After five years of blogging regularly...

The question still remains unanswered.  Who am I and what I am doing here?

One question has been answered.  There's little chance of getting out of the basement.  The basement meaning that this blog will remain pretty much unknown.

Something happened between 2004 and 2009.  Back in 2004, things weren't quite so commercialized.  Once something gets commercialized, the barriers to entry go up.  Established blogs take up all the oxygen in the room, so to speak, so a unknown blog like this can't get traction.  Actually, that might be an excuse, but still, there's some truth in it.

Donald Trump is taking up all the oxygen in the room, so to speak, so he's likely to win the GOP nomination.  You see.  Someone established will get all the attention, whereas a newcomer or unknown will remain so.  That's how it all works, unfortunately.

An individual who is really gifted may crack open a space and get noticed.

However, looking at it another way though, maybe not.  Peter Diamandis once told the story about an inventor during the Roman Empire Era who created a method to mine and refine what we know today as aluminum.  He showed his invention to the Emperor Tiberius, who was impressed.  However, Tiberius didn't reward the man.  He had him executed because he was a threat to Tiberius' interests.  Talking about a barrier to entry.

And that sums up the problem with this blog, too.  It can be generalized to the entire country.  Nothing can really improve if the barriers to entry are too high.  Those who have a vested interest in the status quo will effectively block anything new and innovative.

Hence, we don't get molten-salt reactors.  We don't get nuclear thermal rockets.  We don't get cold fusion.  We don't get hot fusion.  In the end, we may not get anything new at all.  There will be calls for rationing, as supplies of goods get more scarce.  People start to feel the "limits to growth".  There's no more growth in the economy.  Nobody believes anymore that their children will have it better than they did.  Seems like this story was told before.  Like the fall of the Roman Empire.

For many years now, people have sensed that something is wrong.  The polls show it.  Now the question is this:  can anybody do anything about this, or are we doomed to repeat history?

This blog has been a quest to search for some answers.  Perhaps, after over 9000 posts, and over 5 years, I may finally have the answer.  Or, maybe not.  The truth is a slippery thing.