How to deposit a layer of carbon onto a Stainless steel vessel?

How to deposit a layer of carbon onto a Stainless steel vessel?

Did you ever wonder how to deposit a layer of pure carbon on to the surface of a Stainless Steel vessel? I achieved it easily but accidentally through a simple act of negligence, nay, forgetfulness: kept the vessel with half a litre of milk on the stove for boiling and forgot about it. Result: Nice perfect coating all through, making the vessel unrecognizable, unusable and irretrievable for ever.

Other accompaniments of this ‘accident’ are:

•    overflown milk on kitchen slab involving half an hour hard labor to clean it up;
•       pervading and persistent stench of burnt milk for an hour or so;
•       loss of milk necessitating purchase of fresh stock;
•       mental stress in thinking out how to hide this fact from my daughter
•       Going without second cup of coffee for the day
•       Overhearing talks among neighbors: “somebody’s kitchen is in flame

Have I learnt anything as how to avoid such mishaps from recurring? Here are some tips:

 

·       Make it a habit to stay, watch and switch off stove without chance for distraction
·       Set a timer for however little time it might be.
·       Use a bigger vessel so that milk won’t boil and overflow dirtying the kitchen slab
·       Apply a thin layer of glycerin around inner rim of the vessel to prevent overflowing
·       Use the erstwhile aluminum based ‘milk-boiler’ that gives a whistle when done
·       If you are away for any reason, don’t close the door lest you miss the smell of charring.

Only consoling factor in this unpleasant episode is that I realised that forgetfulness is a blessing in disguise once again. I could smell burnt milk and charring far away in my bedroom where I was immersed with laptop chores; this suggests  that I am unlikely to be a victim of COVID-19 as of now.

==============================================

Will there be a dip in childbirth in 2021

Will there be a dip in Child birth in 2021?

During intensive lockdown period due to Covid-19, one of the many precautions dinned into our ears is Social Distancing. Though this is generally meant for occasions involving public presence or participation, practicing it as a norm within the house was also envisaged. After all, preventing infection need not be restricted to outsiders! If the majority of Indians had followed this rule’ strictly, there is a likelihood of a significant dip in child births during last quarter of 2020 or first quarter of next year. The assumption is that couples in reproductive age group might have abstained from sex to conform to the norms of social distancing.

 We have heard of several ‘bold’ marriages having been solemnized during the ‘dark’ days, thanks to TV and print media. Do you think these newly wedded couples would have kept quiet? Anyhow the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we have wait for a few more months. However, we can get some predictive hints if we tap obstetricians, nursing homes, maternity homes, hospitals and the like to verify if couples coming for maternity check up has decreased in any good measure. Most visit such diagnostic clinics more to find out the gender of the future entrant, although this is against PNDTA

 

When I discussed this issue with a friend, he argued that bulk of the people – may be 80% of the population, did not have any worthwhile activity to do, confined to their houses all the time. That is all the reason why people might have tested their fecundity status on feeble minded partners. So child birth rate will increase, he surmised.

 

I have not done any big study but cursory google search confirms that there will be fewer births in coming months. On the other hand, the burden on the society from increasing older persons population is serious and real. How the mismatch between the aged who need more caregivers and reduction in available carers can be handled is to be watched.