Janet is Fuzzy now.

Hi!

Sorry to make some of you wait so long, but we are really busy and
there have not been many clearly defined changes to report. We are
both doing well.

Janet is clearly Fuzzy now. Think Marine Corp Boot Camp haircut
without the tattoos. Her eye lashes are coming back and even the
eyebrows are starting to be more than 5'oclock shadows. This is all
much too slow to suit her, but what else in new?

Dave is really feeling the pressure to get the remaining important
items sold or sent to good homes. For example, Dave's dad was also
interested in Lighter Than Air (LTA). Not the Hindenburg, but more
intelligent designs like the ZMC-2. This was greatly stimulated when
he met and became close friends with Ralph Upson, one of the major
pioneers of LTA. It was like knowing one of the Wright Brothers.

Ralph gave my dad a large roll of blueprints for the ZMC-12, yes 12,
not 2. (This is what Google is for, right?) and a thick packet of 8.5
x 11 papers, and two plates (like dinner plates, with beautiful glazed
paintings of important pre-1700 balloon flights) that were made in
about 1710 and were prizes Ralph had won in balloon racing.

Most of you that don't just say, "So what?" will say, "How can you
RACE unpowered balloons?"

Well, few can. Janet & I went on a hot air balloon ride in Central
Turkey. I already knew how, from my dad and Ralph, but even I was
amazed at how our balloonist was able to cause us to fly over to a
miniature Grand Canyon and descend into it and even deliberately get
so close to the walls that we could and did touch them with our hands.
All was done with a balloon that he can ONLY make go up or down or
stay the same. Only!

Basically, the idea is that the wind at different layers is usually
going in different directions. The Balloonist must know which way
these layers are going in advance and put the balloon in the correct
layer for the correct amount of time to get the desired result.
Hopefully, you see that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Like
saying that I am going to invent from scratch a 300 miles per hour
Ferrari, because I was just told that when I burn something, it causes
the air to expand.

If none of that makes any sense, don't feel bad, There is no quiz and
it won;t be on the Final Exam.

And, I need to get back to being busy,

Dave & Janet