"We simply can't compete on cost efficiency with a gas-fired plant, though I think that we will be able to compete with off-shore wind and tidal projects, " says Skilhagen.

FORBES: Getting Power From Salty Water

But I suppose if a facial is that important to you, and you don't want to get fired for taking a two-hour lunch, the faster you get in and out the better.

WSJ: Face Facts: Treatment Not So Bad

But even operators of coal-fired power plants understand that this isn't the way of the future.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

They found some papers on coal-fired fuel cells but decided they probably wouldn't work.

FORBES: Magazine Article

What is true is right now that we don't have all the technology to prevent greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, but the technology is close and it makes sense for us to make that investment now, not only because it will be good for America but it will also ultimately be good internationally.

WHITEHOUSE: Your Interview with the President

But in recent years -- from "rubber rooms" for teachers who can't be fired in New York City to the prison workers unions in California that helped to drive prison spending to nearly the same level as all higher education in the state -- resentments have been stirring against the power and alleged abuses of public sector unions.

CNN: A victory for curbs on public worker unions

Nearly a third of all CEOs who were fired last year left because they didn't live up to the expectations of increasingly demanding--and impatient--shareholders and boards.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Around the same time he made the Fatburger investment, Wiederhorn persuaded the board to alter his employment contract so he could not be fired even if convicted of a felony--as long as the crime didn't directly involve Fog Cutter.

FORBES: A Juicy Tale

And then he fired two of his executives -- one of them, reportedly, because he didn't cooperate with the apology.

ENGADGET: Editorial: A conciliatory Apple would be real innovation