Boiled Eggs

I went to see my sick 30 year old during lunch, and he wanted soft boiled eggs and toast...Like his mother used to make him when he was sick. (That should have been my fist sign to run a mile). I got the toast ready and boiled the eggs, but as true JT Inc. we had a 15 min discussion on how long to boil eggs to get to soft boiled. Obviously by the time I took the eggs out to serve, they were hard boiled. No "as my mother made it" for lunch to make him feel better, and we still don't know how long to boil them till they are soft. Someone should invent an instrument or something to measure eggs while they are boiling or see the inside without breaking it open, so you know when it is soft boiled. Lets get those creative juices flowing and invent something, for me, to use to boil eggs....or I can just use an egg timer....