We had a former Formula One driver as motivational speaker at our monthly company meeting today.

Karuizawa is a popular ski resort on the shinkansen line to Nagano. Or maybe it is just a big factory outlet shopping mall, at least that is how it looked.

Taste has created man and cultures. And a taste that makes sense comes from a production process that makes sense. A distinguished taste concentrated from effort and time. I would like this taste to be handed down forever.

Every few months, the health insurance company sends out care packages to us, containing generally useful supplies like tooth paste or vitamin pills. This time they included the Omron, a step counter. Marvellous piece of technology, no idea how it works, but it seems to be quite accurate. I seem to average around 6,000 steps a day.

Nick Naylor is the tobacco industry's public face and his job is to put a friendly spin on what they do. He really enjoys his job, as do his two best friends and fellow Merchants of Death, the alcohol lobbyist and the firearms representative. Things are quite grim for Big Tobacco at the moment, as a US Senator has set out on a crusade against them. So Nick gets busy arranging movie deals and bringing the original Marlboro man (just about to die of cancer) back on board, all the while trying to be a god father to his son, who adores him and tags along on business trips. If it were not for this sneaky reporter, who stops at nothing to get her inside story.

7 points

Part eight: Solh