Yet another balloon release :-(

[santaman2000]

no Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the observable universe, all matter is roughly 75% Hydrogen, 24% Helium and 1% everything else

That's what I was always taught too (the hydrogen bit antway) Just got a little surprised by the Wiki quote.

 

[rik_uk3]

-1

Yea, happens everyday Is this what bushcraft is all about now, moaning about every little thing of no real importance in the great scheme of things...I despair, I really do.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Yea, happens everyday Is this what bushcraft is all about now, moaning about every little thing of no real importance in the great scheme of things...I despair, I really do.

So your moaning about people moaning? IROOOOONY!

 

[mountainm]

Yea, happens everyday Is this what bushcraft is all about now, moaning about every little thing of no real importance in the great scheme of things...I despair, I really do.

My personal experience has tainted my views somewhat. I've had to bat one off a tent to stop a fire (they were being sold and launched at a very busy campsite). I've collected the remnants of 5 from a sheep field (the wire frames) - so the picture of the owl was the icing on the cake. I can live without the pretty floating lights.

 

[British Red]

Moan about the coming price hikes in spuds and pork, thats worthy a moan or two.

Nothing to moan about there - food is at nearly an all time low as a proportion of family income. I'm sure you have enough sausages in lard for a year or two....

 

[Tengu]

But we need ordinary things to keep the losers in UFO sightings....

 

[rik_uk3]

My personal experience has tainted my views somewhat. I've had to bat one off a tent to stop a fire (they were being sold and launched at a very busy campsite). I've collected the remnants of 5 from a sheep field (the wire frames) - so the picture of the owl was the icing on the cake. I can live without the pretty floating lights.

You had one on your tent, what are the odds of that happening? Several million to one at a guess, not happening everyday for crying out loud

Red said (snipped)
"Nothing to moan about there - food is at nearly an all time low as a proportion of family income. I'm sure you have enough sausages in lard for a year or two...."

A rather tacky and cheap shot Red, I'm surprised at you to be honest; I'll put it down to it being a bad year for smallholders and farmers alike. If you need to stock up try here
http://www.rosspa.co.uk/westlers-sausages-in-lard-380g-p-2808.html Any I have are for end of the world stuff and as a prepper yourself I'm sure you have put a few tins of food away that would not normally be served to family and loved ones and would not just rely on your home canned/jar food to feed them in the hard times

A balloon race, flipping heck, I filled balloons back at King David School in Birmingham in the 60's when a pre teen at the summer fete...its fun.

Lighten up folks.

 

[Laurentius]

Not only that, when the irreplacable helium is gone, it is gone. No more large Hadron Colliders, and no more MRI scans. I don't think people know how long this stuff takes to replenish and how little of it there is on the planet.

 

[British Red]

Lighten up folks.

You too Richard.

The point on food being very, very cheap in historical terms was serious though. In the 1950s 33% of all household net income went on food. Now its less than 15% - a fair chunk of which goes on meals out and prepared foods.


Food in terms of income share, is at an all time low. Many hoseholds spend more on entertainment and communication per week than food


So, as you say, lighten up!

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

Not only that, when the irreplacable helium is gone, it is gone. No more large Hadron Colliders, and no more MRI scans. I don't think people know how long this stuff takes to replenish and how little of it there is on the planet.

That is my main problem with this, I am all for a little bit of fun but they could find better things to do with this gas that's running out fast.

 

[mountainm]

You had one on your tent, what are the odds of that happening? Several million to one at a guess, not happening everyday for crying out loud

Read my post. It was a very busy campsite at a peak summer bank holiday. They were selling them in the site shop. People were launching them over the tents. It wasn't my tent that the thing landed on. The odds were very high that an accident would happen given the site was behind a very steep hill. (the lanterns were simply not rising) So much so that the regional fire safety officer agreed with me and instructed the site in question to remove them from their shop.

But given you weren't there your assumptions and subsequent flawed risk assessment is understandable.

How many have you launched btw? You have no issues with where the wire frames end up?

 

[MrHare]

Millions of them in the UK santaman, combine that with the burst gas greedy balloons and the UK countryside looks a right mess, tripping over the blooming things, fields full of balloons and paper lanterns, some mornings I need to use a snow shovel to clear my path from front door to road; whole hillsides covered

http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Cle...licy/Don't+let+go+-+balloons+and+sky+lanterns

http://www.rspca.org.uk/ImageLocator/LocateAsset?asset=document&assetId=1232713930874&mode=prd

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ag...ion-after-Red-Nose-Day-balloon-kills-cow.html

http://www.nfuonline.com/News/Plea-to-celebrate-Chinese-New-Year-without-lanterns/

I bring balloons back off the moors pretty much every time I go out, about 3 times a week. I don't see so many chinese lanterns, probably only half a dozen a year. Both are harmful to wildlife and farm animals, even latex balloons don't biodegrade in any sensible time scale in our climate, and they don't look any different from any other brightly coloured piece of litter. There's enough litter in the countryside already without adding to it.

 

[wattsy]

perhaps the people using helium for particle accelerators and MRI machines could use a portion of their budget for re-using the helium they have? sounds like a wasteful operation if you use it then let it all go so you have to buy more, re-using it would mean that 'shortages' wouldn't matter unless you wanted a floaty balloon. as far as I'm concerned if I want to let a helium balloon go, and I can afford a balloon and helium to fill it and I'm not breaking any laws, then I will. As far as balloons littering the countryside for miles and miles I haven't seen that to be the case. I'd have to root through a hell of a lot of tin cans and crisp packets to find a balloon

 

[Tengu]

I can see you have very sensible priorities.

(And what about these new fangled airship thingys that seem to be comming back into fashion? Do they count as `floaty balloon` enough for your high ideals?)

 

[wattsy]

I can see you have very sensible priorities.

(And what about these new fangled airship thingys that seem to be comming back into fashion? Do they count as `floaty balloon` enough for your high ideals?)

not sure what you mean by 'coming back into fashion' they seem to be used for advertising and research but they won't be replacing commercial jet liners or container ships.

The whole balloon release issue seems like the NIMBY brigade jumping on a new bandwagon to me even the RSPCA admit in the article linked to earlier in the thread that instances of animals ingesting balloons and dying are rare, latex degrades fairly quickly and compared to other litter is a minor problem. Go for a walk tomorrow and catalogue each piece of litter you find I doubt you'll find many balloons. I'm sure crisp packets cause deaths amongst animals as well but I don't hear anyone clamouring for them to be banned.

 

[spoony]

Nothing to moan about there - food is at nearly an all time low as a proportion of family income. I'm sure you have enough sausages in lard for a year or two....

aye maybe where you live, everything but wages have gone up ...up here. But i have to say when you are in a town you dont quite worry about those ballons, but when out stalking in the back of beyond in scotland, and you come across them, they do look a mess, and its surprising how many you do find. I always remove them if possible.

 

[spoony]

Oh and i hate balloons and think they should be banned, nothing but a danger to kids. Drives me made when i see people letting kids bite them.

 

[santaman2000]

Oh and i hate balloons and think they should be banned, nothing but a danger to kids. Drives me made when i see people letting kids bite them.

But if they were banned the kids would have to fill condoms with water for their water bombs.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

But if they were banned the kids would have to fill condoms with water for their water bombs.

I did that when I was 15, it's interesting how much they bounce till they hit something sharp.

 

[wattsy]

I did that when I was 15, it's interesting how much they bounce till they hit something sharp.

soak them in hot-ish water for an hour and you can get them over a phone box