There is nothing apparent in the way of inside deals there, though the massive levels of networking (TEDizens must order business cards by the cubicfoot) make it impossible to say for sure.
That wind was traveling at 120 miles an hour, so we ended up with Felix in the capsule under this 30-million-cubic-foot balloon flying at 125 miles an hour to the east, which is amazing to think about, because at that altitude, it's the equivalent of about a 50-story building.