Re: OT -- An extremely dumb curiosity question?

[William Case]

Hi Tim X;

[big snip]

> Bill, if your still reading this thread, I envy your position - I cannot wait
> until I am retired and can spend time working on all these sorts of projects
> for no other reason than they interest me. Unfortunately, the concerns of 
> aging
> baby boomers and increasing tax burden on those still working means the
> Australian government (like many others) is tending to slowly increase the
> retirement age. While I expect to have enough super to not depend on a
> government pension, I can't see retirement arriving much before I'm 70!
> 
> Tim
> 
Yes Tim, I am still reading this.

When I first tried Emacs (Xemacs), I tried many of the programs
mentioned here.  None of them seemed as easy or 'intuitive' as the
equivalent desktop gui applications.  But I have resolved to try them
once again after reading what everyone has to say.

As for wishing for retirement,  I have learnt some things that can make
life better retired or not.  I had to retire for health reasons, but
have had the very good fortune to see my health steadily improve over
the last four years rather than deteriorate.

The most important thing in retirement is to keep intellectually
stimulated; but on the other had, the most important thing in life is to
keep intellectually stimulated.  The tools to do that are on the
computer and the Internet.  I have learnt more in the last four years
about an endless list of subjects; that leave me excited over things
that I never knew, in all kinds of fields, than I ever took time for
when I was younger.  Its a question of time allocation not age.

As a sidebar, it doesn't have to be expensive, but create a nice, clean
comfortable den or office for yourself and one for your spouse so that
your surroundings make it a joy to take on long periods of concentration
and so that your projects feel like your doing something workman like.

Like you say you want, now I live from one self-imposed project to the
next.  I make sure that some of the projects are about things that I
know (keeps up the self confidence and lets me run the smart-assed kids
into the ground) and projects about which I have not had any previous
interest or experience (keeps the juices flowing, the head working and
supplies me with a huge number of Eureka! moments).  But then you don't
need to retire to do that.

I am Canadian, but our governments position on pensions etc.is no
different than the problems in Australia or anywhere else.  I used to do
some work in the Canadian Health Care system; the problem of the cost of
healthy elderly has been coming for a long time.  For example, I am 63
and I have another 20 years to go before I am elderly.  In any case,
there should be an international movement to get older citizens using
computers, the young will naturally take care of themselves.  Technology
and the Internet are the perfect solution (for work or play) to healthy
ageing.

-- 
Regards Bill