I also never ponder personal projects from a commercial standpoint. But I sure see that narrative here on HN frequently.

I have to conclude that most people on HN talking about commercializing are doing purely software projects.

My projects very often include hardware. Commercializing hardware+software projects is hard... orders of magnitude harder than just software. That's probably a factor in why the idea of making money from wiring/soldering/dremeling/hacking things is so far from the forefront of my mind.

As for what's attractive... novelty and usability/street cred do seem to be my subconcious goals. "Street cred" or even just aspiring to have people use a software tool is certainly a form of non-profitable entrepreneurship.