[stockkid]

I quite enjoyed Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham. It's been a while since I read it, but two things that I still remember are:

* As a hacker, you are more valuable than your organization might lead you to believe.

* You can still and you should pursue side projecst despite being employed.

[seanhunter]

It's worth reading http://idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm as a counterpoint to "Hackers and painters"