The study projects that Generation Xers will build wealth at the same rate as earlier generations, but "what they don't have is the same kind of Social Security benefits coming their way, and they are a cohort relying almost entirely on 401(k) plans rather than having any money from defined-benefit plans," said Alicia Munnell, co-author of the report and director of the Center for Retirement Research, in a telephone conference. The age at which retirees can receive the maximum monthly Social Security benefit is slowly increasing, with those born in 1960 or later eligible at age 67, up from 65. Plus, Munnell said, Generation Xers will live longer on average, meaning they'll need more money in retirement. The early baby boomers are "in better shape than the other cohorts," Munnell said.

Is your life all work and no play? You may be a workaholic, or in danger of becoming one.

And you're not only not alone, it appears you're being joined by a growing number of others.

On The Early Show Friday, Thalia Assuras reported that more than a-third of Americans will opt to not take all the vacation days they're entitled to this year, and Americans are averaging more than three hours a week more today than their parents did. That's the equivalent of three-and-a-half more workweeks a year.

Mouthwash companies employ them in their research labs, where, halitosis-inflicted subjects blow into their faces before and after using the product to test its efficacy.

And just recently, two brave researchers were called in to help determine the most malodorous component of human flatus and the role it plays in disease. In the study, 16 subjects volunteered to eat pinto beans and have their gas syringed into a discrete container. The odor judges then sat down with more than 100 samples, opened the caps one at a time, inhaled and rated just how noxious the smell was.

Don't want to spend your days cleaning toilets? How about plumbing the depths of the human intestines? That's what gastroenterologist Sean Griffin does -- and loves it! "People ask whether I like doing colonoscopies and, to tell you the truth, they're quite enjoyable," Griffin says.

"It's like a computer game with a start and finish point -- and you might find things along the way like polyps that you have to pull off. It requires a lot of manual dexterity and the challenge is quite fun."

Aware of his occupation's public image, Griffin often tells people he's an electrician. However with earning potential of up to $800,000 a year, most folks are able to get over any initial feelings of shame or revulsion.

All these companies grew up in the Internet age and were designed to take advantage of the networked world. But now the productive potential of millions of plugged-in enthusiasts is attracting the attention of old-line businesses, too. For the last decade or so, companies have been looking overseas, to India or China, for cheap labor. But now it doesn't matter where the laborers are -- they might be down the block, they might be in Indonesia -- as long as they are connected to the network.

Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn't always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It's not outsourcing; it's crowdsourcing.

KewlBox.com and Baskin-Robbins have a new online game called Office Invaders. The game provides a Space Invaders type set-up. You play an an office worker up against invading executives and office managers. You can choose one of two characters to battle the invading office invaders: Peter in Operations or Dawn, a Senior Account Executive. You use a rubber band ball to fire rubber bands at the advancing co-workers. The sound effects are pretty good. They include some funny comments from the invading IT workers like, "have you tried rebooting?" Office Invaders is decent way to kill some time at work or take out some frustrations.