Oh man, I feel that deep in my soul. My smoke alarm is basically my kitchen timer at this point. There's something about boiling water that makes my brain just check out completely. Your rice packet move is smart though, it takes the whole "forgetting it on the stove" part out of the equation. I've been there with the charred pot bottom, and it's a special kind of defeat. Sometimes easy wins are the best ones, you know? Cooking is hard enough without adding fire alarms to the mix.