In The Noise - January 18, 2010

Whoa. Nearly 400 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer - some of it nearly two years ago - is being recalled for fear of potentially tainting with deadly E. coli bacterium.

"Some of it nearly TWO YEARS AGO???" I don't think even "Hamburger Helper" can save this situation...

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A couple of days ago, Italian border guards were amazed to discover a 15-year-old Afghan boy hiding inside luggage. During a routine automobile spot check - the boy was found hidden in a zipped suitcase as he tried to illegally enter the country. Officers immediately arrested the Greek driver of the car carrying the suitcase.

Meanwhile, American Tourister has signed the boy to a commercial contract. The gorilla is history.

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In England, a BBC weather forecaster has suggested that the government's weather-forecasting super-computer has a 'warm bias' which has stopped it predicting bitter cold spells like the one they just experienced.

When interrogated about the claim, the super-computer stubbornly put up a cold front. It's future is hazy, at best.

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Closer to home, a San Diego middle school was evacuated when a student's science project was mistaken for an explosive device. The 11-year-old boy was trying to build a motion detector from instructions he found on the internet and with parts he bought online.

Perhaps he should have shopped on a website other than "Amabomb.com"!

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And geeks are abuzz as Apple officially alerted the world today that it is ready to unveil its latest "creation" — on the morning of Jan. 27 (set your iPhones!).

It is expected that the company CEO, Steve Jobs, will show off the latest much-anticipated marvel - a robotic shoe-maker.

Right! The Apple Cobbler.

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Finally, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Whew! Thank goodness for government acronyms - DARPA) will soon hold its first workshop in support of a flying car program it will begin this year known as the Transformer TX. The goal is to build a flying vehicle that will let soldiers avoid water, difficult terrain, and road obstructions - as well as roadside bombs and ambush threats.

Sounds like a great idea. And I understand it will undergo the most extreme testing in the most harrowing conditions - the L.A. freeway system...in the rain.