Bug

COMPUTERS, the technological boon of the late 20th century, could turn into a bane when the clock strikes 12: 01 on Jan. 1, 2000. That's when modern society could come to a crashing halt, thanks to an oversight by pioneers of the computer age.In the formative years, programmers needed to save precious space in computer memories. So they abbreviated years with two digits (96, 97, etc.) in lines of code. But come 2000, that solution turns into a nightmare. Computers will read 00 as the year 1900, or they won't know what how to read the double zeros -- the mechanical equivalent of a nervous breakdown.

Injuries are inevitable in training camp. Now, with Saturday's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles fast approaching, the Ravens are battling a flu bug.Veteran free safety Eric Turner was a casualty yesterday, when he missed his first practice."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- His front shoulder no longer is flying open toward first base. His delivery is shorter and his windup more fluid. Through the first 3 1/2 weeks of spring training, Orioles right-hander Radhames Liz has looked like a different pitcher from the one who last year posted a 6.93 ERA in nine games. "His mechanics are much better," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "We noticed it when he came into spring training. He's throwing more strikes. He's throwing more strikes with his breaking pitch, and he didn't do that when we had him last year."

In yesterday's editions, a photograph of jockey Mike Luzz was incorrectly identified as Mark Johnston.The Sun regrets the errors.LAUREL -- Has the bug been exterminated from Maryland racing?Eddie Gaudet, who has coached many top "bugboys" to prominence on the circuit, says it has. Bobby Suggs, agent for an Eclipse Award-winning apprentice rider, says it has. Even veteran Maryland riders who stand to gain from the apprentices' lost business say it has.At issue: how a new rule in effect since August 1990 has impaired the development of apprentices in Maryland.

I DON'T NEED to fork over $15,700 for one of Volkswagen's New Beetles to recapture the spirit of the 1960s. I've still got it - or at least I still have what supposedly embodies it: My 1968 VW Bug.That's right: It's the same Beetle I've been driving for 30 years. And let me tell you, driving an icon isn't all the New Beetle marketers would have you believe it is. It wasn't then and it isn't now.No power steering; no power brakes; it's blistering in the summer with no air conditioning and freezing in the winter because the heater hasn't worked in years.

Talk about classic movie images and a few quickly come to mind: sparks flying from the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz, E.T. pointing at Elliott's heart, the snow globe shattering at the beginning of Citizen Kane. Then, of course, there's the VW Beetle winning an auto race in 1969's The Love Bug. Anyone who isn't charmed by the idea of a Beetle crossing the finish line first is either chronically churlish or isn't trying. Movie audiences, especially kids, have always been with the program, making a hit of The Love Bug as well as its four theatrical sequels (the last of which was 1980's Herbie Goes Bananas)

The Shuttle Bug, a colorful bus that has quickly become one of Baltimore's most popular modes of public transportation, will be making its debut this summer in neighborhoods around the harbor. It is unclear which neighborhoods will get the buses, which are adorned with a trademark insect logo and are an important ingredient in the state's goal of doubling transit ridership in the next 20 years. The MTA introduced the Shuttle Bug at the end of 2000 in Hampden, then added one in Mondawmin last year.

COLLEGE PARK - Professor Mike Raupp is close to his subject of scholarly study. Very close. When a fiercely buzzing bee lands on a flower beside him, he leans over to pet it. "A sweet bumblebee," he says, stretching out a finger to stroke its fuzzy yellow back. The bee, fortunately, doesn't seem to mind. Then again, Raupp doesn't have an ordinary mortal's fear of getting stung. He's a fan of spiders. He collects strange beetles. He lets mosquitoes bite him. He considers bumblebees "docile" and likes to play with a scary-looking "assassin bug" on his office desk.

Summer camp at a pristine estuarine research center in Abingdon is all about appreciating nature. The staff at the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center on Otter Point Creek teaches children to paddle a canoe, build a shelter and light a fire. Campers hike along the shore, chase a frog hopping through the marsh and identify an animal by its tracks. Or, maybe, if they are a tad too young for the more strenuous activities, they decorate picture frames with leaves and milkweed pods, capture small insects in a bug box and race mealworms on paper plates.

Some artists are inspired by bowls of fruit, others by misty landscapes. But the elementary-aged entomologists in a two-week camp at the Howard County Center for the Arts were inspired by bugs. The camp, for kids 6 to 8 years old, used bugs as a focal point for a range of projects. The 20 pupils made papier-mache bugs, watercolor paintings of bugs, tissue-paper sculptures of bugs and even "bug rugs" of woven strips of paper. The class wrapped up with a show of the work created by the young artists.