Japan has long been one of the developed world’s most cash-driven economies: Bills and coins in circulation represent 14.5% of GDP, compared with 6.1% in the U.S. Japanese ATMs will cough up $18,000 at a go. In the U.S. the limit is often $500. In July, though, the Bank of Japan recorded the first drop ever in the number of coins in circulation. One reason is the electronic cash stored in smart cards and mobile phones. Commuters can now pay for train fares by swiping their phones or cards against the turnstile. Some 23,000 restaurants and stores sell everything from rice balls to shaving cream using electronic payments. And nearly 6,000 vending machines accept e-payments. The catalyst has been cellular operator NTT DoCoMo, which started selling phones with smart chips last year. This fall, both of it’s rivals are introducing e-cash handsets, too. In all, about 26 million Japanese now use smart cards and phones for small outlays, spending some $70 million a month in e-cash. In the digital age, Japan’s love affair with cash may finally be ending. (BusinessWeek)

Symptom: After working in her garden last summer, Vickie Watts broke out in an itchy rash that she assumed was poison ivy. Her internist prescribed oral prednisone, but when the pills ran out, the rash came back. Vickie then saw a dermatologist, who had her try seven different medications. Nothing helped. Desperate, Vickie made an appointment at a clinic run by a nearby medical school. “Bring in all your medications,” the nurse said. Exam: Looking through the collection of pill bottles, a doctor at the clinic noticed that a week before her outbreak, Vickie had refilled a prescription for blood pressure medication - a generic drug she’d been taking for years. “Did you notice anything different about these pills?” he asked. Vickie recalled that the old pills were a different color, but the pharmacist had assured her that the drug was the same - the pharmacy has switched suppliers. “Generics aren’t always identical,” the doctor said, adding that while the active ingredient may be the same, an inactive ingredient such as a filler or binder could trigger an allergic reaction. Cure: The doctor sent Vickie to a pharmacist who could refill her prescription with the original generic. Sure enough, her rash disappeared in a few days. (Good Houskeeping)

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you. - Winnie the Pooh!

Employee Involvement ..................... A few employees will treat the company as if it were theirs, even though they have no ownership stake in it. They go the extra mile because they want to. You need to take special care of those people and make sure they have opportunities to advance. But also value the people who simply come in, do their work, and leave. They are important, too. Not all people want to be owners. They don’t want to make business the center of their lives - and they’re not wrong to feel that way. I’d argue, moreover, that companies need people with that perspective. They bring a sense of balance to the workplace. (Inc.)

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
7. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
8. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
9. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #6 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #6 on this list. (Anderson)

	Toyota Prius	Lexas RX 400h	Toyota Highlander	Ford Escape	Honda Civic	Honda Accord
Days to Sell	8	10	16	34	36	56
Est. Annual Sales	105,000	22,000	20,000	24,000	28,000	20,000
Base Price	$21275	$48,535	$33,030	$27,515	$21,850	$30,140
Premium Over Regular Model	$1,150 (compared to 4-cyl amry)	$11,110	$6,590	$3,300	$2,790	$3,290
EPA MPG (City / Highway)	60/51	31/27	33/28	36/31	49/51	29/37
Consumer Reports MPG (City/Highway)	35/50	16/29	16/28	22/29	36/45	18/37

Prescription for Sleep......................... The end of daylight savings means as extra hour’s sleep - bliss, unless you’re affected by insomnia. Is a pill the answer? The American Sleep Medicine Foundation’s Edward Stepanski, Ph.D., offers some tips (consult your doctor to find out what’s best for you).

• If you need help Falling Asleep Pharmacy Rx: Short-acting hypnotics (like Ambien) trigger results quickly and exit the body within a few hours. But first try: Exercising in the late afternoon, going to bed later and sticking to a time that works, avoiding caffeine after noon, and keeping your room cool and quiet.

• If you need help Staying Asleep (but fall asleep just fine) Pharmacy Rx: Sonota, a very-short-acting hypnotic, works instantly and leaves your system by morning. For a recurring condition: Lunesta and Restoril (intermediate-acting drugs) stay in the system long enough to sustain sleep. But first try: Visualizing a relaxing place. If you’re still wide awake after 15 minutes, leave the room and read or listen to music till you’re drowsy - and don’t check the clock.

• If you need help Falling Asleep and Staying Asleep Pharmacy Rx: Ambien CR, a sustained-release hypnotic, tapers off through the night. So there’s no morning grogginess. But first try: The methods outlined for the first two cases. (Lynn Prowitt-Smith in Life)

Conventional Wisdom.............................. I buck conventional wisdom when it comes to rehiring employees. I don’t believe in telling someone who has performed admirably to never darken my door again. Some would say this policy encourages people to leave on a whim knowing they can always come back. Not true. Taking them back depends on why they went. I’ll rehire them if: 1) They were lured away by a pie-in-the-sky competitor and it didn’t work out. 2) They went into business for themselves and wound up in chapter 11. 3) They were terminated for a problem, and later licked the problem. I’ve never been sorry. (Pushing The Envelope)

The Great Cleaning Debates .............................. Is there a right way to:

• Replace toilet paper: 67% hang so the paper falls over the roll / 33% hang so the paper falls under the roll.

Big Ten Conference Football Instant Replay Model.................... The Objective: To allow for specific types of officiating mistakes to be immediately reviewed and corrected during all Conference games. Replay may be available during home non-conference match-ups with prior approval by the visiting team. The Standard: There must be indisputable video evidence for an officiating call to be changed by a Technical Advisor working from the press box. The replay system will not guarantee that all officiating mistakes are corrected. The Source: All reviewable video will come directly from the television production of the game and no other source. The review process will be limited to what is provided by the television production. Examples of Not Reviewable Plays: Holding / Off-side - encroachment / Pass interference / Personal fouls (e.g., late hits) / Illegal blocks / Illegal formations / Face mask / Taunting -

excessive celebration / False starts / Roughing passer-kicker / Identifying Sincerely,

is to be reviewed. There is no limit to the number of plays that can be Edward C. Levy

reviewed. The status of the game clock can be reviewed. (Big Ten Conference) President