I may be on a bit of a tangent here, but the "bar is below the floor" effect (if I can call it that) is often the result of continued experience in multiple (so-called Tier I, in the author's version of it) companies. It leads to stagnation and a lack of concern for the product or result of their work. In other words, if they pay me, and they don't care about the work, why should I?<p>Such environments can demotivate and sap the joy from most mental work. I guess this is one of the reasons the author is committed only to part-time work. To paraphrase him - this is how he stays sane.