Science!
Later today, weather permitting, a man will parachute to Earth from a height of 120,000 feet, or almost twenty-three miles. To borrow an old movie tagline, "You'll believe a man can fly." During his fall, he should become the first man to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle. We live in an age of marvels, when men still challenge the unknown. Godspeed, Felix Baumgartner.

B.B.C.-link, "a man on a ledge"

B.B.C.-link, schematics

Stratos-link

"No, GIR! Those piggies are for science. Science!"

The Rebel Black Dot 007 Song of the Day
Tom Jones, "Thunderball" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The lyrics of "Thunderball" are breathtakingly hilarious. I mean that literally; I've laughed over these lyrics 'til I've had trouble breathing.

"He always runs while others walk,
He acts while other men just talk,
He looks at this world and wants it all,
So he strikes—like Thunderball!

"He knows the meaning of success,
His needs are more, so he gives less,
They call him the winner who takes all,
And he strikes—like Thunderball!

"Any woman he wants he'll get,
He will break any heart without regret,
His days of asking are all gone,
His fight goes on and on and on,
But he thinks that the fight is worth it all,
So he strikes—like Thunderball!"