Uncle Rico can finally go back and take State.

Clarke Griswold invented this first.

Could one application of this technique be a non-nutritive cereal varnish?

41 years old is also young!

Yes but I think you have enough experience to be not outcompeted in job market by younger people.

..which is the real question you should be asking.

How do 'older' engineers stay upto date and avoid being outcompeted by their 'younger' peers.

Not the question you asked which even if you got answers you won't know if they're fundamentally useful till you're older.

And for those that cannot have children due to infertility? Our 4th and final IVF cycle just failed, so we have to find alternative meaning somehow.

Sorry to hear that. I know it's probably a trite thing to say, but have you considered adoption?

I love this story, even more so that my wife and I this very week are embarking on our 4th and final IVF cycle. Hopeful stories inspire.

I found myself reading the very first sentence in Brian Cox's voice - anyone else?

This guy seems higher than me right now.. and that’s saying something.

Just to second what this good person here has said. Having suffered with substance abuse myself, it truly is inspiring to follow your accomplishments Andreas! I love that your hostname is 'courage', and like my fellow poster here, Serenity makes a lot of sense. Much strength to others having walked/still walking on a dark path.

I used to see these occasionally on the road in Switzerland and often would drive behind them, as they were naturally a lot slower on the open road than most cars.

There are still a few around in Zurich. They're quite expensive, though, so I guess that's why they didn't really take off. I might consider buying one for say... twice the price of a good electric bicycle.

I am in exactly (from what I understand from your summary) the same position, and I think I feel your pain. I've been/was a UNIX sysadmin from mid 90s to a few years ago, when DevOps took over. Somehow, I just feel like the "good old days" are long-gone, the "identity" of hacker too, and I see many young (I am 42) engineers starting out and really relishing their work. I wish I could have that hunger again, but I am just more interested in sitting idle and "mourning" the past. I also have a counselor, have been a practitioner of mindfulness/meditation for years, etc; I have the tools to apparently cope with this situation, but something fundamental has fled, I fear.

I can agree with part of that. I'm lucky - I'm solidly up-to-date, I keep working on new, fun kit (in theory). But the reality.. I find these iterations on problems we solidly solved. I'd like to do something new, not iterate on things I've already done - just with a new company name attached.