Common Sense Problem Solving

Today a colleague came to my desk and said Microsoft Calculator application has a bug. It can divide 2704 by 51 but it cannot divide 2704 by 52. I opened the calculator on my desktop immediately to check this. 2704/51 gave me some result. But when I did 2704/52, it didn't give me any result. I clicked on ‘=’ again, now it showed ‘1’. I was so confused, why should Microsoft Calculator have a silly bug like this? My colleague said maybe it was implemented by a developer like me :) I was almost convinced that there was a real bug until someone from business walked in and explained 2704/52 = 52. That’s why it appeared like I am not getting any results.

I felt so embarrassed. It was very different to feel this side of the fence. Occasionally our users think that there is a problem with the system, business confirms the bug and prioritizes it, and IT even estimates it. A stereo typed developer by now will be putting a nice big band aid thinking that there is a boo-boo in the system. A common sense developer will be scratching his head wondering what to fix when there is no real boo-boo. I have to admit that I have done this mistake once before. I worked on a fix for weeks before we realized it was never broken in the first place. It is often hilarious to see IT going back to business to explain their own business process to them.

I am training myself to apply common sense to problem solving before digging into thousands of lines of code for answers.

Another issue I frequently encounter during problem solving is when the solution is presented to me before the actual problem. Let’s say the original problem is at point A, the solution as perceived by business is at point B. Based on the solution at point B, the problem as perceived by me is at point C. Plotting all these points on a graph will reveal a nice love triangle. Trust me, problem solving in this case becomes as adventurous and many times as unsolvable as a love-triangle. As a lazy developer, I hate to read design documents. On most of the rare occassions that I did read such a document, I have noticed solutions being stated as requirements.

I am training myself to never listen to solutions before I understand the actual problem.

Job Satisfaction

It was the last day of our stay in Paris. We were visiting Notre Dame. There was a long line of tourists around the cathedral waiting to enter the place. Getting impatient with the long wait we decided skip this tourist spot. We wandered through some of the densely packed narrow lanes. The streets were lined with street vendors selling souvenirs, sweets, pastries, colognes etc. The smell of fresh coffee filled the air.


At the corner of the street there was big crowd gathered around a vendor. As we got closer, we saw a man carving statues and figurines out of soft stones using some very basic tools. My son was very impressed with his work. He wanted us to buy one of the statues. I looked at the price on it and decided to walk away. My son insisted that I at least let him watch the man work. I agreed to it on one condition - I will not buy him anything from there. As my son was too engrossed in the art work, I thought it was time for me to do a quick round of shopping.


I came back after an hour thinking my kids will be cranky and my husband was going to yell at me for making him wait. But no - to my surprise! They were still at the same place where I left them; my son still keenly watching the man carve his stone. Many people stopped by to watch his work, some took pictures and walked away, some donated a few bucks and yet few others bought his sculptures. But no one stood there and admired his work for a longtime like my son.


It was a hot and sultry day. The man seemed exhausted but he didn't stop his work. His work progressed very slowly as he carefully rubbed out edges of the stone until it got the shape. Then he worked on the details using a small chisel. With no modern equipments just a basic tool set, it seemed like very tough work. The man took short breaks occasionally to provide some relief to his hands and fingers. He worked meticulously on sculpting a large piece of stone.


After a while, he put aside the large stone and picked up a smaller one. I was curious on why he changed his object. He worked on it for a long time. When he finished it, he gave it to my son. We insisted on paying for it but he refused it completely. He mentioned that he did not do it for money and quietly returned to his work on the larger piece.


The simplistic lifestyle of the man on the street corner taught me a valuable lesson - take break every day. Take a break every day from the normal routine tasks and do something that gives a sense of fulfillment in your job. Take a break every day and step out of the performance appraisal rat race to do something that makes you feel the powerfulness of your role – a feeling that no promotion can ever give. Take a break every day from the daily politics at work and do something that makes sense to you. Take a break every day from trying to get under the spotlight and do something that makes you feel proud of. It may not get you a promotion, it may not get you a raise but it will give you a great deal of Job Satisfaction.

Happy Mother's day 2011

Life is so hectic and mechanical, running between school to day care to work. Then weekends it is running between errands to kids classes to social activities. Sometimes I feel like if only I had a remote control that can fast-forward my life to the point when kids can take care of themselves and be independent...

Other times I feel like life is so stagnant and boring. I just want to take the remote control and rewind back to the time when I was a kid. School life, college life, first years of love, first job, traveling life - always exciting. Just feel like doing all over again.

But today, I feel like pausing at this very moment. I wish life can be stand still because I will miss my kids consuming all my time when they grow older. I don't remember what I did with all my time before they were born and I don't know what I would do with all my time after they grow up.

My son gifted me with his hand prints and this beautiful poem:

" Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small,
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and the walls.
But everyday I'm growing,
I'll be all grown up someday,
And all those fingerprints
Will surely fade away.
So here is my handprint,
Just so you can recall,
Exactly how my fingers
Looked when I was very small.

Happy Mother's Day 2011"

Lessons from a Kid

I was busy clothing-shopping at my favorite store with my son. He saw some random toy and asked me to buy it. This has become a routine for him. Everywhere we go he throws out a tantrum for toys. After buying it, the kids fight over it for the first five minutes and then its charm is gone. It is then lying around in the most irrelevant places, occupying most precious space in the tiny house that we dwell in. Finally when I am on a rare cleaning spree, it is thrown into the basement.

Toys have been mere waste of money, so this time I was very stubborn that I wasn't buying it. He began pleading - "just this one time mommy, please. This and the basket ball and that's it. I won't ask for anything else, he said. I know it is not going to be the last time he is doing this. He was quickly losing temper as I refused to buy it for him.

Firstly I wanted him to realize that he can't get everything by just throwing tantrums. Secondly I wanted him to know the value of money and that we can't afford to buy all the toys in the world. Lastly, I wanted him to know that sometimes we are not going what we want and we need the courage to face it boldly. I was doing this for his own good.

But the argument continued. He begged, screamed, cried, rolled on the floor. Seeing that nothing worked, he started attacking sentimentally. He said "if you don't buy it for me then I will never go out shopping with you again". At this point, I was also frustrated so I said "I don't enjoy going out with you either". Then he said, "I am not your friend". I said, "I don't need your friendship, I have better friends than you". He was silent for a minute and then he said, "but I want to be your friend. I don't want the toy. Can I be your friend again?"

This time I didn't know what to say. I felt choking upon words in my throat, couldn't swallow it or speak it out. Here I am trying to teach the kid "value of money" but the kid just taught me "value of friendship". Somewhere along the big argument I had forgotten my priorities (did I even have one to begin with?) But even after the cries, screams and endless tears the kid had priorities set on his mind. I felt so cheap in front of the kid.

The next day I bought the toy on my way back home. I paid 15$ - felt even cheaper now. I was eager to show it to him, I wanted to see the joy on his face. But it turned out that he forgot the whole incident and gotten past it by then. While he was excited to see the toy, he wasn't overly thrilled by it. As usual, the first five minutes the kids fought for it. Then no one cared - the pieces in the set were all over the place. And it was my turn to clean up!

Arandavan kanuku irundathellam pei

One dark winter night I was walking in a empty parking lot in a suburb area. I located my rental car easily in the huge parking lot. I have never driven this car before. Everything seemed new, the controls were in places that I was not used to. I got a little scared - how am I going to drive myself to my hotel. I somehow located a few basic controls and went around the parking lot. After a few rounds of test drives, I turned on the gps and headed towards the hotel.

The streets were dark and not much traffic during that time. After a few turns I encountered a road block; detoured my gps to route me alternately. But whichever way I went the gps was still trying to put me back on the same road that was blocked. So I decided to drive farther away and try gps-ing again hoping it will pick up an alternate route. I was on a very narrow but straight road. I saw a car long behind me. Other than that nothing else was in sight. It was pitch dark surrounded by tall trees. No signs of houses or any type of activity. The car behind approaching me. Soon he was tail gating me very closely.

I noticed I was only going at a 20mph. For some reason it felt much faster than 20. I tried to ramp up the speed a bit but I felt very shaky and he was still following me close. So I pulled over slightly on the right to allow him to pass. But instead he stopped adjacent to me and opened his door. Fear grabbed me, I was cold, yet sweating in my palms. I locked my doors immediately. He was saying something but I couldn't hear anything from the inside. I didn't dare to open the windows. I thought he was trying to get me open my car. My heart was beating rapidly, I thought I should dial 911 right away. Then he started cursing/ yelling, atleast it looked like that from inside. Oh... maybe for my slow driving. Thank god, glad that he was not an attacker. He dashed away after letting out his anger. I checked the rear view mirror, no one else was behind me. I started driving slowly.

The tall trees were dancing wildly in the strong winds. I just wanted to get out of this spooky place. But I soon came to a halt when I saw this sign: dead end. I wondered where the car in front of me could have gone. There was no other way other than making a U-turn. So I looked at the rear view mirror and slowly turned the steering wheel. I thought I saw a movement in the back seat through the mirror. My heart beat was going up again... I turned back; there was nothing. So I continued making the U-turn. My heart beat so loudly that one can actually hear it from the outside. The steering wheel was slippery due to the sweat on my palms. And then I saw the most haunted scene ever. I came to a screeching halt as I saw an empty shirt fluttering on a pole. Then someone broke into the car through the windshield. That's it I thought, whatever was following me - a kidnapper, a serial killer, a paranormal thing or may be an alien has caught me alive. I cried out as hard as I can. And then I felt some thing on my lap, the gps had fallen off the the dashboard when I hit a sudden brake. Oh by the way whose shirt was that, how did it get there? I lift my face up - it was a broken stop sign, hanging upside down and fluttering in the winds.

I burst into a heavy sob. Tears flooded down my eyes. How did I end up in this place all alone? I felt something around me, like someone was watching me constantly. What can it be in this lonely place? And then suddenly my brain decided to function. You have a phone and a gps - still in someway connected to the rest of the world; stop crying and start driving. So I drove as fast as I can (still under 40 :) until I came to a highway. Finally happy to see a lighted road and some traffic. I don't know if I was going on the correct route to my hotel but I just kept driving. Just wanted to get as far as I can from whereever I was...

Explaining "Work" to a kid

My son is very curious about "office" and what people do there. One day he asked me if people watch movies in office. Another day he said: "the airport is so big and clean, like office - right?". Another time, I told him we are going to doctor office. Then he thought office is only for doctors. So he asked if I go to see the doctor everyday.

Kids imaginations can be so wild & unbelievable. Below is funny conversation between us:

Arya: Why do you go to office everyday? What do you do there?
Me: Work
Arya: What work?
Me: I dont know, some work.
Arya: Do you have kids in office like me and Adi? What is their names?

(He thought mommy works shifts taking care of kids. During the day she works in office and evenings at home. Funny how he identified correctly that daddy works with computers)

My First R2I Scare

It was the first trip to India after our Return to India (R2I) was finalized and probably the last round trip. The next one hopefully is a one-way ticket to India. Though we visited India several times before, every trip gives a lot of different perspectives on the lifestyle there. The nosy but genuinely caring people; the scream, yell & love relations are always on my mind. Yet some incidents like the one below throw me off the boat. It may take sometime but when the waves settle down and the skies clear up, the soul always swims its way back into the boat.

We were traveling on a mofussil bus one afternoon. After a tiring few days of good food and fun, all of us dozed off as the bus started moving. A while later, maybe after I went into the deepest of deep sleeps, I was thrown forward from my seat due to a sudden brake. The brakes screeched loudly and the bus halted suddenly. A glass shattered into pieces. I woke up totally confused, shocked and hoping it was all a dream. But no it was real. The window in front of me had shattered into pieces when the bus hit a brake.

My son was sleeping on my lap with his head towards the window. Thank God we were all safe. The lady in the front had a minor bruise on her shoulder other than that everyone else were still solid. We quickly dusted off the glass pieces and moved away from the window. Meanwhile the driver continued driving amidst the noises as if the earth would stop spinning if he were to stop driving. Few passengers screamed and then he pulled over reluctantly by the road side. After seeing that no one was hurt he impatiently started the bus again. As the bus jerked through the bumpy road a few more sharp glass pieces that were dangling on the window fell down. One piece fell just two inches from my feet and the piece shattered into my sandals. Thank God we had moved away from the window by that time. Some passengers started to clean up by throwing out the glasses from the bus onto the street. Hopefully no one's tires blew out later that day. A motor cyclist wearing no helmet passed by a few seconds after one of the passengers threw out a big glass piece. Thank God his head was still one piece.

So much value for one's life! - SCARY. The driver, conductor or the passengers didn't show much reaction. Seemed like it was a day-to-day incident for them rather than a accident. Unfortunate accidents can happen anytime in any country but so much reluctance and carelessness among people is what scared me the most. Whether it was a incident or accident, it scared me so much that since my return to U.S I’ve kept myself busy. I guess that helps me keep myself still on the boat.