ice water and ocicats

Well put. Especially the two people arguing about the career path. I have the same thing (though they are different than yours) going on in my head, though I won't go into who they are. I will say that one was clearly winning, until blue started provoking the other... now they are a bit more equal.

One thing did strike me as odd...
much less ambitious in terms of titles and promotions... I also hate the lack of ambition.
... I found that strange only because it does seem contrary to a lot of other stuff you say. You seem to be in a very comfortable place, and have feelings of guilt about that. You also seem to take satisfaction in your 'creations' even though it isn't necessarily what you'd want to create. Now, promotions may get you more $ to get you into a more comfortable place, which is clearly a desire for you (and me and everyone else), but the "titles & promotions" part doesn't seem that it would accomplish any of your goals (getting promoted to a higher position wouldn't mean that you're creating more meaningful software, it may actually put you in a more managerial position, which wouldn't fit your definition of meaningful as I understand it).
What did you mean that you hate your new lack of ambition?