Down to the wire: Inexpensive technique for making high quality nanowire solar cells Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization. However, for this dream to be realized, solar cells need to be made from inexpensive elements using low-cost, less energy-intensive processing chemistry, and they need to efficiently and cost-competitively convert sunlight into electricity. A team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has now demonstrated two out of three of these requirements with a promising start on the third. Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, led the development of a solution-based technique for fabricating core/shell nanowire solar cells using the semiconductors cadmium sulfide for the core and copper sulfide for the shell. This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science.
8 Crucial Elements of Startup Success Bill Clark is the CEO of MicroAngel Capital Partners, a venture firm that gives more investors access to alternative investments. He also gives investors the ability to invest in startups online through crowdfunding. You can follow him on Twitter @austinbillc. Most people understand that a high percentage of startups never make it. So what if you could give yourself a leg up on the competition? Below is a list of tips that may help your startup get to the next level. 1. If you don’t have the skills to code, make sure you find someone with a solid programming background who can implement your idea. 2. Sometimes you’ll encounter a last-minute opportunity to add features to your product. 3. If you’re developing a product, make sure you truly understand the needs of your end users. 4. Solving a problem for a targeted niche is not a bad idea — the smaller the niche, the less competition you may face. 5. As most startups know, determining how much money to raise is difficult. 6. 7. 8.
Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything - Tony Schwartz by Tony Schwartz | 2:21 PM August 24, 2010 I’ve been playing tennis for nearly five decades. I love the game and I hit the ball well, but I’m far from the player I wish I were. I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past couple of weeks, because I’ve taken the opportunity, for the first time in many years, to play tennis nearly every day. My game has gotten progressively stronger. And almost certainly could be, even though I’m 58 years old. During the past year, I’ve read no fewer than five books — and a raft of scientific research — which powerfully challenge that assumption (see below for a list). We’ve found, in our work with executives at dozens of organizations, that it’s possible to build any given skill or capacity in the same systematic way we do a muscle: push past your comfort zone, and then rest. Like everyone who studies performance, I’m indebted to the extraordinary Anders Ericsson, arguably the world’s leading researcher into high performance. Pursue what you love.
30 Financial Moves Before 30– Ideas Worth Trying January 13, 2011, 6:00 amby:MD Category:Miscellaneous I started reading the Art of Non-Conformity the other day and the idea of the life list/bucket list got me thinking again. I started thinking about my bucket list for what I want to accomplish before I turn 30 (in 7 years). Then I started to get more specific. Since every financial bucket list is unique to your own situation, I decided to outline 30 financial moves that might be of interest to your unique financial situation before you turn 30. 1. Keep a buffer in a savings account because you never know when a rainy day will hit you out of nowhere. 2. You can debate good debt vs bad debt, but at the end of the day you should try to kill off your credit card debt before you turn 30. 3. The sooner you start planning for your retirement, the sooner you have compound interest working on your side. 4. You may not try to do this deliberately but it’s bound to happen. 5. When you make a major mistake with your money, learn from it. 6. 7. 8.
How to Copyright? | Get Free Copyright Protection Online | Myows® 60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to make drastic changes in order to notice an improvement in the quality of your life. At the same time, you don’t need to wait a long time in order to see the measurable results that come from taking positive action. All you have to do is take small steps, and take them consistently, for a period of 100 days. Below you’ll find 60 small ways to improve all areas of your life in the next 100 days. Home 1. Day 1: Declutter MagazinesDay 2: Declutter DVD’sDay 3: Declutter booksDay 4: Declutter kitchen appliances 2. If you take it out, put it back.If you open it, close it.If you throw it down, pick it up.If you take it off, hang it up. 3. A burnt light bulb that needs to be changed.A button that’s missing on your favorite shirt.The fact that every time you open your top kitchen cabinet all of the plastic food containers fall out. Happiness 4. 5. 6. How many times do you beat yourself up during the day? 7. Learning/Personal Development 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
13 Business Books That Will Blow Your Mind Having never taken a business class in college I find that I read and listen to a lot of business books to round out my education. The books usually aren't "How to Manage Your Cash Flow" but rather get me to rethink the way I run my business, which--despite no business classes or diploma--continues to be in business 13 plus years after I started it. In that time, here are 13 of the books that had the biggest impact on how I run my business (in no particular order): Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink: If you supervise anyone in your business, this book is a must read. It shows that what science knows about motivation, business isn't putting into practice. The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham: I wanted to have at least one book that was dedicated to small business and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Don’t Get Distracted When Your Workplace is Called Home - You have the comforts of your living room to call your workplace, yet you find yourself more stressed out than if you were in an office space filled with varying personalities. So, how can you better the situation so that you’re both productive and happy at the same time? For many people who work from home, their days are littered with distractions – the phone, children, clutter, annoying family members and/or friends who think that your time is their time too. Before you begin that new job from home, follow some guidelines to make for a better and more prosperous situation: Set up strategy – Lay down the ground rules for all those who you will or may come in contact with during the hours you’re supposed to be working. Working from home can be a very positive experience; making it work is oftentimes the job in itself. Dave Thomas is a writer based in San Diego, California. Photo credit: modernhomereviews.com
SEO – Keyword Research Top Tips Everyone is always looking to acquire more traffic – and rightfully so. But how do you obtain large expanses of traffic? Research shows that the majority of all traffic originates from search engines. And how do you show up in search engines? You aim specific keywords and market your website or pages around these keywords. With this, preferably the more keywords you target the more traffic you will see. top keyword research tips 1. To even begin developing a keyword list you need to know and understand how potential customers are going to search for your product or services. 2. It is always a good idea to know who you are competing against. 3. It is not uncommon for people misspell words and phrases in their searches. Examples: Calendar > Calender Your > You’re Here > Hear 4. Acronyms and abbreviations make up a large amount of search traffic, thus making it important for you to make sure that your not missing any keywords. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
46 Ways To Start A Business With No Money Most people who want to start their own business don’t have a ton of money laying around and it’s probably one the most common questions I get emailed about: How can I get started without a lot of cash? Well I’ve put together a list below of the best ideas I’ve heard and personally used. I hope you find it useful! The three basic strategies to starting a business without much money are: Delay the normal “business starting” activities like incorporating, hiring, renting office or retail space, etc until AFTER your business has started earning money. Start With The Easy Stuff: Eliminate Expenses Don’t rent an office! Legal Stuff and Incorporating Make a website for your business Don’t pay a premium for a top end domain name, there are plenty of good ones leftTest out your ideas by writing to a blog, you’ll get feedback on what people like and don’t likeGet a free business website at www.wordpress.com or tumblr.com. Getting a Logo Don’t hire a fancy graphic designer. Accepting Credit Cards