I think ANSI C will come back actually. The reason? The Internet of Things (IoT). These devices in some cases have very little power consumption. I know a bit have ongoing monitoring as to how to begin a project. As usually, these are products that use various Microcontrollers from the ARM cortex series, of which there are many; see also Texas Instruments.

Tom, your answer is by far the most practical one. I was at an Audiology office recently and it said on the monitor, something to the effect, your hearing impairment will often cause people to think you are either "rude or witless." I was impressed that you noticed the fact that, sooner or later, people are going to want to meet you in person if you're going to make any growth progress in your career. I've been self-employed almost all of my life beginning in high school when a local trader from EF Hutton/Dean Witter Reynolds needed some software written so he contacted the computer teacher at my HS (I was the teacher's assistant for a year by that time).I've done some decent things, wrote a book that was published (still on Amazon after many years), created some novel technology (Microsoft patented it; funny, they invited me to "Partners in Innovation" - thanks Partner). Long story short, when I did finally try a Fortune 500 firm (Panasonic) at their urgent request to turn down all other offers, when the boss discovered it, it was a rude awakening. He tried here and there, but in the end, people have little patience.

What a pleasant soul you must be to work with...a legend in your own mind. If you can't outline a concise, less verbose, and certainly less negatively poignant alternative, then perhaps you're far less intelligent then you perceive yourself to be. I digress.