Theinsidiousbugwefoughttofixforthreeweeks
wasfinallyfound.Itwasduetoonelineofcode
byafriendofmine,J.Toobadheleftthe
companytwoweeksago.Atemporary"fix"wasmade
sothatwecouldreleasetheproduct.Itwas
interestingwhenIexaminedthecodehistoryand
foundthattheculpritwascheckedinona
Saturdayevening.
Overthepast10months,Jtoldmemanytimesthat
hisbossandtheseniorcollea...[
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Itwasatoughtimebeforeproductrelease.Bugs
(softwarecodedefects)plantedlongago,
unintentionallyofcourse,suddenlysprangup.I
gotmysharebutcouldn'tfixoneofthem.Itwas
laterresolvedbyamoreexperiencedengineer.The
technicaldetailswereinterestingbutIwantedto
focusontheemotionalside.Ifeltdefeatedfora
moment.Theonlyworsethingcouldhavebeenthat
mycodecausedtheproblem.
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TimhasbeentoBJJclassesforabouthalfayearby
nowandoneeveninglastweek,afterthekidsclass,
thecoachessurprisedusbypresentinghimwitha
white-yellowbelt.Wedidn'tknowwhatthenext
beltlevelwasforkidswhenwestarted.Wejust
wantedtotrain.Itcamewhenitwasdue.Timwas
pumpedupand,tosomedegree,sowasI.Heeven
askedmetoworkwithhimonsomemovesathome.
Thishappenedrightafterhis11't...[
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Theschoolheldelectionsamongstudentsevery
yearforofficesforPresident,VP,Secretary,etc.
Timalwayswantedtoedittheyear-bookbut
wasn'tchosenforhistorianforthe2ndtime.
Imyselfdidn'tfeelstronglyaboutoffice.My
grand-dad,Iheard,washeadofacountydistrict
anddidafewthings,includingsettingupthe
firstpublicwaterpumpforfarmlandirrigation
formyhometown.Thepumplastedtillthisd...[
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RarelydidIenjoycallingDad.Ilovehimbut
havephonedonceortwiceaweekmostly
outoffilialduty.Iusedtobebitterandargue
aboutpastandrecentfamilyevents.Fora
longtime,Ifeltmomwhosufferedfromher
marriageanddiedat53wasnotdulyavenged.
Sinceturningattentiontohealth,Iwouldlaunch
diatribesagainsthisdeep-rootedbaddietand
procrastinationandtrytodictatewhatheshould
doinhisdailylivi...[
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IheardtheChineseversionofthefollowingstory
alongtimeagoandittookroot.Everyrevisit
broughtagoodlaughandrefreshedadmirationfor
themilitarygeniusor,incaseitwasapocryphal,
whoeverthatinventedit.
>Napoleonwassupposedtohaveonceexplainedto
>aninquirer,"Therearefourtypesofsoldiers.
>Thefirstarethedumbandlazy.TheseImakemy
>infantrymen.Thesecondarethesmartand
>energet...[
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ThemoreIlive,themoreIbecomeawarethat
smallthingsmatterinmysenseofwell-being.So
todayI'dliketorecordmysicknesslastweek.
Thereseemedtobesomevirusintheairand
severalcolleagueswentdownwithcold.Icaught
itTuesdayafternoon.Symptomsincludedadry
throatandlowenergyatthebeginning,lowfever
andbodyachesinthemiddle,andaslightly
runningnoseattheend.Istoppedcoffee,
fruit-fas...[
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Workisaprevilege.Ihearditalotbutseldomfelt
thatway.OverthepastfewmonthsIdid.
Earlierthisyear,Iidentifiedsomeseriousproblems
intheexistingmemorymanagementschemesatmy
newjobandwasabletosolvethembyproposing
andimplementingsomethinginvented23yearsago.
Itwasflexibleandfast.Itwassatisfyingtoseemy
codebeatthehardware-basedmemoryallocatorin
performanceand,atthesametime,solvet...[
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MandIsitnexttoeachotheratwork.AnIranian
immigrant(fromtheLakeUrmiaregion),hejust
graduatedfromanearbyuniversity.Hestrugglesa
littlewithEnglish,doesnottalkmuchbutsmiles
alot.He'sslender,friendly,energeticbutnot
aggressive.Everyonelikeshim.
Onemorning,wewerebothdeepinheavydebugging
andanothercolleguecametotakeoverhisbugand
Mwastemperarilyoff-the-hook.Thenheranintoa...[
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Thesedays,goingupMissionPeakwasalmosta
breezeandIhavesuspectedthatdownhillpounding
wastoblameformyfeetpainandstartedtopay
attention.Thatwasconfirmedtoday.IusedtotakethetrailatthesteeperStanford
Avenuesideandcouldfinishthetripin1hr
40min.Inoticedgoingdowntookalmostasmuch
timeasgoingup.And,ofcourse,myfeethurt
likehellintheend.Iblamedmyxeroshoesfor
lackofcushioning.But...[
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