Don't forget to live

Recently, a retire faculty member came back to visit us. She bought a house on an acre of land back at her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. For way less money than the typical home here in the San Francisco Bay Area, she now has a main house, a guest cottage (that’s about the size of a small starter home), and plenty of grass and woodland to roam around in. It’s always been her dream to to move back home after retirement, and I’m really happy for her that it’s coming to fruition.

For whatever reason, the faculty went on this small lecture with me (once a teacher, always a teacher) about not being able to take all this money with you when you’re gone. She’s drawing two pensions plus social security. She’s not married and have zero kids. She’s 72 this year, so the clock is rapidly ticking to spend the wealth she’s accumulated over the years. Splurge mode! I’m eager to see how she decorates and furnishes the new (to her) home.

I very much agree with her that one should spend the money they’ve work so hard to acquire. I simply disagree with this eminent faculty member on the timing. I am definitely not waiting until I’m properly retired to begin enjoying the fruits of my labor. There’s no guarantee I will even reach that age: either via my own volition, or whatever natural (or man made) disaster should befallen us. My aim is to enjoy life and procure experiences throughout all of it. Pushing it all towards the supposed end is not the marshmallow test we think it is.

Some activities are better to do at an earlier age than after retirement. What good is traveling the world when you’re 60 and cannot muster then energy to be awake for longer than 24 hours. Attending the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race would be measurably more enjoyable in my 30s. Which is why I aim to go to one sometime this decade.

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Scheming.

VR technology not ready for prime time

One of the computer labs on campus got newly setup with VR stations. I've never tried VR so I was eager to have a go. After adjusting the HTC Vive unit for my unusually large head, I was dropped right inside the International Space Station. The ability to traverse the station unencumbered in all directions is indeed quite awesome, though cognizant of my motion sickness tendencies I knew the experience would have to be brief. 

Even without my dizziness propensities, VR is not something I'd want to do for an extended period of time. The weight of the Vive unit becomes burdensome very quickly, putting excessive  pressure on the neck. Headset manufacturers should utilize lighter materials such as carbon-fiber, but that would absolutely balloon the purchase price. Until that become economical, VR is best enjoyed in spurts (for me at least). I can't picture myself watching an entire movie wearing a heavy VR device. 

Wouldn't it be hilarious if the next Avatar movie shot in VR format. 

Being a first generation product, I found the HTC Vive headset's resolution to be wholly inadequate (I guess the University couldn't afford the Vive Pro). When the "screen" is this close to the eyes, the outlines of each pixel is readily apparent. A resolution of 1080×1200 per eye may read high on the spec sheet, especially compared to the typical 1920x1080 HD television, but I think it needs to be at least doubled for true immersion. 

It'll take quite the computer to push 2160x2400 pixels to each eye at above 90 Hz (ideally 120 Hz), assuming a headset of such stature is even currently possible.

The bottom line is that I don't think contemporary VR hardware and form-factor is ready for long term, sustained use. Headsets needs to be exponentially lighter in weight, and the screens inside must be 'Retina Display' levels of pixel density (whatever that is for a device mere inches from your face). Until that evolution, I see VR as nothing more than a novelty item akin to a theme park ride. 

Some shadow play before leaving for work.