Michael Returns from Iraq

We interrupt the regularly scheduled ramblings for a late-breaking slice of real life.

My friend and fellow Portlander, journalist Michael Totten, has just returned to his home-away-from-home in Beirut, after a couple of weeks in northern Iraq (Kurdistan). Here's his post:
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001053.html

And don't forget to pay Michael an occasional visit at his homepage:
http://www.michaeltotten.com/

We now return you to our regular program of inane blather.

Hither and Yon

As is usually the case, my life is at loose ends. Currently there is no food in the fridge, almost no food in the freezer, and nine dollars in my wallet. My checking account was in the single digits last time I checked, too. (I haven't checked in a while.) A temp agency has set me up for a two- to three-week job starting this week, I had to fill out a background check form and take a pee test to prove I don't smoke weed, and now that I've jumped through all those hoops I have to wait for them to get back to me. Oh, and this agency requires that I fax in my timesheet AND fill out their online form, so that I can get paid a full week after the work week.

And then again, there's my uncle's estate. Which, after the Federal Government finishes taking their cut in taxes, could provide me enough income so that I'll never have to see the inside of a cubicle again. We're just waiting to hear back from the lawyers. Which could happen tomorrow. Or weeks from now.

So I'm standing on the corner of "Life Sucks" and "No Worries", waiting for the light to change. It's just weird.

Bagel Bleg

This one is addressed to the culinary science geeks out there.

Can anyone explain to me why a bagel turns into rubber cement after you put it in the microwave oven?

I've been dying to understand this mysterious and sinister process for a long time.