I agree with taking on pet projects that have no immediate payoff. And they don't need to be complicated either, only intellectually stimulating or ambitious.
For example, a few summers ago I decided to make a web page for each and every national anthem in the world. A huge website network of national anthems, and later I would add audio.
I only managed to do 5-6 anthem pages (Great Britain, USSR, Canada, a few others) before I became completely preoccupied with trying to secure the Star Spangled Banner lyric site. The site was being hacked constantly.
I finally took them all down - except the "Oh Canada" website (my home country) which comes in handy for my own use: http://ohcanadaanthem.com/
For example, a few summers ago I decided to make a web page for each and every national anthem in the world. A huge website network of national anthems, and later I would add audio.
The story of why I came up with this idea is here: http://ohcanadaanthem.com/story-oh-canada-anthem/
I only managed to do 5-6 anthem pages (Great Britain, USSR, Canada, a few others) before I became completely preoccupied with trying to secure the Star Spangled Banner lyric site. The site was being hacked constantly.
I finally took them all down - except the "Oh Canada" website (my home country) which comes in handy for my own use: http://ohcanadaanthem.com/