Tag: programming

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.

May 20, 2025 – King Makers

May 20, 2025 /

This is going to be a light week this week. Tune into next Monday’s podcast to find out more details on why, if you care. I ran across this video a couple of days ago and I don’t know exactly why I watched it, but I did. It was a real eye opener.

Back when I was young, say the 1980s, we could know nearly everything in culture there was to know. If you had cable, listened to the radio and had access to magazines then you were in the know. Being out in the country, nobody had cable until the mid 1980s. But as access was available, some people had cable. That meant MTV and Disney.

I have certainly been aware that Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez came out of Disney programming. The thing that really surprised me was that today’s artists are still coming from Disney. Those would be the very contemporary Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo.

I am fifty now and my kids are in their late teens. It has been ten years since tween oriented shows were playing in my home. As kids do, they would binge watch show after show of some of these titles. I rarely ever paid much attention other than sitting down for 10 minutes to kind of validate that the content was age appropriate. What I am saying is that I pay little attention to what is hot in the grade school demographic.

That being said, I pay little attention to all popular culture other than the headlines I see in the news and what music my kids are streaming on the TV. What got me wondering about all of this is that does Disney just select extraordinary personalities or do those come from spending your youth working on Disney shows? When I think about it, I have to believe it is the latter rather than the former.

I want to say that most people grow out of Disney stars influencing their lives on what is ‘cool’. I want to say that. But, then again I know some adults that are constantly watching Kardashian makeup tips or things of that ilk. What that says to me is that this behavior is programmed from an early age with mechanisms like Disney series.

When we hear the term Oligarchy, I think most of us think drug company execs going into the FDA or at least buying influence. But when I think about it, isn’t this another form of it? Companies taking over brain space to influence future consumer behavior. It is not a conscious behavior but a subconscious one. ‘Experts say do this…’.

Clearly, not every cast member became superstars. Some did but then others didn’t want to go further, some flamed out with personal problems and others just remained in a supporting role. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better start for an ambitious young person. A highly impressionable and rabid fan base with access to Hollywood’s movers and shakers. Think of the advantage Britney Spears had at the age of 18 compared to the run of the mill high school graduate.

It’s not that those people didn’t have talent. But talent alone doesn’t cut it it requires opportunity. It is the same reason people accel to the position beyond their capabilities. They had the opportunity to advance but not the talent/experience/education to thrive. Similarly, how many people could do the same or better job but are not known (and we never will).

End Your Programming Routine: I think that this kind of programming can be broken. It simply requires becoming conscious of the behavior and draw. I don’t hate Disney nor am I against teen programming. I am not surprised or amazed by their alumni, who else would take command of popular culture but people that have defined it their whole lives. Like all things moderation is the key.

January 27, 2025 – On True vs. While True

January 27, 2025 /

I say pretty much what I want to say in the podcast. This concept is sufficiently nuanced and complicated that I won’t do it justice in a short paragraph. This is a programming concept and I do my best to distinguish how you would use each type. The reason that I think it is important is all about that ever sharpening logic saw that I keep pushing and working on myself.

September 13, 2023 – Once I Start, I Can’t Stop

September 13, 2023 /

This must be how addicts feel. Once I start doing a puzzle, I can’t stop doing it. I will literally skip eating, sleeping or anything else to keep looking for pieces. I have to physically force myself to stop. Sometimes even then, I don’t stop. Just one more piece turns into another hour.

Puzzles are something that we occasionally do (fortunately). It is usually a long weekend/holiday activity. In our climate, it is also a beach activity. I guess what I appreciate about them is that it is a family activity. Since I despise most TV and movies, I am not interested in sitting around for hours for little gain. So, it is also an activity that we can be in close proximity.

There must be some sort of connection in the brain between puzzles and programming. When I used to do that, I would get the same sort of feeling. I would start writing a routine and I couldn’t stop. Just one more time would turn into hours and pretty soon it was two in the morning.

I have to believe that it must be good for the brain. I know that my grandfather used to do a lot of puzzles. He was also a big reader and not much of a TV watcher. So, maybe it is in the genes. I was curious, so I did some quick research and here are some links.

https://fortune.com/well/2022/10/02/mental-health-benefits-puzzles/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-workout/200904/puzzles-and-the-brain

It also turns out that this kind of research can be a real rabbit hole. I started watching videos on how to do puzzles quickly. Back on topic! I observe that there are two kind of methodologies. I observe my wife doing a lot of brute force. I some cases, that may be all you can do when everything is the same color or you are just starting. I actually look at both the color and the shape. This allows me to automatically rule out certain sides of even pieces.

I have been accused of finishing the puzzle without my partner. For that reason, I try to focus on the most difficult aspects of the puzzle. I will do the sky or the water because it slows me down. Granted, it is not the most fun part of the activity but I feel like I can really dig into the lessor appreciated aspect.

One thing that I am getting more and more familiar with is that lighting makes a huge difference. I find that when it is daylight, I can see so much better than under artificial light. A lot of that is aging and over the last couple of years I have noticed a significant decline in my eyesight. Fortunately, it is not bad yet but I do have to strain a lot more than I used to. This isn’t great news for that rainy Saturday night.

I wouldn’t call it a tradition, but it is becoming something we routinely do during Christmas vacation. It makes a good family gift and we spend time working together. If your kids are ho-hum about it, the subject can be something that they are interested in to kind of get them going. At least, this is what we do.

End Your Programming Routine: It would seem like this is a good activity to keep doing considering what experts are saying. I am not really much into word games or soduku but maybe I should be as an aging person. It seems like puzzles along with games provide good stimulus to combat some of the worse effects of aging.