Art Razor

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TJ's Art Razor
1. Art comes from the heart and inspires further art.
2. Art is not artifice.
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Art, based on what it portrays and conveys, may be classified as:

1) What-is
Represents reality as it is. This is not a simple level to achieve. Needs to contain poignant, accurate and unobvious observations.

2) What-can(not)-be
Elements of fantasy thrown in to the mix. A parallel world is created by the art-piece, possibly with its own rules and paradigms. The more it seems like reality, the higher its quality.

3) What-should-be
Nuggets of wisdom and presentations of perfection, showing us what is wrong with our reality. This needs to be subtly mixed in, otherwise it will irritate.

The best art blends elements of all three and needs to be interpretable at all three levels.

Half-Baked Microwave Tips

HALF-BAKED MICROWAVE TIPS

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Your microwave can be used for more things than just reheating stuff. This pinch of theory might be what's needed to set you on your way!

HYPOTHESES

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1. CLOSED LID PRINCIPLE

Closed lid ensures that things get cooked properly. (Heat retention)

2. OPEN LID PRINCIPLE

Open lid = food just gets heated. Of course if you heat it long enough , things might get cooked, but prefer to apply Principle 1!

a) Use open lid for reheating.

b) Open lid for initial mixing of masala (or base) with oil == the aroma spreading.

3. PASSIVE COOKING PRINCIPLE

Cooking continues for 2-3 minutes after you turn off power (if lid is closed).

LAB NOTES

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1. For cooking rice. Add Rice and water in the ratio: 1: 2 (min) . Depending on the type of rice, water needs to be 2 to 2.5. And remember, 2 cups of rice will be enough for 3 people.

2. Cut chicken, potato & carrots into smaller pieces before cooking. Chicken in a gravy takes 15-20 minutes on medium (depending on the size of the pieces).

3. Don't add too much salt or water; it increases cooking time. Add these only, say, 2-3 minutes from the end.

4. Don't always put the oven on maximum. Medium has a meaning too!

5. Prefer to slightly undercook than to overcook. That is, if you see, say, 10 minutes in a recipe don't make it 12 or 15, just to "make sure" that things get cooked "properly".

6. For better results, stir contents at 6 minute intervals or so - to ensure proper heat circulation and so that the contents

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DISCLAIMER: These are experimental findings From TJ's Microwave Lab.

Use at own risk! ;-) Author shall not be forced to partake of failed applications.

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Net Games

1. Don't try to win the point on your serve directly. Don't try too hard for that ace! It could lead to cheap points being given and takes away some of the fun.

2. Look and hit.

3. See where your opponent is, just after he hits his shot and just before you hit yours.

Apostrophe Catastrophe

Came across this post in Blogosphere about apostrophe abuse. Ended up writing a ditty there.. but could not edit it there... could not editee/a written ditty.

The abuse of the apostrophe is on my list of pet peeves as well. (The under-use of the hyphen is a close second)

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APOSTROPHE CATASTROPHE
Or, The abuse of apostrophe's,
Or, Its not right,
Or, Soon it will find it's grave!
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Loud and strong
Proud and long
Grammarians complain
But it's all in vain
It'll happen now, and again
Then it'll be the common strain!
Sound and fury down the drain
Might as well say "Amen"!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Current Jokes

While in school, we were taught that the waveform for AC is a sine curve.
The representation of the signal was like: ^u^u^u^u or /\/\/\/\/\/\/\ with a line passing through it: you know what I mean.

This realization led to the postulation of the following explanations/justifications.

1. Why don't birds on wires get electrocuted?
Because they might be perched on a section of the wire through which the wave-form doesn't pass.

2. Why we need not pay for electricity.
Because the current comes to our home and then goes right back to the power-station.

Yup, these are PJs.

3. How could power-cuts possibly help to save energy?
The power was generated by water falling on the turbines. The power was being generated anyway (other localities would have power), the water was falling. It could not go back up, so weren't we actually wasting that water!