A Quarter-Century of Long-Wave Thinking
Peoplenomics did not appear overnight as another “content product.”
Its roots go back to the late 1990s and an MBA capstone project exploring long-wave economics, social cyclicity, and the relationship between large-scale economic transitions and human behavior. Long before “AI,” “collapse modeling,” or “systems thinking” became fashionable internet buzzwords, the question on the table was simple:
How do large systems really change over time — and can ordinary people prepare intelligently for it?
Part of that early work intersected with the old University of Colorado long-wave economics community and related research circles focused on Kondratiev cycles, demographic pressures, capital formation, technological transitions, and the historical rhythm of financial manias and depressions.
At the time, the internet itself was still young enough to squeal when dialing up.
UrbanSurvival Begins
In 2001, after years in broadcast management, technology work, consulting, and media operations, I decided to step away for a while and go sailing.
Literally.
Elaine and I had married in 2000, sailed a good deal, and eventually tied up on our sailboat berthed at Kona Kai Marina in San Diego. It was there — living on cocktail hour shrimp and rum – in a floating office (with sails) with sails, gulls overhead, and harbor traffic outside the hatch — that the original “Inside Report” series began appearing on what was already UrbanSurvival.com.
Getting the mail was a 30-knot romp around Shelter Island in our high-speed RIB.
The early reports mixed long-wave economics, preparedness, systems analysis, market observations, technology trends, and practical “what does this mean for normal people?” thinking.
The readership grew much faster than expected. Much, much faster…
What started as a small independent experiment gradually evolved into a continuously published research and commentary operation spanning markets, preparedness, technology, social trends, infrastructure, AI, future studies, and practical resilience. Oh, and now decades…
Why Peoplenomics Was Created
Over time, readers wanted more detailed work: deeper market models, longer-term forecasts, chart analysis, specialized reports, research papers, and serialized book projects.
That eventually led to the creation of Peoplenomics as a separate subscriber-supported publication.
One practical reason for the split was something learned early in publishing:
People often value free information at exactly what they paid for it.
UrbanSurvival has remained the open public-facing daily site. Peoplenomics became the deeper research layer — intended for readers who wanted more than headlines, outrage cycles, or mainstream financial narratives.
As the audience expanded, the “Peoplenomics” name itself was widely copied, reused, and borrowed around the web. We trademarked it, but that’s just a “license to sue” and that’s not us. The distinction between the free public layer and the subscriber-supported research operation became increasingly important. Besides, we own “first use.”
Today, the two sites work together:
UrbanSurvival is the open signal layer.
Peoplenomics is the deeper research archive and analytical engine. The socioeconomic sigint work.
Research Philosophy
The operating philosophy behind Peoplenomics has remained remarkably consistent since the beginning:
Systems matter more than headlines. Cycles matter more than narratives. Technology changes human behavior faster than politics. Preparedness is rational. Most important trends begin quietly. The future belongs to adaptable people.
This research operation has now accumulated more than two decades of continuously published work covering markets, economic cycles, preparedness, AI, cognition, infrastructure, social change, longevity, communications systems, and the practical realities of navigating increasingly nonlinear times.
The Archive
Peoplenomics contains a large historical archive of reports, market studies, essays, serialized books, and research notes extending back into the early 2000s.
The publicly visible Content Atlas serves as a catalog and navigation layer for this body of work, while full reports remain available to subscribers.
The intent has never been to create “content.”
The intent has always been:
To build a practical intelligence resource for people trying to understand where the world is headed — before the headlines catch up.
Research Websites
Over the years, I have launched a number of free research websites for non-subscribers, made possible by the ongoing support of our small but reliable subscriber base.
The first example was the National Dream Center site, which explored an area where traditional investing stopped being interested: dreams, collective intuition, and the possibility that human perception sometimes reaches around corners. Eventually, the site was acquired by Chris McCleary, a former USAF lieutenant colonel and practicing psychology expert.
The second was UltraMake.com, devoted to the idea that in today’s world, anyone can make almost anything. Along the way, we did just that. We still maintain a small stable of 3D printing and CNC capacity, along with traditional wood, metal, and electronics tooling, at our rural tree farm property in East Texas.
Our current related research websites include:
HiddenGuild.dev
This is the place to visit if you have a deep and abiding interest in AI. Not only did a lot of early Peoplenomics thinking land there, but concepts developed on Peoplenomics and expanded through Hidden Guild became formative in my writing of several books on the emergence of AI.
HomeAICentral.com
This site is aimed at the rising market for sovereign, home-based AI systems. If you have basic computer grounding, it is a useful starting point for understanding home AI selection, local model use, benchmarking, and where personal AI infrastructure may be headed.
HourADayGardening.com
Only a portion of Peoplenomics content has focused directly on advanced agriculture, though we have covered areas such as electroculture and food resilience. Much of the hands-on work has appeared on UrbanSurvival through the ShopTalk Sunday series, which has chronicled the build-out of a low-cost, solidly built greenhouse system almost anyone can duplicate — assuming the building inspectors are at lunch.
Mainly, these sites are where specialized ideas get sorted when they do not apply to everyone. Peoplenomics remains the more forward-directed research layer.
We were looking seriously at anti-aging supplements years ahead of the pack. We were also working with a doctor friend on red-light therapy in 2017, including its use in helping reverse Elaine’s age-related macular degeneration. That is not the kind of thing that fits neatly into market commentary, but it fits perfectly into the broader Peoplenomics mission: useful research before the crowd arrives.
Books and Longer Works
All of which is still not nearly enough to keep a busy mind engaged, so I have also written a number of books. Some are available on Amazon. A few remain Peoplenomics-only content. Most are on Amazon and listed on my Author Page here.
Fiction
DreamOver – A David Shannon Adventure
Adventure novel.
The Eisenhower Memo
The second David Shannon adventure.
PLAYBOOK
Alternate history novella and one possible explanation for today’s woes.
Nonfiction
Timenamics: Time as a Hidden Currency
Economics and sociology.
Co-Telligence: Another Intelligence Has Joined Humans
Computer science, cognitive studies, and LLM design.
Mind Amplifiers: Human Use of Cognitive Prosthetics
Computer science, cognitive studies, and LLM design.
Theomachine: AI and Science-Based Religion
Computer science, cognitive studies, and LLM design. Peoplenomics-only.
Downsizing: Missing the Collapse of Empire
Economics and sociology.
The Doctor Between Your Ears
Personal gerontology, medicine, and aging.
The 100-Year Toaster
A socioeconomic critique.
How to Live on $10,000 a Year — Or Less
Personal finance.
Dimensions Next Door — Hacking Space-Time
Speculative physics, woo-woo, and history.
Power in the Second Depression — A User Guide
Off-grid power design.
Packing to Die: Suitcase Between Your Ears
Near-death studies.
Psychocartography: Mapping the Human Dream
Consciousness studies.
The Millennial’s Missing Manual: What Schools Didn’t Teach and Nobody Explains
Education and industrial arts.
Broken Web: The Coming Collapse of the Internet
Computational futures.
Building Your Personal Ark
Rural living and design. Privately published.
The Business Model
We recently dropped paid advertising across UrbanSurvival and related sites.
The goal here is not to become an overpaid web influencer conglomerate. The goal is simpler: keep the research operation alive, keep the lights on, pay the hosting bill, buy the occasional printer cartridge, and maybe still have enough left over for a sandwich and a six-pack.
That’s the model.
Independent research. Reader-supported. Field-tested. Written by someone who has been watching long waves long enough to know that most of the future arrives before the crowd notices.
Now you know. Back to the research.