Anyway, I'm not sure how democracy can really work in huge super-complex societies. This is why we have the "iron law of oligarchy".

For me personally, earning by bachelor's and master's degree was a continuation of K-12 and I made sure to be a top performer. The looming debt was the underlying, motivating factor.

Looking back, I learned most outside after K-12 was done for the day and I was free to explore and get hurt.

There’s a YouTube video somewhere that explains all of this and shows a more accurate physical model (or as accurate as can be reasonably expected) that is located somewhere in Bologna, which suggests that there were quite a few towers but not that many and not that tall as shown here. In any case it still had an impressive skyline for its day.

If I remember to do so, I’ll come back here and post a link.

Some of that is fine as people sometimes would like to remain anonymous and have the trust of the publication, journalist, and readers. Sure, many touchy stories are important and people can give quotes on background. But that can't become a consistent habit without, at some point, providing better attribution when a string of stories bear some relation.

I've cut back on the Times for the most part due to my issues with "sources say," but maybe they've improved.

Luckily my analogy isn’t a very good one, the Internet is nothing like Detroit. It is, however, interesting how quickly wild things can be tamed, and that may beckon a cautionary lesson.

(Seriously though, we have so many olig/monopolies I’ve lost count. Sad.)

Lately I find I waste a lot of time "relaxing" on YouTube, but I've noticed it's become TV for me; a habit like smoking was. Sure, there's thought-provoking stuff on there, but that's not what seems to show up in my feed. It looks like cable TV. I suppose I have terrible viewing preferences. This is just my experience, of course.

So, I'm ready to kick the YouTube habit and to do more "pulling" of information. Having experienced what cable TV did (eventually throwing a huge amount ads into an expensive subscription) the new fee structure makes kicking the habit an easier, healthier, and more prudent choice. I think I know where they're heading.

I'm thankful for it, frankly. It's wind at my back to pull away from too much screen time. It'll be much easier to break the habit. I've paid enough by providing my viewing preferences anyhow. And when already-profitable monopolistic non-essential services start squeezing tighter, it's surprisingly refreshing to search for new pastures.

If/when Reddit kills "old" reddit, that'll be good too.

By the time my grandparents were children, those days were over and they had to become farmers in Michigan. The family tried to stay in the performing arts but ever-increasing division of labor and modernization made that difficult.

I wish I had seen the days of vaudeville. The scrapbooks are amazing.