use File::Basename        qw( dirname );
use File::Spec::Functions qw( rel2abs );

my $include_fq = rel2abs('common.inc', dirname(rel2abs($0)));

if (!do($include_fq)) {
   my $error = $@ ? $@
             : $! ? $!
             : 'did not return a true value';
   die("Unable to load common stuff: $error\n");
}