Consumer Reports

The nailers could have a faulty feeder that can allow nails to be ejected sideways, posing a serious injury hazard to the user or bystanders. The coil nailers are used to project nails into drywall, wood or other materials. The model number is NV83A2 and can be found on the body of the product. Only those units manufactured between October 2002 and September 2005 are included in this recall. The manufacturing date can be identified by the serial number engraved at the end of the handle, the first digit representing the month (1 for January, 2 for February, 3 for March, 4 for April, 5 for May, 6 for June, 7 for July, 8 for August, 9 for September, O for October, N for November and D for December) and the second digit representing the year (2 for 2002, 3 for 2003, 4 for 2004 and 5 for 2005). Read more…

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Coil Nailers Recalled by Hitachi Koki Due to Serious Injury Hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. Slings can pose two different types of suffocation hazards to babies. In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles. The sling’s fabric can press against an infant’s nose and mouth, blocking the baby’s breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two. Additionally, where a sling keeps the infant in a curled position bending the chin toward the chest, the airways can be restricted, limiting the oxygen supply. The baby will not be able to cry for help and can slowly suffocate. Read more…

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Infant Deaths Prompt CPSC Warning About Sling Carriers for Babies

This weekend, March 13 and 14, we will all be setting our clocks to Daylight Saving Time. The time change is a good reminder to check your smoke alarms. Read more…

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Time to Check Your Smoke Alarms

Daylight Savings Time in the United States starts on the second Sunday in March of each year and the Federal Emergency Management Agency encourages all Americans to use the change to daylight savings time to update emergency preparedness plans. For years, firefighters and safety professionals at every level have asked the public to change smoke alarm batteries throughout their homes, as they move their clocks ahead. According to FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger, the March ritual of making homes safer from fire is also a great opportunity to review disaster response plans and restock disaster kits. Read more…

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Spring Ahead to Prepare for Disasters

The other night, I was awake the whole night. I haven’t had a night like that in a long time, but it reminded me of my past issues with insomnia . I was pretty young when it dawned on me that I didn’t have the same sleeping patterns as my sisters. I had frequent episodes of getting very little, or no, sleep 3-4 times a week. While my sisters were sleeping, I was awake for hours thinking, thinking, thinking. I would think about happy things, things that worried me, or sometimes I would ponder world problems. One night I didn’t want to eat my stew. My mom told me that children were starving in Africa and they would love to have that stew. I stayed awake the whole night thinking about it. I was only 8, but it seemed impossible to me that anyone would want to eat my mom’s stew… no offense Mom! I spent the rest of the night plotting how I could send those kids my stew. Around 3:30 am, I came up with the idea of borrowing my dad’s thermos on Friday night and, when my parents weren’t looking, filling it with the stew. I could take it to the post office on Saturday to mail it to those hungry, African kids. As long as they got the thermos back to me by Sunday night, my parents would never know. Around 4:30 am, I figured out I could probably ship them my mom’s liver, spinach, and beets too! My parents would take us to drive-in movies. While my sisters were zonked out after the first movie, I secretly watched the rest of the movies with my folks. One movie had zombies in it. The zombies roamed around at night and they didn’t sleep. Hey, that was my problem! Oh no, I was becoming a zombie! Of course, zombies also had sharp teeth and ate people, but I figured it was just a matter of time before I started snacking on arms and legs. For a while, I spent sleepless nights not only pondering those hungry, African children, but feeling my teeth to see if they were becoming pointy. Despite the fact that I outgrew my zombie fears, to this day, I still have this mental association with sleep disorders and being a zombie. These sleepless episodes followed me into adulthood. At some point I understood that I was experiencing insomnia. I read up on insomnia and tried various things to help myself. Nothing really seemed to help. I signed up for a relaxation class and was surprised to discover that it helped me a little, but the truth is that the “real cure” for my insomnia was… to develop severe sleep apnea . Yeah, isn’t that a kicker? I no longer had trouble falling asleep, but while I was sleeping, I would stop breathing 100s of times a night. In order to keep living, I had to wake myself up to breathe. Oddly, I didn’t even know that this was happening to me. It took me years to get a sleep apnea diagnosis, but eventually I got help. Sleep disorders impact a person’s life in many ways and they are quite dangerous to have. If you suspect that you or a loved one may have a sleep disorder, you may want to check out these additional resources: Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep How Much Sleep Do You Need How Well Are You Sleeping Insomnia Podcast Restless Leg Syndrome Sleep Studies Sleep Walking Teacher’s Guide: Information About Sleep

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Sleep Disorders: My Life as a Zombie

Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour this weekend. Daylight saving time begins Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 a.m. (which becomes 3:00 a.m.). For more information, including the areas of the U.S. that don’t observe the time change, visit the FAQ at USA.gov.

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When does daylight saving time begin?

Roll-up Blinds-Strangulations can occur if the lifting loops slide off the side of the blind and a child’s neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop or if a child places his/her neck between the lifting loop and the roll-up blind material. Roman Shades-Strangulations can occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the blind or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck. This recall involves all Innovations and “At Home with Meijer” Roman shades and roll-up blinds. The Roman shades are made with fabric or bamboo and the Roll-up blinds with bamboo. A label reading “Innovation” or “At Home with Meijer” can be found under the headrail. Read more…

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Risk of Strangulation Prompts Recall to Repair Roman Shades and Roll-Up Blinds by Meijer

I’m looking forward to 2 a.m. Sunday morning like a little kid looks forward to Christmas. Why you ask? Because that is when we spring the clocks forward and Daylight Saving Time begins! Yes, it means we lose an hour of sleep, which I’m not a fan of, but the longer days totally make up for it. No more leaving work as the sun is setting and getting home when it’s pitch black. Longer days mean the arrival of spring and then summer, the end of the winter blahs , and hopefully warmer temperatures. Overall, longer days make me a happier person because I can spend more time in the sunshine soaking up the Vitaman D when I get off work. Are you looking forward to the time change as much as I am? Or are you a winter person sad to see your favorite season ending?

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Daylight Saving Time is Almost Here

Now that the east coast has finally started to warm up, the sun is shining, birds are chirping…allow me to bring some gloom and doom to your day. It looks like the cost of obtaining / renewing a passport is going to go up. The State Department is proposing a fee hike that would raise the cost of applying for a passport from $100 to $135, and renewal cost would increase to $110 from the current $75. The reason? The State Department says that the costs of increased security and anti-fraud and terrorism measures aren’t being covered by the current fees . Besides this just seeming like yet another rising cost that is annoying to deal with, some lawmakers worry that overall it will hurt the tourism industry- particularly to neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico. They worry that the increased burden will deter Americans from traveling and in turn, continue to hurt the economy. While the increase is not yet final, it could be in effect by April. The State Department suggests applying for your passport now if you are planning international travel, as a rush of applications are expected in the wake of this news. Do you have an alternative idea to cover security costs? Do you mind paying the higher fee?

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Passport Cost Increase

Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered to every household in the United States around mid-March 2010. For more information, visit the FAQ at USA.gov.

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When will I receive the 2010 Census form?