6 ms·

I could probably write a blog post with the opposite title, sth. like "My life got ruined by the Commodore C64". Equally hyperbolic, the narrative would go some

• Aldipower 3mo ago
  Sounds like the normal mid-life crisis. :-P Would probably hit you with every other job too.
  • kuerbel 3mo ago
    I don't know. IT is a bit different in that regard. As a doctor, even if the system is shit, you still help people directly. As an engineer, you build something tangible that can make people's lives easier. And so on. In IT, though, the impact often feels much more indirect. Most of the time you're optimizing processes or helping businesses become more efficient, rather than improving people's lives in a direct way. You're often several steps removed from the people who ultimately benefit from your work. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it just doesn't feel very meaningful to me.
    • inigyou 3mo ago
      Find an IT-related problem facing the whole world right now and fix it. For example phone enshittification. Make your own phone that isn't shit.
      • inigyou 3mo ago
        As other people said everyone goes through this at a certain life stage. You go from exploring the world and developing your own skills, to figuring out what impact you want to have made on the world after you're gone.
    • squishington 3mo ago
      I feel this in my engineering work. My software goes into cars that are mostly bought by rich people. Not very satisfying. I'm somewhat lucky my work goes into real products rather than shelved research projects. But I get my kicks out of helping friends and family with IT tasks. Set up a pi hole for someone. Give them an openwrt router with a wireguard VPN to my jellyfin server. Set up a cheap thinkpad with Debian. It's basic but it makes a visible difference.
    • ButlerianJihad 3mo ago
      I had the same kind of childhood with the VIC-20 and C=64 (and TI-99/4a in school as well). And having launched my career in I.T. I started as a Network Operator and then quickly promoted to systems administration, with SunOS 4.1.x mostly. And I had purchased a beloved briefcase which I dutifully took to work each day, but my job wasn't really working with paper, much less anything that I needed to bring home with me. And through those early years I really did fret about this: I produced nothing tangible at work. My work wasn't classified or secret, but there was nothing relatable I could really discuss about my work! What could I show people to prove I was a productive worker? How could I prove my worth, such as later on a résumé to a future employer? There was really just nothing. And it went on like this for decades. I am sure that I, like many, struggled mightily with this intangible nature. Even my father, as a scientist, at least he brought home the Geiger counter, the film badges, the pager and the gadgets.
    • kid64 3mo ago
      I suggest you run this by an actual doctor.
  • weinzierl 3mo ago
    If you grew up with a Commodore your mid life is way past.
    • evanelias 3mo ago
      How do you figure? Commodore had strong sales through the late 80s, and the C64 wasn't discontinued until 1994. My family's C64 was the first computer I ever used, and I am barely in my mid 40s. And although my family later purchased an IBM PC clone around '89 or '90, that just meant the C64 moved into my older brother's room, where we used it even more.
      • weinzierl 3mo ago
        Life expectancy for most people on HN should be around 72 (give or take), so mid life is in your mid thirties. Also, using the Commodore in the 90's is probably pretty rare.
        • evanelias 3mo ago
          "Mid thirties" is absolutely not a common definition of mid life. For reference, Wikipedia defines "middle age" as being the age range from 40 to 64, based on citing nine different sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_age And also why do you believe the life expectancy for HN users (mostly adults, large portion based in US) is only 72?!
          • weinzierl 3mo ago
            Sure and there you have the problem. No wonder people who do not take mid life literally and plan as if half of it is over with 36 (or let it be 40 if you must) are in crisis with 50. "Midlife" is really just an euphemism for "old, but in denial".
  • kleiba2 3mo ago
    There's certainly that. But a lot of the points of the sibling and nephew comments here ring true, too.
• sungjwoo 3mo ago
  Hello there -- I'm the guy who wrote the article! And I couldn't help but laugh at your comment. You are 100% correct, it could very easily go the other way. My story is that I actually graduated with a degree in English (as in literature!) and the only CS class I took was Pascal (where a friend of mine, who was also in the class, joked that we both got another language for a grade - C). I'd never intended to be in a CS career, but the way I see it, the gravity of the C64 was simply too strong. I was pulled into its orbit whether I liked it or not, and now here I am, in IT for the last 29 years. My other love, writing, I was able to do on the side (five novels), for which I'm equally grateful. It's a life -- my life. I love you, too, C64! :)
  • kleiba2 3mo ago
    Btw, completely OT but something I found puzzling when reading your blog post: how did your aunt communicate with the Austrian guy who didn't speak English?!
    • sungjwoo 3mo ago
      Ah, the answer is incredibly simple: my aunt speaks fluent German! She moved to Austria as a young woman and picked up the language, and picked up a husband. :) She speaks Korean, of course, so that's how we all are able to communicate with her. Recently we were at a family gathering, and one of my extended relations is married to a German fellow (who speaks both German and English fluently), and it was utterly cool seeing my aunt and him chat away in German (and sing "99 Red Balloons (Luftballons)," the popular 80s tune by the German singer Nena, in their native German)!
      • kleiba2 3mo ago
        Awesome family constellation, thanks for taking the time to explain!
      • RetroTechie 3mo ago
        "Luft" in German = "air". So English title would be "99 air balloons" or just "99 balloons". (Excellent choice btw, among German-language songs it's an all-time classic)
• commandlinefan 3mo ago
  It still remains to be seen, but the C64 may have ruined my son's life as well. I have a similar story to yours and OP's: born in the mid 70's, got a C64 in the mid 80's, convinced myself that I was a genius because I could get it to do anything I wanted (I even learned 6510 assembler back then) and parlayed those skills into joining the internet boom of the mid-90's. My own son was born in 2003 and he sort of picked up on my passion for computing, but he grew up in the iphone generation, not the C64 generation. When he went to college, he chose to major in CS like his dad did and just graduated last year into the worst employment market since the great depression. He did get a job so that's good, but we'll see how things go... I do think I'd have an emotional reaction if I typed load "*",8,1 again, though...
  • kleiba2 3mo ago
    I feel you. My son is still younger, but I have similar fears. As any good husband would, I bought my wife an old SNES for Christmas a few years ago. And my son loves playing Super Mario World on it. So I thought some time back, that it could be a great father-son bonding experience if he and I were to code up a simple pixel-style 2D jump'n'run together that he designs and I program. Except that he's been taking way too great a liking in it. He's kinda obsessed with the development of that game already, and now I'm worried that I turned him onto something that I pray to God will never become his career...
  • aa-jv 3mo ago
    The C64 didn't ruin anything. Apple removing the compiler from the supercomputer in everyones pocket did, however.