"Babbage thought that if he was blind he could write poetry; 'and I should take for my subject the description of an intellectual inferno,' he said. It was difficult to associate poetry in any form with Babbage -- he was so eminently practical. He told me that he never allowed himself to lose any time. 'Before setting out for a walk in the London streets or a drive in an omnibus I give myself certain problems to think out.'" -- from The Deseret News, 1890-05-28 [link via 2D Goggles (in author's notes at end of episode)]
[Yes, that Babbage (b. 1791-12-26, d. 1871-10-18), who else?]