I think everyone would agree that the best way out of our current political box is to become independent of petroleum. (Photo courtesy The New York Times.

This story isn't about that.

Instead I'm going to describe two stories that could lead to an Always-On world divorced from the electric grid.

First, we have a new fuel cell called Mobion. It's a direct transfer cell. What makes it newsworthy is that it's also a low-power cell, and small. It's powered by methanol, and should be usable in things like notebook computers. The best news is this lasts 2.5 times longer than a lithium ion battery and can be re-charged with new fuel. The first customers are likely to be in the military, where plug power is unavailable and fuel cartridges make sense.

Second, a New York Times article details attempts to use glucose as a fuel, mainly in medical applications. A glucose monitor for diabetes could be powered by the sugar in your blood. Or, again for the military, a soldier could power his radio with sugar obtained directly from the bloodstream.