The Stuff I Didn't Get To -- 2/17/07

-Think of your own snarky headline, I'm busy being awed-
An australian paraglider has to have set some sort of record. Ewa Wisnerka was caught in a storm system that whipped her higher in the atmosphere than the height of Mt. Everest. She went from altitude of 2,500 ft to an estimated 32,000 in about 15 minutes as she was "sucked so high that she blacked out and became encased in ice." Another glider, He Zhongpin of China, was also caught in the system and didn't survive, dying of lack of oxygen and extreme cold.

Wisnerka landed 40 miles from her original position and suffered frostbite to her face. She estimates her chances of surviving her ordeal were "almost zero." During her flight, she encountered "hail the size of oranges" and temperatures as low as minus 58 degrees fahrenheit. As she descended, she says she felt like an astronaut. "I could see the Earth coming — wow, like Apollo 13 — I can see the Earth." It's certain (at least to me) that she must've been able to see the curvature of the Earth. She's damned lucky to have seen that from a glider and damned luckier to have survived seeing that from a glider. (Telegraph)

-SWAT team needs an alarm clock-
A Walhalla, SC man found himself in a four hour standoff with police after the fact. 26 year old, who apparently hasn't been named, had run his mother out of the house with a gun. "Officers surrounding the home first heard breaking glass and other noise, but then heard nothing from the man, despite making calls on a telephone." After four hours, police gave up and gained entry to the house. The suspect was asleep on a recliner. (AP)

-Maybe he was trying to keep warm-
Fire crews arriving at the home of Darrell Mossof Idaho Falls found him outside in a state of undress, setting fire to his house. "The 57-year-old was naked and had red Magic Marker writing all over his chest and legs, with one drawing depicting a heart with an arrow through it, the report stated... Fire personnel tried to get Moss away from the house because ammunition was going off inside, but he wouldn't cooperate and started fighting with police." See, that's what happens when you forget St. Valentine's Day. Moss remains hospitalized. (Idaho Falls Post Register)