‘Mule’ 20 Pence Coin Sends Britons Scrambling

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A specialist British firm has offered to buy faulty 20 pence pieces for 50 pounds, sending Britons scrambling in search of one of the approximately 50,000 undated coins.

So what’s faulty? These coins have no date on them.

The Royal Mint has admitted it made a rare error, producing coins without a date on them for the first time in centuries.

The latest error happened when the Royal Mint issued a new design of the coin that moved the year from the back side to the one that bears the head of Queen Elizabeth II. But mint spokesman Jadon Raj said one batch that didn’t add “2008″ to the head’s side got through quality control.

The letters “F.D.” have been printed where the date “2008″ should have been. A coin with mismatched sides is known as a “mule” and they are extremely rare. The last time one appeared in circulation was during the reign of Charles II more than 300 years ago.

Raj said the mint couldn’t issue a recall because the coins are legal to use.

“As far as were concerned their face value is 20 pence, so there isn’t an issue for us,” he said.

The mint said Monday that at least 100,000 of the year-less 20-pence coins, normally worth 33 US cents at face value, slipped into circulation at the end of last year.

The coins first appeared at the end of 2008, after a batch which included between 50,000 and 200,000 of the faulty 20-pence entered circulation. The last time a mistake was made on the casting of a coin was in 1983, when a batch of 2-pence coins went into circulation with the words “New Pence” rather than “Two Pence” on the reverse side. These coins fetched up to 650 pounds in top condition.

Some numismatists say the last time the Royal Mint accidentally left out the year on a coin was in 1672.

The mint admitted the mistake after a private British company called the London Mint Office launched a promotion Monday offering to pay 50 pounds ($83) per coin. Market experts noted that the coins already have been quietly selling to online collectors for up to six times higher.

Weight Loss or Weight Control?

I was talking to a lady friend yesterday, and she had quite a novel opinion about dieting — and diet pills. It’s one thing to lose weight, but the point, she asked, is how much weight do you want to lose?

Now, that’s a whole new world — how exactly do you ‘control’ your weight loss? Even the best diet pills, do they offer you a way to do that?

For instance, they say it’s been well researched and clinically proven that certain brands do offer immediate results, but there’s also a school of thought that says ‘immediate’ may not always be the best. I’d advise that one makes a plan, and avoid any side effects of the pills by charting out a process that combines enough nutrients and workouts combined with diet pills — or appetite suppressants. More on this later…

Minimizing the Loss in Moving

If nothing else, science has taught me one thing — when any action takes place, there’s always some loss. I mean, it’s a law of Nature. There’s energy loss in electrical transmission. You pump water with a certain force at one of the pipe, and the force you get at the other end will always be less.

It’s the same when you have to relocate. Some families I know do it every other year. And when you’re moving a household, you always lose some — it could either be a damaged sofa or a broken shelf or even missing cuff links. While some loss is inevitable, the problem everyone is trying to tackle is how to minimize that loss. So when it comes to relocating, your best bet to keep the losses to a minimum would be to let the professionals handle it.

A very many of these long distance moving companies are full-service companies, in the sense they pack, move and unpack, and some will arrange the goods in your new location for you. They may even have counselors meeting you to discuss your moving plans, and then prepare an estimate of the costs for you. At this stage, you might want to get references and estimates from more than of moving companies.

What can also help cushion any loss would, of course, take some insurance against your most expensive items. However, the thing to remember here is that while insurance may help cover the monetary loss, it can never replace the emotional value of some of your priceless stuff… such as the first gift you received from a loved one. Be sure to take triple extra care of such things when you start packing!

Down with the fat

It’s almost that time of the year to ’shed our clothes’ and get into the summer groove, but how many of us are yet ready with trim waistlines and trimmer weight figures? Well, not just for the swimwear, but from the point of of fitness as well.

While diet and exercise are recommended as the safest way yo loose weight, some of us just have the patience to wait for the method to work. So, as is the vogue today, life has to be ‘instant’, so the inclination is to pop in a couple of diet pills and supplements. But then, the question very many ask is, WHICH diet pill?

True, the market, both on- and offline, is saturated with all kinds of diet pills vying for the top place, but from my research, I have heard some names mentioned more often than others. And one of them is Apidexin.

Apidexin is a diet supplement compilation of eight natural ingredients. Authentic user reports consistently refer to losing anything from 4 to 6 lbs. a week. If you’ve used fat burning medications before, you might be aware that one of the side effects caused by many is an increase in heart beat rate. Apidexin, however, does not cause a change in heart rate. It also contains BioPerine, which increases the absorption rate of nutrients in the body.

Escape to the Carolinas

When I was studying at Clemson University, SC, a long, long time ago, I did come across a few opportunities to visit NC, and after having explored Charlotte, I wanted to venture into the so-called ‘like-no-other’ Southeastern North Carolina.

If there’s one thing I’m strongly reminded of, it’s the genuinely ‘laid-back’ nature of the beaches, though it’s far from what you’d imagine to be a pensioner’s paradise. I’m saying this, because you just can’t miss the thriving riverfront city of Wilmington — a charming port city, it’s located between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean. And the attractive Wrightsville Beach is quite close, and whether you’re a surfer or a seafood lover, you’ll love it.

I did explore some more of the southeastern North Carolina, but what was really on my mind on my way back to Clemson that evening was to check out Wilmington NC real estate, because that was what I wanted to do — buy a home, or even hire a rental, and enjoy some great summers there!

The Art and the Science of Sleeping Well

I’ll admit it — I spend nearly 80 per cent of my time in front of the computer. It’s figuring out something on the monitor at work, and then come home and switch on my laptop — it’s time for blogging. So it wouldn’t take a Nobel laureate to arrive at how my body posture is stuck in more or less an identical position almost all the way. So it’s inevitable conclusion is that I get to stretch my body only while hitting the sack.

And I do believe that I deserve a bed that suits my body. That’s when I discovered the sleep number bed. Though initially I imagined it was used in the space shuttle, I learned that it has its own advantages — for instance, it can impart total comfort to the pressure points. And it lets me adjust the firmness level on ‘my side of the bed’, adding to the flexibility.

They even make it easy to adjust the firmness — sleep number beds are inflatable too, which means you just add or remove air to increase or decrease the firmness, respectively. A little search on the Web, and you’ll find a number of these marvelous beds to suit any need or budget, in different sizes and style ranging from the ‘basic’ model to the deluxe and luxury.

MP3 player market innovative

I recall that MP3 players players created quite some buzz when they were introduced (2002?) and, no time lost, you started seeing different versions — in all kinds of shapes and sizes. And even today, we keep hearing about what’s new in MP3 players.

For instance, it was just a couple days ago that Microsoft announced its new Zune (an 8GB player)– said to target Apple’s iPod’s market share. Sources say it will ship this fall, and will be priced highly competitively… which is all so cool, but what’s next in line for MP3 players?

MP players, running on Flash. The way I see it, it’s software-based, so there’s no hard disk drive, and hence longer battery life. And, you guessed it — really small in size. I just saw one on offer, 0.8-inch thick, has a 2GB memory (about 500 numbers or 30 hours of music) and fits in the palm of your hand.

Good enough yet? I don’t know. I might wait to buy one that will slip into my wallet like a credit card.

Consider your options before the health reforms kick in

It’s kind of confusing as to why many companies do not have a full-fledged professional consultancy support when it comes to choosing an insurance plan for their employees.

In the long run, firms can actually save money, time and efforts by consulting an established insurance agency before going in for a plan that fit the their budget as well as the employees’ needs.

However, since we’re all waiting for President Obama’s health reforms, companies and employees will seriosly have to consider another aspect of health insurance payments. At the moment, employer contributions to health insurance costs are not subject to income and payroll taxes. But according to some reports on CNNMoney, there’s a likelihood that these benefits may be limited — just to fill the huge whole in the budget the new health reforms will create.

Then again, these will vary from state to state. Matter of fact, right now, no one seems to know how exactly the health reforms may affect individuals. If you’re planning to play it safe, you could consult an established and resourceful insurance group for the best plans for you and your family. For instance, if you’re a resident of North Carolina, bcbsnc (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina) has an array of plans. They will even confer with you to identify your specific needs.

I’m going for a flexible personal insurance scheme while I await the new laws of the proposed health reforms.

What if everyone in your neighborhood recycled all their aluminum cans?

Sometimes I wonder if everyone understands completely what recycling can do for sustainability. Check out this photo I found on NewsCom:

Bales of crushed aluminum cans ready for recycling at the Novelis plant in Oswego, NY. Each bale contains approximately 34,000 used beverage cans.
(PRNewsFoto/Novelis Inc.) Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

That led me to try and find out what if EVERYONE recycled their aluminum cans?

Thankfully, Novelis Recycling provides a ‘recycling calculator‘ to find stats about just that.

Assuming 100 people lived in your neighborhood, this is what the calculator says:

(These statistics are based on US data, assuming 100% recycling rate.)

Total Cans Recycled: 29,900
Total Weight Recycled: 874 LBS
Amount of Greenhouse Gases (C02e) Saved vs Using New Aluminum: 4 Metric Tons
Energy Saved: 56 MBTUs
Barrels of Oil with Equivalent Energy: 10 Barrels
Equivalent GHG Emissions from Cars Not Driven in One Year: 1 Car(s)
Length of Cans if Stacked End to End: 2 Miles
Value of Aluminum: $656
Water Saved: 2 Cubic Meters

Use the calculator to see what if everyone in NYC recycled all their aluminum cans? (Population: 18,800,000)

When can we start?

Camping out on Memorial Day

So we’re in for the Memorial Day, and I see many folks planning an outing, a get-together and some even just a long drive and get lost in a strange town. Now, while that’s not such a bad idea, the ones I really envy are those who have the sands and surf within driving distance.

Enter — the Carolinas. An AAA survey says that about 754,000 North Carolina drivers are expected to hit the road this weekend, and another around 60,000 people may fly. And that would be a 5 per cent increase over last Memorial Day weekend, despite the global financial woes.

Plus, the weather is helping too — dry weekend with highs of about 80. If I you are anywhere near North Carolina, the place I’d head for would be Outer Banks. Just take one of those beach home Outer Banks rentals, pitch up for the weekend, and boy, nothing could make it more of a Memorial Day weekend.