the american idol top 36 are...

compliments from Durden: http://www.wwtdd.com/

138 contestants made it to the second round on Season 8 of American Idol and this week they begin the series of cuts to widdle that number down to the top 36. But why wait for all that widdling when you can know the top 36 right now, because AI nemesis VoteForTheWorst has what they say is the final list right here.

Among the nonsurprises are that sightless bastard Scott MacIntyre (who has recorded 6 full length CDs and has a masters degree in music from the Royal College of Music) super hot piece-of-ass Casey Carlson (who can be seen on her homepage here and in my erotic fantasies here), Joanna Pacitti (who was signed to A&M records in 2000 and released an album with Geffen records in 2006), Brent Keith (who finished in 6th place on "Nashville Star" in 2004) and Kristen McNamara (who finished in 6th place on "Nashville Star" in 2006).

The ratings for this season have gone quite well, maybe because of the new changes and features. I think another good feature would be tips on how I can get my penis inside of Casey Carlsons vagina. Because I think that would be terrific. On another note, if MacIntyre does win, I think a good New York Post-style headline would be "American Eye-Dull".

'Pastor' took girl, 10, to bed

By Tobi Cohen, THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - A self-described pastor who hoped his "marriage" to a 10-year-old girl he took to bed would convince a judge to acquit him on a sexual assault charge was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday.

Daniel Cormier, who was convicted last October following a lengthy trial, has a maximum of 49 months left behind bars because of time already served.

"I would say that there's no remorse," Crown prosecutor Anne-Andree Charette said outside the courtroom. "He just tried to find justifications."

The Crown wanted the maximum prison term of 10 years, while a lawyer Cormier hired for sentencing arguments recommended between 30 months and four years behind bars, given Canadian jurisprudence..

The 57-year-old head of the now defunct Church of Downtown Montreal, who also once ran for mayor, has maintained he is not a pedophile and that he did nothing wrong as the pair were married during a ceremony at his obscure evangelical church in 1999.

Court heard he was lovestruck for the youngster.

During the trial, Quebec court Judge Sylvie Durand announced she would not hear testimony supporting his marriage defence.

The victim, who is now 19, testified she was too young to grasp the idea of marriage. She denied ever entering a union with him, but said she remembered the sexual abuse in vivid detail.

During the proceedings, court heard that Cormier's church catered to the marginalized. Starting in 1993, he took the girl's mother, a recovering junkie and prostitute, and her two daughters under his wing.

Relatives described Cormier as a father figure to the girls who were often invited to stay with him or go on vacation with him and other church members.

It was during such holidays that fellow parishioners became suspicious of Cormier's relationship with the victim.

He was arrested in 2003 after a social worker notified police but the case progressed slowly through the courts as numerous motions were filed by both the Crown and Cormier, who represented himself at the trial.

When it came time for the victim to testify, she agreed to do so only via video link from an adjacent room and Cormier was barred from cross-examining her or her mother.

He declined to submit to the court an approved list of questions and rested his case without calling further witnesses or taking the stand himself.

At the time of his conviction, two additional charges of sexual touching and invitation to touching were dropped.

Cormier is currently on trial in another case involving a 16-year-old girl and could face additional jail time if convicted.

The alleged crimes, which Cormier denies committing, also date back to his time as a pastor.

A Bike Helmet That Makes You Look Like Russell Crowe

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.27.09

I really like this bike helmet from Canedo Studio a lot. It integrates eye protection into the helmet, the ventilation is terrific, and cars will keep far away from me. Joaquin Phoenix and his sword will keep far away from me.

Yanko says:

The Gladiat8r concept is inspired by gladiator helmets of ancient Rome. Its weight is distributed across the entire surface, a carefully spaced “ribcage” ensuring the shades remain in place during use but also reduce friction from the usual support areas such as the nose-bridge and ears.

Then there are my new Bikers Revenge handlebar plugs designed by Matt Braun and Jared Delorenzo of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

These modified handlebar plugs speak to the disgruntled urban cyclist. By retro-fitting stock parts with up-cycled keys, bikers can now find satisfaction with close encounters. This concept puts an new twist on the timeless tradition of car-keying revenge.

Bikers Revenge via Geekologie

Just like those spikes on the chariots.

I am GLADIATOR!!

First the Affair, Then Paternity Test, Then Abortion?

Concerns Grow in the U.K. That the Rise in Prenatal Paternity Tests Leads to Abortions

By AMMU KANNAMPILLY

LONDON, Jan. 27, 2009 —

The illegal use of DNA testing to determine the sex of foetuses in the developing world is widely...

The illegal use of DNA testing to determine the sex of foetuses in the developing world is widely known, but now, concern is growing in the UK that the availability of prenatal paternity tests is encouraging women to terminate foetuses which are the result of extramarital affairs.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

The illegal use of DNA testing to determine the sex of fetuses in the developing world is widely known, but now, concern is growing in the United Kingdom that the availability of prenatal paternity tests is encouraging women to terminate fetuses that are the result of extramarital affairs.

According to Dan Leigh, the marketing director with DNA Solutions, a global DNA test firm with offices in 40 countries, the number of women opting for the prenatal paternity test shot up from 20 in 2002 to 500 last year.

"The testing technology has improved vastly," Leigh told ABC News. "It's become much more accessible."

"It's fairly common to see women take this test after their husbands have found out about an affair and want to know if they have fathered the child their wife is carrying," Leigh said.

"But 75 percent of the cases involve women coming in of their own volition; they want to know whose child they are carrying," he said.

As for the concerns over women terminating their pregnancies as a result of the tests, Leigh demurred, saying that "there are no statistics to support that, but it [abortion] happens when the husband turns out not to be the biological father."

"It's a sad situation," he said. "It often ends either in divorce or the husband insists on terminating the pregnancy."

The company encourages women who apply to take the prenatal paternity test to also see a therapist. But, although 90 percent of the company's U.S. customers consult with a therapist, only 20 percent of its U.K. clients do, because "the idea of seeing a counselor is just not popular in this country," Leigh said.

And, despite criticism from anti-abortion rights organizations, Leigh insisted that DNA Solutions does "not encourage abortion or termination of pregnancies."

"We are offering the chance to clarify the truth," he said.

"Frankly," he said, "the risk to a baby from an amniocentesis is a much bigger concern for us, and we are working on being able to conduct the test using a blood sample from the mother's arm instead, find a noninvasive way of doing it."

Anti-abortion rights campaigners like Josephine Quintavalle, director of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, dismiss such concerns, saying that, "unless you are conducting a test to help a baby -- for health reasons, say -- there is no significant reason to carry out any procedure that might hurt a baby."

"I don't think we should condone any form of testing that might lead to either sex selection or termination of the fetus," she said.

But the boom in prenatal paternity testing may be a mirage, according to other DNA testing organizations.

Mark Pursglove, the international operations manager for the U.K.-based International Biosciences, said that his company performed "about one or two tests a month" and that the paternity tests were not necessarily tied to adultery.

"Last year," he said, "two of the cases we dealt with involved rape victims who wanted to find out if they were carrying the rapist's babies."

The supposed popularity of these tests has been overstated, he said.

"The process costs between £800-£900 [$1,133-$1,274]," he said. In contrast, DNA Solutions offers tests beginning at $332.

Pursglove said that "the clinics we use for the test won't take up a case if they believe that a termination might be the result."

Furthermore, all clients must "speak to a gynecologist, an obstetrician or a general practitioner before the test is carried out."

Although the company forbids any "gender inquiries about the fetus," unless the person or couple involved explicitly discusses the possibility of termination, the company goes ahead with the test, Pursglove said.

But the expectation of total honesty from a woman caught in such a sensitive situation may just be too high, according to some.

And many anti-abortion rights campaigners believe the chances are slim that anyone would undergo a risky test costing hundreds of dollars without any intention to terminate the pregnancy in case the test turns up a disturbing result.

As this testing technology becomes more sophisticated and more accessible, however, it's likely that paternity tests will only become more commonplace, even as the battle to hammer out an ethical stance on the matter shows no signs of letting up.

Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

Car Sales: From Bad to Worse

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Consumers may have had an easier time getting car loans last month, but don't look for that to fuel a rebound in battered auto sales when automakers report their January sales Tuesday.

Auto finance units GMAC and Chrysler Financial received $7.5 billion in federal loans between them since the waning days of December. That allowed them to make more attractive financing offers to a wider range of potential clients.

But forecasts of a modest pickup in sales to consumers are being more than offset by a sharp plunge in purchases by rental car companies, which in a typical year can buy close to 3 million vehicles a year.

That means that the outlook for auto sales in January and through the first half of 2009 is likely to be even weaker than the industry was forecasting just a month ago.

In fact, the big decline in rental car company purchases could lead to the worst month for auto sales since 1982, even worse than any of the months reported in the disastrous fourth quarter. Sales tracker Edmunds.com is forecasting that industrywide U.S. sales fell 30% in January.

January is typically the start of the car buying season for rental car companies as they start gearing up for their busy summer months. But the rental car companies, hit by a sharp drop in demand and a weak market for selling their older vehicles, are in the process of pulling back on purchases.

Pat Farrell, a vice president at Enterprise Rental Car, said the company started trimming its purchases last summer as the slowdown in the economy became evident. The company, which also owns the National and Alamo brands, is the world's largest purchaser of cars -- it buys about 800,000 vehicles bought in a typical year.

When Enterprise experienced an even sharper drop in demand in October, it further cut back on its orders, a pullback that took three months to implement and will be felt in its January sales numbers.

Farrell would not disclose how much purchases were cut at the privately-held company, but he said it would be more than 10%. He said the company is holding onto vehicles about two months longer than normal to make up for the reduced purchases.

Richard Broome, senior vice president at Hertz (HTZ, Fortune 500), also pointed to a double-digit percentage drop in demand for its cars and the weak resale market as the reasons it is pulling back on new car purchases.

"The million dollar question is what will demand be during the summer. At this point it's impossible to forecast that," said Broome. "We want to remain in the market and remain one of the U.S. automakers' biggest customers. But the market dynamics now are not favorable."

Rebound in consumer sales won't be enough to end Detroit's pain

So far this year, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) have both trimmed their forecasts for 2009 sales from the depressed levels they were projecting in December when they submitted turnaround plans to Congress. GM executives specifically cited weak fleet sales and rental car company purchases when they discussed GM's lowered January sales forecast.

GM chief sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni told analysts late last month that a sharp drop in fleet sales could take the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate, or SAAR, below 10 million in January.

The industry SAAR, which was at 15.3 million a year ago even as the recession started, hasn't fallen short of the 10 million benchmark since 1982.

The only bright spot for the industry is that there could be a modest uptick in the sales of cars and trucks to consumers.

"We're clearly seeing stabilization in the retail [sales] rate in the U.S. market," DiGiovanni said last month.

But this slight uptick is not nearly enough to lead to a significant rebound in total sales any time soon, other experts say.

"As a rule right now, people are holding onto cars longer, whether it's consumers or rental car companies," said Jessica Caldwell, industry analyst. Edmunds.com

The easier financing probably won't woo consumers back into dealerships either -- not as long as there's so much uncertainty about the economy and the job market.

"You still have the economy crushing the consumer," said Bob Schnorbus, chief economist for J.D. Power & Associates. "If you have some easing of credit, maybe you're preventing a month-by-month spiraling downward. But at best we're looking for retail sales to be relatively flat."

ex- Microsoft Scientist Crafts Nuclear Reactor Startup

TerraPower is gearing up to enter the new nuclear market with a reactor that runs on natural or depleted uranium.

Intellectual Ventures, the high-level think tank created by ex-Microsoft chief scientist Nathan Myhrvold, is going nuclear.

The firm is getting prepared to spin out a company called TerraPower that will develop nuclear reactors that run primarily on natural or depleted uranium, rather than enriched uranium. With un-enriched fuel, the reactors could be loaded up with fuel and sealed for 30 to 60 years.

Switching from enriched fuel would reduce risks associated with nuclear proliferation and transportation as well as reduce the amount of nuclear waste primarily because the stockpile of uranium would go farther. Depleted uranium is a waste product in the enrichment process. TerraPower's reactor needs some enriched uranium, but only at the beginning to initiate a reaction.

The switch could also mean that the available supplies of uranium could be exploited to provide power for centuries or even thousands of years, according to the company, far longer than what can be done with enriched uranium.

The reactors will ideally vary in size from a few megawatts, big enough to power industrial sites or small cities, to large multi-gigawatt reactors that can power a major city. Terrapower is also looking at thorium reactors, which do not release plutonium as a byproduct. That would further reduce any risks associated with nuclear.

Like it or not, nuclear is making something of a comeback worldwide. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency expects to receive approximately 30 applications for new reactors over the next few years. Proponents say nuclear is clean and inexpensive and safer than it was in the past. Critics say it still isn't cost effective.

Threading that gap are new startups like TerraPower and Hyperion Power Generation, which is also developing a small nuclear reactor. Some companies such as General Fusion want to do fusion reactors.

TerraPower emerged from the invention sessions the company runs. Intellectual Ventures gathers scientists from universities like MIT, independent researchers and private enterprise to come up with ideas that can be turned into inventions and companies. Typically, the group shoots for ideas that might have a major impact on society several years from now. (Here's a feature on them).

Intellectual Ventures then applies for patents on these ideas and forms companies when possible. Intellectual Ventures is somewhat controversial in technology circles. Critics say that the company files for patents (and buys patents from ailing companies such as Transmeta) to sue corporations and/or extract royalties. The term "patent troll" is often applied to the company.

Myhrvold, however, tells a different story. The people involved in Intellectual Ventures are primarily scientists, and often well-regarded scientists who have won major awards. They aren't marketing and sales experts. Major corporations have gutted their research departments. Thus, the company really exists to fill a gap that has occurred in the market. The scientists gain freedom from having to build a full-fledged company and large corporations don't have to worry about recruiting high-priced talent.

The company will be run by John Gilleland, who is the manager of the nuclear program at Intellectual Ventures. Before Terrapower, he was the CEO of Archimedes Technology Group, where he focused on the development of new technologies for mitigating waste from nuclear weapons, reprocessing spent reactor fuel, and enriching uranium. Before that, he was at Bechtel and the managing director at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program.

by: Michael Kanellos

January 30, 2009

Would You Pay $9000 PER Employee For a Company Outing?

Posted by Cheryl Sowa

A company outing has many purposes: thanking employees for their hard work, establishing friendships outside office walls, marking an important company milestone, and motivating employees. Whether it is the atmosphere, getting to know your fellow associates, or the complimentary food and drink, company outings prove to be a pick-me-up for many employees. In order to have a successful get together, careful planning is necessary. Here are some guidelines for ensuring a positive outcome at your next company outing.

Think Less Business, More Fun

Planning a company outing should not be like planning a business meeting. Without excitement and enthusiasm in the planning process, your outing will be a bust. It is important to ensure that your outing will be enjoyable to all. Take into consideration the age, abilities, and interests of your employees. If you are still having trouble on deciding a venue, ask your people for suggestions. Keep the planning lighthearted and think about what would be the most enjoyable for all employees. Plan the company outing as if you were planning a vacation with some old friends.

Explore Various Types of Outings

From scavenger hunts to sporting events, BBQs to laser tag, today’s company outings take on many different shapes and sizes. In order to achieve what you want for your outing, it is important to pick the right type of outing. Consider the following:

• Traditional Outings – Conventional events can be enjoyed by employees of all ages and abilities. They give associates a chance to interact outside of work in a relaxed environment. Some examples of these activities include sporting events, dinner cruises, BBQs, amusement parks, and comedy clubs.
• Friendly Competition – Outings with friendly competition include activities for groups and individuals to reach goals and encourage teamwork. Some examples include golf, bowling, adult arcades such as Dave & Busters, and a friendly casino night where chips can earn large door prizes.
• Competitive Edge – For those looking to bring out the competitive spirit in their employees, while working towards a common goal, consider interactive events. Comprised of activities which involve strategy, competition, and multitasking, these events encourage teamwork. Some examples of aggressive outings include scavenger hunts, laser tag, go karts, and paintballing.

Important Elements for Success

Assuming your outing is correctly planned and executed, company morale is going to increase. Gathering outside of the office walls will develop friendships and add to the strength of the company. Activities involving families communicate to employees that you not only value them as a worker, but also as a family member. Ensure that your company outing is one that can be enjoyed by all. Leaving employees out will have detrimental effects on their opinion of you and your business. Keep the event lively and try not to have any lulls in excitement. Attendees will take note if they are having a great time, as well as if they are miserable. Incorporate all levels of staff in the outing. If you are doing team building exercises, be sure to place employees of various levels in the company on each team. The different levels of staff will have the chance to get to know each other.

Making the Memories Last

The morale is still high the next day in the office after a company outing. Employees talk about what a great time they had and are able to relive events that occurred just a few hours before. Unfortunately, without reminders, this morale usually does not last longer than one week. One way to keep the memories fresh is to hang pictures of the event in the break room. Change them periodically, and watch employees remember the good times.

An EXTREME Company Outing – Would you pay $9,000 per person?

Seagate Technology, a hardware storage company, uses its multibillion dollar profits for an outrageous company outing every year. Eco Seagate, the annual company teambuilding challenge in New Zealand, comes at a hefty price tag of $9,000 per person, totaling a whopping $2 million for the entire week. Over 2,000 of the 55,000 worldwide Seagate employees apply for the trip, but only 200 are chosen. Some employees have been working for months to prepare for the challenge; one employee has even lost forty pounds, according to a CNN Fortune article. This week-long teambuilding outing includes a 17-kilometer trek through the bog, 18-kilometer bike ride through mountain terrain, traversing 5-kilometer in a kayak, rappelling down cliffs, and more. The last day of the challenge combines these adventurous activities into one 40-kilometer race. Teams are comprised of employees from around the world who have never met and are expected to work together to finish the eco challenge. The prizes? The winning team receives a large jade trophy, along with exceptional bragging rights. All 200 Eco Seagate participants learn a lifelong lesson about the importance of teamwork, CEO Bill Watkins’s central message. By showing his employees the value of teamwork outside of the office, they rely on it back at Seagate.

Regardless of the kind of company outing you choose, the goals are still the same: boost morale, support office camaraderie, and encourage teamwork. Eco Seagate is an extravagant example of how a company outing can positively impact employees. Bringing the values from a company outing back to the office will improve workplace environment, create friendships, and build teamwork, generating a positive atmosphere for your business.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to our free newsletter to receive future articles and information delivered directly to your email inbox.

Michael Phelps' Pot Smoking Blows Up in His Face

by Jessica

Yes, that's him.

.

But has he ever smoked out of a Honey Bear?

The 14 gold-medal-winning Olympic golden boy (and ultimate "buthisface"), Michael Phelps was busted by Star Magazine (or rather, someone who had a grudge against Phelps who sold them the camera phone pic) face-deep in his bong.

A 23-year-old who smokes weed? Someone call the press. Oh wait.

People are coming out of the woodwork to describe how Phelps has been raging 24x7 since taking home his record-breaking medal compliment from Beijing this past summer.

The offending picture comes from a November 6th bender during a visit to the University of South Carolina. After guzzling his way through all the alcohol in the world (if we're to believe the unnamed sources of Star), someone offered Phelps a bong, and to quote someone who says they were there:

"Michael didn't hesitate and headed to a small back room, where he was immediately handed a big red bong. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and ripped a huge smelly bong rip."

The "source" adds: "Michael was holding court, throwing back shots of booze two at a time..."

Who knew that throwing back shots two at a time was even possible? We've been doing it wrong this whole time. Phelps has already responded (through one of his agents) with the following statement:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

While it's not surprising that Phelps party-happy ways are being leaked by jealous brohams in college towns from around the country (seriously guys, you come off sort of pathetic when you have to rat out a guy who is taking your chicks home), the slant that this is somehow a shock is surprising.

Since everyone has to comment on this, the USOC (U.S. Olympics Committee) released a statement as well: "Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people. In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities. In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities."

It doesn't take a genius to see that a kid who has spent most of his life in training for a brief moment of glory in the name of his country's sport supremacy might want to unwind a little - or a lot - after he accomplishes that goal. Have people forgotten that Phelps is, after all, just a 23-year-old kid? But what do you think?

CIGS could Supply 3GW of Solar Panels by 2012

This year is critical for copper-indium-gallium-selenide panel makers to show that all those huge private equity founds and factory plans will make them formidable competitors in the global solar market in the next few years, says report.

They have raised huge capital. They have built factories and even attracted some buyers. Could this year be the starting point when stronger CIGS players emerge?

"We expect some of them to ramp up production in 2009 – they are getting to commercial volumes. That will give them a definite edge when it comes to cost," said Shyam Mehta, a senior analyst at Greentech Media. Mehta co-authored the report, "PV Technology, Production and Cost, 2009 Forecast," with Travis Bradford, founder of the Prometheus Institute and a Greentech Media advisor.

By 2012, companies that make copper-indium-gallium-selenide solar panels could produce 12 percent, or nearly 3 gigawatts worth of the worldwide supply of solar panels, the report said.

CIGS is among several in the thin-film solar technologies that use little or no crystalline silicon to make solar cells. Although the majority of the panels today are made with crystalline silicon, thin-film panels are gradually gaining market acceptance.

CIGS panels aren't as efficient at converting sunlight as the crystalline silicon variety. But efficiency isn't the only selling point. CIGS advocates say they can offer cheaper products, which would then lead to a lower cost of buying and installing a system.

Nanosolar, Miasolé, Honda Soltec (owned by Honda the carmaker) and Showa Shell are some of the CIGS companies that could set themselves apart by expanding their production capacity quickly to deliver that low-cost promise, Mehta said. Showa Shell uses only copper, indium and selenium (CIS).

Both Nanosolar in San Jose, Calif., and Miasolé in Santa Clara, Calif., have raised huge sums of private equity. Nanosolar attracted $300 million only last year while Miasolé raised $50 million in late 2007 and was reportedly looking for $200 million in 2008.

To compete effectively, CIGS companies will have to have the capacity to produce 500 megawatts worth of panels by 2012, Mehta said. Today, many of them have less than 100 megawatts in annual production capacity.

Showa Shell, meanwhile, expects to start producing CIS cells at its second, 60-megawatt factory in Japan this year. Its first factory has a 20-megawatt annual capacity. The company said it plans to start building a new plant in 2011 that would be capacity of producing 1 gigawatt worth of CIS cells.

While the report takes into account the current economic crisis, it remains difficult to predict which solar companies will likely survive with minimal bruises. Austin-based HelioVolt, which just opened its first factory last October, recently laid off about 15 people. Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra, which has announced $1.5 billion worth of contracts with customers, recently lost its chief scientist, Markus Beck, to First Solar.

CIGS companies will not only have to compete against each other, but also against a host of others that use different types of technologies.

Crystalline silicon cell maker Suntech Power already has reached a 1-gigawatt annual capacity. First Solar, which uses cadmium tellurium in its cells, expects to have an annual capacity of 1.1 gigawatts by the end of this year, according to its most recent quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Companies making cadmium-telluride panels could produce nearly 1.5 gigawatts, or 6 percent, of the global supply by 2012, the reported said. Amorphous-silicon panels are likely to reach roughly 3.5 gigawatts, or 15 percent, while crystalline silicon panels will still dominate with 15.6 gigawatts, or 66 percent.

by: Ucilia Wang

January 30, 2009

Best Greentech Exit Strategy: Go Into Energy Efficiency

Pulling off an IPO or selling your company isn't easy, say experts. But you've got the best chance in energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is the quiet giant in mergers and acquisitions.

Over the past five years, venture capitalists have invested $3.3 billion into 342 energy-efficiency companies, according to Laurie Yoler, a partner at GrowthPoint Technology Partners, at the State of the Clean Green Industry conference taking place at the headquarters of Sun Microsystems.

A total of 112 companies concentrated in energy efficiency were swooped up in acquisitions. Just as important, there were 100 different buyers. Last year, Greentech Media pointed out that efficiency passed biofuels to become the number two segment for green VCs in the middle of 2008. Solar is still number one (see Greentech Investments See Record 3Q and VC Investing in Green Will Plunge 40%, Estimates One VC).

There is a big, massive qualification to Yoler's figures. The efficiency totals include virtualization software and virtualization companies comprise the largest subsegment in the efficiency numbers, she said. Virtualization software – which allows a server to perform more tasks at once – saves energy, but that's only one driver for virtualization.

Still, the factors are favorable. Energy-efficiency companies don't require the same massive capital investments that a lot of solar companies do. As a result, it's tough for solar companies to get acquired. By the time they get large enough to buy, they are too expensive, forcing them to try to pull off an IPO. There is also a somewhat limited number of potential buyers.

"If you are in energy efficiency, you've got a lot of buyers," she said. "We see that as a really vibrant market, as far as M&A is concerned."

Nancy Pfund, a managing director at DBL Investors, concurred somewhat. Smart meter and efficiency software companies could find exits over the next few years. Potential buyers include Siemens and IBM.

Being acquired, though, still isn't easy. Kjersten Barley of GE Capital Finance said that GE doesn't buy a lot of early-stage science-experiment companies.

"We won't make a Cisco-style acquisition where we buy some scientists," she said. "What we want to buy is a publicly traded company that has to make a number every quarter. "
Even if it's a private company, GE wants to pretty much buy established players generating revenues and profits, she said.

Nonetheless, Barley said that the less capital-intensive businesses, like efficiency ones, should do well in the near term because they won't be as impacted by the current crisis.

by: Michael Kanellos

Efficient Ethanol Fuel Cells

Nano power: Tin oxide nanoparticles (above) form the foundation of a new catalyst for ethanol fuel cells. Credit: Radoslav Adzic, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Portable fuel cells powered directly by ethanol could soon be practical, thanks to a new catalyst that breaks a strong bond at the heart of ethanol molecules, freeing electrons and generating electricity. Such fuel cells could replace batteries in laptops and cell phones, and could eventually be used to power electric vehicles.

Ethanol fuel cells could be far more efficient than conventional ethanol-powered engines. They could also be more practical than hydrogen fuel cells, since ethanol is easier to store and transport than hydrogen. But researchers hadn't been able to create a good catalyst for oxidizing ethanol in order to make such fuel cells possible.

Previous catalysts converted ethanol into acetic acid and acetaldehyde, a process that releases just a couple of electrons per ethanol molecule, hence generates low currents. Breaking down ethanol molecules further to produce carbon dioxide would release far more electrons (a total of 12 per ethanol molecule) and generate higher currents, but that requires breaking a strong bond between two carbon atoms. To break this bond, researchers had to apply high voltages, making the process inefficient: almost all of the voltage produced by oxidizing the ethanol was used to sustain the reaction, reducing net power output to a trickle.

The new catalyst, developed by researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory, breaks the carbon bonds without high voltages, efficiently releasing enough electrons to produce electrical currents 100 times higher than those produced with other catalysts. The next step is to incorporate the catalyst into a fuel cell, so that its performance can be compared with those of other catalysts in fuel cells, says Brian Pivovar, a scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO, who was not involved in the research.

In initial tests outside of a fuel cell, the catalyst efficiently produced currents of 7.5 milliamps per square centimeter. Radoslav Adzic, the senior chemist at Brookhaven National Laboratory who led the work, says that he is "almost positive" that the catalyst, once built into a fuel cell, will produce electrical currents in the range of hundreds of milliamps per square centimeter. Pivovar says that estimate seems reasonable. This level of current, multiplied by the anticipated voltage produced by the cell, would put ethanol fuel cells in the same range as methanol-powered fuel cells, producing enough power for portable electronics. Ethanol is preferable to methanol in several ways: it stores more energy, is less toxic, and is easier to make from renewable sources. For powering vehicles, and competing with the performance of hydrogen fuel cells, the catalyst and fuel cell would need to be improved. The currents would need to be well above 1,000 milliamps per square centimeter, says Andy Herring, a professor of chemical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, CO.

To make the catalyst, Adzic deposited tiny clusters of platinum and rhodium on tin oxide nanoparticles. In earlier studies, rhodium had been shown to break bonds between carbon atoms, but only if vaporized at high temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum. The combination of rhodium with the tin oxide allowed it to break these bonds as a solid and at the relatively low temperatures needed for portable fuel cells. The platinum plays a key role in producing protons and electrons from hydrogen atoms in ethanol.

Significant challenges remain before the catalyst can be commercialized in ethanol fuel cells. In addition to facing the challenges of incorporating it into fuel cells and engineering these to produce electricity efficiently at high currents, the researchers will need to find ways to reduce costs. Rhodium is the most expensive precious metal--it's even more expensive than platinum--so it will either need to be replaced with another element, or techniques must be developed to reduce the amount of rhodium required.

Still, the new catalyst is a significant improvement over previous attempts. "Breaking the carbon-carbon bond at low temperatures is an extremely hard problem," Herring says. "The fact that [Adzic] is breaking that bond is pretty exciting." But he adds that "it's just one step on the pathway toward this dream of a direct ethanol fuel cell."

Grow your Own Eggs and Sperm

Fertile ground: Researchers at UCLA prodded iPS cells to develop into egg- and sperm-cell precursors. But before they could do so, the researchers had to find a way to identify and isolate them from surrounding cells. Cell-surface markers (shown here in green) allowed them to do just that. Credit: Amanda Clark

For couples who can't seem to get pregnant, one of the more common causes is egg or sperm quality: sperm that never make it to the egg or that can't fertilize it once they're there, and eggs that resist fertilization or implantation in the uterine wall. Now, for the first time, scientists have turned adult cells into egg- and sperm-cell precursors, an achievement that could one day help infertile couples conceive a child that shares their DNA.

Amanda Clark, a developmental biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, created the egg and sperm precursors using an existing line of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, so named for their ability to turn into just about any tissue type and lauded for their potential in regenerative medicine. Until now, however, no one had shown that it was possible to prod iPS cells to rewind their internal clocks all the way back to the gamete, or "germ cell," stage.

Researchers had previously shown that embryonic stem cells could produce egg- and sperm-cell precursors. But infertile couples would need to use donor eggs or sperm obtained from infertility clinics. "The benefit of using an iPS cell is that it has the donor's own genetics," Clark says. "Our research is many, many, many years away from generating a cell type that would be capable of fertilization and, therefore, making a healthy child. But this is one of the first steps."

The study also highlights the differences between embryonic stem cells and iPS cells, which have been under study for a much shorter time period. When Clark compared the developmental potential of iPS cells to that of embryonic stem cells, she found that the latter resulted in egg and sperm precursors that were substantially healthier, with fewer chromosomal abnormalities. (This difference could be a major obstacle on the path toward using iPS cells in the infertility clinic.) "Because the [desired] outcome of using these cells is producing a healthy baby, the quality of a germ cell is essential in order to ensure that you have the birth of a healthy child," Clark says. As a result, she notes, it will be essential to establish tests that can determine the quality of a germ cell before it gets anywhere near the clinic.

"There's a real danger here: if you make a gamete that's not right, rather than helping someone, you harm them," says Peter Donovan, codirector of the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. "This points out that we may need to be even more careful about this."

Clark believes that the quality of iPS cell gametes has much to do with how the original cell line was formed in the first place: two years ago researchers used a method that employs a virus to induce the genetic changes needed to reprogram an adult cell. That virus also inserts itself into the cell's DNA and can cause cancer. However, newer techniques have created iPS cells without integrating viral DNA. "We'd like to be able to use these more modern, contemporary iPS cells to see if the molecular integrity of the germ cells we derive from them is improved," Clark says.

"It's very interesting," says Renee Reijo Pera, the director of the Stanford University Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Education. "I think it's going to be a marvelous tool for human genetics and for some potential treatments." But she cautions that it's a very early step. Scientists have been working with embryonic stem cells for far longer, and are still only able to coax them to develop into germ precursor cells. "The big step is still to come, and that's getting a mature egg or sperm cell," she says. "That's turned out to be a roadblock so far."

Even with all the caveats, Donovan and Reijo Pera agree that the study represents a big step forward. Studying iPS-induced germ cells in vitro could allow researchers to understand the intricate process through which gametes are formed. "That itself could have a big impact on understanding underlying mechanisms of infertility," Donovan says. And that, in turn, could help elucidate the effects of toxins on a developing embryo. "If we understand how the embryonic and fetal periods are affected by toxic environments, we can understand how to protect the germ line during development," he says.

Wireless Detectors for Dimentia

Walking patterns: The RFID transponder shown here weighs 40 grams. It sends information about the walking patterns of residents at an assisted-living center in Florida, which may reveal early signs of dementia. Credit: David Chiriboga

Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) have developed a wireless network that evaluates walking patterns in an attempt to detect early signs of dementia.

Currently, doctors ask patients to answer a series of questions to determine whether they may be suffering from Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. But by the time a patient is diagnosed, she may have already begun to experience symptoms such as memory loss. Drugs that are currently available can only slow the progression of related diseases, so the earlier dementia is caught, the better a patient's treatment will be.

Researchers are exploring ways to identify the condition earlier--for example, by detecting biomarkers, conducting new brain scans, or monitoring movements such as walking. The USF researchers have developed an RFID system that allows walking patterns to be monitored in a natural setting.

"We're looking at a device that may help us perform early detection [of dementia] as a way of ensuring that [older] people get the best remaining years they can," says William Kearns, an assistant professor who researches aging and mental health at USF. In particular, dementia increases the risk of injury caused by a fall. "That's a huge problem for assisted-living facilities," he says.

To test the approach, the USF researchers put RFID tags on the wrists of residents at two assisted-living homes in Florida. These tags transmitted signals that were picked up by receivers placed around each building, revealing the wearer's movements in all three spatial dimensions to within 10 inches of accuracy.

The researchers analyzed participants' movements for telltale signs of cognitive decline: a tendency to wander, veer suddenly, or repeatedly pause. In a study involving 20 residents the researchers found a statistical relationship between those who showed abnormal walking patterns and those whose mental test scores indicated dementia. In the future, the USF team plans to develop software that will automatically detect these warning signs.

Others are exploring RFID technology as a low-cost way to improve elder care. In 2004, Intel launched a project that used passive RFID tags attached to objects to monitor individuals' everyday activities. This approach can warn a caregiver to check, for example, that a patient has taken his medicine that day. Other systems, such as Accutech's ResidentGuard, send an alarm when users wearing an RFID bracelet venture beyond a designated zone, in order to prevent those with dementia from wandering.

Donald Patterson, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, says that the USF approach is more straightforward that those designed to monitor complex activities. "The more you get into the straight biological measurements . . . the easier it becomes," he says.

The USF approach relies on highly accurate RFID equipment. The ultra-wideband (UWB) chips used suffer less interference than do passive RFID chips and can send and receive signals through walls. The transmitters have a range of 600 feet and allow multiple people to be monitored even in a crowded room. The tags have batteries that last up to three years and accelerometers that put them into sleep mode when the user is motionless. According to Kearns, the entire system, including half a dozen tags, costs around $7,000 to implement.

Tanzeem Choudhury, an Intel researcher who uses RFID to gather social information, says that RFID technology is useful because it is so simple. "It's great they're showing a correlation with these [RFID tags]," she says.

However, although walking patterns have been tied to dementia in previous studies, some experts question the approach. "There are a lot of factors that influence movement, and the disease in its very early stages is not a movement disease," says Robert Green, codirector of the Alzheimer's Disease Clinical and Research Program at Boston University. Green also points out that the USF researchers only looked for post-symptomatic dementia in their test.

However, Lisa D'Ambrosio, a research scientist at MIT's AgeLab, believes that the approach may be worth exploring. "It's a very interesting application of RFID technology," she says. "One of the trends in a lot of the neurology work is to move toward trying to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment earlier."

Adobe Desperate to Install Flash on the IPhone

The following quote is from Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayan, regarding Flash on the iPhone.

It’s a hard technical challenge, and that’s part of the reason Apple and Adobe are collaborating [...] The ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver.

What on Earth can this mean? Apple has repeatedly poured scorn on Flash, calling it too slow and inefficient for the iPhone and even saying that it doesn't work well on desktop machines. Adobe, for its part, keeps yapping away and snapping at the iPhone's heels like a faithful, over enthusiastic doggy. Back in September last year, Adobe's Paul Petiem said that the company was already working on Flash for the iPhone.

We know that Apple, and Steve Jobs in particular, has a history of denying new products and then shipping them soon after, so we'll leave aside the speculation and look at some facts.

First, does the iPhone need Flash? YouTube, which is Flash-based on the web, recoded all of its video in the h.264 codec to run on the iPhone. The Safari Web browser even shows a still preview of any YouTube video embedded in the page. The seamless result works great, and is Flash-free.

The other major use of Flash (other than terrible, annoying websites which should frankly be banned) is in interactive web services like Flickr slideshows or "cloud" photo editing applications. A fair point, until you realize that the tiny iPhone screen isn't great for any kind of editing, photos or words. If a company has to recode a site to fit into the iPhone's screen, why not do it in as lightweight a way possible and skip Flash altogether. This is what Flickr has actually done.

And possibly even more important is the drain on resources. Last night, the Lady's MacBook was screaming like a leaf-blower after thirty seconds of YouTube video. This isn't an old machine either -- it is just over a year old and is stuffed with RAM. If Flash can drain her battery like an Englishman can drain a pint of lager, surely an iPhone version would be even harder on the tiny battery.

Last, for Flash to behave as it does on the "desktop web", it would need to work as a plugin for Mobile Safari. As of this writing, this is not allowed. Apple, of course, can stick whatever it likes inside Safari, but third parties are prohibited. The Google Maps application for the iPhone was actually written by Apple, not Google as many people think, as Apple likes to control what is going on. If Flash were implemented, it would come from in-house, not from Adobe.

Which brings us back to that odd quote from Narayan, "Apple and Adobe are collaborating." It seems straightforward enough, but is likely to be just bluster and wishful thinking. In fact, compare it to a statement made by Narayan on the Adobe earnings conference call, all the way back in March last year:

we’re also committed to bringing the Flash experience to the iPhone and we’ll work with Apple. [emphasis added]

Sound familiar?

Adobe’s Narayen Says Flash on IPhone Is a Challenge [Bloomberg]

Batman Arkham Asylum Game Looks Awesome!

"I have to say — this is the best cape in a videogame."

Nathan Whitman, an associate producer at Warner Bros.' videogame division, is proud of the way Batman's cape is coming along in the game Batman: Arkham Asylum. It's a third-person game, so you spend the entirety of it staring at the cape, and Warner's is taking particular care to get it right.

"We've got a guy working full-time on cape physics," Whitman says. That means that Batman's signature mantle won't act like most videogame capes, floating through walls and enemies as if it were a holographic projection. It'll animate and collide realistically with everything.

At least, it should, when the game's done. Watching Whitman play a pre-alpha version of Arkham Asylum recently, I saw the cape doing all the things he says it's not supposed to. But the game's summer release date is still months away, he points out, and Warner's, co-publishing the game with Eidos, wants Arkham to be more than just your usual licensed game.

Yes, we've heard this all before. What could help Arkham on the long journey out of franchise hell is that it isn't based on any specific Batman movie, comic book or television show. It's an original take on the series, so its developers have more creative freedom.

Although the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC game bears no direct relationship to the film The Dark Knight, the plot centers around the ongoing conflict between Batman and The Joker. Things kick off with caped crusader capturing the clown prince of crime and bringing him to Arkham, where Joker is strapped into a Hannibal Lecter-style human hand truck and wheeled off into the asylum's inner cells. Suspecting that something is wrong, Batman follows him in.

This is where the player takes a limited amount of control, in a mostly cinematic sequence that sets up the plot and introduces some of the main characters. Over the course of these five minutes, we get to experience quite a bit of this game's version of the Joker, as played by Star Wars' Mark Hamill. It's a much more strangled, maniacal performance than Heath Ledger's Dark Knight Joker, which fits well with the thinner, lankier, comic-book appearance of the character in the game.

For his part, Batman does look a bit like Michael Keaton (if the Batman actor were on steroids). In fact, everyone in this version of Gotham City is totally buff, up to and including Commissioner Gordon. They are all apparently oiled up for the gun show. This might be a good time to mention that Batman: Arkham Asylum is powered by Unreal Engine 3, which seems to be used in a disproportionate number of games featuring angry people with shiny muscles. (It is not considered appropriate to speculate why.)

Anyway, long story short, Joker locks down the nut house and traps Batman in there with a whole host of petty thugs and most of the major villains from the comic book series. Yes, the Riddler is in there. And Harley Quinn is definitely in there — we saw her in the opening scenes, sexed up quite a bit more than the comics version. "She's showing a little more skin than usual," said Whitman, unnecessarily.

Characters pulled from deeper in the Batman canon, like Killer Croc and Blue Beetle, also appear. (Don't worry, I don't know who they are either.)

Generally speaking, there are two things Batman can do to take care of business in Arkham Asylum: Punch people, and punch people quietly. Warner's has trademarked the names for both these actions: The FreeFlow™ combat system lets Batman "ping-pong" between enemies, sliding back and forth on the floor and racking up combos as he punches them into unconsciousness — but not death. You can go nuts mashing the attack button, or you can patiently wait for enemies to begin their attack animations — pointed out by a helpful flashing highlight — then hit the counter button to dispatch them with more cinematic flair.

And then there is the Invisible Predator™ mode, in which you stay undetected, sneak around behind enemies and take them out silently. You can grapple up to the top of gargoyles (there are lots of gargoyles on the ceilings, naturally) and then glide down, kicking the unsuspecting enemy in the back of the head. (Whitman illustrated this technique by taking out Zsasz, another character that non-fans have probably never heard of.)

Batman can also enter the (inexplicably untrademarked) investigation mode, which works a bit like Metroid Prime's scan visor. You'll get a whole host of information about the current situation when you enter this mode — things you can interact with will be called out, you'll know how many hostile enemies are around and whether they're aware of your presence. It's sort of like an X-ray and heat-sensing visor all in one cool (if impossibly unrealistic) package.

In addition to using this mode to hunt down enemies in silence, you'll use it to do detective work — following footprints, investigating odors ("whiskey breath" was one I saw) or solving puzzles, like using a Batarang to hit a switch to shut off poison gas that's filling a room. You'll be able to save people, which you'll want to do, said Whitman, because — wait for it — you earn achievements by saving people.

So, is Batman: Arkham Asylum actually going to be good? The developer, Rocksteady Studios, is largely untested — its only previous effort, Urban Chaos: Riot Response, garnered what might be charitably called mixed reviews.

I haven't been able to actually play Arkham for myself yet, but the amount of care that Warner's and Eidos are obviously putting into this game makes the title worth paying attention to.

Watch the trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Images courtesy Warner Bros.

MSI's Second Wind Blows Away Predecessor

Here at Gadget Lab we've been blessed with an early test unit of the MSI Wind U120 — the successor to the popular MSI Wind netbook. Our first impressions? We like it plenty. The improvements from the first model are very minor, but they make a significant difference on something as small as a netbook.

Here's a rundown of the MSI Wind U120's features, accompanied by beautiful photography courtesy of Wired.com's Jonathan Snyder.

Bigger, Better Trackpad

First and foremost—the trackpad (above). Almost everybody complained about the crappy trackpad on the first Wind, and MSI listened. The Wind U120's improved trackpad is about two centimeters wider than the previous one, and you'd be amazed at how much easier it is to mouse around with that tiny addition in space. Also, the texture of the trackpad is a bit grainy, which makes navigating less of a slippery experience than it was on the previous model's. Third and most important—the Wind U120 has two silver buttons accompanying the trackpad, which beats the living bejeezus out of the clunky, single mouse button on the original Wind.

Professional Makeover

Other than that, MSI completely reworked the Wind's exterior, ditching the original model's cute, rounded aesthetic for a more professional design with sharper edges and a mixture of black and white (above). More serious this new netbook looks and feels indeed, which business users should appreciate.

Spiffy Vents

The case is composed of a higher quality, sturdier plastic compared with the first Wind. MSI also redesigned the heat vents to, well, look like heat vents (above). The last model's sorry excuse for heat vents were five punched-out square holes, lined with cheap, holey aluminum.

Same Ol' Netbook Performance

As for computing performance, we saw no improvement. And we didn't expect any, since the Wind U120 contains the same guts as its forefather. The test unit shipped with a copy of Windows XP, which operates about as well as you'd expect an 8-year-old operating system to. (Read: Like a piece of sh*t. We look forward to hacking this baby to run Mac OS X.) Anyhow, we streamed some Hulu videos and they played back just fine. Audio from the puny speakers sounds tinny, awful and barely audible, just like on the first Wind. We recommend plugging into the headphone port (above), as we generally do with every netbook.

Spacey Keyboard

The keyboard (above) hasn't changed at all: It's plenty roomy, but some might have a problem with the three keys to the left of the "Shift" key (< > ? ) because they're smaller than the rest, which is a little awkward.

Business or Casual?

With all that said, I personally still prefer the more casual look of the original Wind (above and below)—but I treat my netbook as the computer I use to "unwind" at home (i.e., web surfing, chatting and listening to music).

We'll provide a full review after a bit more tinkering around and running benchmarks. Stay tuned, Gadget Labbers!

Surge of Nerds Rebuilds Afghanistan

Over this past month, a group of motivated geeks traveled to Osama bin Laden's old stomping grounds in Afghanistan to help oversee a novel project: the Jalalabad Fab Lab.

It's an interesting experiment. A Fab Lab is essentially a small-scale workshop and rapid prototyping facility where local participants can learn new technology skills that can be applied to small business. Much of the work of the Jalalabad Fab Lab has thus far involved basic projects: printed t-shirts, small art projects, wireless antennas. Over time, lab participants are supposed to build tools to tackle more complex problems.

Anyone who has spent time over the past few years in Afghanistan is familiar with the world of Development, Inc. Afghanistan has been on the receiving end of a lot of promises: Billions have been pledged in international aid, but Afghans have become increasingly frustrated by the molasses-slow pace of development and official corruption. So it's interesting to read about a project that seems to be offering aid to Afghanistan on the economic plan.

Equipment and start-up costs equipment were provided in part by an National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. Volunteers took unpaid leave to travel to Afghanistan. Total cost? Around $40,000 (not including donated time and security work). Fab Lab team leader Amy Sun has posted some diary entries on the latest trip to Jalalabad; they're worth a read. The biggest lesson, writes Sun:

Never before in history has there been a significantly large population of educated, skilled, experienced, 'young' talent with a semi-disposable income willing and eager to do professional work for little or no pay and even some that will spend their own funds. You have to provide a minimum infrastructure for them to come, and help offset some of the costs they just couldn’t bear. You have to rally them around an idea, spin a coherent vision and place them and their contributions squarely in focus. They won’t accept a mission that doesn’t make sense or isn’t technically or socially viable - and they’re more than competent to develop rational opinions that will need to be vetted and addressed. They will walk away from half-baked plans so you better be ready with supporting data for your claims; but once they buy into the vision they will autonomously meet mission with focus and intensity. It costs much less in dollars than you think.

Those in the reconstruction and development business -- and that includes the military -- are starting to pay attention to this kind of project. Last summer, I attended STAR-TIDES (Sustainable Technologies, Accelerated Research-Transportable Infrastructures for Development and Emergency Support), a demo sponsored by the Pentagon that focused on cheap and sustainable solutions for aid and development. This kind of program has the support of the Pentagon's former geek-in-chief, Linton Wells. It will be interesting if these ideas catch on elsewhere.

Check out the Fab Lab Web site; you can also see a slide show of some of the work at the Taj.

[PHOTO via Picasaweb]

Amazing Chemicals Invented by Nature: Rebuilt in the Lab

Natural substances can treat cancer, prolong life and trigger amazing hallucinations.

But although nature can make a remarkably wide variety of chemicals — far more than the best molecule-making robots — it does not always deliver them in bulk. Drug companies and medical researchers often turn to organic chemists when they need something that is too rare or too difficult to harvest from the wild.

Many researchers enjoy the challenge of building complicated molecules from scratch in their laboratories, testing their skills in service of a worthwhile goal. Duplicating Mother Nature isn't easy, and sometimes the journey is almost as impressive as the chemicals themselves.

Click through the gallery for some of the most remarkable chemicals that have been rebuilt in the lab.

A Greener Super Bowl

One for Here, One to Send Abroad:

On the surface, the only thing green about the Super Bowl is the 95,000 square feet of brand new turf (at a cost of $85,000) they require to be brought into the host of the big game (okay, come to think of it, that's not very green at all). But, the NFL is doing what they can to give the appearance of being a neutral event in the decaying of our environment.

Green Shirts

From Roethlisberger to Tomlin, oversized championship T-shirts are on the field before the MVP can say he's heading to Disney World. But this year Reebok's shirts are "greener" than normal, despite the prominence of black and gold. The shirts are made from 100-percent organic cotton fabric with hangtags made from recycled material. Not a bad attempt but making twice the shirts necessary (an equal amount were made in case of a Cardinals victory) isn't exactly a model of conservation. Where do the other half go? Hopefully the kids in Nicaragua (or the chosen country this year) will appreciate how green their new shirts are.

Renewable Energy

Both the Super Bowl and the five-day NFL Experience extravaganza were powered by renewable energy purchased by the Tampa Electric Company from TECO. The league will actually pay $5,000 more to go green, but the PR is worth it. TECO gets its power from solar panels and a biomass facility in South Florida. Estimate put the CO₂ savings at around 313,000 pounds -- the equivalent of taking 19 cars off the road for a year.

Trees

Nothing says green like planting some trees. The NFL planted more than 2,700 trees at 12 sites across the Tampa area. Fifth- and sixth-grade kids helped plant 400 along the McKay Creek Greenway. While the tree progam isn't new, a long-term program has been initiated to monitor the environmental impact of the planting. The U.S. Forest Service will use software to quantiy the greenhouse gas impact. StubHub, the prominent online ticket broker, even did its part by promising to plant a tree for every playoff and Super Bowl ticket purchased through the website. With a 15 percent commission on each $900 ticket sold to a lifelong Steelers fan (pronounced "stillahs") traveling from Newton, Massachusetts, those better be some freaking redwoods.

Leftovers

The Super Bowl is known for its excess, and with excess comes leftovers. From food, to building materials, to decoration and office equipment, all extras will be donated to nonprofits after the game. The nonprofits can either use the stuff or sell it at auction (we're guessing the aforementioned fan would pay a fortune for pencils that Tomlin used). The overall value of the donations is estimated at $300,000.

Why "Buy and Hold" may Now be Outdated Advice

As traditional market signposts lose their relevance, so does the traditional "buy-and-hold" strategy that investors have followed for decades.

Market pros in increasing numbers are eschewing the usual investing strategies and watching technical levels as their guides for making money. They examine temporary market tops and bottoms as guidelines when to sell and buy, and are in many cases utilizing funds rather than individual stocks to make their plays.

Earnings and economic data have proven unreliable to gauge the long-term prospects for the market, which has become a trader's battlefield. Money that once stayed put for three to five years can now get moved in three to five days or sooner.

"What's happening is people have learned that if you don't take a profit it goes away," says Kathy Boyle, president of Chapin Hill Advisors in New York. "Even somebody who's really biased towards buy-and-hold is giving up."

The phenomenon has been on display markedly since earnings season kicked into gear this month.

More than half the company's in the Standard & Poor's 500 have beaten earnings expectations, yet the stock index has dropped nearly 7 percent.

The economic data, meanwhile, have been close to expectations.

Friday's report on fourth-quarter GDP

was actually better than what Wall Street predicted-though at a 3.7 percent drop, the numbers were hardly encouraging.

For Investors

• Video: Time For a Rebound, Playing the Pessimism
• Options Traders Have Gold Fever
• Welch: GE Poised for a Recovery

But investors seem to be ignoring the data.

Instead, they've turned towards more of a trader's mentality, pushing the Dow back up when it approaches 8,000 and the S&P when it falls near 800. It's a trend that bucks the traditional long-term horizon most investors are supposed to take, but for many it's working.

"The idea of saying valuations are historically low so we're just going to buy and hold, that comes at great peril over the next year or two," says Lee Schultheis, founder and chief investment strategist at AIP Funds in Harrison, N.Y. "But also being overly bearish might also come at peril if the government's able to get ahead of the curve on the liquidity-credit issue. Once that gets solved equities will have the opportunity to advance."

Indeed, Boyle has moved nimbly in and out of positions in exchange-traded funds--these days mostly those with a bullish look on the market. She expects a run higher for the market to last into mid-February, when stocks will move lower and Boyle will quit or reverse her positions.

Dealing with the market's intense moodiness is all part of the job these days.

"People get hopeful and say, 'oh good,' and pile in, or they get depressed and they hit the support level," Boyle says. "It certainly makes for an interesting day every day."

A Better Mood-For Now

Even as the market was surrendering the gains it saw earlier in the week, there was plenty of enthusiasm for the market to go higher.

Ben Lichtenstein, a long-time bear who had been warning through much of 2008 about the pressures facing the market, reiterated on CNBC that he thinks stocks are in for a nice gain, with the S&P 500 flirting with the mid-900s if it breaks through 880.

"Everybody expected the worst to happen and it's slowly starting to fade out a little bit," he said. "I think the energy's only to the upside right now." See full comments in video.

Lichtenstein, of Tradersaudio.com, could be expected to follow technical levels.

But those with a traditional investors' horizon of 18 months and beyond are following suit, moving through positions in a way that would be discouraged in a normal market.

Some advisors are disturbed at the trend.

"If the time frame is 18 months to two years I'm very bullish. If the time frame is this afternoon your guess is as good as mine, but unfortunately that seems to be what people are looking at," says Randy Carver, president of Carver Financial Services/Raymond James in Mentor, Ohio. "I think the public is just kind of beat down, at the point of capitulation. People are just resigned to the fact that it's bad."

Some Companies Take a Hit

One case in point for the strange logic in trading is Caterpillar.

The Dow component and construction manufacturing behemoth would seem well poised for a good year considering President Obama's stress on infrastructure programs in his stimulus plan that the House recently passed.

Yet Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - News) shares have been under intense pressure, dropping about 9 percent this week, as it announced 22,000 layoffs and

Goldman Sachs added the company to its conviction sell list

. Under other circumstances, such a stock might be considered a solid long-term hold, but with all the uncertainty in the economy it's being sold off aggressively.

"Everybody's afraid to trust the fundamentals. Everybody's afraid of what these numbers are going to mean," Boyle says. "You have this continued slew of layoffs as the earnings come out. Everybody's getting used to lowered expectations but at the same time they're throwing in 'we're laying off another 20,000 people.' That hurts the economy."

For protection against the whipsaw turns in the market while capitalizing on a long-term bullish philosophy, Carver is playing a battery of ETFs that follow individual sector movements as well as gains in the broad market.

He likes several of those in the iShares family: the S&P 500 Index (NYSEArca:IVV - News), the Russell Midcap Index (NYSEArca:IWR - News) and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index (NYSEArca:IJR - News), and outside that group, the Vanguard Total Stock Market (NYSEArca:VTI - News), which essentially is a play on everything, even Over The Counter companies not listed on the major exchanges.

CNBC.com Slideshows:

• Heard in Davos '09
• Making Your Nest Egg Last

Such enthusiasm isn't universal, with a level of caution also prevalent that accompanies technical trading.

With all of the obstacles facing the market, regaining investor confidence will be critical before buy-and-hold positions become popular again.

"You need that confidence, that psychology to be restored," Schultheis says. "We need to know government's ahead of the curve, that they're not playing whack-a-mole, that we can now act and spend in a more normal fashion because we have a more reasonable expectation of what we see coming down the road. Then and only then will there be an opportunity for a sustained advance in equities."