautic genius, has been perfecting the craft of model hot air balloon making for a few years now. I would venture to say that he's finally mastered his technique. How do I know this? Well, a few days ago, one of his balloons traveled 230 miles -- all the way to North Carolina. Seriously! Every couple of weeks, Jonathan releases a balloon tagged with his web site information and a request to please email him with the date, time, and location of the discovery of the balloon. Sometimes he never hears anything, the balloon having found its untimely end in an empty field or high in the branches of an ancient tree. But sometimes he receives an email from an enthusiastic passerby who has found a balloon at the ends of its travels. It fascinates me. I mean, these are solar balloons, which means that, once you inflate them, they are powered by the heat of the sun, which is easily absorbed through their black surfaces. I've watched them sail quietly into the stratosphere until they become tiny dots against the bright sky. Then, they're gone. Until somebody writes from 230 miles away and says, "We found your balloon." Want to read more about it? Visit Jonathan's Balloon Web Site! You can learn how to MAKE YOUR OWN BALLOON, or you can PURCHASE A PRE-MADE BALLOON. Okay, so I'm a little proud of him. I'm just glad that I'm raising a kid who's way cooler than I was at his age. Take a minute -- visit his web site. And let me know what you think. |
About Me
I am: Mother to five stunningly individualistic children... Writer of young adult fantasy... Passionate advocate for Women At Home... Madly in love with my husband... In need of Organic Gourmet Chocolate on a regular basis. I've got a Paypal account if you'd like to contribute to the cause....
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9of my readers are feeling chatty:
That's really cool. If one shows up here in Mesa, I'll be sure to write and let him know.
I bet the garbage bag people never figured their product would be sailing through the sky with a fishing line tail.
Thanks CheezWill riker...maybe they could do a garbage bag commercial with me and my floating-monofilament-fish-tail-masking-tape-trash bags.
That is so awesome!
And the website is great.
What a fun and smart thing to do.
Hey Jill....I hear you're having a good week?!? :)
(((((Erica)))))
Why, yes! Thank you, Sweetheart. :)
curious what happens to the balloons that are never found....are they biodegradable???
Awesome!!!!! I posted a reply to this the other day but it never went through...strange!
Parker will love to see this invention! Wayyyyyy cool. Wayyyy cool! I will definitely visit his website. It looked great the last time I peeked at the fish! Your children are super talented!!!
Wow! I am amazed! I will definately check out Jonathan's website! Well Done!
That is so cool. So maybe one day they might make it up north here?! Maybe I should venture out and take a walk!
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