Links of interest

1. What will "Peak pharma" (rising costs for falling benefits) mean for us?
2. Why Is My Life So Hard? (Freakonmics on gratitude and headwinds)
3. The dark side of free markets: private garbage collection in NYC (NB: Many workers cannot get jobs elsewhere because they have criminal records.)
4. A fascinating profile of Putin's real master plan (there isn't one, except hold power)
5. Innovation is neither automatic nor easy
6. Floating houses might help people in Louisiana, but the government won't support them
7. Jakarta is sinking (and will drown) from overpumping groundwater
8. Worth a read: Elinor Ostrom et al. (2003) on managing water in the commons [pdf] (Hint: be flexible)
9. Decoding Chinese politics
10. 50 psychological terms we often misuse (e.g., "bystander apathy" or "antidepressant")
11. Does Puerto Rico's corrupt energy utility need more, less or better regulation?
12. Oprah Winfrey Helped Create Our [Credulous] American Fantasyland