Viswanathan K's Thoughts

This Blondie strip would apply to almost every guy: after all, it articulates a guy’s idea of a day off perfectly: I am sure no wife or mother would disagree with the above. You’d think a guy like Claude Shannon who invented information theory would be different (today that theory is behind the entire PC/laptop/cellphone/tablet revolution). Surely a guy that good would not be like Dagwood Bumstead, right? Wrong. Shannon also invented what he called the “ultimate machine”. Sounds very grand. Coming from the founder of information theory, you’d expect it to do something just short of being a perpetual motion machine. Well, prepare to be disappointed. And surprised. And amused. Here is Arthur C. Clarke’s description of Shannon’s “ultimate machine”: “It is merely a small wooden casket, the size and shape of a cigar box, with a single switch on one face. When you throw the switch, there is an angry, purposeful buzzing. The lid slowly rises, and from beneath emerges a hand...

Funny thing happened over lunch today. One of my friends who opened his lunch dabba exclaimed, “Looks like I got the wrong dabba today!” He went on to explain that his sister-in-law was visiting and he must have brought her dabba by mistake. And how did he know that? Because it had eggs with the yolk. And his wife would never allow him to have the yolk. Cholesterol and all that. And so our man happily gulped down the entire egg, yolk and all. Which set me thinking. About women. As grandmothers, they spoil you crazy with every conceivable goody, that needless to say is terrible for your health when you grow up. As mothers, they try and juggle what’s tasty with what’s good for you. Not always successful, but at least they try. Then comes the wife. She’s all business: “Eat this. Avoid that. Otherwise I’m the one who’ll have to take care of you when you are old and have all weird problems.” Yeah, yeah, I know they mean well, but hey, the heart wants what it wants. I wonder how...