[PatPod] Ep 47. When Will We Retire?
Added 2024-03-01 13:00:07 +0000 UTCIn this episode, Melissa is on vacation and Sabrina and Taha get existential.
Credits
music by @sussvarman
edited by Joe Trickey
Comments
My curse is a short attention span combined with deep problem-solving skills. As an engineer specializing in R&D (more prototypes than production), I've always been drawn to the next shiny opportunity. I love deep-diving into new problems, new technologies, new algorithms, then doing the deep-thinking needed to combine them into a functional proof-of-concept whole. My resume looks like a bee that's been hopping from flower to flower, as few companies have dedicated R&D groups, relying more on project teams who take products through their entire lifetime from conception to manufacturing to support. When I look at my life, it's easy to ask a simple question: What have I actually done the most and the longest in my life? It hasn't been a single employer. It hasn't even been a single relationship. It's been my hobbies. I rode road motorcycles for a decade (specializing in twisty-turny mountain roads). I flew paragliders for a decade (in multiple countries). I've been doing strength training for 20 years and triathlon for 15 years, and I expect to continue with these until my body becomes unable to continue. Triathlon, in particular, has expanded from my own training and racing to include volunteering at events and helping coach adult beginners. Triathlon and strength training have become a huge part of my lifestyle, more than "just" hobbies. What I like about AiP is the rich range of topics, the variety of approaches taken, the diverse talents of the team, and the fun interactions they share. I believe this format is IDEAL for folks with both a "short attention span" and the ability to "deep-dive" on a topic and create a one-off "prototype" as a result. For me, this creates a strong bond, letting me see what others who seem superficially similar to me will do in different environments. I especially like how the AiP folks will talk their way through the early stages of their project as they seek to find both the story and their path through it. So many other creators leave this part out, considering part of the development process rather than content. I also agree with the grind of "the work" needed to turn the gathered knowledge and thoughts into a final video. In engineering, the closest analog would be creating the documentation, both internal docs for other engineers and production folks, and the external docs for the sales/marketing folks and future customers. I used to hate doing documentation. One of my mentors remarked that this was another opportunity for me to do a deep-dive and find better ways for me to approach and create documentation. For me, the key was to clearly envision my reader, to do the work needed to build a rich description of what the reader would need to easily extract from the documentation. On one project we delivered our custom one-off prototype to the customer, I asked to not only write the documentation, but also create training plans and content that I would present to the users at the customer location. That experience both terrified and thrilled me, the entire process being a rich and worthwhile experience. I wish I had made videos every step of the way. To me, that's what AiP gets to do, over and over again. I'd hope you would find a new perspective (and hopefully thrill) in the grinding work of making the video itself. Or, perhaps, hire others to help? As for a tabletop channel, I've been in permanent withdrawal since Wil Wheaton's TableTop series ended. I have extreme social anxiety, and playing tabletop games is one way I can successfully socialize in a structured and controlled manner. I like being able to play a new game with some awareness of how it works, as learning from scratch can be difficult for me when others are around. Fun videos that give a game a meaningful run through are ideal for me!
BobC
2024-03-22 17:42:10 +0000 UTCI just wonder why Sabrina hates stability so much. As a person who moved countries, had to adapt to a whole new culture and language ,and has a job in a live music industry (which is very unstable), i'm very anxious to tweak or change anything because it might cause me to loose my ground completely, especially when it comes to my mental health. I understand the excitement of new things but the things you have hinted at kind of feel like a whole new project, not just a new hobby. I would love to listen to more of your podcasts and watch a boardgame channel, i would even watch AIP branch vlog channel but that's me and my parasocial relationships problems XD. Anyway, what a great episode
Julia
2024-03-16 02:14:50 +0000 UTCHaving watched Tabletop on Geek & Sundry (before they got bought and ruined and...legal drama I think Wil and Felicia still can't talk about even if they wanted to), a board game channel is something I (and other nerds) would watch.
Candice
2024-03-03 05:26:56 +0000 UTCAdam Savage talks about something similar about the waning days at Mythbusters.
Dre
2024-03-03 01:45:02 +0000 UTCI get the feeling of you get so much achieved and then suddenly everything is quiet. I feel some people get that feeling more often than others, but the cycle is something some people can tolerate more than others.
Raina Illune
2024-03-02 06:50:33 +0000 UTCI think at least some time for relaxation is due for AIP. Especially if you’re worried about burnout.
JasonSilus
2024-03-02 02:26:36 +0000 UTCA classic AIP video about boardgame design would be a nice way to explore the idea. :)
Sarah Lamarche
2024-03-01 16:13:46 +0000 UTCTaha could prototype the board game channel with tabletop sim which would help with the two country split.
Kep
2024-03-01 15:15:31 +0000 UTC
