I've been chewing on this thread for a few days, and I wanted to say that "It's something to do" isn't the way I feel about it at all.

It's more like, "A goal to strive for." That's what was missing since 3.0 came out - the only goals I had were all oriented around getting my classes to 60 and getting my titles for doing so. This is the first longer term, serious effort goal I've had in 3.x, and for that, I see nothing wrong with making it take as much time as I'm willing to not put effort into getting it. Slow and steady is fine. Goals don't have to be immediate to be worthwhile.