West Virginians Impacted By Toxic Chemicals

Just read this excellent story about Prenter Hollow West VA. It is very bleak and a shame that time and time again containment, and treatment at the source, using available technologies, of toxic run off is seen as a place to cut costs by companies so focused on the bottom line. Our politicians, if at a minimum are complacent, or at the worst accept funds by lobbyists for said companies, must be held accountable for failure to act on behalf of their constituents.

“Hollow, WV is a tight-knit community that has battled water and health problems for years.
With massive coal reserves acting as a natural charcoal filter, West Virginia used to be famous for its well and spring water.
“We had the best darn water in the world,” Prenter Hollow, W.V. resident Maria Lambert said when we visited her home in mid-January, “but that all changed, didn’t it?”
It took years for the Lamberts and their neighbors to accept that their water may have been contaminated by nearby mountaintop coal removal mining. Not only was mining taking away their charcoal filter, but it also threatened to contaminate their water supply with toxic chemicals.”

Read the full story By Robert Johnson from “Business Insider” at the source:

http://www.businessinsider.com/prenter-hollow-west-virginia-faces-contamination-2014-1

Italian Court Reinstates Guilty Verdict of Amanda Knox

After nearly 12 hours of deliberations Thursday, the court reinstated the guilty verdict first handed down against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in 2009.

FLORENCE, Italy — An appeals court in Florence on Thursday upheld the guilty verdict against U.S. student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend for the 2007 murder of her British roommate. Knox was sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison, raising the specter of a long legal battle over her extradition if the conviction is confirmed.

In a statement from Seattle, where she had awaited the verdict at her mother’s home, Knox said she was “frightened and saddened” by the decision. She said it was “unjust” and the result of an overzealous prosecution and narrow-minded investigation that worked to “pervert the court of justice.”

“This has gotten out of hand,” she said. “Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system.”

After nearly 12 hours of deliberations, the court reinstated the guilty verdicts first handed down against Knox and Sollecito in 2009 for the death of Meredith Kercher. Those verdicts had been overturned in 2011 and the pair freed from prison, but Italy’s supreme court vacated that decision and sent the case back for a third trial in Florence.

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/court-upholds-murder-conviction-against-knox?ocid=ansnews11

Official Release of BlackBerry OS 10.2.1

This release has many new features. Perhaps the most anticipated is the upgrade to the Android Run Time (ART) that will allow download Jelly Bean Apps straight to the phone, as on any Google smartphone. The improved ART provides a slicker Android experience than Google’s implementation.

Press Release

 

Waterloo, Ontario – BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in mobile communications, today announced BlackBerry® 10 OS version 10.2.1, a new software update for BlackBerry 10 smartphones that lets you do more, more easily, and helps you be more productive and stay better connected.

BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 includes hundreds of new enhancements and refinements that will make the things you do every day faster and easier:

Customize Pinch Gesture to Filter BlackBerry® Hub – BlackBerry Hub lets you access all your messages and notifications in one place. A new feature lets you instantly filter the message list in the Hub. You can customize the Hub to show only Unread Messages, Flagged Messages, Draft Messages, Meeting Invites, Sent Messages or Level 1 Alerts. Once the filter criterion is set, you can simply activate it with a pinch gesture on the Hub’s message list.
Simplified Phone Experience – The phone includes a new incoming call screen that lets you swipe to the left to answer or swipe right to ignore a call. New intuitive icons allow you to instantly silence the call, or send a Reply Now response through BBM™, SMS or email that you can’t answer the phone right away. You can choose from a list of standard automated responses or respond with a personalized note.
SMS and Email Groups – You can now create SMS and email groups for more efficient broadcast communications.
Actionable Lock Screen Notifications – You can now “Tap to open” a message that appears on the lock screen, letting you respond to an important message much quicker or to check messages more discreetly.
Picture Password for Quick Unlocking – You can quickly unlock your phone using a combination of a picture and a number (0-9) of your choice, which you place at a particular point on the image. When you try to unlock the phone, the picture will appear along with a grid of random numbers. To unlock, simply drag the grid so the number you selected overlays the particular point on the image.
Customizable Quick Settings Menu – You can now customize what appears on the Settings menu, which includes features such as being able to quickly change the Brightness of the smartphone’s display, toggle various network connections, and access the built-in flashlight. The Settings menu also includes a toggle that lets you instantly switch between your Personal and Work perimeter.
Offline Browser Reading Mode – You can now save the current web page you’re on for later viewing, even if you are offline or without an Internet connection.
Preferred Contact Sync – You can now choose the sync source for your Contacts ensuring you always have the most up-to-date contact details. When adding a new contact you can designate which sources you want the contact info to sync with, such as the corporate address book, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.
Device and Battery Monitor – A new and improved device monitor provides you with essential details on battery usage, the impact of installed apps on battery life and memory usage and storage, as well as CPU stats.
Automatic Software Updates – OS updates can be set to happen automatically over a Wi-Fi® connection to help ensure you’re always benefiting from the latest and best possible customer experience.
Enterprise Features – When combined with BES10 version 10.2, enterprise customers will gain additional security features and IT policies for when more granular controls are required, such as for regulated industries and for organizations that work with sensitive data. For more information about BES10, please visit www.bes10.com.
FM Radio – If you have a BlackBerry® Z30, BlackBerry® Q10 or BlackBerry® Q5 smartphone, the new software update unlocks the built-in FM radio in those handsets. You can listen to local FM stations, which does not require any network connection.  
Subject to carrier approvals, BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1 will be available to customers around the world, rolling out starting today in the U.S., Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and will be available for the entire line of smartphones running BlackBerry 10 (including the Porsche Design P’9982).

 

Day 5, January 19, 2014, of Wellness Month

Exercise Variable: No exercise.

Diet Variable

Breakfast: Oat meal, 360 Calor with 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk for 40 Calories, 1/3 cup coffee for 5 cal and 1/8 cup of maple syrup for 105 Calories = 510 Calories

Lunch: pressed chicken panino sandwich with sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. 360 Calories.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calories.asp?recipe=540887

Dinner: chicken salad burrito  240 Calories for 1 cup chicken salad and 190 Calories for burrito shell for 440 Calories.

Snack: 1 Cookie for 70 Calories
Total Calories: 1380

Day 4, January 18, 2014, of Wellness Month

Exercise Variable: Day Off From Exercise

Diet Variable

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with spinach and onions
Wrapped in burrito wrap

2 eggs, 200 calories 1 cup spinach, 7 calories,  1 small onion, 30 calories, 1/3 cup milk, 33.33 calories

270 calories total + 190 Calories for the wrap

3 mugs of coffee for about 30 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/322805-calories-in-a-cup-of-coffee-with-skim-milk/

300 Calories Breakfast Total

Lunch: Jasmine Rice with Vegetables

1.5 cups at 500 Calories

http://www.ichange.com/nutrition/how-many-calories-in/jasmine-rice-with-green-curry-and-vegetables-1

Dinner: one chicken breast  for 142 Calories

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-chicken-breast-without-skin-roasted_f-ZmlkPTY4MzEy.html

Popcorn chips for 260 Calories

Total Calories: 1392

BlackBerry Rising

BBRY briefly rose above $10 in U.S. trading today, the highest price since last September, when it became clear that few consumers were buying the company’s new line of Z10 and Q10 phones. The shares recently were trading at $9.80, up 7.9%. Positive Pentagon news;the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it would permit 80,000 of the company’s devices on its net:
http://tinyurl.com/p4s6bx2

Winter Storm Watch in the NYC Area

Snow starting tomorrow morning into the night has the super markets packed, even in early afternoon. Maybe many folks are off for the Martin Luther King holiday? Do you see a rush to purchase food in your location when a storm is looming? I thought I’d grab a slice of pizza.

The Third Eye and my Dog Paddy

Such a beautiful bloom. My hibiscus is blooming like crazy, and in the winter. It brightens up the winter gray sky. I have been thinking of my dog Paddy. She died last August 1, at home. She was a rescue and my terrier mix lived 18 years, 16 of them with me. I miss her. Today, the same woman, an Indian lady, I helped last week with adding her late husband’s photo as wallpaper on her phone, came by the store I was in. She was not receiving calls. They were going to voice mail. Many of her missed calls were from “Paddy” who was her sister. I helped her get into voice-mail. She told me that Paddy was ok. I told her about my dog, Paddy,  and my blooming hibiscus. She agreed, that we should meet two weeks in a row, at the same store was a sign from the third eye that our loved spirits were ok, her husband and my Paddy. Have you had connections with the other side?

Day 3 of Wellness Month, January 17, 2014

Exercise Variable: Plan “Zumba”

Since I couldn’t get to the gym, I used my Wii and my Zumba workout “game” which tracks Calories and gives me a good sweat.

Burnt @ 400 Calories

Diet Variable

Breakfast: Oat meal, 360 Calor with 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk for 40 Calories, 1/3 cup coffee for 5 cal and 1/8 cup of maple syrup for 105 Calories = 510 Calories

Lunch:

1 pork loin back rib for 320 Calories

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/generic-pork-loin-back-ribs-10649014

2 cups vegetable tabouli for 400 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/52144-tabouli-nutrition-information/

Dinner:

Vegetable Jasmine rice @ 250 Calories

http://caloriecount.about.com/jasmine-rice-veggies-recipe-r950241

Grilled Cajun Catfish filet @250 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/473628-how-to-cook-a-cajun-seasoned-catfish-fillet/
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calories.asp?recipe=241735

Snack: 2 cookies for 170 Calories

Calorie count:

Intake: 510 + 720 + 500 + 170 = 1900 Calories

Burnt Calories: 400

Net Calories: 1900 – 400 =
1500 Calories

Water:3 * 16.9 FL OZ (500 mL) or 1.5 Litre

Day 2 of Wellness Month, January 16, 2014

Exercise Variable: Plan B

Burnt @ 680 Calories, according to “Sport Track” app.

Diet Variable

Breakfast: Oat meal, 360 Calor with 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk for 40 Calories, 1/3 cup coffee for 5 cal and 1/8 cup of maple syrup for 105 Calories = 510 Calories

Lunch:

two bowels of home made chicken vegetable soup with carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms at about 120 Calories a bowl for 240 Calories.

Dinner:

1bowl if the above soup (120 Calories)
2pork loin back ribs for 640 Calories

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/generic-pork-loin-back-ribs-10649014

With 2 burrito tortillas at 190 Calories x 2 =380 Calories

1140 dinner Calories…..yikes!

Calorie count:

Intake: 510 + 240 + 1140 = 1890 Calories

Burnt Calories: 680

Net Calories: 1890 – 680 = 1210 Calories

Water:3 * 16.9 FL OZ (500 mL) or 1.5 Litre

Exercise Plan “A” on “A” Day

“A” Day is for Plan A:

10 min warm-up and stretch: simple stretching:

Abs

Cardio

Chest:

chest press:

Triceps:

overhead press:

arm extensions:

10 min cool-down and stretch: simple
stretching–as above.

Day 1, January 15, 2014, of Wellness Month

Exercise Variable: Plan A

Burnt @ 800 Calories, according to “Sport Track” app. This app underestimates the aerobic burn which is always 10 Cal per Min or 40O Calories, according to the Life Fitness digital read. The app gives 365 Calories in 40 minutes for the aerobic 40 minute stair master.

Diet Variable:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach and onions

2 eggs, 200 calories 1 cup spinach, 7 calories,  1 small onion, 30 calories, 1/3 cup milk, 33.33 calories

270 calories total

1 glass oj, 8oz for 110 Calories
3 mugs of coffee for about 30 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/322805-calories-in-a-cup-of-coffee-with-skim-milk/

Breakfast Total calories: 410

Snack: 1large banana for 120 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/298339-calories-in-1-large-banana/

Lunch: 1 baked sweet potato for 110 Calories

http://www.livestrong.com/article/299539-how-many-calories-are-in-one-baked-sweet-potato/

Snack 1 bag pop chips, 360 Calories and 4 chocolate chip ahoy cookies, 190 Calories
Way too many “snack” calories

450 additional snack calories

Dinner: two bowels of home made chicken vegetable soup with carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms at about 120 Calories a bowl for 240 Calories.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/302338-the-calories-in-homemade-chicken-vegetable-soup/

The chicken soup has tofu and chicken pieces in it. It is important to consume a fist full of protein to help convert fat to muscle and not lose muscle mass, after a workout.

Calorie count:

Intake 240 + 450 + 110 + 120 + 410 = 1330 Calories

Burnt Calories: 800

Net Calories: 1330 – 800 = 530 Calories

Water:3 * 16.9 FL OZ (500 mL) or 1.5 Litre

Gym Exercise Work Out Plan

As part of our “Moderate Diet and Exercise”:

https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/moderate-diet-and-exercise/

month of new living well habit formation, we will be engaging in an effective exercise routine combining aerobics and strength training.  At the gym, we will cycle through three plans: A, B and C sequentially. Every trip to the gym will involve a 40 minute fat burn exercise on an inclined stair-master or any other device such as the thread mill.  It takes at least 10 minutes of rev-up before we can really burn fat for 30 minutes.  Thereafter, every trip to the gym will also include ab exercises (ab crunches) with plans A, B and C working opposite muscles in sequence and the legs.  Here are the gym plans:

“A” Day is for Plan A:

10 min warm-up and stretch: simple stretching–a separate post on this is/will be available.

Abs and cardio.  Chest: chest press; Triceps: overhead press, arm extensions.

10 min cool-down and stretch: simple stretching–a separate post on this is/will be available.

“B” Day is for Plan B:

10 min warm-up and stretch: simple stretching–a separate post on this is/will be available.

Abs and cardio. Back: pull-down, row, lateral row; Biceps: arm curl

10 min cool-down and stretch: simple stretching–a separate post on this is/will be available.

“C” Day is for Plan C:

10 min warm-up and stretch: simple stretching–a separate post on this is/will be available.

Abs and cardio. Shoulders: pull-down, lateral raise,Fly-rear deltoid; Legs: leg extension, leg press, leg curl

For each weight lifting exercise/machine: 4 reps of 9; start with no weight or moderate weigh until comfortable with the range of motions.  Add weight in increments each of next two reps;  Do the last rep or fourth rep at a lower weight than where maxed out.

Routines A, B and C are designed for alternate days  at the gym.  We will aim for at least three days a week at the gym.  In between we will use our game console to do a “Zumba Dancing” workout, while monitoring our caloric burn.  More on the Zumba dancing in a separate post!  The A.B.C plan will be documented with our meals of the day.  Some will be recipes we will share with you by reference to past posts or brand new recipes! Closer looks at each Routine A, B, and C will be provided under separate posts.

Breathiing
BBreathe in on relax and out with motion showing resistance.

Find a work out app to keep track of your workout stats.  We like”Sports Tracker” on our BlackBerry Z10.  The app does not take over your phone by even changing your wall paper, as some have done.  We will be reviewing some of the free and for fee apps on BlackBerry World.  Tell us which apps help you in your healthier lifestyle quest!

See you in the kitchen and at  the gym!

The Weigh In and Planning Tools of The Weight Loss Plan

Ok…so we are embarking on our new “Moderate Diet and Exercise Plan”:

https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/moderate-diet-and-exercise/ 

The first thing to do is set our goals for weight loss and weigh our bodies on the day we start:

WEIGH – IN

WEIGHT: 154 lbs (weigh yourself every morning before you eat, do so in the nude; never reset the scale after setting it to zero read once when no one is on it; since we will be measuring differences in weight any re-calibration will skew the results)

Plan: I used a planning weight loss calculator with the goal of loosing 20 lbs.  The site:

http://caloriecount.about.com/tools/calories-goal

Results From Weight Loss Calculator:

1)With Light Daily Activity–

Results

You should consume about 1,500 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 135 lbs . This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 0.88 lbs per week, which should be reached by June 15, 2014.

2)With Moderate Activity:

Results

You should consume about 1,688 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 135 lbs . This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by May 28, 2014.

Experts recommend weight loss at the rate of 0.5-2 lbs/week. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. It may vary slightly depending on other factors.

Generally, women should not consume any less than 1,200 calories per day, and men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day.

We will add an exercise routine that will burn some of the food calories to accelerate weight loss. As a rule of thumb, you never want to exceed a deficit (or eat less than) 1000 calories lower than the amount of calories you burn. The absolute minimum calorie intake should be 1200 for women and 1500 for men. Plan on burning 400-600 calories with our exercise plan per workout day.  This means that with the consumption of your caloric minimum per day you will loose weight.  We will add Zumba dancing on the days we are not at the gym.

BMI

Check out a BMI Calculator: http://caloriecount.about.com/tools/bmi-calculator

Results of BMI :

Based upon your current Body Mass Index (BMI) of 29.1, you are currently classed as mildly overweight.

A healthy BMI for your gender and age is between 18.5 and 24.9 and a reasonable weight loss rate is 0.5-2 pounds a week.

Waist: Shocked 40″
http://www.livestrong.com/article/73000-measure-waistline-men/

A smaller waist and BMI are correlated to lower risk for the metabolic syndrome.

Benefits of The Exercise Plan:

Lowered cholesterol and lower Blood Pressure!

 

DISCLAIMER: PFC Systems is not responsible for participation in this exercise plan.  Please, consult with your physician on your readiness to participate in any exercise/diet plan.

BlackBerry appoints Eric Johnson as President of Global Sales

Press Release

 

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jan. 13, 2014) – BlackBerry(R) Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that Eric Johnson will join the Company as President, Global Sales reporting to BlackBerry’s Executive Chair and CEO, John Chen. 

“I am pleased to round out BlackBerry’s new executive leadership team with another outstanding addition today. I have worked with Eric extensively and have tremendous respect for his sales expertise and customer centric approach to business. Our carriers, partners, distributors and enterprise customers will benefit greatly from Eric’s approach,” said Chen. “The experience that the majority of the new leadership team has in working together previously will drive change within the organization at a faster pace. I look forward to demonstrating these changes to the market.”

Eric Johnson most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for SAP’s Global Database and Technology. Prior to that, Eric was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Platform and Analytics Sales for North America, also at SAP. In the years preceding, Eric served in several capacities at Sybase, including Senior Vice President and General Manager for North America, Senior Vice President and General Manager Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Senior Vice President and General Manager for Financial Services, where he managed both direct and indirect sales including field sales, professional services and customer services. Eric holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Moderate Diet and Exercise

There are so many fad diets that come and go. Celebrities seem to endorse many options. Recently, Chef Rocco DiSpirito was on the TV TALK show circuit
describing his diet plan which claims to have practitioners drop a pound a day.
This seems extreme to us. My grandmother always said that everything in moderation is ok. Have any of our readers tried this latest diet plan? Does this or any other plan work for you?

We’ve decided to see how much weight one of us can lose on a moderate exercise and food plan over the next month. We will document an exercise plan and count our consumed daily calories and calories burned at the gym. I was surprised that the cup of oatmeal with cup of milk and maple syrup that I usually have for breakfast is already 500 food calories. Not withstanding the fibre intake and promise of better cholesterol levels, it is more calories than I would have guessed. The goal over the next month is to develop healthier eating and fitness habits. Come along with us!

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/01/10/rocco-dispiritos-pound-a-day-diet-claims-quick-weight-loss/

Are you Experiencing Crazy Temperature Fluctuations Near You?

Snow at 30F or -1C this morning to monsoon rains and 60F or 15.5C tomorrow. Are you seeing this kind of temperature fluctuations near you? Where are you and what is the weather like?

New Direction at BBRY Pays Off

The stock is set to top $9 today. Much value has been regained, but there is still
work to be done.

Only a few weeks ago, BlackBerry was hovering at about $6.00. Did anyone buy at that price? Having done so would have mitigated some losses in any shares on hand. Are you interested in BBRY stock “? Why or why not?

John Chen Discusses Recent BlackBerry Developments

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) –- From the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV, Blackberry Interim CEO John Chen discusses Blackberry’s turnaround strategy and where he sees the company growing. He talks exclusively to Jon Erlichman on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg) http://tinyurl.com/meu59dn

Happy Epiphany

The Epiphany, always on January 6, marks the 12 th Day of Christmas and is celebrated in many countries as the end of the Christmas season. Do you celebrate “Three Kings Day” or the “Epiphany” in your country?   http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2412379