Well-researched and quality post, as usual. I'm not at Steemit that often but I do look around when I can. I've observed that you are progressing well and getting the reward you deserve. It serves as encouragement to me, and I believe to others too - it is indeed possible to create a resonable income stream from this platform. But we have to learn, and then put in the effort. Persistently.

Anyway, as per your post here - I'll have to admit that I'm not really clear about curation. I do know there are rewards but had not taken the trouble to find out how they work. It's comforting to know there are people like you who have done a lot of deep research into the system, and educating the rest of us about this.