New Orleans is quickly turning into my second home. From attending two conference there in the last month, the major differences between the American Chemical Society and the American Physical Society became apparent: ACS has more $$$$. From a welcome band at the airport, to billboards all around downtown, and of course ACS TV on the coaches, this was a much more *bling* affair. Being an energy themed conference, there was also a wealth of great talks. The keynote was from the Undersecretary of Energy, who gave a nice overview of all the areas of renewable energy that DOE are presently focused on. In the same session there were talks representing the highlights from a number of the inspiring Basic Energy Research Needs Workshop series: http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/list.html. With so many parallel oral sessions, and thousands of posters, it’s nice to be back home to the tranquility of Denver.