I know a handful of people that have been unemployed for over 6 months. It could easily be any one of us here in this job market. I'm trying to take inventory of my options and get a sense of what it would be like.
I've worked on building sites with electricians, carpenters, tilers, bricklayers. Along the way, I picked up many useful skills which have helped with my home renovation projects. It's also a great way to decompress from the desk-bound nature of IT.