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NASA to help on Toyota probe

businessSeparate from the work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists, LaHood said, experts from the National Academy of Sciences will lead a study of unintended acceleration across the auto industry, a broader issue raised by congressional lawmakers at recent hearings on Toyota Motor Corp.

"We are determined to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration," LaHood said in an interview with Reuters ahead of the formal announcement on Tuesday.

The Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is just beginning its review of Toyota electronic throttles, which have come under heightened scrutiny following the recall of 8.5 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the past six months for unintended acceleration.

Nintendo DSi XL is easy on the eyes

technologyOver the last few years, Nintendo has discovered a whole new market for video games: seniors. Not a demographic that's known for welcoming new technology, the senior-citizen crowd has nonetheless embraced the Wii console, with its intuitive controls and easy-to-understand interface.

 

Nintendo's new portable system, the DSi XL, could find a place on the coffee table next to grandma's Wii remote. Think of it as the electronic equivalent of a large-print novel: You get the same content you would on a DSi, but everything's bigger and easier to read.

 

The XL isn't just for seniors, though. As a game reviewer, I often spend hours gazing at the DSi. (Don't try this at home.) The 3.25-inch diagonal screens on the previous model have led to lots of squinting — and some fierce headaches. The 4.2-inch screens on the XL let me relax my eyeballs a little more.

 

Tanning beds face new taxes and restrictions

healthGrowing concerns about the dangers of indoor tanning beds are leading to new taxes — and possibly new restrictions — designed to curb the practice among young people.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended Thursday that the agency consider actions such as requiring that teenagers get parental consent before using a tanning bed or even banning the use of tanning beds among teens. The advisers also recommended reclassifying tanning lamps from Class I medical devices — a category that includes tongue depressors and elastic bandages — to a Class II or Class III device, which would permit the agency to impose greater restrictions.

About 35% of 17-year-old girls use tanning machines, an FDA report says. People under 30 who use tanning machines increase their risk of skin cancer by 75%, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer,

Fed to keep pro-growth policies-Chicago Fed chief

businessUnacceptably high unemployment and well-contained inflation make it likely that U.S. monetary policy will remain accommodative for at least several months more, a top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Shanghai, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said he strongly supported maintaining the current loose monetary stance as long as inflation remained under control.

"I'm hopeful that businesses will be surprised by the strength of demand over the next year and that they will actually begin to add workers, but it is quite a cautionary prospect for the U.S. and that leads me to think that monetary policy is likely to continue to be accommodative for an extended period of time," Evans said.

From Thaler to Dollar

dollar

The "Dollar" originated in the city of Joachimsthal in Bavaria (now Germany). Beginning in 1518, silver from the mines near Joachimsthal was minted into silver "thalers", with a standardized weight of 29.2 grams. ("Thal" means "valley" in German.)

Eventually, governments throughout Europe adopted this standardized coin for commerce. The silver came from many locations, and many different governments produced the coins, but they were all basically identical. Europe was on a "Dollar standard"...

 

Japan Mint to issue memorial coin in honor of samurai Ryoma Sakamoto

coinsThe Japan Mint has announced it will issue a memorial silver coin embossed with an image of legendary 19th-century samurai Ryoma Sakamoto.

 

The administrative agency has been issuing coins representing prefectures since 2008, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the enforcement of the Local Autonomy Law.

 

The new 1,000-yen coin is themed on Kochi Prefecture, the birthplace of Sakamoto, a samurai who led the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate and made a great contribution to the modernization of Japan. He has been featured in many films and TV dramas, including NHK's ongoing period drama "Ryomaden."

Health bill gains ground but release delayed

health

President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation won precious support from a longtime liberal holdout in the House on Wednesday and from a retired Catholic bishop and nuns representing dozens of religious orders — gaining fresh traction ahead of a climactic weekend vote.

"That's a good sign," said Obama, two weeks after taking personal command of a campaign to enact legislation in what has become a virtual vote of confidence on his still-young presidency.

But Democrats delayed the planned release of formal legislation at least until Thursday as they sought to make sure it would reduce federal deficits annually over the next decade.

At the White House, Obama met with Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO. Officials said the labor leader raised concerns over the details of a planned excise tax on high-cost insurance plans as well as other elements of the as-yet-unreleased legislation.

 

Toyota Customers Sue for Refunds Over Acceleration

businessToyota Motor Corp. was sued in Washington state by customers demanding refunds for cars being recalled over defects that include sudden acceleration.

Toyota was accused of breach of warranty, sale of unsafe vehicles and unjust enrichment in the complaint, filed today in federal court in Seattle. The complaint, which seeks class- action, or group status, is the first against Toyota to seek full refunds, lawyers for the car owners said.

“When we talked with Toyota owners, they all voiced the same desire -- to drive the car back to the lot, hand them the keys and pick up a check,” lawyer Steve Berman said in a statement. “We think the law allows for exactly that solution, and we are asking the courts to make it happen.”

Microsoft provides new Windows 7 phone game and app details

technologyI left GDC this year with a lot of uneasiness about the state of gaming on Windows 7 phones. The selling point for me was the synergy the phones would share with Xbox Live, though the sessions and conversations about Windows phones as a development platform worried me, as it became obvious that gaming experiences would not be identical between platforms despite the services sharing a Live backend. On one hand, you've got to develop to each platform's strengths, but if I earn Achievements, I want it to be for things that I can do on my Xbox 360.

The news coming out of Microsoft's MIX10 is starting to win back my favor for the development platform.

Special Mint Set Product of 1960s

coinsThey are not proof sets, and they are not uncirculated sets, popularly called mint sets, but Special Mint Sets are special in their own way, and are worth a second look.

The Treasury Department announced in 1964 that proof sets would not be produced in 1965. The announcement came at an interesting, and turbulent, time in American numismatics. A nationwide coin shortage was happening, along with the debate on removing silver from circulating coins and replacing it with another metal or metals. Also, mintmarks would not appear on 1965 coins.

A press release dated March 8, 1966, gave details about the new collector sets of these coins that would not be proofs, but would not be mint state either, but “better in appearance” than uncirculated coins as the press release claimed.
 

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