[dodecaphonic]

I've been on guilt trips because of the social aspect I'm missing (dojos, hackatons, weekly meetings in bars), but I've come to terms with it. I have a wife with whom I'd rather be, movies to watch and books to read. It's a tough balance, and ego-wise it can be brutal, but I'm aware now that after my commute home, I want to point my brain at different things.

The way I see it, the ultra-passionate, sleeps-eats-drinks code programmer is usually one who hasn't: a) learned to use his time parsimoniously; b) accepted there's a limit to how much you can do in one day; c) yet built a family. The last one, especially, if approached with gusto, will automatically make you ponder and weigh things -- and will also limit your time, fixing a and b if you don't fight it.