Scouts

Last week on The 404 Podcast, we talked about the Boy Scouts of America's newest merit badge for Geocaching that teaches young men how to use a GPS Navigation device to locate hidden containers across the world. Today, the Scouts have added a new tech-related achievement--a merit badge for playing video games.

To earn the patch, the Boy Scouts will have to explain why a rating system for games are important, create a schedule with an adult to play games after chores and homework are done, and to only play games approved by a parent, guardian, or teacher.

Geocaching? Video games? Were the Boy Scouts always such tech nerds? Don't they belong to the outdoorsy subcategory of dorks? In fact, the three of us specifically chose not to join the Boy Scouts (unless you count Webelo Yu) as children, favoring LAN parties and D&D tournaments instead. So here's our idea: how about rewards for learning computer skills that actually have a purpose, maybe for building a Web site or learning how to use Adobe Photoshop? As it stands, look out for a lot more overweight, lazy Scouts rolling to a crosswalk near you.

404 listeners with a fear of flying will either be terrified or relieved by the FAA asking all airlines to ensure the concentration of their pilots in flight, which includes restricting pilots' use of personal electronics like laptops and handheld gaming devices.

We're alarmed that this is even a problem, but the FAA cited a case in Minnesota where a plane flew 150 miles off course because the pilots were too distracted by their laptops to pay attention to the navigation controls. So the next time you walk by the cockpit and see the pilots playing Microsoft Flight Simulator X, send them this link but maybe tell them to read it later.

When Iranican cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted last week blaming earthquakes on "women who do not dress modestly," American student Jen McCreight took it upon herself to create the Boobquake Facebook Group with hopes that all members would join her on April 26 in showing tons of cleavage to disprove their supernatural powers.

Well, in an ironic twist of fate, Taiwan suffered a 6.5 magnitude earthquake on April 26, validating Sedighi's cause-effect hypothesis to some. In reality, dozens of quakes occur dozens of times a day on Earth, and the Boobquake creators consider the day a success since the goal was to see if such phenomena increased in number or severity.

Either way, the guys at The 404 fully support your cause, Jen McCreight. Please let us know if you need shopping tips or wardrobe styling- we're happy to help!

The first half of today's extra silly episode of The 404 Podcast is all about the latest updates surrounding the iPhone 4G prototype found on a bar floor in Redwood City, California--turns out the phone really does belong to Apple, and Darth Jobs wants it back. Last night, Gizmodo posted a picture of a very brief letter sent to editorial director Brian Lam asking for the device in question, validating its authenticity as an Apple product. So now that it's out on the open, certain issues need to be addressed on our show.

First, should Gizmodo have outed the Apple engineer that misplaced the phone in the first place? What's going to happen to his job--should he be let go for his folly? What legal action can, or will, Apple take against Gizmodo for paying $10,000 for the phone? And finally, who is the secret identity of this "good Samaritan" that received said $10,000 from Gizmodo? The first half of the show attempts to answer these tricky questions.

To compound the workload of Apple PR, here's another story about a guy who also lost an Apple product, and more. Fifty-nine-year-old Bill Jordan from Colorado had just come out of an Apple store holding a brand new iPad in an Apple bag tied around his wrist, when all of a sudden he noticed two young men following him to the garage where he parked his car. Just as he got to the vehicle, the assailants attacked the man and tried to grab the bag in his hand, and what happens next is not for the faint of heart:

""He was almost sitting on the ground he was pulling so hard and it was still tied around my fingers; and it wouldn't come off and then finally he gave it one big jerk; and that's when he stripped the skin off my pinky and it went right down to the bone."

The worst part of the story is that he wasn't even buying the iPad for himself; he'd been asked by a coworker to pick one up for a "colleague in Canada who is being promoted!" OK, actually, the worst part is about his left pinky getting torn off, and our condolences go out to Jordan, who we can only guess will be a big proponent of online shopping from now on.

In addition to correcting an error in Calls From The Public, we also talk about the Boy Scouts of America's newest merit badge for GEOCACHING. For people who aren't king-size dorks, geocaching is a high-tech version of "hide and go seek," where participants use GPS devices to locate hidden containers across the world. That sounds like great fun for these savvy young men, but Wilson brings up a good point- should we be celebrating this underhanded throw of an accomplishment? Isn't this the equivalent of awarding a Firestarter badge to the kid with a Bic lighter and a newspaper in his hand?

Like today's episode? Add YOUR voice to The 404 Podcast by leaving a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET or send us an e-mail to the404(at)cnet(dot)com. Happy everything, everyone!