Snake on Car (Video)

This is so creepy!

Here's the story:

Rachel and Tony Fisher were driving along in Memphis when a snake slithered onto the windshield.

Tony grabbed a camera and filmed the snake, while Rachel was behind the wheel.

Jeff Beimfohr reports it was an experience neither one of them will ever
forget.

"All of a sudden the thing is snaking up, like out of the engine, coming at us. And I'm like....what in the world."

What was a five-foot long snake slithering across the windshield as the fishers made their way down Sam Cooper Boulevard.

"That's just not something you're looking for, you know. We were just kind of, you know, nervously laughing as you can hear in the video."

While mom and dad may have been nervous, their three kids in the backseat, all under the age of three were anything but.

"They were just wanting to see it. They were just so frustrated they can't see it. They were saying 'I want to see, I want to see, I want to see."

The fishers posted their close encounter of the scaly kind on Youtube, and got a lot of flak for not pulling over to let the snake slither away.

"It never went across our minds to even think about stopping or pulling off to the side of the road."

"I mean we were going down the interstate, going fast, and the babies were in the car. I mean, we didn't even think about pulling over, yeah.
We didn't know what kind of snake it was. We just knew that it was on our windshield."

Eventually the snake just dropped off the car and went on his merry way. But that didn't seem to satisfy animal lovers in social media land.

"A lot of Facebook comments, I don't like snakes. I'm more scared of snakes probably than my wife is. And so, I was like I just want the thing off the car. I don't want to try to have to get out of the car and deal with it."

This couple didn't know if the snake was poisonous.

People are ripping on them for not pulling over and caring for the snake?

I'm not surprised. "Animal lovers" can be quite unforgiving.

Here's video:

Harold Camping: Judgment Day, End of the World

Are you ready?

Harold Camping says today, May 21, is Judgment Day.

That's not a WWE pay-per-view event. Camping and others believe the end of the world will happen today.

"There’s going to be a huge earthquake that’s going to make the big earthquake in Japan seem like a Sunday School picnic," said the 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, an independent ministry that has broadcast his forecast around the world.

Camping is basing his prediction on decades of studying the Bible and his belief that the Noah’s Ark flood happened in the year 4990 BC.

He claims that since 2 Peter 3:8 says that one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day to God, there will be seven thousand years between Noah's flood and the end of the world.

The seven days come from Noah having seven days to warn people about the coming disaster, so he assumes there will be seven days, translated to 7,000 years, between the flood and the destruction of earth.

So 4990 plus 2011, minus one because there was no year '0', equals 7,000 years.

I have plans this weekend.

The end of the world would be very inconvenient for me today.

Don Gorske: 25,000 Big Macs

UPDATE: 25,000 and counting; FdL's Big Mac man hits next milestone


A crowd of media representatives, friends, family and onlookers gathers around Fond du Lac's Don Gorske as he eats his 25,000th Big Mac at McDonald's in Fond du Lac./(The Reporter photo by Justin Connaher)

A McFlurry of media arrived in Fond du Lac Tuesday afternoon to capture a Big Mac moment.

At about 3:30 p.m., Don Gorske consumed his 25,000th Big Mac to cheers from the crowd that packed McDonald’s at 699 S. Military Road.

About eight television cameras jostled for position to film the world record while a band beneath the golden arches played Dixieland music to celebrate the Fond du Lac man’s accomplishment.

...[Owner Dave] Rause said he woke up Tuesday morning and thought, “Don did it.”

Gorske, he said, is the perfect customer.

“As a business, we’re exceptionally lucky to have a customer like Don,” Rause said. “He’s just an exceptional guy and a sweet, sweet man. He’s also a Big Mac enthusiast. When you have a customer who’s enthusiastic about your product, it’s a great thing.

“You hear a lot of bad news. Then you have a guy like Don who does something interesting from a human standpoint.”

Prior to eating his 25,000th burger, Gorske made a lap around Fond du Lac’s first McDonald’s and the 100th built in the company’s history to pass out free meal cards and shake the hands of his friends and admirers.

A group of students from Winnebago Lutheran Academy rushed out of school to witness the feat.

This really has to be Michelle Obama's worst nightmare.

I kind of want to eat a Big Mac.

Video, from the Associated Press:


__________________

It seems like just yesterday Don Gorske was downing his 23,000th Big Mac.

Actually, it was in September 2008.

Don Gorske bites into his 18,000th Big Mac in this November, 2001, file photo. (AP)

I don't now which is more astounding -- the fact that Don Gorske has consumed 23,000 Big Macs or the fact that he has lived to tell about it.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A 54-year-old man says his obsessive-compulsive disorder drove him to eat 23,000 Big Macs in 36 years.

Fifty-four-year-old Don Gorske says he hit the milestone last month, continuing a pleasurable obsession that began May 17, 1972.

...Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald's track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.

The only day he skipped a Big Mac was the day his mother died, to respect her request.

Today, Gorske will pass another milestone in the journey that he began on May 17, 1972.

He will consume Big Mac 25,000.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Don Gorske plans to eat his 25,000th Big Mac on the 39th anniversary of eating his first.

A special ceremony is planned at McDonald's in Fond du Lac Tuesday afternoon.

The 57-year-old Fond du Lac man said he ate nine on May 17, 1972 and has only missed nine days since then, for various reasons. He usually eats two a day.

He has kept most of the boxes or receipts or has made specific notes in calendars that he's kept.

Gorske said he probably has an obsessive-compulsive disorder but he doesn't consider it a problem.

He jokes that 25,000 is a milestone because people didn't think he'd live this long. But he said he recently saw a doctor who said he was in good health and his cholesterol was low.

Some people really can eat whatever they want and not suffer ill effects.

Take note, Michelle Obama.
________________

View the Fon du Lac Reporter's photo gallery of Gorske's Big Mac moments.

The guy really loves Big Macs.

THE WEDDING

And they lived happily ever after.
_____________

Another wedding:

Video of Prince William and Kate Middleton exchanging vows.

Kory McFarren and Pam Babcock

UPDATE, March 30, 2011: Another story of an individual physically stuck to a seat, in this case a chair.

Video: Morbidly Obese Ohio Man Fused to Chair

UPDATE: According to WKKX, the man has died.
________________

UPDATE, October 7, 2008: Beau of woman stuck on toilet wins lottery again

A Kansas man whose girlfriend was physically stuck to the toilet in their home wins $20,000 in the state Lottery, for the second time this year.

Kory McFarren cashed in his winning $2 Bonus Crossword ticket in Great Bend Monday. On July 29, the 37-year-old received six months of probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor mistreatment of a dependent adult.

________________

UPDATE, July 30, 2008: Boyfriend of woman stuck to toilet gets probation

Kory McFarren pleaded no contest last month to a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult. A judge sentenced him Tuesday to six months in jail but granted the probation after the victim, Pam Babcock, asked for leniency.

"She didn't believe that her circumstances were his fault," Ness County Attorney Craig Crosswhite said.

...She is now under the protection of a guardian who was appointed through the legal department at the hospital where she received treatment.

Also Tuesday, McFarren was sentenced to six months in jail for an unrelated charge of lewd and lascivious behavior for exposing himself to a teenage neighbor in March.

So McFarren will be doing some jail time, but on a charge unrelated to the toilet incident.
________________

UPDATE, March 26, 2008: Kan. woman recovering from toilet ordeal

A woman who may have spent nearly two years in a bathroom, sitting on the toilet so long that the seat adhered to sores on her body, remains hospitalized and in pain from medical procedures, family members said Wednesday.

Pam Babcock, 35, was found stuck to the toilet in late February after her boyfriend, Kory McFarren, 37, called authorities to say something was wrong with her. Police believe she sat on the toilet for about a month.

McFarren was charged last week with a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult.

Pat Bollinger, the woman's aunt, said she calls daily to the hospital to ask how Babcock is doing and asks every day to talk to her. Babcock has agreed to talk to her only once for about 10 minutes, she said.

During that one call, Babcock spoke little and mostly listened as Bollinger recounted happy family memories — time spent swimming, camping and boating — from the year Babcock lived with them in Arizona when she was in fifth grade.

Babcock has not spoken about her bathroom ordeal, said Bollinger, the family spokeswoman.

"I didn't bring up anything," Bollinger said. "I just let her know how much I loved her and cared for her."

Babcock's relatives said that no family members have been allowed to see her at the hospital, that they know little of her medical condition and that she spends much of her time sleeping at the hospital's intensive care unit.

"Her wounds are still serious. ... She is not out of the woods by any means. She is a very sick girl," Bollinger said.

_______________

Some advice: If your significant other refuses to leave the bathroom for a period of time long enough that it's necessary for you to bring in meals and clean clothes, contact authorities. Don't wait for two years before getting help.

NESS CITY, Kan. -- A man should be charged for allowing his girlfriend to sit on their toilet so long that her body became stuck to the seat, the sheriff said Thursday.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple was among authorities who discovered the woman last month living in the bathroom of a mobile home she shared with her boyfriend, Kory McFarren.

"The house was cluttered but not in shambles," he said. "The smell was overpowering — a terrible smell about the house, obviously coming from where she was at."

McFarren, 36, told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, 35, had a phobia about leaving the bathroom and may not have left the bathroom in two years, although he's unsure how long she was in there.

He said during that time, he brought her food, water, and clean clothes.

"The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The sheriff said that judging by the woman's condition — she had open sores on which the toilet seat would stick — it appeared she likely sat on the toilet continually for at least a month.

"She would have to be sleeping on the toilet," the sheriff said.

Whipple asked the county attorney to charge McFarren for mistreatment of a dependent adult. The prosecutor did not return phone calls seeking comment.

"The unfortunate thing is this truly is a case of two people, in my opinion, with diminished mental capacity," Whipple said.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day. The home has a second bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy, as if she didn't know what was going on around her.

McFarren says, "The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner."

No kidding.

This is such a bizarre story. It reads like a screenplay for an indie film.

Obviously, Babcock has serious mental health issues. A healthy person doesn't remain in the bathroom for two years.

McFarren has issues, too. A normal person doesn't allow his girlfriend to hole up in a bathroom for years and become physically attached to the toilet.

Very creepy.

The story will probably surface at the Sundance Film Festival.

Crane Guy Drama Ends

From AP:

Atlanta Crane Standoff Ends
Saturday, May 28, 2005

ATLANTA — A homicide suspect who spent 56 hours perched on an 18-story construction crane was in custody early Saturday after police climbed the structure and arrested him, authorities said.

"Apparently, he was thirsty," said Atlanta police Sgt. John Quigley.

The man, identified as Carl Edward Roland, got onto the crane around 5 p.m. Wednesday and told police he was thinking of killing himself by jumping, police spokesman Sgt. John Quigley said.

Roland is wanted by the Pinellas County, Fla., sheriff's department in the death of ex-girlfriend Jennifer L. Gonzalez, 36, whose body found Tuesday. An arrest warrant affidavit accuses Roland of strangling Gonzalez and dumping her body in a pond behind the apartment complex where she lived.

So, Roland got thirsty.

Police had previously offered him food and water, but he refused.

Note to alleged murderers: If during a standoff with police you are cornered on an 18-story construction crane and they offer you hydration, accept it.

Crane Guy

By now, everyone is familiar with drama going on in Atlanta. Carl Edward Roland, the "crane guy," took up residence on a crane at a construction site in the Buckhead section of Atlanta on Thursday. Roland is a suspect in the murder of Jennifer Gonzalez of Oldsmar, his ex-girlfriend.

Since about 4:30 on Wednesday, Roland has been perched on the crane's boom. He has disrupted traffic in Atlanta's busy Buckhead business district, while resisting all efforts by authorities and friends and family to talk him down off the crane.

Enough is enough.

The guy is an "alleged" murderer. The efforts to save him resemble attempts to negotiate with a troubled suicidal person, rather than the suspected killer of Jennifer Gonzalez. Police offered him food and water, which he refused. He did take a jacket they gave him when temperatures dropped at night.

It sounds hard-hearted, but--

Why the sympathy? Roland is not a little girl trapped after falling down a well.

Authorities say Roland strangled Gonzalez, leaving her body in a retention pond near her apartment. He had no mercy for her.

This game needs to end now.

I hope Amnesty International and the International Red Cross is taking note of how suspected criminals are treated in the United States.