Etc...

Hey, I haven't got all day!

When you waited on line for the first set of license plates for your car, do you remember how long it took 'til you finally reached the bureaucrat at the window? Maybe not, but in Indiana the matter is sufficiently sensitive that the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has come up with a special strategy for making time appear to go faster. All clocks in branch office waiting areas are being removed. Asked to explain, a BMV spokesman said this ensures that "workers are not fixated on quitting time " and helps influence "the customer's perception of the experience." He didn't discuss the possibility that most customers probably would be wearing wristwatches.

Secretary of State Condo-leezza wields so much influence that Forbes magazine rates her the most powerful woman in the world. Right behind on the political stage are Vice Premier Yi Wu of China, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (a newcomer), and Philippines President Gloria Arroyo. Rice's closest rivals on the US political scene are Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (No. 23) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) of New York (No. 26). The most powerful women, as ranked by Forbes on the basis of economic impact and visibility in the news media:

1. Condoleezza Rice, US, Secretary of State
2. Yi Wu, China, Vice Premier
3. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine, Prime Minister
4. Gloria Arroyo, Philippines, President
5. Margaret Whitman, US, Chief executive, EBay
6. Anne Mulcahy, US, Chief executive, Xerox
7. Sallie Krawcheck, US, Chief financial officer, Citigroup
8. Brenda Barnes, US, Chief executive, Sara Lee Corp.
9. Oprah Winfrey, US, Chairman, Harpo Inc.
10. Melinda Gates, US, Cofounder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation