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Re: What do you think?

Robert blogged about the power of asking “what do you think?”

It brought up memories from my formative years when grown-ups had also given me the gift of this question. I don’t know how children elsewhere had it, but these were rare departures from the “grown-ups know best” norm that prevailed in my corner of the world at the time.

Mind you, these weren’t the “let’s see what the silly kids think” routine that inevitably comes up at family gatherings. We would have been discussing a topic in earnest, or solving a problem, or mulling over a decision. The stakes may not have been high, but they were real, and that made all the difference.

“What do you think?” invited me to participate rather than to merely observe. It showed me that I could contribute meaningfully. Instead of striving to be heard, the challenge was to form an opinion that was worthy of the hearing. Imagine what a rush it would have been, as a child, for your view to be acknowledged; more so, for it to be tested and sharpened on its merits; to say nothing of seeing a sliver of it in the final outcome, however small.

Every one of these interactions built my confidence and shaped the life I have today. I’m grateful to the people who gave me these gifts, and take this as a reminder to pass it on to those around me.

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Droplet stains off the shower screen

The shower in my bathroom is enclosed in a clear glass cubicle. The nice thing about the clear glass panels is how light and spacious they look. The not-so-nice thing about them is how quickly and obviously the dried up droplet marks accumulate and stand out.

And boy are they stubborn. They don’t wipe off with Windex. The “leave on then rinse” soap scum removers don’t work on them. Neither does dish washing liquid, nor rubbing alcohol nor WD-40. The only thing that worked (up till now) was copious amounts of JIF and intense scrubbing with a rotary scour pad on a cordless drill. Even then, it was like scraping gum off the bottom of a sneaker.

Then, just this weekend, I discovered vinegar!

As it turns out, these stains are carbonate mineral deposits left behind after the shower droplets evaporate; and the only way to break them down is with an acid like vinegar. So I bought a bottle of cleaning vinegar from the local supermarket, sprayed it (undiluted) on the panels with a spray bottle and left it to soak. After fifteen minutes, I used a microfiber cloth to loosen the stains and hosed the panels down with the handheld shower.

The panels were spotless. It was like a miracle. For so long I’d been brute-forcing it mechanically, when a chemical solution (ha!) had been sitting in the pantry this whole time. With vinegar and a bit of time, these stains clear up as easily as your phone screen with an alcohol wipe.

My mind was so blown by how well this worked, I had to write about it. Hopefully it helps someone out there!

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How prices come down

We were discussing a new app claims to offer significant discounts for dining out (there’s a whole bunch of them out there).

Ever since prices started going up about a year ago in response to global post-pandemic inflation, I’d been pondering on what it might look like when they eventually correct and come down.

Unlike the path it took on the way up, I doubt the price of a takeaway coffee would suddenly decrease from $5.00 to $4.50 to $4.00 within a perceptible timeframe. This new app along with the proliferation of cashback QR code schemes I’ve noticed recently made me wonder if one of the ways prices make their descent is in the form of businesses offering deep discounts because the market and competition demand it.