>>> Is there already a service industry afloat of people Bound At Low Leg On Ordinary Nature (short: BALLOON) trying to fish those before they escape into outer space?
>
>I believe that if you tie the pen to a helium Balloon, it rises rather than falling, eventually creating festoons of deflated downed pens in Dragan's back yard. IMHO we don't need NET/Rube Goldberg solutions for a simple issue: just hold onto your pen.

And don't keep wasting helium. My physicist son keeps reminding me that it's a limited resource:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/mar/18/helium-party-balloons-squandered

Tamar