Seven years ago I dropped out of IT and bought a bar (in NZ). There's a long story in there somewhere (that began in Philly), but in the end it's worked out better for me. I'm like most IT folks I think, in that if I'm absorbed in my work in front of a computer, I have no desire to leave, even if there is a great big party somewhere or something that involves human interaction. Bar work gets you out there and it sure as hell beats sitting in a cubicle.

Probably the best thing about the switch is that bar transactions have a beginning and an end. You want a bourbon and coke? Okay, here's your drink, thanks for the money. If they want another drink, it's a new transaction. People don't come back with a drink and say, "you know, this is just great, and what would make it even better is if it had round ice cubes instead of square ones - no, let's make that two square ones and three round ones, and with more synergy." That drove me nuts as a coder.

That being said, I still developed my own touchscreen till system and back-end tools for the bar. And I've got a couple of hobby game dev projects on the side. It's in my blood, I can't get away from it and I really don't want to. It's a nice balance to earn a buck from a social job, and then have a coding hobby.

Although I think I'm at the end of this run and will likely sell the bar within the next year. That's probably my entrepreneurial side that feels that seven years is too long to be doing the same thing. Not too sure what's next, but I've been thinking about bees lately...

This has everything to do with censorship. It's self-censorship because these game companies (hardware and software) live with the constant spectre of being censored, fined or shut down by the goverment. Self-censorship comes from fear, based on what the real censors will do if they are not placated in time.