Year: 2006

China

Taking vacations

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Last Updated on February 6, 2006 by stlplace

I will be taking vacations from tomorrow Jan 27 till Feb 5. I expect to have access to Internet regularly but I hope I can find something more fun than computer. Life is much more than computer and Internet.

Today is my last day at work before this Chinese New Year. I told some of my coworkers about my travel plan to China. Interestingly I saw more and more people are aware of the Chinese New Year. Probablly it’s because of all the media coverage of China’s economic development/growth. The other day I heard NPR “Market Place” program did live broadcasting from Congqing, southwest China. While I enjoyed all the praise and good words for China’s growth, I am also aware there is a long way for China to catch up with the developed countries. I think this is why there are opportunities for overseas educated/experienced Chinese professionals. Initially I thought I will be doing exactly same thing at my company for many years to come. Now it seems unlikely if I keep my eyes open.

Wish all the friends have a great Chinese New Year, whether you are overseas or in China!

China Fun

Jack Ma

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Last Updated on January 25, 2006 by stlplace

Ma Yun (Jack Ma) is the founder of Alibaba. Although I don’t agree everything he says, I like his personalities and stories…

I read this article from Wenxuecity, here is the link.

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马云的纯真年代：内心深处那位女孩是块玉《英才》杂志

或许是太瘦，马云胳膊显得很长。他的手从雪白的衣袖中垂下来，几乎垂到膝盖上。他沉浸在回忆里，时而欣喜，时而愤怒。

他的手永远在空中挥舞，说几句就忍不住换一个姿势，好像随时准备展开搏击。

　　马云的“语录”之一是“男人的胸怀是冤枉撑大的，受的冤枉越多，胸怀越大”。这句话中，不仅有愤怒，委屈和自我解嘲，而且饱含宽容。在与现实世界的抗争中，究竟是什么让他始终斗志盎然，意气狂狷？

　　那个叫曾瑾的小女孩

　　幼时，马云很敏感。

　　马云爷爷是保长，属“黑五类”。由于被欺太甚，这个从来不和人争吵的男人有一次终于不能忍受了。结果，警察到家里来，很多同学也趴在窗户上看热闹。警察当面大声呵斥，“只许你老老实实，不许你乱说乱动”。当时，这句话很经典。

　　不幸的是，语文课本里也有这句话。那节课，马云只好硬着头皮听，老师念到那句话时，一个孩子扭过头，看了马云一眼。“哗”的一下，马云的课本就砸过去了。那孩子更猛，把整个书包猛掷过来。马云躲闪不及，书包里的铁文具盒角刚好撞在额角，顿时血流如注。

　　关于“七人之中必定有混蛋”的认识，或许在这时已经萌芽了。而“六人之中必定有俊杰”的论断中，或许隐藏着更多的温暖。

　　喜欢打抱不平，经常帮别人打架。少年马云坚定不移地践行他在武侠小说中看到的“侠骨仁心”。

　　到了小学四年级，他在学校又帮人打架，白骨都露出来了。没有麻药，只好直接缝针。“虽然很疼，但我当时眼泪都没掉一滴。”马云的勇敢赢得同学的好感，期末评三好学生时，他本以为自己肯定没问题，结果却没人推荐提名。

　　终于，一个女孩子站起来说，我选马云。马云吃了一惊，因为当时男女生互相不说话，更不能有好感。马云太感动了，而能不能评上三好学生对他而言，已经不再重要。直到今天，他仍记得那个西安女孩的名字：曾瑾。他强调说，是玉字旁的“瑾”。

　　在他内心深处，这是一块不折不扣的玉。

　　漂亮的地理老师

　　各门课中，马云最得意的就是英文。

　　英文好，他才能念杭州师范大学外语系，才能做英文老师，才有海博翻译社，才有机会到美国接触互联网，也才有后来的阿里巴巴。

　　为什么喜欢英文？

　　读中学时，教地理的女老师非常漂亮，讲课让人如沐春风。马云特别崇拜她。

　　后来，这老师讲了一件事，马云受益终生。她说，在西湖边上，几个外国人问她中国地理，她英文也很好，自然对答如流。老师总结说，你们要学好地理，不然他们问你的时候，你会给中国人丢脸。

　　一回家，马云就花6毛多钱，买了个纸喇叭，每天听英文广播。地理老师常去的西湖边，也成了他的最爱。遇到外国人，马云就凑上去和人讲话。他的英语口语就这样一天天流利起来。

　　有了兴趣，才能做好。马云坚信这一点。而在兴趣基础上建立起来的实力，“就是一次次失败的积累。只要不把我打死，还会再来过。霉运当头时，要跳出来看，放弃不等于用头撞墙。搞不过就绕一下。学会放弃，才开始成功。”

　　那个数学老师姓余

　　马云最头疼的，是数学课。

　　第一年高考，他数学考了1分。他垂头丧气，准备去做临时工。他和又高又帅的表弟去一家宾馆应聘，结果录用了他表弟，他遭到拒绝。至今，他这位表弟还在洗衣班里，做一名普通的洗衣工。后来，通过父亲的关系，马云到《山海经》、《东海》、《江南》杂志社，蹬三轮送书，打零工。

　　偶尔，他会到浙江舞蹈家协会，为协会主席抄写文件。就是在舞蹈家协会，他看到路遥的《人生》。他喜欢高加林，暗暗在心里将他作为榜样，并且决定不再打零工，参加第二次高考。

　　这次，马云的数学考了19分，总分离录取线差140分。父母都觉得他不用再考了。马云只好白天上班，晚上钜剐！Ｐ瞧谔欤斯睦约阂幌拢透?个小时的路到浙江大学图书馆读书。

　　当时的6个死党，就是在图书馆抢座位时认识的。有一天，6个人躺在草地上，对着天空发誓，6个人一定要考上大学。

　　第三次高考前3天，一位姓余的数学老师告诉他说，马云你的数学一塌糊涂，如果你能考及格，我的“余”倒着写。

　　考数学的那天早上，马云一直在背10个基本的数学公式。考试时，马云就用这10个公式一个一个套。从考场出来，和同学对完答案，马云知道，自己肯定及格了。结果，那次数学考了89分。

　　对于反对和质疑，马云说：“我们这类人，欣赏我们的非常欣赏，讨厌我们的极其讨厌。我不希望大家都喜欢我，这也不可能。当人们都反对我时，不是一件坏事。我讨厌中庸。”

　　正是对“度”把握不同，承受度存在差异，“可能你的承受度是2000万，他的承受度是3000万，而我的是2个亿”，导致了每个人异样的人生。

　　如果此生能有5个概括马云的词留下来，载入史书，他希望是：普通，简单，永不放弃，运气，学习。
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China

Chinese New Year

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Last Updated on January 25, 2006 by stlplace

我已经有八年没有回国过年了。来美国八年多，先是上学，然后是工作。前几年每年春节的时候大多是我工作最紧张的时候，因为产品RELEASE的关系。这两年换了部门，自己的资格也老了一些，老板也比较好说话。我就跟老板说想回去过年。老板很爽快地答应了，前提是活不能拉下。这对我来说不是问题。自从元旦过完节后，我就开始加班加点，把我的项目给做出来了。看来人还是要有动力。

其实我并不是很想回家过年，不是因为我跟我家里人关系紧张，而是因为我不喜欢过于流于形式的过年方式。走亲戚，送礼品，吃喝一通。。。其实美国的圣诞节不也是如此，买礼品，包礼品，装模作样地猜礼品。。。其实知道里面是什么。我只是想找一个地方安静一下，跟一些谈得来的朋友聊聊天。也许我是搞错了方向，在过年的时候到国内找安静的地方？没听说过黄金周吗？OK，我承认我也许有点失策，但我认为我追求的是一种平静的心态。外界的影响当然有，更重要的是自己怎么去调节。我想我真的很需要这样的QUITE TIME。并不是说美国工作有多紧张，生活压力有多大。很多时候，我过于在乎名利，追求快速的成功。一个事情一看没希望，马上放弃另起炉灶。浮躁，缺乏韧性。

我并不指望我能马上改头换面，但是我看到了一点希望。这里我要感谢很多朋友，尤其是去年夏天在上海碰到的一个新朋友。是你们，帮我看到了希望。

Saint Louis

St. Louisian don’t cry

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Last Updated on January 24, 2006 by stlplace

Today is a sad day for St. Louis, especially the Hazelwood city in the north county. As expected Ford Motor Company announced the closing of Hazelwood assembly plant, see an article from stltoday here. This will eliminate 1900 mostly well paid blue collar jobs. I think the workers there should earn USD 60,000 a year – in other words, one worker can raise a family of 4 comfortably. In recent years St. Louis area has seen the leaving of SBC (now AT&T) headquarter, the decline of TWA and McDonald Dougless (MD) and their subsequent sales to American Airline and Boeing, repectively. Ironically, MD was also located in Hazelwood area. The policians are still trying to lobby the Ford and keep the plant. But in my humble opinion the chance is very slim. This is not the first time the Hazelwood plant facing closing. They dodged last bullet by lobbying Ford and offering tax incentives. But not this time. The soaring oil price and changing of consumer taste dramatically reduced the sales of Ford Explorer SUV, which is the main product of Hazelwood plant.

This reminded me a discussion I had with a friend couple weeks ago. He said the current American life style, such as living in suburban areas, everyone driving a car to work (some drive gas-thirsty SUVs), spend all the money they earn, the goverment borrowing money from Asian countries…can not sustain. I recalled another friend told me he knows a professor who spent USD 600 a month for the gas (heat) because she has a big house. If my math is right, I think that’s about 4 times a migrant worker’ monthly pay in China.

A little off the topic. I understand it’s a painful thing for the UAW (united auto workers) to let go their jobs. The question is will St. Louis continue the slide? Or is St. Louis in declining? This is not an easy question for an economist; me neither. I have been in St. Louis for more than 5 years. Although I have heard those bad news from time to time, I did see more Chinese immigrants and businesses. I also saw the growth of healthcare and biotech industry. The Panera Bread (St. Louis Bread Company). The new metro-link. The new ball park. The new downtown. I guess that’s the strength of US economy, diversified, resilient, market driven…I believe St. Louis will recover from this loss, just like Cardinals and Rams lost a few important games this year, let it be the past…we will recover and become even stronger tomorrow.

Software development

Asking questions

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace

It’s very rare in software development a developer can work out things all by him/herself. At least not for me. During my work I have encountered all kinds of problems, puzzled and exhausted by them from time to time. But with the right approach, asking the right question to right people, and lots of luck, most of time I was successful.

First I want to admit I was a bit shy when I started working for my current employer. And I was not very good at programming lanuages C/C++ either. When I encountered some simple problems regarding the syntax, I always tried to figure out myself — don’t want to show my ignorance before my colleagues. I extended this good habit a bit too far. When I have real problems such as algorithm or functionality, I usually spent too much time trying to do it all by myself. Sometimes my project manager/leader had to come to me and rescue me.

On the other hand, I think it’s good for a developer to do his/her own work, get some feel about the real problem, and even have some vague ideas about the solutions before he/she approaches somebody for help. Although these days most companies have the “open-door” policy, which means you can go to your boss’s office or colleagues’ cubicles at any time. You still want to show them you did your homework. Remember they also have their own priorities, you can not expect they give you the answer without any meaningful contribution from you. I think this applies more toward algorithm, functionalities and other meaningful questions. Another factor to consider is “urgency of task”, if your boss need it by yesterday, go ahead and ask for help and get an answer as soon as possible. Otherwise you may want to exercise your brain a little and do more homework before asking for help.

For simple questions related with code conventions, syntax and development environment, you can just go and ask. That will save you some time. I used to be responsible for the development environment of my group. I have a coworker who usually asks me questions about Unix; and another coworker asks me questions about Windows. I believe I saved them some time because I usually solve their problem in a short period.

Sometimes you can get answer yourself just by describing the problem to somebody else. I believe if you formalize things in words (rather than do all work in your head), the answer will become more obvious.

These days Email is used widely in the business world. It has some advantages. Sometime you want to ask questions to multiple people. Because you don’t know who has the expertise, and who will have the answer. Or you want to people to discuss about the problem. Sometimes the person you want to ask is at the other side of the globe. But I still enjoyed “face to face discussion” as much as possible. We programmers communicate with computer all the day, why not leave some time for human interaction? Besides that your colleague maybe bored with his program too.

Another thing about email is that the repliers have different levels. Some people can write a clean answer for a difficult problem; some people can make a problem more confusing. My advice is whether people give you good answer or not, you need to do own homework and solve the problem. You can ask different people for the same problem.

The last thing about asking question is don’t make it accusatory. Suppose you found a bug made by another developer and have some questions about it. Your problem is caused by his/her bug. Don’t take it personal and make the other person look like an idiot; or feel good about other people’s mistakes. Remember you will make mistakes too. Simply point out the problem and politely ask for a fix. This way people are more willing to help you out and you will only get more respect.

Fun

Senior moment

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Last Updated on January 21, 2006 by stlplace

A few signs I am getting older:

I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up. The night before if I remind myself to get up early in the morning, I usually do wake up early.

After walking 4 miles (6 kms), I can feel my knee is sore.

I went to the St. Louis Bread Co. for breakfast, but forgot to bring my purse (wallet).

Software development

I love this job…

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Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace

I was pretty busy lately. Getting ready for the upcoming China trip, and tried to get some work done before I leave. I even put in some hours after the dinner these days — I have not worked that hard for a while. My effort seems paid off today. My new functionality worked. I was a bit too excited and then I made a stupid mistake — I checked in all my changes to the source code control system without much testing. Soon after I found out I can not run my program with a simple case (which used to work), I felt the seriousness of the problem. So what did I do? I backed out all my changes and ran the program, it worked. Then I put in one change and ran the test, see if it works…and so on. Eventually I found the cause.

I was not sure about my programming career in the past year. But recently I fell in love with my job again. I think I like the time pressure, the design process, the intelligent discussion with my coworkers, debugging, and solving real problem for the customers. I am also very thankful for my boss for his trust, understanding, and the interesting projects he gave me. I think he is smart (much smarter than me), because he knows by keeping me happy, I could be more productive too.

China

Going home

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Last 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.

Saint Louis

US Figure Skating Championship

Post author By stlplace
Post date January 15, 2006
No Comments on US Figure Skating Championship

Reading Time: < 1 minute

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.

Fun Life Software development

Pleasant Personality

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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.