TOPIC: Finding Grit.

This week, Dan and Merlin return to a popular topic from last week: grit.

Why is it we stick with some things but totally abandon so many others? Why'd Merlin give up on learning "Little Brown Jug" on the trombone, then double-down on nailing "Pinball Wizard" on guitar? How come Dan got so good at programming, but can't kick a damned football to save his life? Is there a framework for understanding why we remember hit points, don't travel, can't draw, and forget why every good boy deserves fudge?

Along the way, Merlin accidentally—grudgingly—reveals that he actually knows things about sportsball, Dan breaks down the exhilarating rewards of immediate feedback, and both hosts wonder how Mariano Rivera can keep his cool after giving up a two-run homer.

Also, there's a pseudo-interesting rathole on why Merlin may or may not start spending more time with App.net.

Links for this episode:

• New Squarespace 6 Template: Dovetail
  
• New Squarespace 6 Template: Five
  
• Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification: Christopher Peterson,Martin Seligman: 9780195167016: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Salad days - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Your Nice New Outfit
  
• Jeff Dee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Five rejected names for Austin BBQ restaurants | 5ives
  
• Re-Creating my Art from S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks by Jeff Dee — Kickstarter
  
• Horatio Alger, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Mariano Rivera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Chateaubriand steak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Giant-Size X-Mann
  
• New X-Men,Vol. 1: Grant Morrison,Frank Quitely,Ethan Van Sciver,Leinil Francis Yu,Igor Kordey,Tom Derenick: 9780785132516: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Jason Sweeney (sween) on Twitter
  
• rob corddry (robcorddry) on Twitter
  
• hotdogsladies on App.net
  
• [video] The Simpsons - "I Have A Ham Radio"
  
• Amazon.com: I Can Do That Games Curious George Hide and Seek Zoo: Toys & Games
  
• [SPONSOR] Smile Software
  
• [SPONSOR] Shutterstock
  
• [SPONSOR] Squarespace
  
• Oscar Wilde's 1895 Martyrdom
  
• Little Brown Jug (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive,4th Edition: Betty Edwards: 9781585429202: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Dreyfus model of skill acquisition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Moonrise Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Deus ex machina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

This week's episode of Back to Work is kindly sponsored by Smile Software, Shutterstock and Squarespace.