I think that LunarML [1] could fit this niche quite well. It's a StandardML compiler that targets Lua. I can't tell much more as I've only played with it a little and don't have much experience with ML languages in general, but it looks promising.
In smaller companies, one person might cover multiple roles. Also, it might be different when your employer is focused on B2B sales, though I don't have enough experience to be sure about that.
Anyway, when I was working in sales, I was handling pre-sales, closings, and post-sales support. We were manufacturing and selling security equipment. The goal never was to simply close the deal. We wanted to expand the network of distributors, and to do so, we needed to build long-lasting relationships.
I quite liked the experience, but I was always more tech guy than salesman – I guess most of my clients were coming back because I was preparing projects of CCTV installations, I was providing trainings for clients and their crew.
But as a typical salesman described in the article, I would be terrible.
For me, a great middle ground is building an engine similar to fantasy consoles (PICO-8, TIC-80, etc.)
This type of project is small enough to plan all the elements before you start (which helps to stick to the design and therefore to avoid feature creep). Yet, it is still complex enough to provide entertainment and challenge.
This approach also has the advantage – at least it is an advantage in the case of side projects – that you can see the results of your work quite quickly.
I'm working on such a project myself, and it is a great experience. Although to tell the truth, it is more of a "game creation kit" than an engine.
When I was a kid, I had a toy gun that would start with kind of distorted phrases, then continued with shooting sounds. I think it took me a couple of years before I understand that the voice was yelling something akin to "Baldy! Get the f... over there! <shooting noises>"
I was born and raised in Poland, a Catholic country, and we do gather after the funeral to mourn and eat together. However, apparently this custom dates back to Slavic times – this may explain the difference between our experiences.
That sounds similarly to my condition, but I'm just in my early thirties.
I was stuttering since I was a small kid. In high school, went to therapy and I was stutter-free for around 8 years, then I started to stutter again. Since then, I have a better and worse periods, I can speak without much stuttering for as long a quarter of a year, then suddenly start to stutter even doing small talk with the family.
Regarding losing words, I really like your analogy with blank dictionary entry. It's like, "I can speak without stuttering as long as a... what is the word for a period of three months?", then I need to search my memory for this word, and quite often I can find the word I'm looking for, but it takes time. I had these symptoms as a child too, but they have gotten a bit worse in recent years.
I always half-jokingly thought there must be some consequences of being born almost 4 months ahead of schedule.
I quit smoking the old-fashioned way so I don't have a first-hand experience in that matter, but I was thinking a lot about this once. I belive patches and gums may not work in every instance. Please let me provide some context.
I was smoking for around 7 years, from my late teens (jus a couple smokes per day) to my early 20' (1.5–2 packs per day). I haven't smoked in quite a few years, I think it's close to 10 years, I don't count anymore.
I have never felt addicted to nicotine. To cigarettes, yes. I was addicted to all those little smoking rituals, gestures, and to all that social behaviour around smoking. I liked going out on the balcony in the morning in my bathrobe just to smoke. Or go out to the garden with another smoker after a party and have a conversation that wouldn't otherwise happen. Hell, I even liked the gesture of shaking the ashes off a cigarette.
Smoking was also a way to deal with boredom for me, a bit like a smartphone now. I'm waiting for a bus that won't arrive for 15 minutes? That's a great time to smoke a cigarette or two.
To the point: would nicotine patch help me to quit smoking? Probably yes, on the long run. Would gum / snuff / snus limit my craving to cigarettes to the point where I could work in a completely smoke-free place? I do not think so.
For a short time I worked as a machine operator in a production company, automotive industry. The CEO used to yell during meetings on the production floor that "the production must be high quality, fast, and cheap; there is no 'choose two' nonsense".
Yes, the CEO was going down to yell on the blue collar workers making pennies.
[1] https://github.com/minoki/LunarML