stlplaceLast Updated on January 18, 2006 by stlplace
From mitbbs:
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大清早 5点10分起床打车去车站买票
问：有k369学生票么？坐票？
答：没有
问：卧铺呢？
答：没有
问：那站票 呢？
答：站票有。不过不能买学生票
问：为什么不能买学生票
答：铁道部有规定：今年决不让一个学生站着回家。
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Fun aside, I remembered at one time I stood in the train for 28 hours from Wuhan to Ningbo during winter break in early 1990s. It seems to me transportation still faces “bottle neck” problem during the Chinese New Year.
Last Updated on January 15, 2006 by stlplace
I went to see the Ladies Free Skate program this evening, by myself. Yes, I understand this is not common for a guy go there alone. But due to unusual circumstances – my friends forgot to put me on the mailing list when they planned to buy the tickets; and I forgot to notify another friend about the event. To make me feel worse, the ticket inspector and my neighbour asked me the question “just yourself” with surprise. OK, I promise next time I will bring someone when I go there.
The event itself is pretty amazing. I understand Michelle Kuan’s withdrawl due to injury may be a disappointment for some people. But to be honest, I like Sasha Cohen better. She seemed grow up eventually. Although she still made some small mistakes, but she control herself much better. It’s very hard to do 6 or 7 triple jump without a glitch. Think about its mathematical probability (0.9*0.9*0.9…), if we assume Sasha could do it perfectly 90% of the time.
In the middle of the game, all the US figure skater Olympic Champions were honored. From 1948 Olympic Champion (I believe he is 80 years old) to 2002 Sara Hughes (college student in Yale), there are about a dozen people. With the big screen showing the videos of their performance in Olympics, all the audiences stood up and gave the applause. It’s a very emotional moment.
At that moment I also thought about the champions of former Soviet Union’s. I think they have won many Olympic championships too. I hope they can be recognized by their countries in some way.
Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace
Couple days ago I went to see a Dentist/Hygienist for routine checkup. Visiting dentist is not my favorite task because my teeth are not that great and my hygienist made me feel very unconfortable last year, both physically and emotionally. So I chose a different dental office this year. To my surprise, this new hygienist made my day. First, while doing the cleaning, she kept talking about daily things to distract my attention from the teeth; secondly, she praised my home-care work such as teeth brushing, flossing. Ironically I should thank to the very hygienist (who made me unconfortable) for my improvement because it was her taught me those skills and her harsh words made me work real hard in the past year. But I did not come back to her office because of “unpleasant experience”.
This made me thinking about a friend when I was in fraternity at Rolla. Ben, who was a sophomore and vice president of our fraternity, is very smart (GPA 4.0). And, more importantly, he knows how to initiate a conversation and make you feel confortable. I think his unusual maturity (and sensitivity) probablly comes from his own family backgound. By the way, he also taught me how to drive. I remember he stood behind my car and told me to backup. He stood very close to the bump.
Last summer I had chances to back home (China), and meet some new friends. I was very impressed by the communication skills of one friend (who is also much younger than me). It appears to me age is not a factor here.
In the software development world, many people have great technical skills. But not that many have great soft skills or pleasant personalities. I heard the leading technology companies such as Google will reject a canidate if he/she is lacking in those aspects. In the industry those who have pleasant personality and leadship skills usually become leaders. I know a manager who is not necessarily the smartest guy in terms of IQ (maybe he is, as an old Chinese saying大智若愚), but he can knows how to start up conversations, how to listen, and his humor makes others feel very confortable. He is one of a kind and is very instrumental in company’s certain business activities.
I have a friend seemed have some opinions about programmers’ personalities. She said they don’t know how to socialize. Luckily she excluded me. I can understand her feeling. We software programmers spend too much time with computer and sometimes we lost the sense how to interact with people.
Back to my own personality. I was a bit shy when I started working for my company. I remember once my annual performance review says “Major is very reserved…a team project may improve his communication skills…”. I don’t think I was born that way. I don’t expect to change my personality either. But I am working on a few small things such as “small talks” to make myself more pleasant :-). By “small talks”, I am not talking about the “Small Talk” computer language, I am referring to “conversation starters”, or “ice breaker” when I meet people. I started this recently so far it seems working for me. I had more outside-work conversations with my coworkers; and I feel happier when I am in my office. I hope my coworkers feel the same way.
Last Updated on February 27, 2023 by stlplace
今天来谈谈我的第一个Project Leader(PL)，PL是一个技术领导的位置，通常他们自己也写程序，但最重要的是他们要分析用户需求，搭建软件框架，指导年轻的Developer，and make technical decesions。 我第一次见到我的PL是在面试的时候，当时感觉这人很忠厚。我记得上班第一天也是他到Reception Desk接的我。刚开始工作那段，我的技术比较差，又赶上老板关注的项目，每星期一的例会免不了被老板数落，我在上一篇已经讲了。PL这时候就帮我开脱一下，说我还是新人，有个学习过程。我们Team也就他没被老板说过， 其他人多多少少都被老板数落过。其实我的第一个老板人不错，就是脾气不好，最后他自己被裁员也是这个原因。
言归正传。PL有这个地位，主要是他的技术水平和领导能力。他是我们那里当时很难拿到的Senior Software Engineer。与一些小公司不一样，我们评Senior，要在整个开发部门评，要得到其他Development Group的认可, 而且名额有限。PL是我在公司见过的最好的老师。他有耐心，而且他能把东西讲清楚。这是我们几个年轻人喜欢去找他问问题的原因。问其他人有时也能解决问题，但是他能教你为什么。几个年纪大的也喜欢找他讨论问题，因为PL is a good listener，他能帮你分析问题。这样一来，他的CUBE旁边有时会有两三个人在那里等。我们开玩笑说以后要排队拿号问问题。有一段时间，我们老板告诉我们尽量不要去打搅PL，因为他要赶一个项目。我记得那一段时间，他经常晚上九点多才下班。对于一个有家庭，二十年工龄的人来讲，不简单。他的那个项目结果非常成功。
对于我来说，我十分感激PL能成为我的Mentor。从C语言到写技术文件，到如何与客户交流。印象最深的是他Review我的Functional/Design Specification，总是非常认真，并提供很多有用建议。最后还不忘纪鼓励几句。
PL没什么野心，他就是喜欢他的开发工作，也不想做Manager。他有一次告诉我，他以前做了一回Manager，觉得不如编程有意思，就又回来做他的老本行。我想我该学学他的踏实肯干。
PL是非常家庭型的男人。他有两个宝贝女儿，他的CUBE里面他女儿的照片从小到大，贴了两排。他是棒球迷，SAINT LOUIS CARDINAL FAN。 他的工作二十周年纪念，他请大家去看了一场CARDINAL的比赛。
======below is translation via google translate======
Today, let’s talk about my first Project Leader (PL). PL is a technical leadership position. Usually they write programs themselves, but the most important thing is that they analyze user needs, build software frameworks, and guide young developers. and make technical decisions. The first time I met my PL was during an interview and I felt that he was very loyal. I remember he picked me up at the Reception Desk on the first day of work. When I first started working, my skills were relatively poor, and I caught up with the projects that my boss paid attention to. I was scolded by the boss every Monday at the regular meeting. I have already talked about it in the previous article. At this time, PL helped me to excuse me, saying that I was still a rookie and had a learning process. In our team, he was never scolded by the boss, and everyone else was scolded by the boss more or less. In fact, my first boss was a good person, but he had a bad temper, and that was the reason why he was laid off in the end.
Back to the topic. PL has this status, mainly because of his technical level and leadership. He was a Senior Software Engineer that was hard to come by at our time. Unlike some small companies, when we evaluate Senior, we need to evaluate it in the entire development department and be recognized by other Development Groups, and the number of places is limited. PL is the best teacher I have ever seen in the company. He is patient, and he can make things clear. This is why several of us young people like to go to him and ask questions. Asking someone else can sometimes solve the problem, but he can teach you why. Several older people also like to discuss problems with him, because PL is a good listener, he can help you analyze problems. As a result, there are sometimes two or three people waiting there next to his cube. We joked about queuing up to get a number and ask questions later. For a while, our boss told us to try not to disturb PL because he had to rush a project. I remember during that time, he often got off work after nine o’clock in the evening. For a person with a family and twenty years of working experience, it is not easy. His project turned out to be very successful.
For me, I am very grateful that PL can be my Mentor. From C language to writing technical documents, to how to communicate with customers. The deepest impression is that he reviewed my Functional/Design Specification, always very serious, and provided a lot of useful suggestions. Finally, I did not forget Ji to encourage a few words.
PL has no ambitions, he just likes his development work and doesn’t want to be a Manager. He once told me that he once worked as a Manager and thought it was not as interesting as programming, so he came back to his old business. I think I should learn from his steadfastness and hard work.
PL is a very family man. He has two baby daughters, and the photos of his daughters in his CUBE have been posted in two rows from small to large. He is a baseball fan, SAINT LOUIS CARDINAL FAN. On the twentieth anniversary of his work, he invited everyone to a St Louis CARDINAL baseball game.
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Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace
一晃我在一个中等规模的软件公司做了五年多了.这是一家有四十年历史的软件公司(想想微软也就三十年的历史,1976-2006).我周围很多同事都有二三十年的工龄.我算是工龄最短的员工之一了.编程序是件很枯燥的事情.一开始我也很不理解为什么他们能在一个公司呆那么久.刚开始工作第一次Staff Meeting一看,怎么年纪大多比我大.看来不象DOTCOM公司,靠股票发财是没戏了.现在几年做下来,感觉其实我的那些美国同事大多蛮可爱的.
我的第一个正式Project是我老板当时的特别关心的Project.我和一个美国老头,一个俄罗斯大嫂合作.我们另有两个Project Leader. 他们的任务主要是Technical Leadership.美国老头是数学博士.他负责核心摸块的开发.我的任务是写一个API(Application Programming Interface), 简单地说, 别人要用核心摸块, 得通过我的API. 我还负责写一个用户界面(User Interface). 俄罗斯大嫂的任务是写一个独立的Application来调用我的API. 她也是新手, 比我早几个月进公司. 我们的进度令我们的老板很不满意. 基本上每星期一的Staff Meeting他一上来就问我们的进展. 除了项目难度, 两个新手, Our poor communications(inside team and with boss) 也是原因之一. 一般来讲, 一个Team都有一个磨合阶段. 我们的磨合要长一些因为我们的Communication skills are not great. 记得有一次我们老板在Meeting上说我们写的程序是垃圾Junk Code. 那次把老头搞急了, 他说你不能把”My code and Major’s code”说成是Junk Code. 自那以后, 我认真起来, 和老头距离也近了很多. 我们最后的Delivery令老板满意.
老头的数学很厉害. 最近他还帮我解决了一个困扰了很久的一个问题. 但是他也有他的弱点. 他对Windows操作系统和DLL机制不熟悉. 这就是我可以显身手的时候了. 这样一来一往, 相互帮助, 信任感就建立起来了. 也慢慢地了解一些工作以外的东西.
老头喜欢散步, 每天中午走上半小时, 很少间断. 我也喜欢散步, 但是我比较随便. 跟他一起走过几回, 他的速度可以把我累死. 真不知道他跟他夫人一起走的时候是不是这个速度.
他还喜欢音乐. 业余时间参加一个乐队. 经常搞些免费的公开表演. 当然最重要的, 我发现他其实是非常家庭型的男人. 每年要度两次假, 一次国内(多半是Colorado Rockie Mountain), 一次国外, 欧洲南美洲什么. 看了他在Chile和阿根廷国家公园和冰川的照片. 觉得真该过去看看.
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Last Updated on January 5, 2006 by stlplace
I went to P. F. Chang this evening with my coworkers. Before today I heard from one (American) coworker that it has great food; I also heard from my Chinese friends that it’s all American Chinese food. I got chance to see the real thing today. It was not as expensive as I thought. The setting was good. I saw two terra cotta 兵马俑(not from Xi’an though). There are varities of food, some are spicy. I ordered “Sea from Sichuan”, basically it’s braised fried calamari (a bit spicy). My coworkers seemed like their food (scallop, chicken) too. The entree cost about USD 12 to 18. It’s more expensive than most Chinese restraunants here, but still acceptable. The servers are fairly young and energetic.
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Last Updated on January 5, 2006 by stlplace
We have seen plenty of images on TV on the West Virginia coal mine accident these two days. The outcome was terrible, 12 miners died and one survived. I don’t know how much this get covered in China. Note recently China had many coal mine accidents, which usually involves greater human loss. I believe some people in China may wonder why there are so many miners take the risk to work in coal mines in the US. The US is a rich country, can not find any safer work? Yes or No. There are safer jobs, such as work in WalMart store (no offense to Walmart and its workers), but the pay and benefits will not be as good. Because the miners need the income to support their family, they are willing to take the risk and sacrifice. I believe in those small towns in West Virgina, those are very good and secure jobs. With the globalization, the US manufacuring industry moved many well paid blue colloar jobs to China. The mining industry is an exception.
As a twist, my alma mater, University of Missouri at Rolla, is formerly called Missouri School of Mines. As a “miner” myself, I have great respect for the 12 fallen WV coal miners. They worked hard to support their family. While in danger, they worked together to build up the barricade. I only wish may they rest in heaven, and God bless their family and loved ones.
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Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace
I hope everyone had a happy new year and everything worked out as expected. I wish things always happen as we expected. But unfortunately reality sometimes caught us off guard. From my experience in computer world I know all kinds of things (good or bad) can happen. The infamous Windows “blue screen” problem. A friend lost the Ph.D. diseration because of hard drive crash – probablly worth one year’s hard work? I am not biased against Bill Gates here. Years ago when I was developing a program on a HP UNIX machine with 128 Mega Bytes memory, the machine crashed couple times because a program error.
In the programming world we call those condition as “exceptions”. Thus comes the “Exception Handler”, which is a piece of code to deal with an exception. A good example is “divide by zero”. You know your little calculator can not do that; your powerful “Intel inside” box can not do it either. The exception handler will provide some meaningful feedback during those conditions and quit the program if necessary. In other words, it will try to “die” gracefully.
In school days we rarely write the “exception handling” code. In school everything is perfect, right? It appears to me most of times professors don’t care about the “exception” either. This is OK because we won’t run those “student code” in real life anyway. Our airplane and automobile are not designed by the “student code”. But I think proper training is necessary in the schools because eventually some of them will be engineers and design the real things.
When I was in graduate school, at one time I had a phone interview for an “industry consultant” position for a startup company. I remember one question was “what if you can not finish a project on time?” I told him I would work day and night, give up sleep, etc. The interviewer, who is a senior consultant, was not impressed. There are many reasons a project can get behind. Unexpected things such as “people quit”, “3rd party supplier delay”, do happen. But the customer will be disappointed if you tell him/her at the last minute. The senior consultant gave me one answer “deliver portion of the functionality”. This is a very realistic answer. I believe the new Microsoft Operating System “Longhorn” is taking a similar path.
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Last Updated on January 3, 2006 by stlplace
A good friend of mine recently went back to China permanently after spending more than 4 years in the States. He told me some interesting (good or bad) experience in a bank. First, he was very impressed by the touch screen in the bank, which is good. As a side note, last summer when I visited the Bank of China in Pudong, I did not realize I need to get a ticket from the touch screen. In the States we have the red mechanical counter for the purpose. Initially I saw peopple who came later than me eventually jumped in front of me, so I complained. Then they told me the touch screen. I felt I came from a “3rd world” country or rural area. Back to the main story. My friend wanted to have his bank account renewed. And the cashier told him to wait. My friend waited almost 2 hours. As the bank is about to close, he went up to see the cashier again. The cashier told him she looked for him and called his name couple times. Dahn! Obvisouly my friend was “too nice” and waited “too patiently”.
I had similar experience in the motel check in counter. If I wait like in the States, no one will handle my question. The worst case I had is at Jiu Zhai Gou airport, the tour guides (who usually have dozens ID cards) cut in the line, and tried to get boarding pass for his/her clients.
Not surprisingly, wolfDancer, a Chinese American software developer, had similar culture shock. She wrote an article about this.
