Long Term Planning: I just submitted my name to the Packer season ticket waiting list, which is supposed to be 30 years long. I don't even live in Wisconsin, but life could take me anywhere in 30 years, and I like the feeling of knowing it might be an option one day. Are there any other lists or similar things I should do now? [more inside]
posted by 2legit2quit on Nov 16, 2009 - 30 answers

Looking for a short sci-fi story that I read on the internet. It was about a police force who worked in the very risky highways of the future, where rocket cars zoomed around at hundreds of miles an hour. [more inside]
posted by chrisamiller on Nov 1, 2009 - 5 answers

Where is music headed in the 21st century? [more inside]
posted by philip-random on Oct 11, 2009 - 51 answers

What is the origin of the phrase "in the not-too-distant future"? [more inside]
posted by unregistered_animagus on Oct 9, 2009 - 10 answers

What game changing reminders is my future calendar missing ? [more inside]
posted by cashman on Oct 6, 2009 - 15 answers

Do I give in to wanderlust? Or go back to school for a grad degree in Comp. Engr with an eye to robotics? [more inside]
posted by Rubbstone on Sep 30, 2009 - 10 answers

Let's say your a male and you've made a horrible mistake: you didn't sign up for Selective Service while you still had time. Is there any way to fix this? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 21, 2009 - 15 answers

The seas are rising. Climate change has made it inevitable. I have a strange question... Assuming that world sea-level rises by 1 metre over the next hundred years - Would it be possible to cordon off a section of land, somewhere in the centre of a continent, and flood it to create an artificial ocean, thus reducing the consequences of the sea rise? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Sep 18, 2009 - 30 answers

Ideas for a young couple in a crux to figure out their future? [more inside]
posted by aesacus on Sep 8, 2009 - 22 answers

Is there any research that seeks to quantify from year to year the degree to which humanity has grown more civilized or more depraved? Seems like futurists would do this, but I don't know where to begin to look. Negative factors would include crime, war, human trafficking, starvation, preventable disease. Positive factors would be access to affordable or universal health care, some form of freedom or democracy with a complementary bill of rights. What do you think are the factors that should be measured?
posted by jeffreyclong on Aug 18, 2009 - 8 answers

Identify a book for my girlfriend please. Read in the mid 90's maybe had 'children' in the title. Sci-fi novel about children held captive with woman in a castle after being placed with her through a government forced foster system (children are lent out to childless people for one month). They survive nuclear meltdown and years after by being put into suspended animation. [more inside]
posted by Uncle on Aug 9, 2009 - 5 answers

My boyfriend can't decide what he should do about his job. Should he stick with a job he's not happy with but has great job security and benefits? Or is he better off finding something that will make him much happier? Or somewhere in between? Much, much more after the jump. [more inside]
posted by Nolechick11 on Aug 6, 2009 - 20 answers

I've got debt, no car, no prospects. And I live with my mom. Make me feel like I won't be stuck here forever, in a swirling vortex of nagging and dead-end Craigslist job ads. [more inside]
posted by lhude sing cuccu on Aug 5, 2009 - 43 answers

Where do you want to be in 3 months/ 6 months/ 1 yr/ 3 yrs within the company? My boss asked me to write a response to this when I challenged him about my lack of career direction. Obviously I have my own thoughts, but beyond that, what specifically is *he* wanting to read when I turn this in? What will help convince him to put me on the fast-track to where I want to be?
posted by forallmankind on Jul 25, 2009 - 15 answers

How much has where you grew up determined your personality? How important is location? Those who grew up in New Zealand, how much has its culture and limitations shaped you? Children of expats, how did having expat parents influence you? Any Americans in NZ want to tell me why they are raising their children there? [more inside]
posted by scazza on Jun 19, 2009 - 9 answers

I'm in a relationship but unhappy where I live and planning to move. My boyfriend may not wind up joining me. Is it better to cut off the relationship or pursue a long distance relationship again for a little while? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 13, 2009 - 17 answers

Are there any metals or minerals, especially ones essential to some vital industry, that are in danger or becoming "extinct"? [more inside]
posted by penciltopper on Jun 9, 2009 - 24 answers

What can I do to feel more positive and confident while riding out uncertaintiy in "transitional" phases of my life? [more inside]
posted by Chrysalis on May 25, 2009 - 7 answers

Is there a better word for this notion than "futurism?" [more inside]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on Apr 28, 2009 - 18 answers

Can anyone identify these cartoons? One about two poor kids who dream of a world made of food, then wake up to a feast in their kitchen. Another about a young couple at a future world/technology expo where they see instant houses, get groomed by robots, and ballroom dance? [more inside]
posted by thebellafonte on Apr 28, 2009 - 6 answers

Can I help my 19yr old brother with little hope for his future? [more inside]
posted by T.D. Strange on Apr 20, 2009 - 43 answers

Please point me to some examples of people/characters imploring their future selves not to forget, diminish, or dismiss the experiences of the present self. [more inside]
posted by Beardman on Apr 20, 2009 - 21 answers

What (if anything) is the value of an MBA in today's market? [more inside]
posted by zennoshinjou on Apr 12, 2009 - 12 answers

How do I pick a major? Work I love, classes I love, or a subject I love? [more inside]
posted by magraak on Apr 3, 2009 - 35 answers

I'm looking for predictions of near future technology made by people who are actually working on that technology and have the funding to make it happen. [more inside]
posted by 517 on Mar 13, 2009 - 8 answers

(Relationship Filter) What's a rational, fair, and non-dramatic way to deal with mixed signals from your significant other? [more inside]
posted by pecanpies on Feb 22, 2009 - 17 answers

I'm looking for examples where people invest work in projects that they know they will never live to partake in the outcome. [more inside]
posted by theefixedstars on Feb 21, 2009 - 13 answers

How do I go about telling my girlfriend I want to be a father? This makes me nervous, since I don't think she wants to be be a mother and life-goal conflicts like this are pretty big when talking about relationships. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 20, 2009 - 50 answers

Discovered recently that my wife is expecting our second child - mixed feelings are overwhelming me - practical solutions? [more inside]
posted by numberstation on Feb 12, 2009 - 25 answers

I am looking for a quote I once read about the decline of nations/empires. I think the quote was specifically referencing the Roman Empire and said something to the effect of when a nation starts putting the current generation ahead of the unborn generation, that's when it falls. [more inside]
posted by jellywerker on Feb 7, 2009 - 2 answers

How did you propose to the man, or woman, you loved? Did it work? [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy on Jan 14, 2009 - 39 answers

I never think about the future. Is this strange? Should I? [more inside]
posted by sweetkid on Dec 30, 2008 - 23 answers

We're on the cusp of 2009 and I want to start living like George Jetson. What are some of the things around your house/office that make you feel like you are living in the future? What are some of new technologies in development that I can look forward to?
posted by pwally on Dec 13, 2008 - 32 answers

Zeitgeist: the movies versus the movement... objective thoughts? [more inside]
posted by WhaleRider on Dec 4, 2008 - 13 answers

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.
posted by grumblebee on Nov 20, 2008 - 8 answers

This spring I will be finished with my second Master's degree. I've been at my current job for almost three years and while I enjoy it immensely, I am wondering about other opportunities that having two graduate degrees might open up for me. Am hoping to obtain answers especially from individuals who have multiple degrees and have gone into somewhat different career paths. [more inside]
posted by msposner on Nov 11, 2008 - 3 answers

I LOVE Brainstorming. How can I do more of it? [more inside]
posted by k7lim on Oct 3, 2008 - 16 answers

I need suggestions for a message to a one-year-old to be opened on his 10th birthday. [more inside]
posted by saucy on Sep 27, 2008 - 16 answers

Short Story Askme: I read a short dystopian story many years ago set in a run-down, post apocalyptic future. A queue of people line up on a street to spit at a painting. The painting represents all the problems of the past. It is implied that the painting is The Mona Lisa. What is the story?
posted by bollockovnikov on Sep 25, 2008 - 2 answers

Question about WordPress, IE, and peculiar "no posts matched your criteria" errors. [more inside]
posted by johngoren on Sep 21, 2008 - 6 answers

i want to live/work with indigenous peoples in the amazon, write literature, and honor my immigrant parents by avoiding a hedonistic/freewheeling lifestyle. how do i do all these things? [more inside]
posted by jiayeeng on Sep 7, 2008 - 19 answers

What things could one person do now to best progress human civilization in the long term (ie, millions of years)? [more inside]
posted by fabius on Aug 19, 2008 - 59 answers

Watershed moment or wishful thinking? : 26 year old father considers future life. Looking to the hive mind for direction. [more inside]
posted by numberstation on Jul 24, 2008 - 18 answers

A good friend of mine just took his own life. That's not what this question is about...it's more about direction. This is long, so bear with me. [more inside]
posted by TomMelee on Jul 15, 2008 - 19 answers

Grammar Filter: what is the English equivalent to the "Double Future Tense"? [more inside]
posted by davejay on Jul 9, 2008 - 10 answers

Please help me out with my doomsday anxiety. I need some respected, rational, realistic stuff to read about economy, oil, food, etc. in the near future and beyond. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 9, 2008 - 37 answers

What looks, uh, the least bad on a transcript - a C or a D w/ an A or B as a repeat grade? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 4, 2008 - 12 answers

Optimism Filter: What individuals, groups or publications are thinking innovatively about the future of our planet and how to get there? [more inside]
posted by Mender on Jun 4, 2008 - 11 answers

I tire of the summer hiatus from academia. I live with a very strong work ethic and moral sense of duty that causes me a sort of existential crisis when my life seems to be put on hold. This feeling cannot be ignored, and cannot (seem to) be reconciled. Do you have similar experiences? I'd love to hear stories... [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 26, 2008 - 14 answers

To what extent could sleeping with my ex-girlfriend, who is now very firmly just a friend, jeopardize the acceptability/reasonability of said relationship to any future potential girlfriends? [more inside]
posted by Annon E Moose on Mar 31, 2008 - 52 answers