Sinking into the routine of Colorado life means that time has been passing much faster than last year. Strange to think that 18 months have passed since I arrived at NREL. It really is an excellent place to work and focus on research: there are no students, lectures or grading to worry about, and the project directions are very dynamic compared to university. This has resulted in my publication backlog being well-flushed this year. We have a number of papers in press on transparent conductors, II-VI alloys, dilute magnetic semiconductors, and lithium intercalation in oxides (some more controversial than others). I’m aware that I’m very fortunate to be in a position to have so many excellent collaborators both experimental and theoretical. Papers are great, but it’s time now for some real breakthroughs....