Futurist Thomas Frey: Last weekend I spent a couple days in the very impressive city of Carmel, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis. My hosts for this trip were Wendy Phillips, Director of the Carmel Clay Public Library, and her husband Greg, a Senior Business Analyst at FFA.
Continue reading… “Where the Books Used to Be”
Raiding retirement accounts can have significant consequences.
Many Americans struggle to pay the monthly bills and are feeling less secure about their finances. A Bankrate.com study released this week shows nearly one in five Americans (19 percent) admit raiding their retirement accounts during the past 12 months to cover expenses.
Continue reading… “1 in 5 Americans are Raiding Their Nest Eggs”
Slashcasters, a new breed of pitchmen for the digital age of retail
Futurist Thomas Frey: I was recently asked to do the keynote talk at a retailer conference in Orlando, Florida speaking on the topic of what the future of retail may hold. At one point in the conversation, the caller made the comment that one of the biggest problems in retail is that consumers are evolving faster than retailers can adapt.
Continue reading… “Introducing the Slashcasters”
Brown recluse spider
The brown recluse are one of the most feared spiders in North America. And now the brown recluse – or Loxosceles reclusa – spider population is growing, and predicted to expand into the northern states as a result of climate change.
Continue reading… “Brown Recluse Spider Population Boom Result of Climate Change”
Futurist Thomas Frey: When it comes to the topic of time travel, color me skeptical.
Do we even know what time is? Yes, we see the seconds clicking away on clocks, sunrise followed by sunset, tides coming in and going out, seasons changing from one to another, and little trees growing into big trees.
Continue reading… “Prize Competition #2: Viewing the Past”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Over the past month I have hosted a series of meetings to discuss the topic of global elections. The purpose of these discussions was to help expand our understanding of the topic. I also truly believe that someone will begin to produce global elections, in a meaningful way, sometime very soon.
Continue reading… “Global Elections”
Designing cruise ships today to meet the
wants, needs, and desires of future generations
Futurist Thomas Frey: Having just returned from a holiday cruise on the Mexican Riviera, I became intrigued with the prospects for this behemoth industry, and the long-term implications of designing ships today that mesh well with the changing attitudes and fickle interests of traveling consumers many years in the future. (Photos)
Continue reading… “The Future of the Cruise Industry”
What will it be like to watch television in 2030?
Futurist Thomas Frey: Having just returned from four days at the famous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I am spending the next couple weeks sorting through the vast array of products I came across, looking for overarching trends and patterns that may signal lifestyle shifts in the future.
Continue reading… “Eight Great Explosions in Video”
Futurist Thomas Frey: We are witnessing an explosion of apps for our handheld devices.
Continue reading… “Connecting the Physical World with the Digital World through Apps”
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, unveils the Falcon Heavy rocket at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, April 5, 2011.
SpaceX, a private US company, hopes to put an astronaut on Mars within 10 to 20 years, the head of the firm said.
Continue reading… “SpaceX Hopes to Put an Astronaut on Mars in 10-20 Years”
Futurist Thomas Frey: On Sunday, April 17th I had the privilege of being the opening speaker at the TEDx event at the University of Chicago. The lineup of speakers was quite impressive and I felt honored to be presenting on the same stage with them.
Continue reading… “The Grand Experiment – Micro Agronomy”
Futurist Thomas Frey: For several decades now I have been contemplating our relationship with the future.
Many of my colleagues think of me as that crazy guy who assigns human attributes to this thing we call the future.
Continue reading… “12 Laws of the Future”