Re "I used to sweat creating perfect Boolean search strings, but it almost doesn't matter any more.":
Absolutely. What leaves me astonished (and humbled) is the sheer scale of the free info and advice that's now available. We're talking about countless numbers of people who freely give of their time and experience to help their fellows. Quite remarkable - and surely unpredictable by those who assume we are all motivated only by self-interest.
