Author Richard Florida discussed his work analyzing and predicting trends in cities, housing, economy, work, and lifestyle. Choosing the right city to live in plays an important role in a person's happiness and success, he said, noting that job markets are becoming more concentrated in specific areas. He also pointed out that we are seeing the development of "mega-regions" such as Southern California, Northern California, Bos-Wash (Boston-Washington) and Char-lanta (Charlotte-Atlanta), which are creating a new kind of geographical order.

Different personality types tend to be clustered in specific cities-- extroverts are more prevalent in Chicago and the South, conscientious types in the Midwest, and agreeable people in the Sunbelt, he detailed. The open-to-experience personality type (introverts, outcasts, whiz kids) are congregated in a dozen American cities including Boston, DC, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Miami, Austin, and San Francisco. Interestingly, he has found that people in service industry jobs (such as hair salons) tend to be happier than white collar workers who are typically paid better.

Florida also spoke about his notion of the "creative class," a new kind of social system. Instead of wealth based on natural resources, it's premised on the human mind-- knowledge, information, technology and creativity. America has been the world's "innovative engine," but to be more effective, he suggested we shift power out of Washington and back to local communities.

Search for Fossett

Appearing briefly at the start of the show, Brigadier General Amy S. Courter with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) reacted to the possibility that Steve Fossett faked his death (reported in the UK Telegraph). CAP Information Officer Cynthia Ryan was quoted out of context for the article, she said. While the CAP's search was intensive, the terrain being covered was massive and difficult, so Fossett's plane could still be undiscovered, Courter noted.

So Cal Quake

First hour guest, geologist Jim Berkland spoke about today's quake in So. Cal. He'd accurately predicted a quake window starting on July 29th on his last show appearance. He noted that current extreme tides around the world raise the likelihood of seismic activity through the first days of August.