Dr. Drang heats his water up in the microwave for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Here is why it isn’t a moment longer:
The annoyance came from the turntable in the microwave and the handle on the measuring cup. I’d put the cup in with the handle pointing out, and 2:45 later I’d open the door and the handle was around to the other side. The cup was too hot to grab elsewhere, so I had to snake my hand around to the back to reach the handle. Not a big deal, but after months of doing it I finally realized that this wasn’t just some unlucky streak. The position of the handle when the microwave turned off wasn’t random, it was determined by the speed of the turntable (which I had no control over, but was constant) and the time I set (which I had complete control over).
Lazy? Genius? Sometimes the difference is indistinguishable. Remember the Walter Chrysler quote:
Whenever there is a hard job to be done I assign it to a lazy man. He is sure to find an easy way of doing it.
/via Marco Arment – who knows a thing or two about being anal.