:I really liked your answer! 
 :I was in academe for only five years: loved research (two books), but teaching depressed me, so I got out. Eventually I became a software developer. My abiding interest has been in science. I think I should have studied astronomy and then become a science writer. I could have been covering the exciting developments in cosmology and particle physics. I could have... oh well. 
 :I'm amazed how very different scientific disciplines have come together. 
 :So, please tell me a little about yourself. You should write on my talk page; that's how we keep conversations going, since I get notified of changes there but not about changes on your page.