Why do we take on side projects?

I currently contribute to the following OSS projects:

• Fluent NHibernate
  
• NHibernate Query Analyzer
  
• And a couple of other personal at home projects involving XNA.
  

I have a full time job, a wife, and in a band. So why do I spend what little time I have working when I get home, much less for free? For me, it's simple. I get the opportunity to give back to the community, the pride in being a part of a great team of developers who are creating fantastic products, and the chance at incredible learning opportunities.

But that's not enough is it? For many of us, programming is a hobby in the evenings. It's a way to do things the way they were *meant* to be done, without all of the bureaucracy and red tape that typically clutters up our day job. I mean, this is really a chance to flex our muscles, see what we can do when the restraints are taken off.

Some of us go barreling into the wall at 100mph , but in general, it's a way to get back to the roots that drew all of us into programming in the first place. Fun. Doing something, just because you can, and it'll make someone's life better as a result. Pushing the limits of terse code. Seeing just how fast you can actually get that cycle to complete in. Creating that framework that lets you plug in third party modules like home appliances. It's all great fun, and in my opinion, the way everything should be.

So what went wrong? Where did we go wrong during our day jobs? Why is it so difficult to find a company that's doing software development the fun way? With so many software engineers being hired out, why is there company after company that has one codethulu setup after another? Where'd the fun go?

The false prophets took it away. Who am I talking about? Anyone who got into development for the wrong reasons:

• They were in sales 15 years ago and had some skills with spreadsheets at a (then) small company and became the "lead technical" guy
  
• They went to school, didn't know what to do, and were told by the campus counselor that software was a growing industry and needed more warm bodies
  
• The old has been that grew up knowing one language, and one way to do something, and never changed (to a man with only a hammer, every problem appears to be a nail)
• Warm bodies trained to pump out code which gets charged per line (aka many "call center" developers)
• The cousin of the president of the company, who's always been "Good with computers"

Generally these people have the best intentions, sometimes they don't, and they fight learning new processes and tools like a blind man sitting on a key lime pie (this is my blog, I'll make up whatever ridiculous simile's I feel like). So where did they go wrong? If we're all trying to achieve the same thing, why is it such a common obstacle to overcome to develop software the Right Way™ ?

What are your stories and reasons for getting into development, and if you're on any passion projects, what were the reasons that led to you being involved?