Is venting blogging?

This morning we had our weekly IGERT colloquium. Two of my cohort people presented. The first presentation was clearly well prepared . The person knows a lot about the subject and has some potentially very profitable ideas. Essentially he wants to create a decision supprt software to make remote sensed data from drones accessibly to precision farmers. The thing is, it isn't academic. His question is essentially how can we

'make big data usable to farmers?' and his answer is -with software. Why does this bother me, you might ask? Because at the end of his presentation, Shafik, who was nearly falling out of his chair exclaimed that 'this is what will define our generation'. That he sees the analysis of big data as the key. And then he offered up that  'That no, it isn't academic, it's actionable, and that's what we need'. How lame am I- I want academic. I came here for academic. If I wanted to design cool software  i wouldn't spend 5 years with nearly no income here. I want deep,  interesting, and currently relevant questions - I want peer critique and rigorous methods. I am trying hard to hang on, but want to scream! It isn't that there aren't great and intelligent people all around me, it's that I feel like a boat without a rudder, floating out...

-ok. I feel better now. Thanks blog world.