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8:30 AM EST Friday, September 1, 2006: What could be more exciting than last night's Agassi / Baghdatis match?

Agassi won, but just. You had no idea until the very last point who was going to win. It was that close.

There's much tennis this long weekend. The schedule is below.

Intel is firing zillions: It will announce the firings on Tuesday and the closings / sales of its many diversions. This will be good for the company, since it will allow it finally to concentrate making better and faster chips for PCs, Macs and servers -- and doing a better job competing against AMD. I'm reluctant to recommend this bureaucratic, boring company. But, the chart finally looks sensible.

How to save energy on your house and find a franchise for yourself: Yesterday I talked about "3M Prestige window films." You install this miracle stuff on the inside of your windows. It cuts all things nasty entering your window -- UV light, solar energy, etc. It will save your furniture from fading, cut your cooling bills, etc. My architect, Ben Puccio, just installed the stuff on his windows. He loves it. He did his entire house for $1,500, which he says is a "bargain." I checked his installation out. You wouldn't know there's anything installed. The film comes in various densities. For more, click here. Get yourself some samples. Play with them. My architect installed the PR 70. That's the one I'm about to install.

So that was yesterday. Karen Greenberg, a reader, emailed me, "On Monday I had window film put on my windows. What a difference! I can actually sit in my east facing family room and read the paper without sweating! Living in Scottsdale I should have done this several years ago." Karen installed something called V-KOOL, whose web site reads:

Originally developed for the US space and military program, and now being adapted for commercial use, V-KOOL 70 is a transparent, infrared reflective polyester film which can be bonded to glass surfaces. The polyester is coated on one side with multi-layers of microscopic metal particles, and a pressure sensitive adhesive on the underside.

V-KOOL 70 retains its transparency in spite of the metal and adhesive coatings and does not interfere with visibility when applied to the windows. The coating blocks off infrared heat and ultraviolet radiation without significantly reducing the visible transmittance. The glass is made shatter-resistant by the film, forming a permanent bond.

V-KOOL 70 provides a superior mix of high visible light transmission at 70% as well as high infrared and ultraviolet rejection at 94% and 99% respectively.

You don't install the V-KOOL or the 3M stuff yourself. A local distributor arrives at your house, thoroughly cleans your windows and affixes the film on the inside of your window. V-KOOL is looking for distributors. On their web site, they write of the opportunity:

The smile we would like to put on your face. Listen to this: 1.5 million square meters of float glass is produced each year. Only some 7% of these are currently coated. The architectural and automotive after-market is estimated at 50 million square meters a year. The market potential for V-KOOL is estimated for be $575 million per annum. Smiling yet?

Drugs are cheaper at Costco: Drugs -- prescription and over the counter -- are a lot cheaper at Costco. You don't have to be a member to shop at the Costco pharmacy. Just tell them you're going to to the pharmacy.

A happy story: This week Warren Buffet married his 20-year companion, Astrid Menks. The new Mrs. Buffett, 60, has been the constant companion to the 76-year-old financier, even as he remained married to his first wife, Susan T. Buffett, who died in 2004. The irony is she couldn't have married him for all his money -- he's given most of it away.

Astrid and Warren. Nice looking couple.

Investing in retirement communities: They're booming. I was looking at one for 55-year olds plus. The promoter talked about his development as "God's waiting room."

The US Tennis Open is on. For today's Schedule of Play, click here.