58 replies to this topic

[Bikr7549]

I have been retired 2 years this week, and I think it took me about 6 months to get into a routine that I was comfortable with. Some might say that after working for decades with often little to no input as to the 'routine' that lack of a routine would be good, but I needed something of a schedule so I worked it out. As you often hear (newly) retired people say 'I have never been so busy', this is true with me. Hobbies can be a curse at times, especially if there are too many, but none have gone by the wayside, yet. I have been doing the things I long wanted to do but had been either simply put off or done at a reduced level for too long. I miss working on a team at times, but have no interest in going back. 

 

I agree with FB on universal basic employment rather than a hand out, which to me guarantees that people will vegetate, and become slaves to the government. I realize that is a political statement, but that is where I am. Those who are unable to work is something else completely, but we are not discussing that. Also, as FB mentions, there will certainly opportunities that will open up as automation increases, and there really already are needs that are not being met. It took months for me to get an electrician in to do a fairly small job, as the good ones are all busy. 

 

When I was a kid in the 60s I had a few technology books (written for kids) and among the few specific things I remember was that (in addition to flying cars and colonies on Mars by 2000) was that with the coming of robots and computers our biggest problem in life would be finding ways to keep ourselves busy. We have already been dealing with that in car factories for one. Looks like this will be ramping up in some areas soon (truck drivers and McDonalds), with others to follow. I think there will be lots of opportunities out there for things to do, if people are interested in looking, trying new things and want to work. If they don't want to work, that is their problem, not that of their fellow working citizens.

[Greg Locock]

All trades are MIA around here. We had a competent electrician here for a house swap for 3 months and I think he ended up doing about 2 hours work a day. Kept him in beer!

[gruntguru]

A lot of retired people don't manage.

[Fat Boy]

A lot of retired people don't manage.

My grandparents and parents all basically sat in front of the television waiting to die. It seems to take about 10-15 years, but it's reliable enough. The exception is my step-father he is a carpenter and after retiring and starting to draw Social Security has gone back to do doing handyman work mostly for something to do. He pays outrageous income taxes on what he makes because he's working while drawing S.S., but it keeps him reasonably happy. He continues to motor along well after the others are in the ground.

[Bikr7549]

I think it is important to stay interested in things, and to learn new ones. Having interests away from work is important, otherwise when you finally leave you haven't got anything. I've seen that a few times, it was pretty sad. This year I was planning on doing volunteering in a few areas, but that is on hold for awhile...

[Greg Locock]

Here's a great article by an ex F1 strategist

 

https://www.reddit.c...rience_working/

[Canuck]

 

While F1 really is cutting edge when it comes to aerodynamics (although a very niche type of aerodynamics - essentially vortex management), and logistics, prototyping and production, it is (was) definitely not on the cutting edge when it comes to tech. Even in a leading team, the strategy modelling was for a large part stacks of VBA in Excel, very basic monte carlo simulation, and a lot of guesswork from experiences in previous years. There was a huge amount of tedious, manual work and instead of automating it intelligently and in a modern way, they just threw smart interns and grads at it and churned through them. There was little drive or opportunity to change this, as it was working for them (well enough), and the eternal two week cycle between races leaves very little time to invest in building good processes. It was also a wake up call that the guys at the top in the racing (not the design) team are massively experienced in their little bubble, but have had little exposure to how things have evolved outside of F1 in the last 15 years. Hence the spreadsheets.

That is very interesting.

[desmo]

That doesn't surprise me at all. The F1 circus is half pro wrasslin' and half actual sport, more entertainment than pure competition. There's little incentive to innovate beyond new, slightly altered front wing endplates, bargeboard vents, or floor slots. Any advantage gained through better processes or more fundamental innovation would likely be quickly outlawed, why even bother?

[Ross Stonefeld]

Well, it's also a pretty homogenous paddock. I mean, you do something like a Walrus nose or an all CFD car or anything really and it's constant "that will never work". I'd love to say that's skewed by the media coverage of it, and they love to pass judgement, but so often those people trying something new end up leaving the team in the not too distant future.

 

There are a lot of smart people in F1 but there are very few clever people. I don't know if that's the culture or being spoiled by all the money and tech at your disposal, but they often seem to disappear down rabbit holes rather than being holistic about things. Make sure the car isn't fragile, or the overpaid idiot can still drive it, or knowing when to actually make a pitstop when something dramatic happens in the race, etc. 

 

And hopefully this brings us into a wider discussion about 'Working in F1'. Do you want to work in F1 or technology or racing or automotive or? I mean there's an entire industry. It's not just the supposed best series. It's sorta like, do you want to be a good actor or do you want to be famous?