On  August 16, 1960 Joseph Kittinger ran one of 3 series of tests for the U.S. Air Force called Project Excelsior.

Jumping from a hot air balloon at a world record of  102,800 feet (31,333 meters) to test high-altitude parachutes and the effects on the human body. His descent took almost 14 minutes and reached speeds of  614mph. Reaching temperatures of -90 degrees and nearing the speed of sound.

This has to be one of the most amazing recordings as he  jumped with a camera at hand. Till this day Joseph Kittinger holds the record for the highest jump in history.

Below is a clip of the jump. The clip is edited after 2:20, as it was used in one of my fav  Scottish electronic music duo,  Boards of Canada.

Recently, Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner at an attempt to break the 50 year  record.

we all know that it’s a bad economy and the media has done a great job at keeping us on the edge of our seats. every time a new report comes out from the economists or from wall street, a barrage of coverage ensues. we’ve heard it all when it comes to the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch or unemployment rates.

maybe it’s me, but one thing that i have not seen or heard covered in the local new york news is the rising homeless rate. now i don’t have any real numbers to back this up, just casual observation. i’ve been in this city for 37 years and i’ve pretty much seen it all. i can definitely tell you that in the 80’s and early/mid 90’s the homeless problem was rampant. and although i was not a huge guiliani fan, he did at least clean up the visible aspect of the homeless (no, bussing them to the outer boroughs does not count as help). anyone remember the tent cities under the manhattan bridge (which just turned 100 years old) or in thompkins square park?

well, in the last year - probably due to the economy and the lack of funds for public services - the homeless are everywhere and it’s definitely a saddening sight. you don’t have to look too hard to see them in the street, but the one thing that really got to me was seeing the amount of people sleeping in penn station. the weather is getting colder and people need to be indoors, but it was really shocking to see all hallways lined with sleeping bodies. where are the human services professionals? where are the city agencies to help these people? surely the police know that they’re out on the street. are there no reports filed?

as for our newly re-elected mayor who personally spent $100 million on his campaign and has risen to be one the wealthiest men in the world during his last two terms in new york, where is his compassion in all of this? mr mayor, if you love your city so much i’m sure you could find some way to help these poor people. it doesn’t take billions to be a philanthropist. and in case you don’t see them from your limo, take a walk with me on my route to work, they’re impossible to miss.