Zen and the Art of Triathlon

Hi,
I've been told by the local bike shop owner (a rider as well) that the most efficient (in terms of power expended) pedaling is sitting down. Thus, for a Sprint Triathlon, where you can afford to expend your energy as the event doesn't last long, then get up on you pedals for all the hills, and go for it. But for half and full ironman event, wherever you can, keep yourself seated, and preferably in the aero position. I have done the local race here in Australia (Port Maquarie half-ironman) and it has killer short sharp hills around the town (cross them several times as the bike course is looped). For that, the hills come up quick and are steep, so you have no option but to get out of the seat and power up.
As for form, I was told once (and found to be true) that when out of the saddle, you try to shift your weight as forward as you can, right over the front of the handlebars. You might think you'll topple over, but believe me, on a hill climb, it is very unlikely. I agree with Brett above that in a Windtraininer/Urgo or whatever device you have that raises the back wheel of your bike in the Garage, you can really perfect your "out of the saddle" pedalling. One of the workouts I like for this out of "Start to Finish - Ironman Traning" by Paul Huddle & Roch Frey (I'm a fan) is their Big Gear Intervals which includes 6 sets of 3 minutes of alternating Big Gear seated/Big Gear standing with a 2 minute recovery spin in between. Their Big Gear jumps are wicked too. Hope that helps. Cheers Tom.