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Biomass Fuel Goes Public
- April 16, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Alternative Energy, Energy, Fuel, News, Oil & Gas
No CommentsThe line-up of biomass-to-oil technologies continues to grow in importance as the renewable fuel firm, KiOR, back by billionaire Vinod Khosla, has filed to go public. KiOR plans to raise as much as US$100 million in the IPO in an effort to fund the construction of a commercial-scale production facility in Mississippi. KiOR’s process utilizes
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Green Technology to Produce Blue Fuel – Fountain of Black Gold or Sea of Red Ink?
- April 5, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Alternative Energy, Energy, Environmental Sustainability, News, Oil & Gas
The Spanish company, Bio Fuels Systems (BFS,) has developed a process for the creation of “blue” petroleum, synthetic oil, based on photosynthesis of phytoplankton and cyanobacteria (autotrophic organisms that use the photosynthetic processes) combined with CO2 from a nearby cement factory. The photosynthesis takes place in giant green tubes. The product is filtered and concentrated
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Microsoft versus Google: “It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again”
- March 31, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Anti-trust, High-tech, News
Disruptive innovation, as originally coined by Clayton Christensen, describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves ‘up market,’ eventually displacing established competitors. Google is a classic distruptor, helping, along with Apple Computer, usher in a whole new computing
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The “Switchgrass” Feedstock – Is it Possible to Fool Mother Nature?
- March 18, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Alternative Energy, Energy, Food, News
This week, two new announcements were published. The first was that PepsiCo had developed a 100% plant-based bottle. The second was that Google Ventures had invested an undisclosed amount of Series B funding in CoolPlanet Biofuels, a start-up that makes biofuels from plant waste. The link seems to be switchgrass, or Panicum virgatum, a prairie grass
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Crossing the Paradigm Bridge
- March 15, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: High-tech, Information Technology, IT Architecture, News
Five years ago, we predicted the advent of the “internet appliance” which would become the 4th high technology paradigm. With the 4th paradigm came concern, mainly within corporate IT circles, about the so-called “consumerization” of IT. Apple Computer, which spearheaded the newest technology paradigm, has, as of this month, put the pressure on with the
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A Measure of Meal plus Oil No Longer Makes a Full Loaf of Bread
- March 3, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Commodities, Economy, Food, Inflation, Monetary Policy, News, Oil & Gas
In February, reports of the Fed claim that QEII had been successful were floated, though not taken seriously. The reason is that food/commodity prices, especially grains, are the highest that they have been in twenty years. This has been exasperated with the speculator-driven rise in oil prices due to the unrest in Libya with the
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Microsoft + Nokia: A Living Dog Is Better Than a Dead Lion
- February 14, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: High-tech, News, Telecommunications
On Friday, February 11, 2011, Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker, and tech giant, Microsoft, announced an alliance to make smart phones to attempt to take market share of from Apple and Google. Nokia will abandon its open-share smart phone software and use, instead Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. The announcement caused Nokia shares to
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Freddie and Fannie: Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey-ey, Goodbye
- February 11, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Financial Services, Government, Mortagages, News
The White House has issued a proposal recommending the gradual elimination of government-sponsored mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were brought under government conservatorship in 2008 in a costly taxpayer bailout. We wrote about this in June of 2010, supporting the gradual winding down of these companies with solutions
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Information Technology Assets Procurement Best Practices
- February 10, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: News, Procurement
A new white paper has been posted on the SECG web site. The focus is IT assets procurement best practices. Included in the paper are the following: Establish Procurement Practices Administer Procurement Request Select Suppliers/Negotiate Contracts Administer Supplier/Contract Agreement Select Suppliers/Negotiate Contracts Receipt and Acceptance of Orders Manage Supplier Relationship
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Education: Pathways to Prosperity Require Family Element
- February 8, 2011
- Posted by: Ted Bullen
- Category: Education, News
Last week, the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Pathways to Prosperity Project released a 50+ page report examining the a “skills gap,” which has grown dramatically over the past decade, in which many young adults lack the skills and work ethic needed for many jobs that pay a middle-class wage. The report, Pathways to Prosperity: