<p>BunsenBurner…I love your optimism. :)</p>
<p>This is my concern for the economy, Dateline did a similar piece last night,which portrayed an area which was more middle class, then Bergen County…</p>
<p>[Hardship</a> grows amid wealth: Residents face unexpected need in communities across North Jersey - NorthJersey.com](<a href=“http://www.northjersey.com/news/Poverty_touches_more_households_in_North_Jersey.html?scpromo=1]Hardship”>http://www.northjersey.com/news/Poverty_touches_more_households_in_North_Jersey.html?scpromo=1)</p>
<p>Well qdogpa, I think the only solution to the decline of the middle class is to eliminate safety nets. ;)</p>
<p>The decline of the middle class is scary stuff…</p>
<p>My friend sells tech stuff and it doesn’t seem to matter what the stuff is - hardware, software, support, etc. I guess that he’s just plain good at what he does or he has a lot of industry contacts.</p>
<p>I saw two interesting pieces on Japan this morning. 1) They are looking to import LNG from the US - the US doesn’t have a free trade agreement with Japan (surprising to me) and would want one in place. Japan has shut down their nuclear reactors and needs alternate fuels to generate electricity and they are interested in the surplus from Russia, Canada and the United States. The US Government wants to ensure that we have enough for ourselves (it seems that we have way more than we need for now but may need more in the future if we move en masse to electric cars.</p>
<p>The other thing is that China has bought a lot of Japanese stocks to diversify (maybe divest?) out of Europe. I don’t know whether they are buying US stocks.</p>
<p>Looks to be a soft open. :)</p>
<p>qdogpa, Had I stayed in NJ, I might have been featured in that story. Around here it is strange. You hear the economy is still soft, but you can’t get a reservation at the Bonefish Grill.</p>
<p>Qdogpa, I thought I read 13,000 before 12,000…so I know this decline is upsetting you… ;).</p>
<p>NJres, i find it similar…restaurants are doing well, but it is the underbelly of the economy that is scary…Maybe people are trying to lead their lives as if the economy will find its footing, and they have yet to make the cutbacks…</p>
<p>Depends on the restaurant. The pizza places in my town aren’t doing so well but the high-end places seem busy.</p>
<p>Whole Foods is looking to put in a supermarket in the South End of Boston - they only have one in the West End which is the one that we go to.</p>
<p>Equity Residential just bought 301 Apartment Units in the Beatrice building (Manhattan) for a bit under $300 million. There’s a hotel and parking garage below the apartment units and they have their own lobby and concierge. Rents are astronomical as you might imagine.</p>
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<p>I bought GLNG under the assumption that there will be more LNG exporting. They have a fleet of ships that export LNG. co pays a decent dividend too.</p>
<p>Sounds reasonable - I think that exporting LNG is a no-brainer given our considerable excess of supply and that there are energy-hungry countries looking for relatively green sources of energy.</p>
<p>If electric vehicles really take off in the US, then I could see a lot more domestic demand but falling crude and gasoline prices could put a damper on that. I find it interesting that big-name tech companies are building solar farms and buying Bloom fuel cell systems to provide their own local power supplies - huge capital costs but ultra-cheap and reliable energy into the future. Those are the kinds of investments that I like to make - high capital costs and low operation costs. I don’t have the option to do that kind of thing locally but do want to start playing around with this stuff.</p>
<p>It’s funny that we were looking to setup off-shore LNG terminals around the US to import LNG back around 2000-2003.</p>
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<p>The last I had heard these things were sort of in beta status. If they actually work in a cost effective manner they should be everywhere.</p>
<p>Can someone please stop the market freefall? :(</p>
<p>[The</a> Future Of Energy? Bloom Energy Boxes Already Power Google, eBay, Others | TechCrunch](<a href=“http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/22/bloom-energy-boxes/]The”>The Future Of Energy? Bloom Energy Boxes Already Power Google, eBay, Others | TechCrunch)
[Apple</a> data center helps fuel Bloom Energy move to East Coast | Cutting Edge - CNET News](<a href=“http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57424037-76/apple-data-center-helps-fuel-bloom-energy-move-to-east-coast/]Apple”>Apple data center helps fuel Bloom Energy move to East Coast - CNET)</p>
<p>So…how do these fuel cells work…</p>
<p>Does aapl get the natural gas from a utilty?</p>
<p>[Apple’s</a> fuel cells will be powered by landfills — Cleantech News and Analysis](<a href=“http://gigaom.com/cleantech/apples-fuel-cells-will-be-powered-by-landfills/]Apple’s”>http://gigaom.com/cleantech/apples-fuel-cells-will-be-powered-by-landfills/)</p>
<p>Biogas can come from various types of wastes including hog farms — which are prevalent in North Carolina — restaurants and industrial processes, and water treatment facilities. Biogas is created when organic matter is broken down in a closed anaerobic digester, or a landfill where oxygen isn’t present, and the gas is captured.</p>
<p>As the price of gas declines the race for alternative fuels slows, not a good thing,but just a fact</p>
<p>I guess I am wondering if the utility companies are going to be bypassed?</p>
<p>A friend was a part owner of a methane energy company…but the company did not work… I don’t know if there were management issues…bad timing…bad financials? In other words…I don’t know why the company did not work.</p>
<p>I sold half my msft last week but did not sell intc…</p>
<p>^^^On the ‘Surface’ ,you did the right thing. ;)</p>