Who Puts The Pro In Progress?

Twenty-six women in Saudi Arabia completed the first course of its kind in the country - how to stock, fit and sell underwear. Training organizers hope the 40-hour course, using colorful bras donated by employees of Victoria's Secret, will boost the campaign against banning women from selling underwear. As of 2009 staff in lingerie stores - except in a few women-only boutiques - are men, which is ironic in a country that segregates the sexes. The 2006 law saying that only women can be employed in women's apparel stores is ignored by the religious conservatives. Perhaps they have incorrectly sized up the situation.

NASA satellite images could provide information to nut growers that would enable them to have better crops. Three universities shared a 3-year, $870, 000 grant from the Department of Agriculture to study how data collected in orchards correlates with satellite images. Satellites can provide leaf temperatures. They can also provide images that show wave lengths created by the trees' energy which tell about the trees' health. If a nut grower could use the Internet to see his entire orchard, he could make precise, water-saving decisions about irrigation. Bringing satellite technology down to Earth doesn't seem like a nutty idea.

Twitter is a popular service that lets users pass along 140-character messages to friends and followers from computers and mobile phones. During the May 2009 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA astronaut Mike Massimino was the first to send tweets from orbit. During the July 2009 flight to the space station, mission commander Mark Polansky also twittered. During the August 2009 flight on the space shuttle Discovery, Astronaut Jose Hernandez twittered in English and Spanish. Considering Hernandez started sending bilingual tweets about flight preparations before the mission, he must have been "twittering" with excitement.

Iconic buildings are going green to save money - and to attract tenants. One hundred twenty million will be spent on the Empire State building to retrofit all 6, 500 windows; add extra insulation to radiators; and upgrade lighting, cold water and ventilation. Three hundred fifty million will be spent on Chicago's Sears Tower to put solar panels, wind turbines and 35, 000 square feet of sunlight-absorbing gardens on its roof. Eight and a half million has already been spent on the Christman Building in Lansing, Michigan to give it water-efficient plumbing, increased natural light and a reflective roof. Tenants want to be green - but not green with envy.