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Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#41

Post by cweagans »

bromuro wrote: post #33
jasonkester wrote: post #6

Public Service Announcement: Don’t wait until you’re 72 to find a hobby. Figure out some fun things you like to do when you’re young, and make the time to do them regularly. Get in the habit of doing weekend trips to go fishing or kite surfing or competitive bridge playing or whatever. Max out your vacation time doing so, and get a good set of friends in place who are just as passionate about bicycles or vintage trai…

To me an hobby should be something I enjoy to do when I have nothing to do, so hopefully I will never have to look for one. Instead of splitting my life in what I enjoy and what not, my personal rule is to enjoy whatever I am doing.

IMO, having a hobby that's completely unrelated to your profession is critical, especially for people who do any kind of "knowledge work" for a living. Doing something entirely different gives your brain the time and space to process things. It's sort of like how people say they have their best ideas in the shower/when out for a walk/etc. It's not about splitting time between what you enjoy and what you don't - it's more that just doing one thing all the time isn't particularly healthy and can be an active hindrance to doing your best work.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#42

Post by p0d »

Ham radio. You can get handheld radios these days for very little money. I'm not sure what ham radio licensing laws are where you are but you do need a license to operate a radio. I suggest this as your Father will be talking to real people. Just a warning though, ham radio is hard work and involves some learning.

2I0JXA

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#43

Post by runjake »

Something physical: yoga, walking, light hiking, bird watching, canoeing, or some mix of the above.

If you still want to have him try programming, give him something almost immediately useful, like the Automating The Boring Stuff With Python book.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#44

Post by thesecretsquad »

jasonkester wrote: post #6

Public Service Announcement: Don’t wait until you’re 72 to find a hobby. Figure out some fun things you like to do when you’re young, and make the time to do them regularly. Get in the habit of doing weekend trips to go fishing or kite surfing or competitive bridge playing or whatever. Max out your vacation time doing so, and get a good set of friends in place who are just as passionate about bicycles or vintage trai…

This is good advice, of course. But my dad is very much an introvert, so he never really sought out things to do with others. He never really took up a hobby by himself either because like I said in my post, "he loved working". And I mean he loved it. He looked forward to it every day. He never imagined retiring. We asked him for years when he would retire and he would say he doesn't want to. So maybe it's unfortunate that he's in this situation, but not much can be done about that now except to figure how how to move forward.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#45

Post by thesecretsquad »

onion2k wrote: post #2

Your post makes it sound like you're speculating about what he wants. You could just ask him instead. Maybe he's feeling the same way, or maybe he's been planning what he wants to do in retirement for years and and has it all mapped out.

I've had several conversations with him about what he plans to do with his time after he retires and he doesn't know. He's actually said to me, "I don't know. What do you think I should do?". My dad loved his job and never really wanted to retire.

I was trying to come up with some ideas that were more than just idle consumption, like reading books or watching tv/movies because I imagine that will get old quickly. I was trying to think of less passive activities. He used to be a big pool player when he was younger and he said he might try to find some people to play pool with at a local pool hall, but he's had 48 years to do that and I think I can count on one hand the number of times he's gone out to play pool; so I'm a little skeptical that he'll do that. He's quite introverted and doesn't really look to get out much. In fact, he currently plays virtual pool online. But he only does that for about an hour a day and I don't think he'll want to fill entire days doing that. That's why I was looking for something maybe he can get involved in that he could do from home and would be both creative and challenging, e.g. open-source. I also thought doing something totally new might be fun for him.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#46

Post by thesecretsquad »

thiago_fm wrote: post #13

Maybe give him company and go for camping, fishing or anything they like and give you sometime with them. Old people might say that they like working, but actually most of the times they are desperate for attention from their sons and grandsons. He'd have more fun actually playing any kind of games. He has worked all his life, don't get me wrong, but why the hell would he now contribute to OSS?

I would love to spend more time with him. Unfortunately, right now I live 1500 miles away. But I think you might be right about the OSS. A lot of other commenters seem to share the same sentiment and I'm thinking they might also be right.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#47

Post by thesecretsquad »

tubularhells wrote: post #18
thiago_fm wrote: post #13

Maybe give him company and go for camping, fishing or anything they like and give you sometime with them. Old people might say that they like working, but actually most of the times they are desperate for attention from their sons and grandsons. He'd have more fun actually playing any kind of games. He has worked all his life, don't get me wrong, but why the hell would he now contribute to OSS?

A resounding yes. My father didn't care for me much in his younger days, and now he is miserable because I seemingly abandoned him and my mother, whereas they are just emotionally abusive and unwilling to change. If you like your father, get into miniature painting and historical wargaming with him.

Sorry to hear you've had relationship troubles with your parents. I hope things get better.

I appreciate the suggestions. I'll add them to my list.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#48

Post by thesecretsquad »

ArtWomb wrote: post #31

I think this happens to a lot of people. They devote themselves to work and family. And then find they have little will left over for themselves. My opinion: it must be a social hobby. The solitary task of software development may be isolating. What retirees miss post-employment isn't the work. But the colleagues and "work family" they fostered over perhaps decades. Creative Coding. Maker Scenes. Art Therapy. All pro…

Thanks for your input. Many commenters suggest hobbies with more social aspects, and I'm thinking they (and you) are probably right. Although my dad tends to keep to himself, I think too much of that is probably not good and a solitary task like software development will only enable that. One of the things he liked about work is, as an introvert, he got his daily dose of social interaction.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#49

Post by thesecretsquad »

lucas_membrane wrote: post #24

The brain science people are finding that making music, i.e. singing or playing a musical instrument, is likely to be very good for maintaining brain health. Additionally, because it is a physical activity, it encourages old folks to keep their bodies functioning reasonably well so that they can enjoy their music hobby. That brings us to exercise, which is a great thing if you can enjoy it. Easy exercise, e.g. walkin…

Congrats on retiring. Thanks for the suggestions. I've added them to my list. Following your example, it sounds like maybe I should encourage my dad to seek those simpler hobbies instead of getting involved in programming, which can be quite arduous. You mentioned playing a musical instrument and I remembered my dad was a pretty good piano player years ago. He hasn't played in years, but he might be interested in picking it up again now that he has the time.

Re: Ask HN: What are some hobbies for a 72-year-old retiree? Maybe OSS?

#50

Post by thesecretsquad »

Gustomaximus wrote: post #7

I'd encourage a club. Personality and family life make this more or less relevant but most people need others to hang around. Also good for other household members who are used to alone alone. In Australia we have clubs called 'mens shed' which is basically a community hall full of tools and retired blokes get together to chat and make stuff. That's always sounded good to me. Search for local communities and clubs ne…

This is a good idea. Thank you.
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