Toxic Food Outbreak time, the power of social media sites on display and the iPad is surging

- Toxic Food Outbreak! Toxic Food Outbreak! Man, I love striking panic into people’s hearts with that rally cry and this time, there’s actually a legitimate reason to do it. For that, I have to thank my friends at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who announced over the weekend that federal public health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak that has infected 22 people in 10 states. The illnesses are believed to be linked to the consumption of raw alfalfa sprouts, the CDC said. I’ve always had my doubts about alfalfa sprouts and those to produce them, so let’s just say California-based Caldwell Fresh Foods has been on my radar for some time. The company, in a thoroughly predictable maneuver, is recalling all alfalfa sprouts manufactured under three of its brands because they may be contaminated with salmonella. Caldwell admitted its alfalfa sprouts have been associated with the outbreak, but was quick to point out that there have been no deaths reported from the outbreak. So far, four of those infected have been hospitalized, leaving CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and with state public health officials to investigate the salmonella outbreak. In the case, what tends to expedite the process is outrage over a particularly weak - very young or very old, typically - person affected by the outbreak. This time around, we have an infant hospitalized in Oregon after eating alfalfa sprouts, said Paul Cieslak, manager of the state health department's communicable disease section. The salmonella strain, called Salmonella Newport, has been traced to raw alfalfa sprouts from a single sprout processor in California, the CDC said with out naming Caldwell Fresh Foods directly. Ground zero for the problem seems to be California, where half of those sickened by Salmonella Newport reside. And by the way, what’s better than a company issuing a “voluntary” recall as Caldwell Fresh Foods has done, as if it is doing something truly magnanimous and munificent on behalf of those endangered by its potentially deadly product? Like the CDC wasn’t going to force you do to that anyhow, ass hats. Problem is, the alfalfa sprouts were distributed to various restaurants, delicatessens and retailers across the country, including Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart stores. Infections linked to the outbreak have also been identified in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin…..so far. The first reported illness occurred on March 1 and those affected have mostly suffered diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection, with the illness usually lasting four to seven days. Death is a possible end result if the infection isn’t treated properly, although it certainly should never get that far. Then again, a company shouldn’t be selling toxic alfalfa sprouts in the first place, but maybe my expectations for food are just too lofty…………

- I have to admit, even being a huge Apple guy like I am, finding out that sales of the iPad are already bettering those of the Mac in the United States is stunning to me. Yes, the iPad is still an oversized, overpriced and glorified iPod Touch with no built-in cameras, spotty wireless connectivity and a reliance on touch-screen technology that I still can't get with. However, a lot of Americans appear to be down with the iPad because Apple is selling more than 200,000 of them per week, according to market analysis. By comparison, Mac computers sell an average about of 110,000 units each week. Next up on the hit list for the iPad is the iPhone, which is now moving at a pace of 246,000 units per week during the smartphone’s first quarter of launch. Tossing more confounding numbers onto the heap, Apple announced in early May that it sold one million iPads after only one month. Estimates have sales projections for the year at 8 million iPads in 2010, up from earlier projections. Those estimates are admittedly shaky because the iPad has only been selling for a month and a half, so the market could definitely reach a saturation point before the end of 2010. However, the fact that it is already outpacing the Mac computer family, which includes the Mac Mini, iMac and MacBook Pro, is impressive to even me. Sure, the iPad comes in six different configurations, but to me, they are all totally overrated and overpriced. In keeping with good business practices, Apple has not marketed the iPad as a computer replacement, looking to position the tablet as a new device category bridging the gap between a smartphone and a computer. That way, it can keep pushing both products without hurting sales of one another - at least theoretically. Now, none of this means I’m going to be splurging and spending $600 or $700 on an iPad any time soon (or ever), but I do have to recognize the success Apple has had with the product………..

- Athletes and nightclubs are an explosive mix. It almost doesn’t matter the sport or the city, but NFL players seem to be the worst possible combo with clubs and Green Bay Packers defensive end Johnny Jolly isn’t helping with the problem. Jolly finds himself in even deeper legal waters than he was in before and it’s all thanks to a flyer advertising a party he allegedly hosted at a Houston nightclub earlier this month. That flyer was enough to get Jolly into trouble with a judge on Friday, resulting in tougher restrictions for his bond on a pending 2008 felony drug charge. When prosecutor Todd Keagle asked state District Judge Mike Anderson to raise Jolly's bond and order he undergo additional drug testing during a court hearing in the case, Anderson concurred. He did so largely on the strength of a flyer featuring Jolly’s picture and proclaiming that he hosted a May 7 party at a Houston nightclub called "The Blue Door." That’s a problem because even though Jolly's bond does not stop him from going to nightclubs, it does prevent him from using drugs or alcohol. Keagle argued that Jolly has been a regular on the nightclub circuit since his July 2008 arrest outside another Houston club for illegally possessing at least 200 grams of codeine (Maybe dude just had a bad toothache?) In his defense, Jolly's attorney, Michelle Beck, told Anderson her client's name is often used to promote "social functions" and there was no evidence he attended the party. She added that her client has not tested positive for drug or alcohol use since his arrest, which was enough to convince the judge not to raise Jolly's $10,000 bond. However, Anderson did ordered him to submit a hair sample for additional drug testing, adhere to a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, be evaluated by a drug counselor and to not attend "clubs or any other establishment where drugs or alcohol are used." As a quick aside, why not just say all clubs, period? There is isn’t a club anywhere that doesn’t have both drugs and booze on hand in ample supply. "I had better not see any more flyers like this," Anderson chided Jolly while holding up a copy of the flier. "Yes sir," Jolly meekly responded. Oh, and it didn’t sit well with Anderson that Jolly allegedly hosted the party just two days after missing a previous court hearing because of appendicitis. Of course, I share all of this having no experience in terms of being picked up after 1 a.m. in the parking lot of a club known for drug and gun use, stopped by a police gang unit because of excessive noise coming from amplified bass music coming from my ride and arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance after police "smelled the strong odor of codeine" in cups in my vehicle, so I can’t say exactly how Jolly must be feeling. However, I can say that if I found myself in that sort of legal trouble, I would probably make at least a passable effort to lay low and adhere to the terms of my bond…………

- Here I am, torn on this next story. On the one hand, women’s sports don’t play a huge role in my life and if they were all gone tomorrow, I can't say that I would be that much worse off (save for my girl Maria Sharapova). On the other hand, no one becomes angrier more quickly than me when someone tries to rip my rights and tell me I can’t do something. So I don’t know what to think of Sheik Abdul Karim al-Khudhair, a senior Saudi Arabian cleric who has urged the Saudi government to uphold a ban on women's sports in the kingdom despite increasing demand to ease the restrictions. His argument is that sports are "corrupting" and "satanic" for women, views he espoused in a released statement Sunday. Yes, dude just called women’s sports corrupting and satanic. How the devil is involved in women’s tennis, I don’t know. So I think I have a position on this issue and it’s squarely against al-Khudhair and his bass-ackwards idea that women should stay at home. Again, this guy is attacking the right of hot chicks to play sports like volleyball, tennis and field hockey and do so in skin-tight outfits. My man, this is NOT cool. Making matters worse, al-Khudair is a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, which is in charge of the kingdom's Islamic affairs. On the opposing side of the issue is the Saudi Education Ministry, which has recently announced that starting next school year it will introduce a new curriculum in the country's schools that includes programs to provide social skills and creativity, a move that could include the addition of sports to girls’ schools. If it gives us the next Saudi Maria, then I have to say, I’m all for it…………

- Hey, whaddya know? There is actually a defensible reason for the average person to have a Twitter feed. Matthew Keys, an online news producer for KTXL FOX40 News in Sacramento, California, proved as much recently when he was reunited with his long-lost brother via the social media site. Keys, clearly a big fan of social media and networking sites, recently spotted a message that led him to a piece of news that he didn't previously "catch" -- a message from a man named Adam Smith reading: "Hey is your mom's name Jackie?" After reading the message at midnight, Keys was admittedly startled. "I have a routine of checking my e-mail, Twitter and Facebook before bed each night, just in case something happened during the evening that I didn't catch, " Keys explained. "Adam and I actually met in a web forum. Neither of us can remember exactly how we came to meet, but we kept in touch off and on over the past year on MSN and Skype." After seeing a picture of Smith, he realized that the two of them had spoken before. Now fully intrigued, Keys fired up Skype and messaged Smith. "He started telling me things from my childhood that I had heard bits and pieces of growing up -- things nobody could have possibly known," Keys said. "I gave him my cell phone number and told him to call me. After a few minutes talking on the phone, it became pretty clear to both of us that he and I were related. We wound up speaking on the phone for four hours, so much so to the point that I had to take the next day off from work to sleep!" The connection was easier for Smith to make because several years ago, his mother told him that his father had other children, and mentioned a few names, including Keys'. "At some point, Adam started asking his mom and our dad about me and something in him pushed him to ask me on Twitter details about my biological mom," Keys says. As the two men got to know each other, they were amazed to find that they live just 10 minutes away from each other. Both are now even bigger fans of Facebook and Twitter now than they were before and for once, I can't say I blame them…………