On research ideas...

I am curious about the process of deriving research ideas. Oh, I know the "scientific" way. Still, how do all those bits and pieces fit together to finally bloom at the "Aha!" moment? I think I had one of those moments today when I briefly chatted with one of my colleagues while creating booklets (yep, being artistic today) for one of my classes. The idea has been brewing for a long time; actually, I circled around the general area even before I was admitted to the Ph.D. program. Then I had a conversation with my advisor who gently but firmly (yep, both) pointed me in the right direction... Then I had to come up with a topic for one of my classes... And tonight -- this ABD-wanna-be has a pretty good research topic which might evolve beyond the current class. I am excited and hope it works out by presenting me with plenty of leads to maybe even write a dissertation??? It's nothing earth-shattering, has been discussed with my advisor before, but might just work, at least for now.