Month: August 2024

August 30, 2024 – The Art of War, Initial Estimations

August 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments

And we are off. The Art of War is a short book. Mine is 77 pages and that is broken up into 13 chapters. Each week, it should be pretty easy to read the chapter and have some time to digest the meaning. I didn’t just read three pages however, my version has 162 pages of foreword, history and scene setting. Like Dante’s Italy, I had no idea about the history and politics of 500 BC (or the politically correct BCE) China. Truth be told, when any book starts adding a ton of foreign names, I kind of get lost.

It can be the Bible or a fantasy novel it is all the same, if the text is full of unfamiliar names I start to gloss over. So, I didn’t get a lot out of the pretext but a few things. Sun Tsu could be a pen name. He was likely an advisor to one of the Chinese emperors. This book is one of seven classic tactical texts albeit the best known.

The translator Ralph Sawyer relates the thirteen principles to several battles that Sun Tsu allegedly orchestrated. I suppose that this is an attempt to justify the validity of the principles based on the outcome of the battle. But, I am going to save you all of that anguish and we will assume that this is valuable wisdom that we can apply in today’s battles. Whatever those are.

This is my own principle. Never get involved in conflict with someone that has nothing to lose. What does that mean? It means that I have more important things to do than fight. I won’t use any names here but there is a person in my life that is chronically underemployed. This is also a very difficult person to get along with in the best of times. I suspect that the two things are related.

This person has been in the ‘system’ for many years and really nothing better to do, I don’t have the experience, desire or resources to get involved in a legal battle or other such things. I am not saying it is right but a better option is to pay some ransom than waste a bunch of time or resources fighting. The only loser in this scenario is me.

My philosophy is an homage to another Sun Tsu idea. Only fight battles that you are going to win. How do you know that you are going to win? It comes down to the initial estimation. There are five parameters that Sun Tsu says general need to know. They would be Tao, Heaven, Earth, generals and military organization. These are slightly abstract metrics to me anyway, especially when you read the definitions.

  • Tao is the affinity of the soldiers to the ruler
  • Heaven is the Yin/Yang
  • Earth is the terrain
  • Generals are generally the skill and ability
  • Military organization includes things like troop strength and logistical support.

I don’t really want to get into analysis of each of these points but the thing that I notice is that this is really a holistic evaluation. Most people would probably only consider the last three elements in the evaluation and not necessarily the intangibles like ‘We have been on a real lucky streak, is this likely to continue?’ I think the thing to really take away from this is that an evaluation should be performed with a set of values that make sense for the situation.

Having never been a soldier, I cannot speak to that in particular. However, I have seen where weak initial estimations have come back to haunt time and time again. In the software business, I have seen underselling or underestimation of the scope and complexity cause virtual losses in battle. The poor generals lead troops that don’t have respect for the leaders. Logistical support is absent and the terrain is unknown. On top of that the Yin/Yang is not balanced because the plan is to make up the poor bidding with change orders or code in an attrition environment. Grind out the new workers who haven’t paid their dues.

How often do construction projects go double or triple the budget? Way too often because estimation is often more difficult than actually doing the work. Estimation is an interdisciplinary skill that requires knowledge of what needs to be done as well as a little bit of of poker. You have to know where the problem spots are likely and places where the project is likely to give and take.

Too often, this job is left to a polished smooth talker rather than a subject matter expert that has transitioned to a sales role. Also companies dig holes too deep by leveraging artificial advantages like off-shore workers (low rates) or currency conversions (converting a stronger dollar to weaker currencies for margins). This tricks might work to get out of a jamb but often put the short term profits over strategic partnerships or a happy workforce.

End Your Programming Routine: No, I have not confused business with war. Only one do I know anything about but I definitely concur that initial estimations are critical if you want to win the battle. Maybe Sun Tsu’s five parameters are adequate for war? What I can say is that parameters critical for success should be defined for the endeavor you are engaged in. They should be evaluated and refined with feedback. When this skill is mastered, then you will be prepared to determine whether or not to engage.

August 29, 2024 – When You Get To My Age…

August 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Last Monday, I did something that I have been waiting fourteen years to do. I put it off for three years and then I finally had it done. It was a colonoscopy. I am not unique nor do I think that I am going to provide a ton of new insight, but if you are dreading it like I was, maybe I can help you out a little bit.

When I was thirty-five, I was working with my dad. One day, he said “I had a colonoscopy the other day and they found some polyps. Because some of these problems can be hereditary, you should get checked too”. I told my doctor at the time and he said “You are a little young for that but we will keep it in the records for when it is time”.

My wife, the medical miracle has had several colonoscopies already. She started getting on me a few years ago to get one done. I got a referral in 2022 and meekly tried to schedule an appointment but post Covid, short staffing and other excuses got in the way. This appointment I originally scheduled in April for July but I moved it several times due to our other summer arrangements.

Everyone knows about the prep or at least I think they do. I am not going to get graphic about things. Even though I have been around it before there are still things I learned. This is what I learned.

My instructions said to take one dose of the prep liquid at 4 PM. I hung around pretty close all day not wanting to start anything I couldn’t finish. It was definitely nerves that was anxious with anticipation. It took an hour for the action to start. That is the first thing to know, it isn’t immediate. Then it was every twenty minutes for the next three hours.

My second does was at 11PM. Do the math, that means that I wasn’t able to relax until 3AM. Even then, I was worried that maybe the second dose would act differently than the first. My procedure was at 8M. This means that I got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep.

If I were to do things over again, I would not have followed the instructions to the letter. Since I had to eat a clear liquid diet all of Sunday, my preference would have been to start much earlier and then I could have ‘safely’ rested much earlier. As soon as they wheeled me into the procedure room, the next thing I got was a sedative and I was out like a light. The next thing I knew, they were waking me up in recovery.

I cant help but think of one thing that Kirstie Alley said. Her one regret is not getting a colonoscopy earlier before it was too late. Throughout my life, I have been as anti-putting anything up the butt as they come for any reason. I want to be completely honest, this process was not that bad. The prep was definitely the worst. And the worst part about it was starting it so late and having to stay up late. I was exhausted by the time it was over.

End Your Programming Routine: One last tidbit. I have personally observed chemotherapy causing the same side effects as the prep kit. And it lasted for days, not just 12 hours. So, if you are scared or don’t want to deal with the discomfort, consider the alternatives. I won’t be looking forward to the next one but this procedures are no big deal.

August 28, 2024 – The Dark Vineyard

August 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker is the August selection of the Left Coast Culinary Book Club. Our meeting was held about two weeks ago however I was not able to make it, nor had I started reading the book. Not that it is a requirement. Truthfully, I am one of the few that read the books anyway.

I finished the book in about two weeks. It is short at a little over 300 pages. I also did something that I rarely do which is read a couple afternoons on the weekend. As a teenager, it would be nothing for me to read 100 pages a day. You would find me reading most of the time I didn’t have something else assigned to do. In a way I enjoyed it a lot, it took me back to my youth. This is also a clue that I was enjoying my reading.

It is true that I have done a lot of reading this summer but that is because I didn’t have anything else I could do. Now that I have been home a couple of weeks, that has changed significantly. I have things lined up that I want to get to. So, this was a choice, dare I say a luxury.

One thing that I appreciate about the LCCBC is my exposure to authors and genres that I would never find on my own. Left to my own devices, a thriller or a Tom Clancy action story would be where I stay. A mystery set in France I would pass right by. I enjoyed the story. All the heavy reading that I do makes it a nice treat to read something light and entertaining.

Walker has created a series with a small town detective named Bruno who solves crime. While I was reading the book, I kept envisioning PBS shows like Masterpiece as the characters and scenery in my mind. This book is the second in what I know three so far. This has been the only one that I have read.

Wine is the subtle thread of the story. Many of the characters are vineyard owners, winemakers, bottle shop owners and all are consumers of wine. This was a perfect book for the book club in my mind. Food plays a minor role, wine plays a major role and entertainment is the star. It sure beats reading cookbooks for pleasure.

I won’t give away the story. But, there are several crimes that occur throughout the book. I also won’t say it is predictable even though I guessed the perpetrator pretty early on. You have to read to the end to see it all woven together. Walker does a pretty good job of not leaving too many clues other than to say there is one character who’s actions don’t make a lot of sense and yet seem to be popping up in most chapters.

Is it a must read? No. Was it enjoyable? Yes.

End Your Programming Routine: For books we have read this year, I would rank it below Lessons in Chemistry. That makes it the second best book of the year. I would put it above Kitchens of the Great Midwest and Delicious ranking it pretty high in recent reads. Given that I have only read Dante and these books, it ranks pretty high amongst what I have read this year. So, if you are looking for something to make you hungry or an easy plane read, this is not a bad choice.

August 27, 2024 – Have You Ever Wondered About Repair?

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I have always been a connoisseur of sunglasses. When I was a junior in high school, I bought my first pair of Oakley Frog Skins with a blue iridium coating on the lenses. Unfortunately, I sat on them in the car seat within six months. I sent them in and I got my one replacement pair. I don’t remember their final demise but I think I broke them within another year and I was in college, without the funds or the desire to replace them.

In 2005, we went to Maui for my brothers wedding. Since it had been thirteen years since my last ‘expensive’ pair, I decided to treat myself to some wire framed Ray Bans. My hopes that they would be more resilient than the plastic framed Oakley’s. Fortunately, my vision has been pretty good. And, because I live in the more often gray Pacific Northwest, sunglasses season is when the weather is good. So after our trip, I left the glasses in my truck so they would be there when I wanted them.

Whether it was a manufacturing flaw or just the conditions, the polarization film is between two pieces of glass. The film started to contract between the glass looking terrible and clouding vision. I bought these Ray Ban’s at the ubiquitous Sunglasses Hut. They also have a one replacement policy within a year. So, I got another pair of Ray Bans in 2006.

I started treating them with kid gloves or at least I tried. I remember the day in 2012 that I was helping my wife to the car after a follow-up with the doctor from cancer the first time. I wasn’t wearing the glasses but they fell off my person and landed on the temple on cement. That force popped the lens out and tweaked the frame. In my attempt to bend the frame in position to hold the lens, I made it worse and worse. I could get the lens in but then looked terrible on my face. I finally gave up and they were relegated to my basket with wallet and keys.

Before repair
Before Repair. It is hard to see how bent the frames really are and the left lens is not attached to the glasses.

After giving up on them, I got another pair of Oakley’s in 2019. I told my wife that I still want to fix my Ray Bans. I was always going to… take them to a local optometrist and find out if they could fix them, mail them into a glasses repair service, not abandon them. It was while I was organizing my personal space getting ready to go back to the hospital a couple months ago that I said to myself, fix these or throw them away.

I searched ‘Ray Ban repair’ and one of those heavily advertised sites came up. They had branches in Kirkland, WA and four or five in California. They advertised $39-69 for the average repair and one day turn around service. I really just needed the frames straightened properly so I figured that this was worth the gamble. I followed the instructions and waited. Here is what happened.

After about ten days, they called me and gave me an estimate. I gave the go ahead. About five days later, they called and wanted me to pay. Unfortunately, it was Saturday and I was at a play so I had to return the call on Monday. By Thursday of the next week, I had my glasses back, good as new. The following is the breakdown of the cost.

  1. $10 Priority Mail to Kirkland.
  2. $39 for cleaning and repair
  3. $10 to replace the rubber (optional)
  4. $10 tax
  5. $10 to ship them back to me

If you are doing the math, it took about 20 calendar days and $80 to fix. That sure beats twelve years broken. I am pleased with the work and the results. I personally think that the turnaround time didn’t meet my expectations and all the added expense of shipping was quite a bit more than the ads lead me to expect. But, a broken set of sunglasses are not worth the space they have been taking all this time.

As you know, I am a believer in repair. I had asked my eye doctor about repairing old eye glasses that I had with a new prescription. They amped up the risks of broken components, no warranty, risks etc. My belief is that they are more interested in selling new glasses than actually taking care of their customers. So I never pursued fixing my glasses with them. A service that isn’t going to put the fear of god in you to ship something seems more appealing.

These glasses originally cost me around $200 so and $80 repair seems reasonable. I am not sure that they make this model anymore either. Narrower height lenses that stretch across my face are more complementary than big, round lenses. The truth is, my big regret is not doing this years earlier. In fact, at one point my wife was using the case for her sunglasses saying that I didn’t need them anymore. That was true. Nobody should take twelve years to fix something.

End Your Programming Routine: Don’t be like me. If something is important, take care of it. While I wouldn’t say that the repair service delivered on value in both time and cost, I am grateful for the end result and that I could conveniently mail the glasses in and pay for them and they would be fixed. Value is a subjective metric. To me, it was a valuable service. Be prepared to wait and pay but also get what you want.

August 26, 2024 – Reboot

August 26, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I am back after taking a couple weeks off. Following my last podcast, I decided to spend my time off evaluating changes that I want to make. Tune in today to find out what those changes are. Hopefully, you will find this a better overall experience.

August 23, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Conclusion

August 23, 2024 /

We are finally at the last act for Dante. If you recall when I started, I was trying to delve more into faith with fiction. It didn’t take long for me to discover that this was more fiction with a faith backdrop. This lead to a long period of disappointment until I reconciled with Dante. More on that in a minute.

It was late into Paradise when I had a revelation. I always knew that Dante was destined to head back to earth. It was this story that he was commanded to take back. That was the genesis story for the Devine comedy.

If I had to stack rank the three books, this would be my order Purgatory, Hell and then Heaven. I know that might be a surprise, I think that I am too. But, of the story Purgatory actually makes the most sense to me. I still don’t believe in Purgatory, but I can understand the logic of how it works. I liked the creativeness of Hell and I was disappointed with Heaven.

I am glad that I read it. With the dust settled a bit, I can appreciate it a little more. It is considered one of the great works of literature. I don’t respect ‘great’ too much but it did allow me to contemplate my own faith given the contrasting opinion with Dante’s view of faith. It is one of those things that you can check off but I don’t think that I will likely be reading it again.

I think that you could probably read this twenty times to catch all of the nuances. I found myself getting caught up in all of the footnotes and backstory to really get in the groove. Some nights it was really hard because my reading was so disjointed flipping back and forth between the footnotes and the actual text. I could hardly remember what I read.

I know that you were all reading along with me right? Sure. Would I recommend this as an entertaining work of fiction? Honestly, I would say no. This is a scholarly work that is deep in Italian history, Greek and Roman mythology and Catholic regimen. I am not telling you what to do, but I am telling you that this is very hard to read. It is harder to understand and impossible to fully identify with.

I have heard that some reading clubs do The Devine Comedy in 100 days. This is because there are 100 Cantos. As much as I read, that would be pretty hard for me to do. Each Canto represented approximately 30 minutes each for me. So, I have about fifty hours into the book. Realistically a lot more than that but who is counting.

You can’t blame Dante really. He was pissed off about getting banished from his home. I would make fun of my enemies too if I were to write a story. The name Comedy was in the title. So shame on me for having different expectations. While I didn’t laugh much, I could see the sarcasm and irony both elements of humor. I am sure that if I had more context with many of the characters, I might have found it more funny.

I can’t remember if I said this or not, I think that I have. Despite not being a Catholic, I have a deep respect for the organization. There is no doubt that many bad things have been done in the name of the Lord. It is the mission of the church that I admire and not the people. That is one of the things that a lot of Catholics seem to miss, including Dante.

End Your Programming Routine: My final answer is that I am glad I read it and I am glad that I am done. Since I read the inferno in high school, reading the full work gave me a much more comprehensive view of the story. I am definitely looking forward to turning the page on The Art of War.

August 16, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Conclusion

August 16, 2024 /

So, it has been a long road. Part of me wants to wrap things up completely and part of me wants to savor the end. Since I had a summary at the end of each book, I thought. It muddy the waters between the thoughts of Paradise versus the entire work. While I will save my total thoughts to next week, you can probably guess based on the sum of all of my writings.

Dante’s Paradise is comprised of nine official, ten total and eleven technical levels. The eleventh is technically pre-paradise but I took that as it’s own week since there was all of the pomp and pageantry of crossing the river and such. Those levels were

  • Moon – Incontent
  • Mercury – Ambitious
  • Venus – Lovers
  • Sun – Wise
  • Mars – Warriors
  • Jupiter – Rulers
  • Saturn – Contemplatives
  • Fixed Stars – Faith, Hope and Love
  • Primum Mobile – Angels
  • The Empyrean – God and the highest of high

I guess my summed impression is different than Dante’s. First, I never imagined that heaven would have levels. I was told that someone dies, that we would meet in Heaven. If we came from two different positions in life, based on Dante’s description we could be on two different levels forever. It could be my earthly thinking but I want to believe that my version of Heaven is the more accurate one.

Second, I haven’t dwelled much on what heaven would actually be like. I always kind of thought it would be euphoric. But, Dante may be more right than me in this area. Contentment might be the better virtue description here. What could be a better state than perpetual contentment never wanting or never needing.

Like the previous books, I find it convenient that Beatrice, an essentially unknown historical figure and love of Dante’s life is his guide and takes a seat at the top. In the lower levels the figures of interest are Dante’s enemies and people that he holds in disdain. It definitely tempers how I feel about the potential accuracy of Paradise.

Ultimately, Paradise left me feeling a little underwhelmed. I was expecting more big named bible stars and historical figures like the previous two books. I think that the work does little to settle the free will vs. predestination argument. It seems like Dante was talking out of both sides of his mouth with both mechanisms in play.

My version of Christianity has predestination as the end of your life but free will as what you do in between the beginning and end. I think that we are predestined to go to heaven unless we do things to interrupt that. And I would imagine us all ending in the Empyrean not permanently on different planets.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week I will issue the final verdict for the entire work. Don’t forget that we will be starting the Art of War following that. I haven’t even had a chance to look at the book yet despite I have had it in my possession for several months. While Paradise is not what I ultimately expected, it doesn’t mean that it is still my ultimate goal.

August 12, 2024 – From the Heart

August 12, 2024 /

Perspective is always valuable. It is really hard to get perspective alone unless you have a mirror or a camera to see what you are doing. In order for me to get it, I need to get some air, maybe even get out of the pool and watch my video using a swimming analogy. I am not going to spoil the podcast, but I do a little self analysis today. You may be surprised at what I am thinking.

August 9, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto XXX – XXXIII

August 9, 2024 /

We are at the the end. I am not totally sure how this fits into the cosmology scene. Since there was already a level on the sun it is not that. This blazing rose is so bright that Dante cannot see Beatrice’s face. Is this an actual star? Who know.

Empyrean is full of mysteries but also contains some answers. For instance, why does this not merit a level? I suppose that it could be like pre-hell or pre-purgatory but this is a final destination. It is the prize. Unlike the pre stages, those are waiting for entry and will ultimately get the soul’s just desserts.

One thing that is finally solved for me was where were the rock starts of the Old Testament? With the exception of David, we finally get to see some of them here like Moses. There were plenty of very faithful souls that never got a mention like Noah and Jonas. Instead, we got a whole lot of popes and kings that had very little overall influence on Christianity.

Without delving too much into theology, there was a path before the crucifixion to heaven. If I were trying to write a convincing story I would think that it has to include many of the known characters that were extremely faithful and surely I would expect to see before Adam and Eve.

I never gave it much thought. I suppose that Adam and Eve represent the Christian foundation of humanity but they were the origin of sin. They did disobey God so it is hard to me to believe that they deserve higher seats than others. I have to say that I am conflicted on this one.

As the rose is described, God is at the center of it. There are layers of petals that are seats belonging to the ultra faithful. The closer you got to the center the more godlike you were. There were some interesting choices with seats in the rose. One of them was a whole vertical of Hebrew women. Another was unborn children. Of course none of this was really explained or detailed. There you go Catholics. At least all of the aborted fetuses have a seat next to God.

Dante’s time is short here as he must return to earth. He never sees or God or Jesus. Not too much is said about them other than it is too bright to stare into. I find it interesting that the apostles are in the lower levels of heaven and yet Beatrice, Dante’s personal obsession ranks higher than the founders of Christianity.

Finally, there is no doubt that Mary is worthy of being next to God. She was chosen by God. But, since I am not Catholic, I don’t hold the same reverence for the Virgin Mary. In fact, in my book Bernard’s prayer to the Virgin Mary borders on idol worship, the first commandment. I kind of keep my distance from this whole idea but ‘thou shalt not have any idols before me’ is a violation of that. Mary is not one of the Trinity (father, son and Holy Spirit) nor is she in the center. I rest here.

End Your Programming Routine: We have gone through many, many weeks of this tome. Next week I will be talking about Paradise in total. My final thoughts will be the entire work the following week. If we are looking farther than that ahead, the next Brooke is going to be Sun Tsu’s Art of War. Keeping it here one last time, according to Dante the ultimate reward is true love. That is something that modern Christianity can identify with.

August 8, 2024 – Are You Enjoying the Olympics?

August 8, 2024 /

The Olympics are almost over for another four years. If there is any silver lining in being cooped up in a hotel/hospital room is that there is not that much to do. I would never sit down and watch hours on hours of TV especially not day after day. But yet here I am with the TV on most days. Sometimes it is background but sometimes I watch glued to the TV.

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the Olympics. I wrote about it as I was traveling in 2022. That was another occasion where I didn’t have much to do except flip the TV on at the hotel. This goes all the way back to my first exposure in 1984. While I didn’t see much of it for various reasons it sowed the seeds for a lifetime of fandom.

Here is what I have seen so far. It appears to me that the United States has lost its complete dominance of the summer games. If you go back a few years ago to the golden era of Micheal Phelps who won everything that he entered, it seemed like the US could not lose. These games, I am watching gold medal favorites land Broze medals.

The media likes to skew the overall results by posting the US having the most medals of any country. When you look at the breakdown of medals, the US does not have the the most golds, They have triple the bronze to gold (side note: I am writing this a week before it posts). I see a much more equitable distribution of talent than I have ever have in the past.

Of course I am always going to root for the US first. But, part of what I love about the Olympics is the human interest aspect. There was a story about some divers from Mexico that paid their own way to get there and promised to auction any medals as proceeds to repay debt on the trip. Fortunately, somebody stepped up on their behalf but this is the will and the drive to sacrifice everything for a chance.

I have already watched so much that I have seen events I have never seen before. I caught fencing for the first time. I watched equestrian riding, triathlon, water polo and rugby for the first time. My son played rugby one year. I told my wife that I have forgotten more about rugby that I currently know. I won’t say that I get it totally know but seeing teams that know what they are doing kind of make sense now. It always seemed like sort of senseless melee when middle schoolers were playing.

I don’t know if I have a favorite event. Like a lot of things in my life, I admire people that are passionate about what they do. At this point, I am more than double the age of most of the people that have dedicated their lives to a specific pursuit. That means that I have been out of shape longer than they have been alive. But, perception is reality and to them, this is everything.

I used to have infinite will power. I could set my mind and sacrifice until the end of the earth. Some of that is still buried in my somewhere but unfortunately for me, I have never been much of an athlete no matter how much I willed and sacrificed for it. What that process taught me was that anything reasonably achievable could be accomplished with a plan and work. That part I still have. I just had to go after the right goals that fit my abilities.

As the Olympics wrap up, it seems like our banishment to Portland is going to end as well. The trends and motions that the doctors are making leads me to believe that we are a few days from going home. It may not feel as good as winning a gold medal but I am feeling like a million bucks in anticipation of this experience being over. I will take this change in perspective that is watching the Olympics to pass time to really enjoying it while it lasts.

End Your Programming Routine: I am actually surprised that my wife has had the Olympics on nearly continuously. It certainly is something different than binge watching all the shows that she normally watches. We haven’t talked about it, but I think that we kind of feel the same way about the human interest. We are not 100% different, but pretty close. Finally something that we can agree on.