Blog

The Destructive Power In The Drive To Monopolization

Carl Setzer2 Comments
monopoly board game on brown wooden table

I came across this article this morning on LinkedIn: My 2-year-old gave up his seat on an American Airlines flight. Where’s my refund! It’s a perplexing and bewildering series of responses by American Airlines’ customer service team. TLDR: John Bailey paid for a separate seat for his 2-year-old grandson, as required a federal law. An American flight attendant had the child give up their PURCHASED seat in order to accommodate another passenger’s comfort, with the airline then refusing to refund the purchase with a bewildering series of nonsensical responses. (Side note: I’m quite confident that these responses were AI Slop.) Resolution finally happened when the purchaser filed a complaint regarding the illegal request for the child to sit in the grandparent’s lap (federal law REQUIRES children over 2 to have their own seat. Something the airline kept overlooking…or not caring.

I see this as a classic case of Cory Doctorow’s “enshittification“. As airlines slide towards monopolies and competition collapses, they have no incentive to provide quality service. The monopolization and concentration of power is exploitive and destructive, as this case highlights.

Enshittification is, supposedly, more of an internet-based phenomenon. Monopolization has a wider impact, though. And both need to be addressed to move us towards a just and equitable future.

Haiku: December 29, 2025

Carl Setzer
within the night’s song
silence flows through the darkness
deep into the soul

Completed another Certificate: Harnessing the Power of Data with Power BI

Carl Setzer
close up photo of survey spreadsheet

I’ve been working lately on Coursera’s Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst certificate. I just completed the current course, Harnessing the Power of Data with Power BI. I find this valuable as I don’t know Power BI (BI = Business Intelligence) that well yet. I have extensive experience with Excel and Google Sheets. I studied database theory and design, SQL/MySQL, and created gobs of databases for my Web Development Degree. Power BI is a powerful tool that many organizations want/need for data analysts, which seems like a great fit for me at this juncture of my career. I’ve been working with Excel and the rest of Office for decades. I’ve worked with Oracle and SQL Server databases. I’ve built reports and dashboards. I’ve enjoyed this kind of work to the point of volunteering for it.

So, I’ve slowly been diving in and getting Power BI under my belt. It looks like a key piece for me to evolve into Data Analyst roles, for which I’m pretty excited. Again, it looks like a blend of my skills and interests. Even my current network and server admin work ties in, as databases often live on servers, and thus, networks are crucial.

Tonight’s Haiku: December 8, 2025

Carl Setzer

the wind’s aggression
flinging branches to the earth
this winter’s darkness

Blog post: twenty years of a blog

Carl Setzer2 Comments

I launched this blog twenty years ago today. It’s rather mind blowing to consider how much has transpired over that time. George W. Bush was President. I still worked at Starbucks, and have had 6 other jobs since. I’ve moved once. I’ve gone through multiple stints of unemployment. A lot of my life has gone into this site.

This site started as a Blogspot page. Years ago, I migrated to self-hosted WordPress. Mainly, I became concerned about the number of services Google has abandoned. Also, WordPress was becoming a key player in the website ecosystem. Having skills and understanding in this system would be powerful. I’ve LONG aspired to move into web development. And here we are.

I’ve moved from executive support to general administrative support to project coordination to tech support and data analytics and management. I’ve documented so many changes in the tech scene, in Seattle, and wrote so many haiku. I’ve evolved, changed, and grown and failed.

I’m glad you’ve come along for the ride. It’s been fascinating. I’m still growing and changing, and my blog will evolve with that. I’m exploring how I want to evolve. One of my goals is to be better at proactivity. To have a plan and a direction. I want my blog, and connected social media to support all this. We’ll see what comes of all this.

So, thanks for reading. I appreciate your support and presence.

“Leaving a Legacy”, A Book Review By A Friend

Carl Setzer4 Comments
silhouette of man

I’ve thought a fair amount about the ethics surrounding wealth and the acquisition of wealth. My friend Roy’s look at this book on this subject gives me a lot to think about.

“Leaving a Legacy: An important new book by Johann Kurtz”.

When I think about the wealthy (and other community leaders) I admire, there’s a grace and decorum attached. I don’t admire, much less respect, the bellicose bullying that many with privilege resort to.

I’ve known Roy for years and always find his insights worthwhile. So, not only do I recommend this specific Substack post, but I’d also recommend subscribing.

A Thanksgiving Mediation or XKCD Making Me Cry

Carl Setzer2 Comments

I’ve been following XKCD for, well, decades. Over the years, I’ve seen many friends not get the privilege of growing old. For me, this is a powerful gift and one that I don’t ever intend to take for granted. Perhaps the most powerful Thanksgiving sentiment I’ve ever felt.

For those of you in the US, may you have a blessed and rejuvenating Thanksgiving. And for the rest of you, may the reminder of this week set you up for continued growth and progress.

Update: WordPress reminded me that this is a series and I’ve written about past iterations. Check this one out: I Love XKCD!

Is it just me or does Iggy Pop look like a White Walker?

Carl Setzer
box with brain inscription on head of anonymous woman

As I’m listening to a 70s Road Trip playlist on Spotify, up popped Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”. Me being me, I Google him to see what he’s up to nowadays. This is the first picture that came up for me:

Iggy Pop

Now, for some deeper insight into how I see the world, I couldn’t help but see how much he looks like this White Walker from Game of Thrones:

Yeah, yeah, I’m kinda weird, I know.

In case you don’t know this song:

And here’s the playlist if you’re so inclined:

Anyway, enjoy your Friday!

Don’t Mess With My Gear!

Carl Setzer

One thing a lot of folks know: I also run and manage sound systems. I started doing this in high school and have been doing sound tech work ever since. Currently, I am the main focus for sound at the event center I work for.

Yesterday I was called by them while at my other job because our Bluetooth transceiver wasn’t working. Long story short, they opted to not bring me in right away, but I needed to tackle this immediately when I got there (which I had planned for early afternoon).

Once I got there, it took me a couple minutes to figure out that someone had pulled the cables out. Argh! Now, in the grand scheme, minor problem. But I struggle with understanding any “why” for this besides simply being a jerk.

Frustrating for my poor morning users who, though they don’t depend on it, do like to use Bluetooth to play music. I do have regular users who do depend on that, though. Playing music from a modern phone via an aux port isn’t so easy anymore.

So, please, don’t mess with my gear! Ugh!