May 10, 2024

What Did I Like at 13? – Retiree Edition

Man taking photo on sea coast
Photo by Simon Hurry on Unsplash

I have read that if you want to decide what to do with yourself look at what you enjoyed when you were 13.  This can give you hints as to your career, hobbies, or simply ideas you want to pursue.  This is especially important after we retire and have more time on our hands.  We need to decide what we want to do with our life now, and looking back at what we liked at 13 may help.

So, What did I care about when I was 13?

Astronomy

I was into telescopes and even built a couple primitive scopes.  My highlight was when I bought a simple refractor from a camera shop that just wanted to get rid of it because it had been sitting in the shop too long!

Science

I liked anything related to science.  The space race was in full swing.  I had my own chemistry lab, including a fancy lab table that my father made me for Christmas.  I was determined to become a scientist when I grew up.  The closest I ever got was programming computers eventually in my career.  (See Computers below.)

Anything Military

Like a lot of kids I was into battleships, fighters and tanks.  And of course I watched every World War 2 movie that came on TV.  (This was the mid sixties and choices were limited.)

Math

In this way I was a little weird I guess.  I actually liked math!

Guns and Hunting

I spent a lot of my growing up years in Pennsylvania, where everyone hunts and owns at least one shotgun and deer rifle.

Model Making

Plastic models were big and I made dozens of them.

Board Games

Computer games weren’t around yet, so everything was board games.  Chess was always popular and there were dozens of different wargames.

Science Fiction Movies

I watched every sci-fi movie that came on TV.  I remember reviewing the TV Guide that came with the Sunday paper and looking for when any science fiction movie was to be broadcast.

Computers

My interest in computers was just beginning.  Of course computers were giant mainframes back then.  No one owned one so you just had to read about them in magazines.

Real Life, and Life Now

So, how did I take those interests and use them in my life?  How might I use them today?  We’ll start with the one where I followed my interests the most and go from there.

Computers

In my career I spent many years in banking, so my use of computers at work was initially quite limited.  But on the personal side I was into computers as soon as my finances would allow.

First was a Timex computer.  It sold for 99.99, and I sprung for he $99.99 memory upgrade to 16K (that’s 16K, not 16 Meg, or 16Gig!)  Next was a Commodore 64, then an Amiga, and finally IBM PC clones.

I eventually started building my own computers, and that developed into a side hustle building, upgrading and repairing PCs.  Later I even wrote a couple related books about starting your own computer business.  One is available on Amazon here.  Somewhere along the line I taught myself to program.

On the career side I went from working in banks to building banking software for a small software firm.  That firm was swallowed up by a big software company and by the time I retired I managed about 60 programmers.

Now that I am retired I still enjoy programming, building websites, and occasionally building my own computers.  So my interest in computers at 13 is still there decades later!

Astronomy

I still have an interest in Astronomy as a hobby.  I read magazines and books.  My cheap homemade telescopes have been replaced with better commercial ones.  The Internet, which didn’t exist when I was 13, is now a source of limitless information and ideas.

This is one area where I can expand my involvement.  Maybe I can start keeping a journal, or increase my observing time.

Science

I still enjoy reading about science and keeping up with what is new.  I subscribe to  Scientific American, and follow science and space news on the Internet.

I’ve often considered building a home lab in the basement.  Not sure exactly what I would do with it, but I’ll have to do a little research there.  Retirement means I have more time to consider such possibilities (in theory.)

Military Stuff

Computer games have allowed grown ups to play with army men.  I don’t play as much as I used to but I still do play occasionally.  My favorite is a Medieval  warfare game called Stronghold Crusader.  Some of my game playing time has been replaced by more creative pursuits (like writing.)  But this is my choice.

I guess someone really into it could collect antique toy soldiers, or get into painting molded soldiers or 3D printed varieties.

I still enjoy watching both old and new World War Two movies.  Of course I have my copies of Patton, Battle of the Bulge, and both Midway movies.

Hunting and Guns

I don’t hunt anymore.  I guess I just feel sorry for the animals.  I do think hunters should eat anything they kill and not waste it.  Deer hunting is still popular in Pennsylvania, and most responsible hunters enjoy their venison.

Target shooting is still fun.  I have a good place to shoot and I enjoy doing it with my grown son.

Old Science Fiction Movies

I still enjoy the same old science fiction movies that I watched at 13.  I have quite a collection of DVDs and more purchased on Amazon Prime.  

My family knows of my tradition of Sci Fi Saturday.   This started as a kid when I would watch a Saturday afternoon TV movie that usually included at least one Sci Fi film.  I still like to watch an old classic on Saturday afternoons whenever I have time.

Board Games

This is one I enjoyed up until a few years ago when I lost access to my fellow players.  We enjoyed many late nights of Risk or Axis and Allies.

I guess I could reach out and try and find some new players, but I haven’t done so yet.

Computer games are kind of similar but they just aren’t the same.

Math

I still enjoy thinking about math, even if I’m not as sharp as I was when I was younger.  Except for maybe some investment and financial stuff I’m not sure where this interest will go.

Model Making

This is another interest that kind of fell to the wayside.  Of course I could give it a try again if I really wanted to.  The Japanese make some very high quality kits.  We’ll see…

So looking back at what you liked at 13 is certainly useful for generating ideas for hobbies, and considering what interests to pursue in our retirement years. 

What were your interests at 13?

Filed Under: Hobbies, Learning, Personal Development, Things To Do Leave a Comment
April 30, 2024

Curiosity Stream Review

Hubble Telescope image of comet
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope

Curiosity Stream is a streaming service for those of us that enjoy learning through documentary videos.  I have had the service for a while now so I figured I would tell you about it and give my impressions.

A Relative Bargain?

First, Curiosity Stram is a relative bargain in the streaming world, as long as you are the right audience.  It is about $40 a year.  Obviously I’d like to see Amazon Prime add it to their included offerings, but that’s not too bad.  I just pay it once a year and forget about it.  As long as I watch one or two videos a week I figure it is worth it.

For Those That Like Documentaries

As I’ve mentioned, to enjoy Curiosity Stream you have to like documentaries.  If you are the kind of person whose eyes roll up if somebody puts on a nature show or the History Channel it might not be for you.  Although you might consider broadening your horizons and who knows, you might be surprised!

It is possible you might find some of the same titles elsewhere in the streaming world.  However for the most part I haven’t found that to be the case

Examples of Content

When you go to the website you find a few highlights and then the videos are broken down into sections.  At the time of this writing these included:

Nature and Environment

Ancient History and Dinos

Breakthroughs and Science Stories

Ocean Adventures

Space and Tech

Biographies

Money Matters

Music, movies and Pop Culture

Unsolved Mysteries

Food, Adventure, and Travel

Kids and Family

A few others

The Lake at the Bottom of the World

As a first example, for the last two days I have been watching a video called “The Lake at the Bottom of World.  The video is an hour and 31 minutes long.  It is about a group of scientists who are working at exploring a freshwater lake buried far below the Antarctic ice sheet.  It was found by bouncing lasers from space off the ice.  They are drilling through the ice down to the lake in an attempt to find life or other discoveries.

Here are a couple more examples:

Rome, The World’s First Superpower

I enjoy reading or watching videos about ancient Rome.  (I actually just finished a book about the emperor Hadrian – I should do a review on that soon.)  Rome, The World’s First Superpower is a four part series, with each episode running about ¾ of an hour.  The episodes included the following:

City and Blood – About the early empire.

Total War – About the wars that allowed the empire to expand.

Death of a Hero – Concerns Pompeii and how Rome acquired great wealth

Caesar –  Used Caesar’s own memoirs to review his rise the power

I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Battle of Jutland

Like many guys I like reading and watching videos about great historical battles.  Jutland was a huge naval battle during World War 1.  It was a battle between early battleships of Great Britain and Germany.  It goes on to review the cause of the loss of some British battlewagons.  This one was about an hour and being a history buff I liked it!

So, if you are the kind of person who enjoys the occasional documentary rather than some sitcom, you might want to give Curiosity Stream a look.

Filed Under: Learning, Personal Development, Things To Do Leave a Comment
June 3, 2022

Two Years Into Retirement

Guys Playing Chess
Photo by Vlad Sargu on Unsplash

I retired from my 29 year job on May 1,2020.  Yes, I managed to retire right into a pandemic.

How Retirement Happened

After starting my career in banking I switched over to the software side of things because of my love of computers and software.  I ended up at the same company for 29 years.  It started as a fairly small company where everyone knew everyone and we had direct contact with the owners.  Unfortunately it was eventually bought out by a big corporation that got bigger and bigger.  As with most big companies there was constant cost cutting and layoffs as well as a shift to as much offshoring as possible.  I probably stayed around longer than I should but the saving grace was many of the people I started out with stayed together and things were mostly tolerable within the group I managed.

I planned on retiring somewhere around the age of 68.  However the company offered a buyout of sorts to people over 60.  It wasn’t anything too great financially but more layoffs were looming so I took it.  One good thing was that I could delay my last date several months which would take me close to my Social Security full retirement age of 66.  I calculated between Social Security, savings, and probably a part time job we would be OK.

So Much Has Happened

I told my retirement story in another post here.  The short version is I retired into the start of a pandemic.  The last six weeks of my career were spent managing my team remotely.  My retirement party was on Zoom.  Travel was out and even a part time job was risky as I fall into a high risk category.

What I Learned

Time Goes Really Fast

You would think with finally having all that extra time on your hands time would go slower.  After all, you aren’t spending most of your working hours working or commuting.

But time does seem to go even faster, at least for me.  Maybe that’s because I have things I really want to get done and my days are pretty full.  There still always seems to be never enough time!

Some Little Things Are Really Cool

I really love not going into work on Monday mornings.  Monday is just another day.

I like going to stores at off peak hours when they are less crowded.  I avoid stores on the weekends like the plague!

I like being able to escape to our little travel trailer in the country whenever we want.

Some Things Are Harder Than Expected

Money goes faster than expected.  I did lots of planning with budget spreadsheets and financial calculators.  It is all the unexpected expenses that surprise you.

I miss my friends from when I worked.  Many of them I knew for over 20 years and even though we try to stay in touch it’s never the same.

Health problems do start popping up.  I’m very grateful that nothing too serious has appeared but it’s more than it used to be and I know as I age it will probably get worse.

Some Things Are Easier Than Expected.

I worried about what I would do with myself all day.  But I’ve kept pretty busy between my interests in writing, building websites, programming, and other “nerdy” activities.  And I read much more than I did before.

I was afraid I would spend too much time in front of the TV.  That hasn’t happened and in fact I find TV kind of boring these days.  There are so many more interesting things to do.

So, the bottom line is retirement has been different than expected but still pretty good.  And I have more plans that may make traditional retirement almost obsolete anyway.

For those of you that are retired what have been your surprises?

Filed Under: Learning, Personal Development Leave a Comment