This experience, really a decade of insecurity, has left me always being vigilant. If I'm relentless, I don't feel so insecure. The effort has gotten me results. I never wanted to be "so good they can't ignore you", just safe.

Two years is well past the point of having to throw the kitchen sink at the problem. Months in, it's worth having projects in some key technologies. A year in, I'd re-train. I'd also scout out some grants for school/training available to those who've been laid off.

It had me thinking of what I want to impart to my children. I don't want to strike the fear of God in them that you're always on the precipice of doom, but I don't want them complacent either. Robotics x machine-learning/LLMs presents a lot of uncertainty.