[hirvi74]

I agree with everything you said, and I share very similar views.

However, I have become a bit more defeated and jaded. I have honestly just come to the realization over time that if I want to scratch my hacking itch, then I will just have to do it on my own time with my own projects. My employer and coworkers do not care. Much like others' experiences, my employer actually frowns upon such ventures.

My employer wants things done as fast as possible, with whatever library, with us not reinventing the wheel, etc.. That's what they pay me for, and I suppose that is what I am obligated deliver.

I feel a lot of empathy for artists and musicians and the struggles and compromises they have made in order to "make it." I feel like us hackers must do the same.