Wow, this glimpse into his life just made my day. I hope that I never lose the ability to experience this sort of heaven/hell on earth :)

Is there anything more satisfying than making it through something that is nearly impossible?

Charlie Munger is definitely worth learning from. A coworker and I gave him a series of web software demos back in the 1990s and, bar none, he's the smartest person I've met. Check out what he has to say about mental models:

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4669

"You've got to have models in your head," he explained, "and you've got to array your experience-both vicarious and direct-on this latticework of models."

A better link is http://www.vinvesting.com/docs/munger/ which provides his full "Art of Stock Picking" speech in which he gives his opinion on mental models, as well as the UCSB speech & another.

"Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn

This philosophy of science masterpiece illustrates how a community evolves its mental model or paradigm - from a long-accepted world view, to a crisis caused by evidence that contradicts the prevailing model, and then at last to an acceptance of a new paradigm.

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhn.html

My other favorite bit is how the old dying dinosaurs fight the on-coming revolution.

I've done development at various local libraries and I would definitely recommend this over coffee shops. There are more wireless restrictions at libraries but the quiet, privacy, and space to work more than makes up for it.