By far the biggest question facing the global economy is where the money supply will come from going forward.  Money is debt, and money is really only created when consumer debt is created.  Government debt simply shuffles existing debt around.  Since the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement the U.S. consumer has been the global source of new debt, but we are tapped out.  Consumer debt is plummeting at an unheard of rate and this is causing deflation around the world.

The average U.S. consumer is now indebted for the rest of his life and current generations cannot be counted on as a reliable source of debt creation. We've had an incredible stint as the primary money creation engine of the world, what with our consumerist culture and our willingness to take on new debt to buy a Big Mac and all, but we're tapped out, and a new source of money must be found.  Our current system of compounding interest and debt-based money has been around for some 600 years and the people who own the most debt would certainly like to see it stay intact if possible.  It's a wonderful system if you own the debt, not so much if you create it like most of us do.

I've really been enjoying my recent study of predictive analytics and data mining.  It's provoked me to think about the nature of value, how much of it there is lying around waiting to be uncovered, and what it takes to uncover it. 

It has also caused me to gain a much deeper appreciation for people who both have expertise in an area of business and the desire and drive to learn the skill set they can use to turn that experience into something extraordinary.

Um, that should really be Reporting ON the Future, but I thought this title was cooler :)

Anyway, what was the last thing you got really technically geeked out about?  (I'd really actually like to know, if you feel like sharing.  I dig stuff people are excited about.)

I mean, what was the last thing you saw that really made you say "wow, this is really going to change things"?

I haven't had one of those moments in a while but I'm learning something now that has me feeling that way.  You know, when you start thinking of the potential implications and it just takes things to a whole new level.