Oh THOSE noodles - like on a V brake.....no, she just has the inverted "Y" cable - a vertical cable which goes off to one brake arm at an angle of 120 degrees or so, and a short cable opposite it which attaches and detaches from the other brake arm to facilitate wheel installations.

I did check the brake lever barrel adjusters......they looked normal. I even adjusted them a bit - this is no small adjustment. It's like someone snuck in there and swapped in a cable that was an inch or two shorter!