Category: Review

April 3, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapters 6-10

April 3, 2026 /

I certainly can appreciate that C.S. Lewis is a famous and respected mind in the field of Christian thought. I also admire his desire to take on the philosophical debate about the existence of God. Talk about using your power for greater purposes. But, I have to say, the more I read this book the more that I am ready to move on. If I was not doing this series, I probably would quit the book. That is not somethings I never say.

I went to grade school in the 1980s. When we had some sort of media day, we looked forward to it with great zeal. Remember screens only came into the classroom a couple times a year. I remember that in fourth grade we were watching a rented VHS video. It was something about a boy and a seal. We got about ten minutes into the movie and the kid cussed a couple of times. I think he said something like ‘shit’. The teacher immediately turned the movie off and media day was over.

It made no difference how disappointed we were, movie time was over. The teacher deemed the whole thing unworthy because of a couple of bad words. I am not going to say that I would have made a different decision if I was the teacher. But, I am here to say that I had heard swear words before. It was the loss of what could have been that was more significant.

There is some bad stuff in this book. I am not necessarily ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, C.S. Lewis that is. However, I what I am learning is that I am getting to the point that I don’t really care. I find myself drifting off while reading because I am not following all of the technical details. Before I started reading this book, I was expecting that there was going to be some kind of epiphany or Devine moment that we could all benefit from.

I applaud Lewis for being candid. I can understand that any victim of sexual assault would turn away from God. School sounds a lot like what I imagine prison to be like. A rigid hierarchy of status and expectations followed by a lifestyle of debauchery. Things are starting to change and we have to take Lewis at face value but it seems like getting lost in fictional la la land is not something I would prescribe to fix his situation.

Part of my attitude relates to my complete and utter inability to relate to the situation. Early on in the book, there was references to literature that either I read or at least was aware of. As the book goes on, those touch points become more frequent and more obscure. Lewis switches context between fantasy and reality using characters and plot lines that make it very difficult to follow.

On top of fading in and out of reality, there is this school hierarchy affectionately called ‘fagging’. I am aware that there are alternate definitions of the word fag but I can certainly see where today’s most common connotation has it’s origin. It is absolute adherence to to the made (typically older) boy having other’s as subservient, regardless of the ask or outcome. Today we would most likely equate fagging to slavery.

The concept is also distinctly un-American. In a culture where we all believe that the opportunity to pull up our own bootstraps is valued, having servants or slaves or at least not having our own autonomy is not relatable. I realize that this is a simplification of the situation, I also understand that this is an argument to be against the idea that God is Good. For that reason, I can see why Lewis continues in the path that he has been travelling.

Things have to change or at least I am hoping so. That is about the only hope left I have in this book. We can start to see that Lewis platonic relationship with the neighbor Arthur is leading in a more positive direction with an emphasis on more and more esoteric book titles. I say that because I have heard of a lot of them but I have no idea what the plot line is about so more fantasy time.

End Your Programming Routine: I would have to say that in the book to date, it is a wonder that Lewis came back to Christianity at all. Today, we are ultra sensitive to mental health as well as equality. I suspect that in those days, if you weren’t born into privilege then your social position was pretty static. In some ways, accepting that position is far healthier than wishing you were somewhere else and everything being someone else’s fault. We will have to stay tuned to next week for that big event.

March 27, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapter 1-5

March 27, 2026 /

Long time coming, I know. It seems like I have been talking about this book forever. That is what it feels like to me anyway and I wouldn’t be surprised if you feel the same way. “Surprised by Joy” is a memoir of sorts. It is self described by Lewis as his life journey that made him a unwavering Christian.

I wouldn’t have gotten here if my moving plans hadn’t changed. While not fully packed, I am as packed as I am going to get until we get some more certainty. You can listen to Monday’s podcast for more information on that subject. But the new found free time gave me the chance to spend a couple of evenings reading.

Lewis didn’t start out without faith. His grandfather was even a clergy man. But, like so many, the parents didn’t take to religion and it lost its place in their family. It probably didn’t help that they were academics and therefore preoccupied by their own interests and pursuits. It has been my observation that academics are the least likely to have deep faith.

There isn’t a ton of context in the book but by Lewis’s description, it seemed like he grew up a little feral. It could be that he was pre-school age, I don’t know. But he also goes onto relay that he was home schooled by his mom. While at the same time, they sent his older brother away to school. Maybe it was a money thing? Maybe they saw something in one and not the other? Maybe that was just the culture of the time?

That only lasted a couple of years until his mom developed cancer. When she eventually succumbed, it broke his dad. It also changed Lewis’s life from an academic standpoint. He was now shipped off to boarding school, just like his brother. Because faith was not a strong component, it really was neither here nor there related to his mother’s death. It just wasn’t a thing.

The first school that Lewis went to went kaput in a couple of years. It was no wonder because from his description, they were mercilessly beaten for no real reason. They also got no real education. He said that his day consists of doing math problems while the other students were grilled over subjects that they had no instruction and subsequent beatings. He brother said that he just kept doing the same math problems every day. Thus, he always got the right answer and no beating.

Numbers of students kept dwindling for obvious reasons causing the school to close. It was off to a new school. Once again, the experience was agnostic as it relates to faith. The second school was a short stint and so I will dismiss it completely here. It was the third school that really made it’s mark. It was here where Lewis proclaims that he lost his faith.

It seems like the turn of events was related to sexual abuse at school. I can see that, it seems like traumatic events can be galvanizing. How can God allow this? Conversely, I would have never made it through this without faith. But, when you start from a weak position to begin with, it is not surprising that Lewis turned away from God. It takes a pretty firm grasp of faith to go the other direction because it just doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I have to admit that in my own life, I have had similar questions. Thankfully, I really haven’t had anything that I would consider traumatic happen. But, the fact remains is how can a good and loving God permit such things as the Holocaust? At the same time, how could there be such rampant abuse by priests themselves?

What it really comes down to for me is that following strict doctrine, you cannot have good without bad. You should recognize that from “Mere Christianity” that we covered last year. I have always intuitively known that, but reading it codified it for me. It is also one of the best philosophical arguments that could be made.

End Your Programming Routine: Right now, we know the trigger of the loss of faith, we will have to see what the trigger is to solidify it. The plan is to read another five chapters for next week. With my newfound free time, I should be able to keep things on track.

March 19, 2026 – The Whole Fish Cookbook

March 19, 2026 /

This is a book that I have had on my list for a long time. I heard about Josh Niland on the Anchored Podcast four or five years ago. Actually, looking at the podcast publish date it was more like seven years ago. I put it on my Christmas List for a few years and then finally I cashed in my hotel points that were about to expire for a Barnes and Noble gift card.

A month ago, I went to the Barnes and Noble store because I wanted to spend the gift card before we moved. Yes, it could also be used online but there is something about going to an actual bookstore. The store is a couple of years old and I had never been in it. I figured that as soon as we moved, the likelihood that I would ever go would be slim to none since I hadn’t gone in when it was much more convenient.

I had no plans on what I was going to purchase. Because of our budget constraints, I certainly couldn’t get crazy. I picked up a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” which I also want to read. But, I kind of ho hummed because I didn’t want to pay $20 for something I could certainly purchase used for $5 or potentially even get at the library. Then my eye caught “The Whole Fish Cookbook”.

I figure that with our move to the beach comes a large probability that our seafood consumption is going to increase due to proximity to the source. In fact, I have made the mental switch that this is going to happen and besides packing, I have had fishing on the brain. I have been searching real thoroughly for a surf fishing setup. In addition, I have purchased a bait casting rig as well as a new reel for one of my backup poles.

Since it has been so long since the podcast, I really didn’t remember a single thing other than aging fish is a thing. It wasn’t explained and I was very intrigued. The number one thing that I learned about this book is that fish and water do not mix. I suppose that if you were a fisherman, then images of the cleaning station come to mind. Gut or fillet and rinse. That is a no, no.

According to Niland, adding water to the flesh of the fish is an accelerant to decomposition. The fresh off the boat mildness is the result of minimum decomposition. Aging however in fish is as complementary as beef but the fish has to be handled correctly. That means no water.

I will admit that I have not tried it yet but I certainly have plans to. The other thing that Niland promotes is using the whole fish. That means heads, eyes, bones, liver and even scales. I will admit that I am a little less gung ho about some of that but I am willing to try something like a fish liver pate or making a fish sausage. The trick is getting enough livers at any one time to satisfy the recipe requirements.

I just finished the book and so I really haven’t had a chance to try anything yet. I will give some commentary on what I read however. Niland is an Australian so this book is written in the perspective of what is local to him. That also means that this cookbook is addressing saltwater species and not freshwater. I would say that the handling instructions are much less accessible unless you are buying fish off of the boat, not always possible for most.

I suspect that this can somewhat translate from saltwater to freshwater species, it just requires a little more research. It is just that I am not aware of a freshwater tuna as an example. But, certainly a trout versus salmon or panfish versus snapper is possible.

End Your Programming Routine: Because I haven’t tried anything yet, I cannot yet recommend this book. What I can say is that this book opened my mind to new ideas, particularly things that go against traditional preparations and handling. For that, it is worthy of considering. The cooking follows traditional French and British flavorings and the pictures are very appealing. I am ready to try.

March 13, 2026 – The Talent Code: Conclusion

March 13, 2026 /

I have to say that this is one of those books that I haven’t struggled to get through lately. Despite the fact that I got way behind in my writing and reviewing, I had no trouble finding time to read it. A lot of the books I have chosen in the last couple of years seem like an obligation to read rather than a desire. I guess that is what happens when you sign up for a weekly deadline.

I think that what is great about this book is that it offers hope. There really is the ability to do anything that you want to if you go about it with the right approach. I also find it empowering to learn that it isn’t just luck to become what you want. Of course, if you wait too long like me then you start to lose that ability. Age catches up with us all eventually.

What I would say about the Talent Code is that this is a worthwhile book to read. Even if it doesn’t work, it offers a different way to look at things. I tend to believe that it actually does work based on my experience. My example is as follows.

A mark of a young programmer is that when code executes and it doesn’t do what is expected there is a tendency to defend the code. This is especially true when the problem cannot be duplicated. What I believe is that code does not just behave randomly, the conditions have not been created so that it can be duplicated. I have seen things that I find very hard to believe, but I have seen it, so it is true.

The act of trying to figure out what those conditions are is deep practice. This is running test conditions that do not duplicate the problem until you can identify the problem condition. It is kind of the opposite of the musician problem but no less viable. Once you can change you opening position from it can’t be duplicated to what is happening differently, you become a significantly better programmer.

Sorry that I don’t have a great story that I tried real hard and became some kind of high paid athlete, programming is the world I know. But, I think the story works, it is what I did anyway. Actually, the act of programming is a good exercise in deep practice. You code, you test, you analyze, code and test again. It does make a person become fairly effective, relatively quickly.

If you will recall, this was not the book that I thought I was going to read when I started. I stated that in the Part One a few months ago. It actually turned out much better than what I thought. The Talent Code is a method to do nearly anything better, not just lead a team or be a better manager. I thank my former co-worker for suggesting this book to me and I am sorry that I put it off for so long.

This isn’t a book that I am going to put on my must read list. Those are reserved for very special books like 1984. However, if I were Dave Ramsey, I would put this on my reading list. It falls in perfectly with Who Moved My Cheese and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It is part of a collection of books that you can use to make your life better. To be honest, anybody should be interested in that.

As I stated last week, we are going back to CS Lewis for the next book. I highly suspect that there will be a couple of weeks before chapters 1-3 appear. We are in the midst of moving right now and to be honest, I haven’t even started reading the book yet. Clearly you don’t need my permission but go ahead and read whatever you want until I am back.

End Your Programming Routine: It is very easy to believe that the elite come from some special stock. You see certain demographics repeatedly in sports. But, you too can can be elite if you combine the right factors. Without a doubt, you can be good enough. That is good to know.

March 6, 2026 – The Talent Code: Part 3

March 6, 2026 /

I am sorry about this one. I should have just bit the bullet and written Part Three in a timely manner. I finished this book in early February and it was just my life getting in the way. Now, I have to go back to the time machine and try to remember what was going on in the book because now it is packed up in a box somewhere. Fortunately I took some notes weeks ago to kind of jog my memory.

Since it has been so long, I could spend a few words trying to summarize where we have been. Part One was all about how greatness is built. Part Two is about where to find talent and now Part Three is about harnessing it. Or said another way, it is coaching greatness.

I think the timing on this is pretty good. It would have been even better if I was actually writing this to come out during the Olympics like I should have. Nevertheless, I was watching one of the twenty something, American, gold medal athletes talking about how it is a dream come true and that this is what they have been working their whole life for this when it hit me. This is where this Part of the book comes to life.

Actually, what really hit me is that these athletes were enabled by choice or by circumstance. Circumstance is what the book talks about but I have to think choice is just as helpful. What I mean by choice is that a gold medal may be an athlete’s dream but it started well before this moment. The winners didn’t just show up to the Olympics and win. There was years of practice going into this moment. And to be frank, an eight year old is not getting to the mountain alone. Somebody opened the door and kept it open at least until emancipation.

OK, I was talking about the parents and not exactly the theme of today. But, coaching is what Coyle asserts as the third component of greatness. Chapter nine deals with a study of John Wooden and his habits. For those of you that weren’t around in the 1960s and 70s you don’t know how UCLA won ten of twelve championships. That is dominance.

What did Wooden do? He had two traits that were effective. The first one was that he did not treat players equally. The ones that needed riding got that treatment and the others were left alone, even if it seemed crazy. The second trait was constant but short feedback. Those two things were his keys to success.

Chapter ten was different but the same man. A good coach is able to navigate the matrix of relationships and performance. They are some how able to figure out what is important in the big organic blob called a human being. They are able to get to the root of motivation and correction. And they do it with theatrical honesty meaning that it is load and very readable.

Chapter eleven is one of those that probably would be re-written today. It was all about the (Las Vegas) Raiders evaluation of Jamarcus Russell prior to drafting him as the number one pick in 2008. I hope that they are reading this book this year as well. Russell had tremendous physical ability, it was said that he could throw a seventy yard pass on his knees with precision.

I think today we would look back and say that while there was no doubt Russell’s athleticism was unparalleled, however he was a terrible quarterback only lasting two seasons. The second of which he was benched early in the season. He had no ability to lead the team resulting in poor performance. After being dropped by the Raiders, he never played professional football again.

This book was written as that was all unfolding and I suspect that Coyle (as we all did) thought that he was going to be one of the greats. However, something so poignant was said in the book by the pro scout. Even greats need coaching. And, this is why Russell failed, coaching with the Raiders has been abysmal (mostly).

You know, you don’t have to look very far to find coaches and success. Think about who is considered one of the greatest current quarterbacks, that would be Patrick Mahommes of the Kansas City Chiefs. And yet, who is the coach, Andy Reid someone that has been perennially successful wherever he has been employed. Coincidence? I don’t really think so.

End Your Programming Routine: So, this is the book. It makes a lot of sense to me. Next week I am going to wrap up “The Talent Code”. Looking forward to what is next I am planning “Surprised By Joy” by C.S. Lewis. It seems to be a memoir from what I can surmise. I will plan to cover three chapters per week. I am relatively certain that next week is going to happen but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a gap after that.

March 5, 2026 – Eating India: An Odyssey Into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices

March 5, 2026 /

Five years ago, I worked for a North American company. We were a specialized outfit that did specific work with primarily North American clientele. That all changed when I signed on with a multinational, conglomerate service company. It seems like these days nearly all of my interactions are from people in India or from Indian descent.

Eating India was the February Left Coast Culinary Book Club selection. We chose it because in our eight years of existence we have never looked at Indian food. But secretly, I wanted to learn more about this culture that I interact with every day. This book is not a cookbook but a book about food (and culture). The author makes deliberate trips to different regions of India and then writes about it. It is kind of a targeted and less sensational Parts Unknown.

After reading about half of the book, I began to realize that India is way more diverse than I originally thought. When we go to a ‘Indian’ restaurant, we are getting an amalgamation and interpretation of the entire country. The largest factions of India are the Hindus and Muslims. I thought that the Muslims of historical India were in the north (and became Pakistan) and to the west which became Bengal leaving India largely Hindu which is not the case at all. India is very much still a mixture of the two.

Hindus are by default vegetarian. For that reason, much of Indian food is actually vegetarian. The Muslims are not, so any meat dish has at it’s roots in that side of the culture. While not prevented, generally Muslims in India do not eat beef as a cultural nod and why most meat dishes are seafood, goat, lamb or chicken.

The Portuguese colonized India in the 1600s. They brought with them new world foods such as potato and tomato. More so than that, they brought the mechanisms to transform sugar into desserts and confections. I never really realized it but I have noticed many a prolific, sweet tooth among them.

The latest colonizers, the British added very little to the cuisine. But, what they did do was take and promote Indian cuisine throughout the world. It was said that one queen had a propensity for tea. Because of that, it popularized tea in Briton and the western world. I would say Indian cuisine to a lesser point than tea. However, I was stricken by how popular Indian restaurants were in London. It kind of reminded me of how prolific Mexican food is in the southwest.

Those were the well known factions and influences. What about the Jains and the Sikhs? Or how about the Indian Jews? I suppose that in today’s world, anybody can be anywhere. I remember that when I was working in China one of my co-workers is Latter Day Saints and he found an active church. I found it interesting that the Indian Jews are amongst the most orthodox observers of religion. The Sabbath and Kosher are two examples. It actually struck me about how similar Jews and Muslims are when it comes to religious practice.

To me, the book was pretty interesting. I am not sure everyone would feel this way as it strays away from our traditional titles in the book club. It wasn’t a cookbook or even a fictional story with an plot. It was someone’s travel observations. I have one criticism and that is the author Banerji writes as if the layman knows all of the vocabulary. There were a lot of food names that quite honestly, I have no clue about.

I think that it would also be helpful to read this book with a map in hand. In terms of spatial relationship, I have no idea about the places that were mentioned. Yes, I have heard of Bombay and Calcutta but I couldn’t point to where they were in India. A book all about regional differences should have some context about where those regions are in proximity to each other.

This book is for people that want to know more about India, particularly the nuance of culturally influence food. It would be a good one to read the e-version so that you can constantly look up definitions of unfamiliar words. I was entertained and educated but I could really only read one chapter a night. There was a lot of information that I was digesting.

End Your Programming Routine: I heard while I was watching the Olympics a few weeks ago that India is now the most populous country in the world with 1.7 billion people. I had no clue that China had been overtaken. I think this makes it all that more important to start learning about the world’s largest country. That is not to say that Indian food is extremely delicious too.

February 6, 2026 – The Talent Code: Part 2

February 6, 2026 /

OK, so we know that deep practice is the key to building myelin. Myelin is the key to performance. But, what is the trigger for this phenomenon. Yes, I am certain that there are cases where it is just dumb luck. I think about my own situation and areas that I perform and I didn’t get there by reading a book and then putting it into practice or going to elite academies. It was just luck. But then there are simply hotbeds that cannot be ignored.

Coyle uses the example of why there are so many Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic. The DR is a hotbed of baseball. I am sure that you can find that some players went to the same school or played in the same leagues. There is a phenomenon called ignition. Certain teachers, coaches possess the ability to get the best out of people. More on ignition next week.

Going back the the nature versus nurture argument, it can be said that there is some of both in high performers. Following the theory, anyone can build myelin, but some build it more intuitively. For instance, there is a high correlation to birth position and performance. The more kids in the family, the more likely the younger ones are going to naturally accelerate.

I think that we can all see why. It is the younger children that are trying to keep up with the older ones. They want to prove that they can do it too. This is the motivation for deep practice. Also a little oddly, children that lost a parent at an impressionable age also accelerate faster. I guess that they are trying finish what was started or prove that they are worthy of head of household status or something.

Hotbeds seem to be more pervasive in underprivileged areas. I suppose maybe we tend to remember them more because they are remarkable. That is really not the reason, the real reason is that people in those socioeconomic demographics tend to be more singly focused. They do not have the distractions of outside influences to take away from the ability to do deep practice.

Something that I believe is that the best primary school students, straight A’s through high school are not generally high performers. They are good citizens, probably good at their careers and probably make good incomes. But, they are not disrupters more so they are good rule followers. If you follow the rules, you will get good grades. Good grades translate into college completion and ultimately professional and monetary success.

To follow that strategy does not take deep practice. Do what you are told, play the game and you will be rewarded. It is that combination of struggle, failure and striving to master that makes up deep practice. Growing up upper middle class like I did has very little struggle. I followed the rules, got good grades and stayed out of trouble. There is nothing wrong with that but I doubt that I am going to be labeled remarkable for those things.

I wouldn’t exactly call my town a hotbed. That being said, there have been several NFL players that came out of our high school. It is a low socioeconomic level, there is relatively nothing to do and football season is anticipated and important in the community. You have all the conditions to meet the definition of hotbed.

Hotbeds of success are born of assimilation. What does the US military do? Assimilate. When you are the coach, you want a team that is selfless and mission oriented. Yes, The Dream Team clobbered the Olympic competition when they first appeared on the scene since there was such a disparity of skill. But a couple of cycles later, they found out that they could be beaten by an average team that didn’t let ego get in the way.

Assimilation breeds an attitude of us versus them. It seems to make the participants care more about the team mates which in turn causes them to put out more effort and sacrifice. Everyone would want a team of LeBron James (at his prime) but only if that means that they all are willing to contribute equally. LeBron 1 could take a contested three point shot or he could pass it to LeBron 2 who is open under the basket and will slam dunk the ball.

Michael Jordan is arguably the best basketball player of all time. He had phenomenal fifty plus point games where it seemed like he was unstoppable. However, without Scotty Pippen feeding him the ball, Jordan’s career wouldn’t be quite as stellar. He still would have been a super star, but at what level? Imagine if there were three other Scotty Pippens on the floor how much better would Jordan have looked? Pippen was no slouch himself but he was the ignition source.

End Your Programming Routine: Hotbeds themselves are born out of chance and the right environmental conditions. There is nothing saying that the source of the best baseball players couldn’t be Indonesia instead of the Dominican Republic except that it isn’t. I think what is more important is to be able to recognize the factors that play into talent. It makes it much easier to make up for those deficiencies with deep practice.

January 30, 2026 – The Talent Code: Part 1, Chapters 3-4

January 30, 2026 /

Alright, alright, alright as Matthew McConaughey would say. I am starting to get into this book a bit. Chapter Three examines hot beds of excellence and Chapter Four is about how to get the benefit of deep practice. This is both the facts and the myths about what we think we believe about life if we are paying attention.

Coyle starts off chapter Three with the Bronte sisters. Now, I am pretty well read including a lot of the classics but I had never read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or heard of the likes of any one of the three Bronte sisters. I recognize the titles and I am peripherally aware that they are considered amongst the best literature. I guess I always perceived them as a little too feminine for me. Even though I will admit I don’t know anything about the plot so I could be dead wrong.

That being said, Coyle asserts that they became great authors by starting out writing quasi-nonsense. Poor spelling, poor sentence structure, poor punctuation and stories that were almost plagiarized from popular magazines is where the development of greatness occurred. This is the attack on the gene theory that some people are simply born great and hence three sisters are the best authors of the mid 19th century.

It would seem like nurture has a much stronger connection to greatness then nature. Renaissance masters were connected to each other via apprentice to master and master to master within the Florentine guild structure. I suspect that this is why college athletes are frequently from the same high school. Professional athletes are often from the same colleges. The athletes are in proximity to deep practice.

Recently Indiana beat Miami for the college football championship. It was said that prior to two years ago, Indiana was the losingest Division I football team in history. I can bet you that at the beginning of last year the new coach did not go out and replace the entire team. No, he worked with what he had. This year’s success will certainly make it easier for Indiana to remain on top with better recruiting and retaining top talent, but what shifted was mindset.

Nobody thought that a 3-9 team in 2023-4 would become an 11-2 team in 2024-5. In fact, when it came to playoff selection, they were deemed a fluke, had a soft schedule and not really worthy. Yes, they did lose their one playoff game to Notre Dame who went on to play in the championship against Ohio State (Indiana’s other loss on the year). You might say that they probably earned a number three ranking for 2025 based on those results. This team stayed together and became a juggernaut. The way they dismantled Oregon in the semi-finals was embarrassing for all of my Ducks fans (I only accept family in that category). Not used to losing badly like my Beavers, most of them gave up by halftime.

I strongly suspect that Coach Cignetti has unlocked the ‘Talent Code’ at Indiana. I wish that I could say that about my team’s coaches. Enough of football though, Chapter Four are the three elements of deep practice. They are chunk it up, repeat it and feel it. I will explain.

To chunk it up, you have to look at the whole picture and figure out where logical breaks can occur. Then you set about mastering any one of the chunks, that is the repeat part. Once you master a chunk you move on and combine the chunks, that is the feel it. It is that kind of thing where when you are right handed and you try to do something with your left hand.

I have tried this with several things like batting, shooting and writing. The first time is comically awkward. Then after hundreds of repetitions, it starts to feel normal. Keep practicing after that and all of a sudden, it is not just natural but intuitive. I sometimes try experiments like that when I am struggling because of bad habits. My logic is that if I relearn it on my other side I can start fresh and hopefully get away from the limitations I have on my primary hand.

While reading this book it has started to occur to me that there is a reason why I was a mediocre to poor high school athlete, musician andcollege student. I always thought that my super power was never give up. Sure, I would outlast the people that would give up and if I stayed long enough I would be the longest tenured and probably the best in comparison. But in those areas, I never did deep practice following the three rules.

But when I look at my success in other areas like leadership, I kind of do that intuitively. I am always more successful when I am allowed to to see the whole picture and I pretty much flail when I only have a myopic understanding. It leads me to speculate on the order or importance of certain aspects.

It is the reason that I always write with so much context. I want the reader to understand the why this thing is so important. Sometimes I even look at my podcast notes and wonder if I have put enough emphasis on the topic over the context. The punchline can sometimes be so subtle that it gets lost in the story. I should work on that but I see why this works for me. It is my talent code process.

End Your Programming Routine: I am glad to find out that we are strictly bound by our genes to our destiny. Yes, I will never be an NBA player and I have come to terms with that but it doesn’t mean that I could be the best at 95% of other things in life. I think I would rather be the best steelhead fisherman than and NBA star anyway. Next week, we will cover all of Part Two.

January 23, 2026 – The Talent Code: Part 1, Chapters 1-2

January 23, 2026 /

Admittedly, I did not know anything about this book before I purchased it. It came from a co-worker recommendation a couple of years ago. If I remember this conversation correctly, I was telling him about my former position at another company. I believe that he said something like, you should read this book that I just read. I wrote the title down and then I just waited until I had some time to fit it into my reading.

Honestly, I was expecting the book to be about techniques to get the best out of people as a leader using teambuilding skills. At least, that is the conversation I was having with my co-worker. I didn’t even read the dust jacket and just jumped into reading the book. To my surprise, it has nothing to do with that. The book is all about how the individual masters skills.

Because I was expecting something different, I was puzzled when I read the introduction. What do high performance teams have to do with a middle schooler practicing the clarinet? It is no surprise there, nothing really. OK, I am going to change my paradigm now, we are going to get educated on how to learn skills well. This is up my alley.

This is going to sound a little spacy but Coyle’s assertion is that the way we master skills is by something called deep practice. That act of deep practice in turn causes a bio-chemical reaction for the body to build a compound called myelin. This is the material that wraps nerve fiber. The more the deep practice, the thicker the myelin gets. This then causes the message transmissions to become faster and more precise. That is mastery.

The phrase deep practice has a specific implication. Deep practice is the act of working until a mistake is made, stopping and analyzing the problem and starting again at that point. Coyle uses a word exercise to try and prove a point. If you struggle with something then you are more likely to recall it and in turn master it. The list of words that he provided with missing letters was more memorable then the list where everything was filled out.

Coyle’s also asserts that there is a phenomenon out there that seems to line up with the theory anyway. Why do so many major league baseball players come from the Dominican Republic? It is because the culture has mastered deep practice when it comes to baseball. They are not a super race of baseball phenoms and certainly pound for pound when you look at Olympic medal totals it not because of genetic athleticism and deep population pools.

He also maintains that poorer demographics are more likely to use deep practice because they don’t really have any other options. They are less likely to have analytics and coaching, not discounting those things but they are making mistakes and learning from them which is what then leads to greatness.

If that is then true, I am reminded of several misguided coaches that I have had over the years. They boldly assert that the phrase “practice makes perfect” is wrong. It should be “perfect practice makes perfect” when in reality the first statement is actually more true. Someone cannot get to perfect practice without practice. And it should also be noted that using this theory, repetition holds no value. If you are not trying to do it faster or better or some other variation then likely you are actually repeating the same mistakes in your ‘perfect’ repetition.

Another novelty to me is the 10,000 hours theory does not play a role but not as big as you would think. Remember that is that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. But, combine Deep practice with 10,000 hours and you will be a master. That make sense for me because when I think about certain things like reading, sometimes I have a difficult time remembering what I read. I am sure that I have probably read that many hours in my lifetime and yet that information is only temporarily available. It goes into my brain and then six months later I would have to read the book again to even know what that is about.

And yet, I think that I am a pretty good programmer. I struggled and struggled to get it. After months of debugging I sometimes found that the program did not work like it should. Things that technically were correct did not execute in ways that they were supposed to. I learned from that particularly to be a better programmer and test my work in smaller chunks to the point that I didn’t need to do that anymore because I had mastered the nuance.

End Your Programming Routine: Despite the fact that this is not the book I was thinking that it was going to be, I actually think that it might be better than that. Sometimes, things that matter are comfortable and familiar, but sometimes they are stretching us and making us better. While a business book is interesting, this may not be the right forum. Next week, we will cover chapters 3 and 4.

January 16, 2026 – Mere Christianity, Conclusion

January 16, 2026 /

We have made it to the end once again. I have to apologize that my focus has not been nearly as good as it should have been. This is only a 220 page book that took me over four months to read. On one hand, when something is dense and thought provoking, speed is not a good metric. But, my plan was not to read and ponder each word but to read a reasonable length block a week. This should have been approximately one short chapter a day.

I think what is pretty telling is that I read about a third of the book before I even started writing. I had a huge jump start at the beginning of fall which lagged and lagged. On both fronts it is telling about how I approached things. One being how late I am and the other about what I thought about the book.

I started out with pretty high hopes. Not only did Lewis attempt to do something nobody else has ever done, but he went about it in a way that was disciplined and secularly approachable. After a quick and spectacular start, the book and the argument got bogged down. That is as good a place to start as any.

In the introduction to this book, it was stated that this was originally a radio broadcast to the British people during World War II. The stated purpose of the broadcast was to provide hope to a nation under a looming cloud of war, specifically the early German bombing London. I think that it is a pretty good strategy to reassure everyone that there is something better than this life if things don’t go well.

I think where I got stuck on a hump is after book one, it is pretty much assumed that the point was sufficiently made. From Book 2 forward, it is all about doctrine. I suppose that if you were a brand new convert you might be at that point of tell me more, tell me more. It is probably a pretty good bet that this radio broadcast landed best with the non-believers followed by the conservative Protestant denominations. That more than likely is the majority of the British citizenry.

I definitely don’t want to argue theology. One, I could get my behind whipped by someone educated and prepared. And two, I don’t really care. I might not agree with doctrine such as the trinity but you can be darn sure that I am open to it and I respect your right to believe differently. I also strongly agree with the better good position rather than pick at nuance.

Despite what I said above, the rest of the book didn’t do that much for me. I am aware of biblical virtues and the supposed way to eternal salvation. I am aware of theology and beliefs and where they differ from mine. I think also that we have to look at mindset. Because I am already a believer and this does not reinforce my beliefs already, the whole things kind of fall flat.

The way that Lewis presented his case, he of course took from his own line of belief as defacto truth. Sitting from where I am, I would have been more interested in going deeper into the justification for those items. I am not opposed to challenging my own beliefs, in fact I would welcome that. But, then again I guess this is not the intent of the work in the first place.

OK then, who is this book for? I would say that it would appeal to Lewis fans, historical fans and people questioning the existence of God but are open for the possibility. I am not going to say that I didn’t get anything out of it but where it started and where it ended were disappointing for me. In that vein, I am glad to say I read it and I can recommend it circumstantially.

End Your Programming Routine: This is one of those books that I should come back to in a couple of years. Now that I know what to expect, it is likely that I will come back to a different opinion. It is short enough to read pretty quickly and I wouldn’t be surprised to have a more favorable outcome or at least new perspective. When something is labeled one of the greatest at anything, it is only an opinion. Just like this.