I love my boyfriend dearly but am starting to doubt our long term potential. I don't know if I'm asking smart questions, or letting my inner commitment phoebe dictate my thinking.
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posted by meb123
on Apr 25, 2013 -
25 answers
I have a lot of exciting stuff coming up in the next few years of my life, but before I get there I have to somehow slog through the doldrums of my current life. Help me live in the present.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 14, 2013 -
11 answers
I'm trying to figure out what direction I should guide my future in. Problem is, when I take most personality (*cough* Myers-Briggs *cough*) or skill tests, I can never overcome the bias of what I "should" want, or what my field (the sciences) have conditioned me to. What can I do that can help me figure myself out that isn't sensitive to bias and will basically catch me "off guard" so I can figure out my strengths/weaknesses/potential truthfully?
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posted by Seeking Direction
on Mar 13, 2013 -
8 answers
Let's say that certain phases of my life were already written in a book 70 - 100 years ago by someone, who was either a futurist of a scifi-writer. Let's also say that there are people, who want to make sure - for some yet unknown reason - that I live through those phases and that my personality gets developed similarly to some character's personality in that book. The book would have been written a long time before I was born. Now, what kind of search engines and what kind of search strategies I should use to become sure that there actually is such a book? There might exists traces of revitalizing of the book, if the original writer didn't make good enough guesses about the future.
posted by spctrm
on Feb 5, 2013 -
13 answers
I need an awesome costume idea for a future-themed party. Things that are important: cost (cheap) and ease of construction.
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posted by superlibby
on Jan 14, 2013 -
17 answers
Where is the internet heading? What are the issues we are facing with the internet and issues that will arise in the future? What do internet based companies need to worry about and prepare for? Looking for answers as well as places to read and learn about these sort of issues.
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posted by carmel
on Dec 28, 2012 -
16 answers
After reading a number of articles such as
this on Metafilter, I realized that I might want to have kids soon, before it's too late. I have a biological clock and that instinct is telling me I ought to propagate before my sperm becomes useless. However, I have no immediate desire to parent anyone. My instincts are only concerned with reproduction, not any of the details.
My thought is that I could become a sperm donor. I have no emotional need to ever
meet my kids (though I have nothing against it either) - it would be enough to know that they're out there somewhere. However, I am confused by some of the potential ramifications. (Snowflake details inside.)
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posted by wolfdreams01
on Dec 12, 2012 -
13 answers
From a famous poem by Elizabeth Bishop.;....Even losing you,(the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident the art of losing 's not too hard to master though it may look like(Write it!) like disaster.
The question is, what's the difference between " I shall never lie." and"I shan't have lied."??
posted by mizukko
on Nov 29, 2012 -
10 answers
How legitimate a dealbreaker is weed consumption in a relationship ? A down-to-earth relationship question.
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 14, 2012 -
27 answers
Help me relax and enjoy my budding relationship without stressing needlessly about The Future!
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 14, 2012 -
6 answers
Where can I find summaries of historical developments, technological breakthroughs, political and social changes etc. in a similar style as the Afterword in Charles Stross's anthology Toast
(free download here)? I am interested in stuff that has happened in the last 30 or 40 years.
posted by fullerenedream
on Oct 22, 2012 -
0 answers
Science fiction that deals with people having the ability to download information directly to their brains?
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posted by Lobster Garden
on Sep 27, 2012 -
29 answers
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Problem is, I just turned 45. Help me work out what to do next.
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posted by b33j
on Sep 4, 2012 -
14 answers
I'm looking for "what-if" websites that combine words, imagery, and other media to project cool science or exploration concepts onto the web. Two examples I have are
here and
here although I'm open to more than just Mars exploration stuff.
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posted by circular
on Aug 26, 2012 -
2 answers
I have a question about 529 Savings Plans. Now that I have a little one, I'm looking to start investing in a 529. However, there is a better than decent chance that we'll move to a new state within the next three years. Should I invest in New York's Direct plan right away (which looks great - low expense and a nice amount to write off my taxes) even though I might lose future tax benefits in another state?
posted by Stynxno
on Jul 27, 2012 -
5 answers
I've been debating whether to get a new job. I'm relatively happy in my current job, but I think I could make more money. Please tell me how I can make up my mind.
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posted by smilingtiger
on Jul 26, 2012 -
17 answers
Help me find some informative scientific podcasts/lectures/audio books/videos about the future of man and technology.
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posted by gregoryg
on Jun 21, 2012 -
4 answers
I'm writing a series of time travel novels. Since my first one is scheduled to be published in November, I've been debating what my next one should be. One idea I have is for a young woman in San Francisco or Los Angeles to find herself 100 years in the future (in 2110 or so), but I need some help imagining a realistic future.
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posted by suburbanbeatnik
on Jun 14, 2012 -
29 answers
Intermediate Future Calendar: After adding the 2015
New Horizons flyby of Pluto to my Google Calendar
[14 July 2015; 11:47 GMT], I was filled with a desire to populate the semi-distant future -- say, the next +3 to +10 years -- with important human achievements/milestones that have a known date. What are these important dates?
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posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj
on Jun 10, 2012 -
5 answers
What are the most comforting songs? I'm thinking along the lines of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds ('Every little thing/ is gonna be all right").
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posted by airguitar2
on Apr 20, 2012 -
90 answers
Precedents/ideas for molding agriculture, food/cooking, health, and psychology together into a meaningful, practical career?
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posted by trampoliningisfun
on Mar 26, 2012 -
11 answers
I was recently accepted into graduate school (pursuing my MFA in nonfiction writing) but after doing some thinking, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to go. I'd like some different viewpoints, however.
But what's more pressing is that, if I don't go, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my life right now. And for that, I could use (a lot of) advice.
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posted by Modica
on Mar 19, 2012 -
19 answers
I have been with Company for 4 years. As my career has grown, everything about my workday has changed dramatically. I feel that most of the changes are positive. However, some of the things that made my original job a great fit for me are gone. Can you share any insights, suggestions, tools, exercises, or books to make this career growth work for me?
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posted by calcetinporfavor
on Mar 6, 2012 -
3 answers
If an alien located on a planet 100 light years from here was to switch on a big, multi-frequency radio receiver, and record all the noises coming from outer space for the
next hundred years, on all frequencies, how many soap operas, advertisements and new broadcasts would they pick up from Earth? Would a mass-market radio, similar to our Earthly equivalents, pick up anything? Over time, as the number of Earth transmissions increases exponentially, would the alien pick up a cacophony or a damp fizzle?
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posted by 0bvious
on Feb 23, 2012 -
10 answers
Suppose you had to defend the thesis that the 21st Century is going to be the Chinese Century, in the way that the 20th Century is often referred to as the American Century. What arguments would you muster to support that claim?
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posted by slappy_pinchbottom
on Jan 27, 2012 -
11 answers
I have come to realize that I am terrible at planning in most areas of my life: education, finance, events, daily tasks etc. How do I become better at looking ahead, seeing what's coming and acting now so that the future doesn't suck?
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posted by talkingmuffin
on Dec 28, 2011 -
8 answers
Can you think of any examples of a famous character in a film (or book) who knew the future, or knew that a big event was definitely going to happen, and couldn't cope with that knowledge?
posted by Marzipan
on Dec 8, 2011 -
39 answers
I'm trying to figure out which modestly-sized movements are most antithetical to conventional modern day culture (excluding direct political movements - I'm thinking something akin to how Gay Rights were perceived 50+ years ago)
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posted by pipian
on Dec 1, 2011 -
13 answers
Does anyone know of one single world event that was predicted 25 years or more before it happened
I use Prediction as being a statement about a fundamentally unknown aspect of the future, and Event as a non-recurring event.
posted by terminus
on Sep 11, 2011 -
41 answers
I am a rising 2L at a T6 school. My first year grades were really bad, and I'm trying to figure out my future. Many snowflake extras inside.
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 31, 2011 -
21 answers
My wife will begin school in Boston in the Fall of 2012. I've got a great job in Chicago right now. What's my best bet for keeping this job as long as possible, while locking in a new job in Boston for when we move?
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 25, 2011 -
7 answers
I seem to recall a site run by some guy that noted pundits' and analysts' forecasts. If an analyst said Vista was going to flop, this was the type of site to record that. I think I saw this site mentioned a couple years ago on daring fireball, or perhaps waxy. It definitely had the "claim chowder" vibe.
posted by Monochrome
on Aug 23, 2011 -
9 answers
What would you ask your grandparents/family to record in a message to your future?
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posted by mcav
on Aug 22, 2011 -
11 answers
There are organizations that are palliative (e.g. the Red Cross). There are organizations that are arguably transformative on a societal level (e.g. Kiva). Are there organizations in which global
post-scarcity is an explicit goal and overarching value?
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posted by zeek321
on Jul 26, 2011 -
6 answers
Does anyone remember a blog that went through and commented on a book published in the early 90s about the future of personal gizmos? Each section of the book featured a handheld gadget that was "coming soon," and each blog entry looked into what happened to it and why it did or didn't take off in the two decades since the book was published.
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posted by Ian A.T.
on Jul 15, 2011 -
1 answer
What books or blogs should I read to get an idea how the world will change in the next 5-15 years?
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posted by MetaMonkey
on Jul 11, 2011 -
11 answers
I have a new job offer with a company that will pay a bit better than I manage now. The new company is likely to be a better working environment as well. However, the new job would be a step down from a manager/supervisor role into more of a coordinator role.
How highly should I esteem my current manager title/responsibilities? Enough to reconsider a move to a role that feels like a better fit in most other ways?
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posted by owls
on May 23, 2011 -
6 answers
So disappointed with the Rapture. What real, life changing events are scheduled or predicted that I can add to my calendar?
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posted by cashman
on May 21, 2011 -
7 answers
