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So Watson the ubersmart computer beat the competition by a long shot last night on Jeopardy!, and now ZDNet brings news of a technology that is set to revolutionize the home kitchen. Intel is working to create kitchen counters with built-in touch-screens that essentially instruct how to cook and organize in the kitchen.

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Mayor Bloomberg may want to take away our salt, but he can't seem to stay on message. His do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do approach to pushing healthier food on New Yorkers is well known, including in a New York Times article that documented how much he loves Cheez-Its and salty pizza. But at a recent press conference, Bloomberg surpassed himself.

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Chapter 6: The Conclusion

Twice a week or so, a notice would be slipped under the door from the apartment building's managing agent, bragging that some progress in the no-gas situation was about to occur. It would say something like, "Be in your apartment from noon till 4 pm today, when an inspector from the city will arrive to inspect your gas pipes," or "the plumbers will be here tomorrow, so be prepared to let them in your apartment between the hours of 8 am and 2 pm," or "The super needs to get in your apartment on Friday," with no explanation why, but with the subject line on the memo reading "Re: Gas Shut-Off."More >>

Chapter 5: Timing is Everything

I had assumed that the gas shut-off would continue for a few days. Boy, was I ever wrong! Days gradually turned into weeks, and then I found myself at the one-month anniversary of the gas leak. I began to be paranoid. A friend who was a corporate chef called to remind me that the gas in his East Village co-op had remained shut off for seven years, making the place impossible to sell, since it could garner no Certificate of Occupancy in the gas-less condition. About the same time, an article appeared in New York magazine telling how, when the gas is shut-off, the intricate ballet of Con Ed employees, housing department inspectors, and repairmen (so far, no repairwomen), can take months to complete.

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Chapter 4: Pot Luck

I'd learned to boil hot water on my new hot plate by turning the throttle up to 5 and waiting 5 minutes and 34 seconds, and was soon happily drinking cups of Earl Grey tea and press-pot coffee as if I had a real stove. I didn't miss the gas at all.

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Chapter 3: The Test Drive

[Read the continuing saga from the beginning here.]

Arriving home one day to find the gas shut off in my West Village apartment building, I ran out and bought a one-burner hot plate for $29.95. The one with two burners cost only $10 more, but what did I need two burners for? The gas would be turned on again in a day or two, I was certain, and the prospect of finding a place to stash the two-burner model in my tiny apartment was as daunting as the temporary shut-off. 

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Chapter 2: Reality Sets In

[Note--You can read the first chapter of this continuing saga here. A new episode appears every Friday at 9 a.m.]

I stared at my faithful stove in disbelief. No flame had appeared when I'd turned on the burner, and a Con Ed notice on the door downstairs had informed me that the gas had been shut off for the entire building. I later found out it was due to a leak in one of the apartments upstairs, where some slapdash renovations were in progress. Drats!

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Chapter 1: How It Happened

It began innocuously enough. I came home one evening to find a pale green notice crudely taped to the front door of my tenement. It was from Con Ed, and read: "All Gas Service Shut Off Due To Leak On Building Piping."

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