Last week-end, an extravagant man of Oregon, Kent Couch, 47, gas station-owner, attached 105 helium-filled balloons to an ordinary lawn chair and took off. Couch loaded his lawn chair with the requisite snacks, but also instruments to monitor his altitude and speed, a global positioning device, digital camcorder, cell phone and a parachute. He used five gallon plastic bags filled with water for ballast. After...