It is sad to see. I understand where he is coming from though. He is 87 and doesn't think recoding a super niche' software tool is the best use of what very well may be his last few years of life. He still seems super sharp though and is a major inspiration.

▲ kamaal 6 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

>>He is 87 and doesn't think recoding a super niche' software tool is the best use of what very well may be his last few years of life.

Know quite a few elderly men, were moving mountains until retirement, then at one age they wanted to simply step back and relax. It was a cognitive downhill from there on. Also there is something strange about men sitting at home doing nothing. For some reasons families start hating as little as a sentence from them. You have to sit quiet for most of your life. Which honestly speaking is nothing short of a punishment, because you are actually expected to behave like furniture, or at best like a vegetable.

Even other wise I do see men who retired early not having all that a great time sitting at home and doing nothing.

Without a purpose, you won't enjoy living life much.

▲ abraae 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What would be the best use of his last few years? Sitting in an easy chair by the pool?

Using your last few years to exercise your brain and ward off cognitive decline might be the best way to ensure those last few years are fulfilling and not just marking time before the end.

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anyfoo 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's quite a dichotomy here. He can exercise his brain and ward off cognitive decline without working on Colorforth specifically...

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abraae 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Some people have trouble doing meaningless intellectual pursuits like crosswords, sudoku etc.

Working on Colorforth might be the greatest meaning in his life.

	▲	anyfoo 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Still the same dichotomy. Who's to say his other pursuits are "meaningless", and the likes of crosswords, sudoku, etc.? For all we know he might have some other projects that he considers more useful. He does not think working on Colorforth is worth it anymore, so it could actually be detrimental to do so.
	▲	eternityforest 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I suppose there's meaning in searching for abstract logical truths, but he might have other such pursuits. Or, he might even feel that it's mostly done already and became just another boring software maintenance project. It's hard to imagine an extremely niche software tool to be the greatest meaning in someone's life.
	▲	7thaccount 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		He himself said he didn't think it was worth it anymore and that he very rarely codes now. I respect him enough to assume he has some other pursuit more worthy of his attention.
	▲	burningChrome 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		>> Some people have trouble doing meaningless intellectual pursuits like crosswords, sudoku etc. My Dad is like this. I'm like this. My son is like this. Unless we're busy, pushing ourselves to build something, fix something or just outside doing something we don't feel the reward. My Dad told his motto, "A rolling rock gathers no moss - until it finally stops rolling." He told me that in his 50's - he's in his 80's still out in the garage refinishing old furniture and giving it away. The drive the man has just never burns out.

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stronglikedan 43 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> What would be the best use of his last few years? Sitting in an easy chair by the pool?

That's completely up to him, and if that's what he wants to do, then that's the best use. No one can say what is best for anyone else.

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computably 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Perhaps he has chosen the best use of his last few years to his own satisfaction, and doesn't feel the need to share every last detail about himself on the internet.

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eternityforest 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

He specifically mentions hiking and staying healthy, I'd imagine he's not going to stop using his brain completely.

▲ Jblx2 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Isn't that part of the Forth mantra though, to be written to the lowest level possible, eschewing portability, interoperability, hard coding fonts, etc., to achieve the simplest, most minimal implementation possible?

https://www.ultratechnology.com/forth.htm

▲ 7thaccount 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Forth is generally all about minimalism as I understand it, but that has nothing to do with what I wrote. I was just saying the man obviously wants to focus on something else at this stage of his life and that is perfectly okay. I think he might port to Raspberry Pi if he was a few years younger, but he pointed out that he didn't think it was worth it at this point.

▲ drcode 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

must. not. go. too. deep. into. forth. rabbithole.

▲ II2II an hour ago | parent [-]

s" must" . s" not" . s" go" . s" too" . s" deep" . s" into" . s" forth" . s" rabbithole" .

When you go down the rabbit hole in Forth, it is easy to pop back out.

	▲	kamaal 3 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Actually it is- `s" rabbithole" .s" forth" .s" into" .s" deep" .s" too" .s" go" .s" not" .s" must" .`