Finally had some time to really dig into the workshop video. I am running a full verification fully indexed Bitcoin node on mainnet, but up until now, had not set up testnet. Now I have them both running simultaneously on different ports and different directories of course.

The history of Szabo's smart contracts and your analogy to Hero's vending machine I found very helpful. Making a complex concept like smart contracts easily understood is itself, a rather complex task.

The examples of smart contract types you cover: elections, ballgames, escrow, & lottery expanded my understanding substantially.

The Bitcoin script built-in functions: I appreciate that you build circuit boards using Boolean operations, and it seems that this area can unlock many interesting capabilities.

Describing Bitcoin script as "Yoda speech" helps as well, where the verb or function comes last and the nouns or parameters come first.

The Saints Packers ballgame script you developed is clear. The video is perfect for me to pause and go back where required for me to internalize the mechanics.

"Everything is a stack" in Bitcoin supports the section on how the Bitcoin VM works. It's a different model for me to wrap my head around, but with practice, I will get accustomed to it.

The execution phase, has a bit of complexity that I will need to sort through.

I appreciate the references to Antonopoulos' works which are indeed excellent and the ide.scriptwiz.app is a great resource as well.

It really feels like my understanding of the protocol has been leveled up substantially. Probably the best $20 in sats I have spent all year. Great work! Have a few more sats.