I think ... - Thoughts

সহজ বাংলায় Scalability এর একটা উদাহরণ

2024-01-22T00:00:00+06:00

সিঙ্গাপুরের Grab এ থাকতে আমার একবার বস ছিল অরুণ নামের এক ইন্ডিয়ান।

জয়েনের কিছুদিন পরে, বসের কাছে কমপ্লেন গেলো যে খালেদ এই কাজ টা এমনে করে না, অমনে করে। বস আমাকে উইকলি মিটিং এ জিজ্ঞেস করলো, অমনে করো কেনো? আমি বললাম, এই এই কারণে অমনে করি। সে আমাকে এক কথায় উত্তর দিলো যেটা আমার কানে এখনও বাজে। সে বলছিল, “তোমার উদ্দেশ্যটা ভালো, কিন্তু এটা scalable না”। বেশি ব্যাখ্যা করা লাগে নাই, কারণ হোল আমরা দুজনেই জানতাম যে আমার ২৫+ টা টীমের সাথে কাজ করা লাগে, আমি যেভাবে আগাচ্ছিলাম, সেভাবে পাঁচ সাতটা টীমের সাথে হয়তো কাজ ম্যানেজ করা যেতো, কিন্তু ২৫ টা না।

আমাদের দেশের আইটি সেক্টরের বিভিন্ন উদ্যোগেও আমি এই ব্যপারটা খেয়াল করি খুব বেশি রকম, “উদ্দেশ্যটা ভালো, কিন্তু scalable না” কি দেখে হঠাত এই কথা মনে আসলো সেইটা বলি।

ব্র্যাক ব্যাংক একটা মেইল পাঠিয়েছে, সিস্টেম মেইনটেনেন্সে সার্ভিস কিছুক্ষণ বন্ধ থাকবে এইটা হোল বিষয়। ইমেইলে বডিতে কোন টেক্সট নাই, খালি একটা ইমেজ। ভালো কথা। টেক্সট অনেকে পড়তে চায় না, ইমেজ দিলে খেয়াল করে পরবে। অনেকের মোবাইলে বাংলা ঠিকমতো দেখায় না, সেটাও একটা বিষয়। তো “উদ্দেশ্যটা ভালো”। কিন্তু সাধারণ এই ইমেজ এর সাইজ ৩ মেগাবাইট (ধরেন, ৩০০০ কিলোবাইট), যেই ইমেজটা ৫০ কিলোবাইট হলেও একই লেখা প্রায় একই রকম দেখা যেতো। পার্থক্যটা খালি চোখে ধরা কঠিন। মানে প্রয়োজনের তুলনায় ৬০ গুন বড়। এখন আসেন scalability বিবেচনা করি ।

ব্র্যাক ব্যাংক এর কাস্টমারের সংখ্যা যদি হয় ৫ লক্ষ, এই একটা মেইল পাঠাতে ব্যাংকের মেইল সার্ভার (edm. bracbank .com) থেকে “Data Out” ট্রাফিক জেনারেট হয়েছে (৩ মেগাবাইট x ৫,০০,০০০) = ১৫০০ গিগাবাইট। আর ইমেজটার সাইজ যদি হতো ৫০ কিলোবাইট, এই একই কাজটা হয়ে যেতো ২৬ গিগাবাইট মতো ডাটা ট্রাফিকে, মানে ৬০ ভাগের এক ভাগ, আর পুরো ব্যাচ ইমেইল পাঠানো শেষ হতো ৬০ গুন দ্রুত।

এখন বলতে পারেন, ব্যাংকের টাকা আছে খরচ করুক। সেটা এক কথা, কিন্তু আরেকটা সাইড ভাবেন।

বাংলাদেশের বেশির ভাগ মানুষ ইন্টারনেট চালায় মোবাইলে। অর্থাৎ, এই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ইমেইল টা দেখতে যে ৩ মেগাবাইট বাড়তি খরচটা হোল, ধরেন ১০০০ গিগাবাইট, এর বড় একটা অংশ গেলো মোবাইল কোম্পানিগুলার পকেটে। আবার, বাংলাদেশের বেশির ভাগ জায়গাতে ইন্টারনেটের যে অবস্থা, এই মেইল লোড হতে সময় নিবে ১০ সেকেন্ড, যেটা কিনা এক সেকেন্ডএর ও কম সময়ে করা যেতো।

এবার ধরেন, ইমেজটার সাইজ হোল ১০ মেগাবাইট, ৩ মেগাবাইটের বদলে। কি সমস্যা? “scalable না”, এই আরকি।

Growth requires discomfort

2023-04-12T00:00:00+06:00

Growth almost always lies in the discomfort.
The more tolerance someone has being uncomfortable, the more they got the potential to grow.

That also means, unfortunately, if you’re comfortable in your current situation, you’re stagnant; not growing. As change is the only constant in life, the above means, in actuality you’re in decline.

Resting, uninvested money get devalued with inflation. Resting gold gets targeted by miscreants.
Body decides to reduce unused muscles (mass, strength) and bones (density) and start accumulating fat instead.
Not-growing relationships get stale. Dead bedroom, barely held together by the responsibility of kids.
Skills get rusty very quickly. Stop speaking your mother tongue for a year and you’ll be hardly able to speak later.

Keep investing, diversified & informed.
Keep moving, growing muscle & strength.
Keep loving, bring surprise & fun.
Keep learning, new tricks & frameworks.

Stay uncomfortable. Become invincible.

Control vs Agency - The chosen path

2023-03-14T00:00:00+06:00

Most things are completely out of your control, but you have control over your action about them.
The second part is called “having agency”.

You can’t stop the sun from rising, but you can always get a pair of sunglasses.

You can’t do anything when it’s raining outside, but you can take an umbrella with you.
You have “zero” control over the economy, but have control over your spending & saving habits.
You don’t know when your heart gonna stop, but can try to eat healthy and do exercise.

You can’t tell when your employer is going to fire you, but can always prepare for the next interview.
You can’t make someone like you, but you can always love yourself and become the best version of yourself.

Focusing on the first will make you feel hopeless and frustrated. Every time.
Focusing on the second will make you feel fulfilled and grounded. Every time.

You have to choose over the other.
In the end, this is the decision that will define you.

Choose wisely.

Investments with the biggest ROI

2021-11-22T00:00:00+06:00

Once you have the essentials covered, like food, rent, clothes, etc., the best investment you can make is on … YOURSELF.
Duh?! you might be thinking. But hold that thought for a moment. This post isn’t so much about the money you can make but about fixing the internal issues holding you from the 100x, which you won’t be able to make otherwise.

The ROI should be in the 100x range, if not 1000x.

Invest in your physical health and fitness¶

Eat proper food, and secure some time to exercise regularly. Even better, if you can afford it, consult a real-life fitness trainer, not some IG bozo.

Invest in your mental health¶

Talk to a trained mental health professional. Find out if there’s any childhood trauma, subconscious burden, or any mental illness you’re carrying. Then, actively work on resolving it. There’s no shame in having an issue, but it’s not right to make the closed ones suffer because of it.

Invest in continuous education¶

No, not talking about another degree or a certificate course. What I mean is about continuously educating yourself to be a better person, a true leader, a effective planner, and such. Learning can be done in many forms & shapes. There are so many resources online or offline; free or paid; be it books, videos, podcasts, blogs, etc. you name it. Choose the one that fits your lifestyle and daily schedule.
Regardless of the medium, make an active habit of keep learning.

“Buy” time¶

This one sounds a bit edgy, right? I know. But, hold on for a moment. This investment is good to go after you have started taking care of the previous ones. Then, the next best thing is to “buy” more time for yourself. I mean, save your own time by delegating chore-like repetitive tasks to others who are willing to do it for less. Everyone isn’t in the same financial position, and that’s how it works. When considering something to buy, don’t just consider it’s upfront price; consider how much time you have to spend to make it usable. Now, re-invest the saved time in something more productive. When you have a lot of time to spare, you can do more.

Be productive, be happy. Then, please share the happiness with others.

Porqué hacerlo, en vez de cómo hacerlo

2020-05-26T00:00:00+06:00

[The original article is in English. The article below is a professional translation]

Para que la gente adopte cualquier proceso, la parte más importante de la “difusión” o “venta” es el porqué hacerlo, no el cómo hacerlo. Cuando la audiencia está lo suficientemente inspirada, estará dispuesta a aprender el proceso, a optimizarlo para que se ajuste al objetivo y, lo que es más importante, a hacer un esfuerzo adicional (más allá de lo que está escrito explícitamente) para lograr el objetivo o maximizar el impacto.

Por eso la guerra de guerrillas funciona; incluso frente a un ejército formal masivamente desproporcionado. Porque un ejército formal dispone de conjuntos meticulosos de procesos, pero suele carecer de la parte de inspiración en los lugares adecuados.

Como propietario de cualquier proceso, lo primero de todo es estar sólidamente inspirado. Si eso falta, todo lo demás se desmoronará; independientemente de cuántos consultores de gestión hayan trabajado en ello. Para asegurarse de ello, hágase la pregunta del porqué. Profundice lo suficiente como para contentarse con la respuesta. Entonces estarás listo para hacer y entregar la mejor versión de la parte del cómo.

Si vas a delegar un proceso en otra persona para que se haga cargo de él, asegúrate de que esté satisfecha con la respuesta del porqué; no sólo que haya aceptado hacerse cargo. ¿Cómo lo sabe? Ella indagará en la parte del por qué y le preguntará al respecto. Estará lo suficientemente ansiosa por aprender la parte del cómo y ejecutarla en consecuencia.

Why to do it, rather than how to do it

2020-04-26T00:00:00+06:00

[ This article is also available in Español ]

To make people adopt any process, the most important part of the “preach” or “sell” is why to do it, not how to do it. When the audience is inspired enough, they’ll be willing to learn the process, optimize the process to fit the goal and most importantly go the extra mile (beyond what’s written explicitly) to achieve the objective(s) or maximize the impact.

That’s why guerrilla warfare works; even in the face of massively disproportionate formal army. Because a formal army has meticulous sets of processes in place, but usually lacks the inspiration part in the right places.

As the owner of any process, first of all, you should be solidly inspired. If that’s missing, everything else will fall apart; regardless of how many management consultants worked on it. To ensure that ask yourself the why question. Dig deep enough to content yourself with the answer. Then you’re ready to make and deliver the best version of the how part.

If you’re delegating a process to someone else to own, make sure she is satisfied with the answer of why; not just agreed to take over. How do you know? She will dig into the why part and question you about it. She will be eager enough to learn how part and execute accordingly.

A Near-Perfect Day of a Muslim Professional

2016-05-10T00:00:00+06:00

Life is all about the choices we make. We go through new experiences every single day. Each of our decisions make or break the path for the next opportunity or disaster. Be it for our worldly life or the life-after.

As a somewhat-practicing Muslim guy, who happened to be a software engineer, I feel that my schedule or planning of daily life or work cannot be the same of a non-practicing colleague whose life-plan is somewhat undefined. Just can’t.

So, in light of my current understanding of Islam, and the sunnah of Muhammad (ﷺ: peace be upon him), as well as all my gathered life-hacks, I planned to design a optimal timeline or schedule of my 24H daily life which enhances both my dun’yaa and akhiraat fulfilling all my physical & spiritual needs. This also should boost your career, nonetheless, due to cutting out the slack and distractions from our working time.

Please note¶

Though this is designed keeping Muslim values in center, readers from any other religions or beliefs can benefit from this schedule as well.
Just replace Islam-specific mentions(prayer, dua, salat, tilawaat, tahajjud, prayer etc.) with your spiritual activities or self-realization related engagement, just remember to keep your gadgets away.
People from other professions can also benefit from this, but may or may not require some his domain-specific tuning.
Though I used the terms “he”, “him”, “his” etc. but this post is agnostic about sexual orientation.
Remember that this is far from being perfect. Actually, I didn’t write it up to make it so. Rather, it’s a basic structure about what perfection may look like. So, please read or use it with quite a bit of salt. :)
This post itself is not complete. Rather, it’s in very-very-draft stage (take v.0.1.4). Each of the timing decision which i described below should or will have reference/source/direction to back its reasoning or legitimacy.

Ok, without further ado, here is the sketch-up for a ideal working day.

The Schedule¶

At home¶

4.00 AM : Leave the bed, doing some basic stretching, then wash-up.

4.25 AM : Tahajjud. zikr. Dua’ especially if you got something critical coming up today.

5.00 AM : Light snacks, e.g. cookies, eggs, milk, fruits

5.15 AM : Fajr salat, then daily dua’s, and recitation from al-Quran

6.00 AM : some serious(that makes sweat) exercise. e.g. running, biking, gym etc. Remember, sweat have to be there.

6.30 AM : Shower & clean-ups.

6.45 AM : Serious breakfast. Need to be protein-rich. Also enough carbohydrate.

7.00 AM : Prepare kids for school. Have a coffee with wife, and discuss today’s family concerns; specifically of today. Kind of scrum standup meeting. But with wife. While seating.

7.30 AM : Start for work. Dropping kids on their school. Remember to kiss them good-bye.

At work¶

8.00 AM : Entering workplace. Don’t go for coffee, chit-chat or Facebook. Don’t even check work email. Start your working hours with your most difficult/critical task at hand while it’s still quiet in the office. If you have any difficult concept to grasp or painstaking bug you need to fix, start that now. This is your golden moment.

09:30 AM : Open work email. Answer emails that needs no discussion. Postpone discussion-needing emails for the next slot.

10:00 AM : Now put your team-player hat on. Complete stand-up or whatever your team’s to sync-up on today’s plan. Then, address any issue that your teammate is stuck on. Give your teammate time from this slot.

11:00 AM : Have a coffee. Have some chit-chat with colleagues around. Attend inter-team issues. Sync-up with other departments.

12:00 PM : Lunch time. Focus on vitamins, and fiber-rich foods. Avoid oil, sugar, salt-rich foods. Eat less than full stomach. Call wife, sync up with her during lunch. Sometimes lunch with team-mates, sometimes with peers from other departments. Listen more, talk less.

12:40 PM : Zuhr salat. Keep zikr and dua’ at minimal.

01:00 PM : Back to work. People are still at lunch, so relatively quite there. Start your next-most-important thing at hand.

02.30 PM : Have a coffee-break with teammates off-desk. No work-related discussion. Discuss about their outside-work related “projects” or hobbies.

03.00 PM : Attend any necessary inter-department things. Sync-up with boss. Else, go for a quick walk around office.

4.00 PM : Back to desk. Check mail. Look out for any critical task, mail, issue. Solve it.

4.30 PM : Go for a final checkup with team. Gather up all status or concerns.

4.45 PM : Prepare daily-status-report or update all issues, task on your work’s task-management system (e.g. Jira, Asana etc.). Make sure your boss gets copy. If it’s in mail, make sure it’s concise but easy to see key-points.

5.00 PM : Finish up working.

5.15 PM : ‘Asr salat. Some zikr.

5.30 PM : Leave workplace.

At Home¶

6.15 PM : catchup with kids. What happened in school. What new thing they learned. What’s for dinner. Some light sports with kids.

6.45 PM : Have some snacks/tea with wife. Sync-up. Listen, appreciate.

7.00 PM : Maghrib prayer. zikr. Reciting from al-Quran.

7.45 PM : Have a Islamic session with whole family. Focus on al-Quran and ahadith. Your own thoughts are not that interesting. Keep those yourself. For now, at least.

8.00 PM : Dinner time. Remember who is the real provider and sustainer of the whole world.

8.30 PM : Come to your desk. Check personal email. Social happenings. Avoid long discussions.

9.00 PM : Learn something new. Light reading about upcoming technology or personal improvement. Avoid newspaper or any serious reading.

9.30 PM : I’sha salat. al-Quran recite. daily jikr.

10.15 PM : Go to bed. Pillow talk with wife. Avoid arguments. Rather thank Allah ta’ala for this awesome day.

10.30 PM : Go to sleep. Remember you need to wake up at 4:00 AM ?

Reference / Sources / Discussion¶

TODO

TODO

[p.s. Thanks for reading. However, please remember that this post is in very-very-draft stage.
Please suggest a change via the comments section below, or by editing it on Github as the source for this post lives on Github. ]

What Is The Next Big

2011-02-24T00:00:00+06:00

A virus is notorious
but easily overwhelmed by the resources of a bacteria
which is overwhelmed by the complexity of a fungus
which is overwhelmed by the thrust of a single drop of anti-fungal
which is overwhelmed by a splash of water
which is overwhelmed by a room heater

which is overwhelmed by e.m.f of the electric system of the skyscraper
which is overwhelmed by the power-grid of the city
which is overwhelmed by the size of the New York city
which is overwhelmed by a ‘tiny’ splash of Atlantic
which is overwhelmed by the ‘little’ ice cubes of the Arctics
which is overwhelmed by a bright-shine of a sun-storm
which is overwhelmed by the vastness of the sun
which is overwhelmed by the size of a white “Dwarf”
which is overwhelmed by its own galaxy
which is overwhelmed by the number of galaxies in Universe
which is overwhelmed by … ?