Momentary Puzzle...

Today, I looked at something in the time that puzzled me for a moment. Thought it was interesting enough to share. I was looking at a set of start and end times (wall clock time). I saw something that started at 12:33PM and ended by 10:24PM...Hmm...for a moment, I thought there was something wrong. Shouldnt the end time be always greater than the start time unless ofcourse it was the next day? As you can see, it is not. If the start time lies in the 12:00-12:59 domain, the end time will be smaller than the start time... One can probably build a puzzle around this...

Breakfast

I have a unique experience with breakfast everyday.

An experience cannot be unique when it happens everyday. Here's the thing: it is unique because it probably seldom happens elsewhere.

First of all, I make and eat breakfast at work, in the break room. Most of us do. Our office is in the city, and most of us live in the suburbs. We have some archaic kitchen devices to use. Have you ever seen a plain jane toaster give you the mental satisfaction of making toast, burning toast and making pancakes all at the same time?

Our toaster does it all and more. A judicious mix of perseverance, grogginess and lack of enthusiasm to get to work is what keeps us all going to the poor toaster everyday, though the toaster begs retirement. So, this is how is starts:

1) We pop in the bread, and select the darkness level.
2) Twiddle your thumbs and wait (maybe I'll time this one day)
3) It pops noisily and the bread slides back into the toaster (yep it does)
4) You lift the toaster and shake it upside down to extricate the slice of bread
5) It is either too light or too dark, and only 1 side is toasted.
6) This is where you get the pancake feeling because you have to flip the toast and wait for the other side to get done!
7) Depending on the result in step (5), you adjust the darkness level
8) Repeat steps (2) through (4)
9) It is either too dark or too light now
10) End result doesn't matter because the taste would cancel out the burnt portion and not toasted enough sides of the toast

That, with a hot cup of coffe somehow nudges the old brain awake, and I start work!

Runner's wall

No I'm not referring to the dumbass runner smacking right into a wall after being suitably distracted by other attractive trail runners (though that happens too). I'm talking about the much dreaded physiological wall that most amateur runner's hit when their body literally runs out of fuel. Before I get into that- a mild diversion to better understand the context.

For most runners, there has been that perfect run. I'm talking about those long runs where it feels like nothing can go wrong. The sun is warm with a gentle cool breeze tickling every sweat inducing pore. You are running fast but you just feel like you can keep going on and on and on. Your lungs breathing with perfect rhythm, much like a locomotive cruising through. Your body is in complete cruise mode and your mind is elated and free to wander about filling itself with happy thoughts. Your legs are like powerful springs, rebounding the moment it touches the ground and springing your body into air for that brief moment as it sails forward until your other leg touches the ground but only briefly as it recoils and springs forward for another powerful sail through the air. Yes, nothing can go wrong.

Now to understand what it feels like when you hit the runner's wall- imagine the exact other end of the spectrum of the above run. The weather is either too hot or too cold, never right. Every step is slow and you feel like your plodding through. Your back is hunched and your body is overheating. You either feel dehydrated or you feel nauseous. Your legs are all cramped and every time the feet lands on the ground, the muscles are unwieldy and stone hard and as it tries to flex and absorb the shock, a sharp pain registers in the foreground of your mind. Happy thoughts? you must be kidding. It takes every ounce of your will power to keep moving.

Now what exactly causes this? Here is a clip from wikipedia:

Carbohydrates that a person eats are converted by the liver and muscles into gylcogen for storage. Glycogen burns quickly to provide quick energy. Runners can store about 2,000 calories (KCalories actually) worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough for about 30 km or 18-20 miles of running. Many runners report that running becomes noticeably more difficult at that point. When glycogen runs low, the body must then burn stored fat for energy, which does not burn as readily or as fast as glycogen. When this happens, the runner will experience dramatic fatigue. This phenomenon is called 'Hitting the wall'. The aim of training for the marathon, according to many coaches, is to maximize the limited glycogen available so that the fatigue of the "wall" is not as dramatic. This is in part accomplished by utilizing a higher percentage of energy from burned fat even during the early phase of the race, thus conserving glycogen.

Well today after a long long time, I experienced hitting the wall again during my 18 mile run- which after some unexpected cramping and nausea was cut short to about 17.2 miles. Good thing is that hopefully my next week's run will be easier. Phew!

Funny Moments

During my recent trip to India, I had the oppurtunity to attend my cousin's marriage. I dont know about others. But, I have these awkward moments where you get lost in the crowd and you actively try to find a familiar face so that you can sit next to them and have a little chat. I was searching for that person and luckily I found my father. Well, I walked to him and sat next to him. Not that my father and I have a lot of lengthy conversations, but, I did find him unusually quiet that day. Though I was watching the bride and groom on the stage, I was a little perturbed by my father's silence. So, I decided to talk to him finally. "Dad, why are you unusually quiet today?" (my head still looking at the stage)... Still silence... I just looked upto my father. Oops...It wasnt my father. It was someone who looked like my father... I was quite embarassed. I said, "Sorry Sir.."... and vanished quickly...

Last week, I was returning back from the locker room of the gym. As I was walking towards the lobby, I saw a not so familiar chinese woman smiling at me from a distance. As I have realised quite a lot of times, some of the chinese people have a smily looking face even when they are frustrated... I thought that it was one of the those people. As I was getting closer and closer, her smile grew more. At this point, I was 100% sure that she was smiling at me, atleast in my direction. Having had a history of embarassing moments, I decided to make sure that there was no one behind me. I turned around and around and there was no one except me... Who is this woman? Why is she smiling? Did I do anything stupid during the workout that makes me look funny? All those questions raced around my mind... When I finally got close to her, she said, "Thank You.."... I went "???"... She said, "I was waiting for someone to return the lock for the locker since the front lobby ran out of locks, and there you were".... What can I say? Well, I said, "No problem"... I handed over the lock and the key to her and started walking towards my car with a sheepish grin..:)

There have been several occasions when I have had hearing issues. Though I like to think that, the "selective" hearing problem is more prominent when my better half starts telling me about all the stuff that I havent done, or rather, in her words, "We were supposed to do", I have figured that I have the same problem with several others... Anyway, I went to an electronic store over the weekend to buy some gadget. When we entered the store, there was a stout old man sitting inside the store around the entrance area who whispered something when we passed him by. I was not sure what he said. May be we were entering through the wrong route and he asked us to go the other way. But then, I have been to the store a many times and I know that it is the right way...What else could it be? Did we drop something on the way in and was he trying to tell us to pick it up? OR Was he just upset about me for whatever reason and muttered something that wasnt supposed to be heard which my sensitive little ears picked up? With all those questions zipping past my mind, I decided to break the silence and resolve the issue. I promptly went back to the old man and asked him what he was trying to tell me, in a more authoritative tone... He said, "Welcome to the store" and I quietly conveyed my thanks and started moving while my better half was rolling on the floor laughing...

A simple pop quiz

Guys, here is a pop quiz. Please note that this not to pull anybody's leg. All the questions have to be answered (even the last one). No strict rules but would prefer no googling (especially for the last one). However note that an answer is required for every question for your entry to count. No stakes involved and this is just for fun. The last one is real hard, but try.


1) 2+2 equals

a) 3
b) 6
c) 4
d) 5

2) The Capital of India is

a) London
b) Paris
c) New Delhi
d) Islamabad

3) Paris Hilton recently went to

a) India
b) Japan
c) Jail in California
d) Alaska

4) Sachin Tendulkar is a

a) Tennis player
b) Basketball player
c) Cricket player
d) Football player

5) Srishtrath Norquon Siho Rewa is

a) an ancient Mayan structure
b) an Inca god
c) a Buddhist temple
d) an infamous vietcong member

Certainty of Probability

Whenever we encounter the word probability, I think we should analyze the situation and take it with a grain of salt, for, probability is not always dictated by independent sequence of events, but could be impacted by the history of events as well. The face value of probability may not make sense in a lot of cases though we are misled by our intuition to believe it the other way.

For example, if records indicate that an area is in earthquake zone with a probability of a major earthquake to happen once every 20 years... Forget about how much history went into predict such a probability for a moment. If the last major earthquake happened 19 years before, is it still good to look at it as a 1 in 20 year probability? In reality, a lot of probabilistic situations converge towards certainty as time goes on. In some cases like life span, we are aware of it. But, in a lot of other cases, we just look at numbers and assume it the other way. The next time, when you encounter situations where the probability of that situation happening is very less, you can be convinced that you are probably witnessing the most probable case...:)

Hempels Paradox

I was reading some stuff on how complexity affects causal inferences and came upon this interesting paradox. From what other scholars have to say, the issue is still debated and there is no conclusion one way or the other.

The paradox was originally penned by a German scholar, Hempel. His hypothesis was simple. His statement was that "all ravens are black". From a statistical standpoint, if this null is hypothesized as being credible the alternative would be "all non black things are not ravens". Therefore if we observe a red cricket ball, this lends further support to our credible null that all ravens are black. The question is intuitively what is the relationship between the color of a cricket ball and the color of a raven? I cant think of any!

Now this clearly indicates that using the inductive approach fails intuition. A fundamentally simple argument which can put a lot of empirical research under tremendous pressure!

PS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_paradox

Food

I was reading this news article, about the Queen Elizabeth's dinner in reciprocation of George Bush's presidential dinner. The dinner was served in Manning's residence (Mannings is the British ambassador in US)

"Under Manning's roof, guests dined on wild Scottish smoked salmon (appetizer), roast rib of veal (main course) and a summer pudding (dessert). Four wines were served, and the queen asked everyone to drink to the president and first lady Laura Bush, to the future of Britain and the United States and to the countries' "enduring friendship."

I don't know how hard it is to make roast rib of veal(http://www.kycattle.org/recipes.cfm?recipeid=4). Assuming it is really difficult, and takes hours of pain-staking effort - I have trouble stomaching the fact that there were totally 3 dishes. I suppose you can cut your roast rib of veal into 4 equal pieces and sample with 4 different types of wine, giving you the delusion of variety.

My Indian upbringing jarred when I saw this new item, and also realised just how much importance we place on food. I think all our social gatherings hover around food. Our wedding banters have the supreme ability of stumping the most gluttonous eater. The precise statistics are unavailable, but I presume 50% of the wedding banter involves asking one another whether they ate food. At my brother-in-law's wedding, it was surprisingly easy to make conversation with folks I saw for the first time in my life. All I had to do was smile and ask whether they had food or would like some coffee.

At a royal dinner, there must be a hundred topics to steer clear of for political reasons. The weather is too boring. What do you ask people after the "How are you", if food is out.

Manning had served as ambassador in India, and I am imagining the chefs of the the President (CP) and the ambassadorial chefs (CA) met at a bar.

CP to CA: Phew! This queen's dinner tired me out.
CA: Really? what did you make?
CP: Pakoras, Salad, Soup, bajjis for appetizers.
Pilaf, Naan, Aloo paratha, Chicken Tikka Masala, Shahi lamb curry, Malai matter panner, Malai kofta, Hyderabadi biriyani, Raita and Pickles for the main course
Ras malai, gulab jamuns, Kheer for dessert
CA: Yeah! Last night, I was really tired too. I had to make wild Scottish smoked salmon (appetizer), roast rib of veal (main course) and a summer pudding (dessert).
CP: HEY! That's not fair.
CA: Sure is - took me the same time, and people enjoyed it too. See my news item - and where's yours to compare?!
CP: BAH!

A Pacific Holiday

Folks, I will be visiting the bay area sometime next month. To be more specific I think the exact dates are June 17th and 18th. I'm in California earlier, from the 13th at Lake Tahoe for a conference. Have taken a couple of days off after that and thought will visit friends in the Bay area. It would be great to meet up with everybody (of course depending on your schedule). If I remember correct the two days are Sunday and Monday. So do let me know and we can plan something.

How soon is too soon and how late is too late?

Every so often, I try to answer this philosophical question. You are in a conference and you stare at the brilliant radiance eminating from the shiny baldness of the speaker. The eminent guy is throwing jargon around like hailstones. You can start firing off your questions rightaway.

Self: What does the 3rd word in your previous sentence mean?
Shiny head: Blank stare....'AND'?
Self: No...the word before 'AND'

The moment this happens, you give shiny head the upper hand, because he can say, you have to be patient. He will explain everything eventually. AND you have instantly alienated everybody else in the room, who either wants to enjoy the monotone and relax, or find it an unnecessary interruption.

You wait for a while assuming that the jargon will eventually dribble down to a few more often used terms before you ask for clarifications. Take this as an exercise in your next technical seminar. You pen down all the fancy words that you want clarification on, and put a statistical indicator near the words. Soon, you know the shiny head's favourites. You are still seeking clarification remember.

Shiny head's list: Cognac, TR!FS, GORR

So, all you need to do is wait for the next breather to seek clarification. Now, you look around the room, and everybody nods looking as though they are grasping everything.

Cognac's blah...blah will be used while TR!FS schedules an intermediate transmission routing via GORR.

blah....blah.....blah Cognac meanwhile responds to GORR...blah blah.

The following approaches are available to you at this juncture:

1) Look equally knowledgeable, and nod your head convincingly without falling asleep.
2) Look around for the person who nods the most and ask them to explain. If the concerned person was following strategy (1), it would make them look like a prized fool and provide for some entertainment.
3) Play a word-game while pretending to take notes and run into the arms of the search engine called Google at the nearest opportunity!

I wonder how people managed before Google!