Yeah. I have degenerative nerve damage related to a set of several severe spine injuries.

On a day to day basis, I have to do certain hobbies not just because I want to, but because I lose the physical coordination to do those things if I don't keep doing them-- and then it takes days of struggle to get that ability back.

Sometimes I wonder why I continue to fight that battle; it's inevitable that I'll lose at some point. As much as I micro-give up multiple times a day, I'm too stubborn to ever truly quit and walk away entirely.. for the most part. There are a few battles I accept that I've lost and moved on from, but there are some things that I'll probably just keep struggling against until I'm physically incapable of entirely or I'm dead.

So I get where Cringely's choice comes from. I'm.. just not sure where one can reasonably draw the line and say "This is something I should give up on, because my time is better spent on something I can uniquely succeed at."

It's not an easy decision to make.