PLWBlogSpot2

WASHINGTON (AP) — The cost of being uninsured in America is going up significantly next year for millions of people. It's the first year all taxpayers have to report to the Internal Revenue Service whether they had health insurance for the previous year, as required under President Barack Obama's law. Those who were uninsured face fines, unless they qualify for one of about 30 exemptions, most of which involve financial hardships.Single persons could be fined $300 payable to the IRS.

Hope Everyone Will Have A Happy And Prosperous New Year

Link below are real photos taken by professionals that most visitors are unable to capture with their cameras. The photos were received in an email, too good to delete, should be shared with others. They are posted here for people to see and enjoy. http://www.humfer.net/gcanyon/index.html#top

Streaming and your Mbps Speed With Netflix and Hulu For me the two most important factors that make Netflix a better choice are the higher stream quality and content availability on devices. Netflix's best generally available stream of 3.8 Mbps is better than Hulu's 3.2 Mbps. Netflix has an even higher stream available but you must be with one of a select few ISPs to get it. Every Netflix streaming title is available to every Netflix device. A significant portion of Hulu's content is still only available to view via the website. That is very annoying. 

He never goes anywhere without it The BlackBerry  Canada 's entry into the cell & internet Market has had many changes in the last few years mostly to the detriment of the company.  Die hards like their old models which made their name on security. President  Obama still has one.  Blackberry also pioneered the QWERTY system. Much copied by the industry. Basically like your old typewriter layout. With Apple coming out with new models and i innovations each year left BlackBerry in the dust. A few changes in CEO's has not improved their sales. Cheers.PeterL 

Power companies: Hey, Florida, remember when we said we wanted to help customers save energy by encouraging rooftop solar panels? Florida: Sure do. And some homes are more energy-efficient now. Congratulations! -------------------------------------------------- Power companies: Yeah, well, that's costing us a boatload And its bad for business. Wall Street wants us to increase demand, not reduce it. We'd like for you to go ahead and help us kill those efficiency programs. Florida: No problem.' We're only the third-biggest electricity user in the country. What do we need to save power for? ------------------------------------------------------ Hard as it is to believe. Florida has managed to launch an even more irresponsible energy policy than it had in the first place. We're talking an astronomical hosing of power customers. How so? Here's what you need to know: Duke Energy Florida (the largest provider in Central Florida) planned to cons

Several reports from usually reliable Windows watchers say Microsoft is poised to unveil Windows 9 at the end of September. The new OS will mark the return of the Start menu, the ability to run Metro apps inside desktop windows, and other PC-friendly tweaks. Whether you love or hate Windows 8, you can't argue that Microsoft's Live Tile-infused operating system has been divisive, to say the least. The changes Microsoft instituted to transform its desktop operating system into something more mobile focused were downright shocking to long-time Windows users. After October 31, you won't be able to buy a new PC without Windows 8, and there will be no hope on the horizon for desktop diehards with a grudge against the OS unless Microsoft announces a more PC-friendly Windows 9 first.

Think before you buy  The now-closed Rolling Hills Golf Club pictured Above, a retention pond at the 14th hole Is green with algae at the course In Longwood. Many homeowners find the courses they paid a premium to live on are shutting down. No Resident expects to be living next to a weedy scrubland lot or a mixed-use development in the next few years? According to the National Golf Foundation, there were 15,516 "golf facilities" across the country as of Jan. 1. A facility could be a single course or a complex containing multiple courses. And Florida leads the nation, with 1,048 as of the beginning of this year. The falling number of courses aligns with a precipitous drop in the number of golfers, from 30 million in 2005, to 25.3 million in 2012, the latest figures available. And those aren't the only dwindling numbers affecting the sport TV ratings and sales of golf equipment are also down. There are enough theories about what's behind the dec

With Winn Dixie Gas incentives when you  buy groceries we were able to save another $.45 a gallon  so that's $2.21 or $.55 a litre in Canada. I think we payed about $1.30 a  litre when we last filled up.

Auslogics Disk De=Frag Program

   How long it really takes to burn your food off Hold that order! Before you take a sip of that large chocolate milkshake, if you knew you'd have to put in a 16 km walk to burn off the calories, would you still indulge? And chew on this: Would you gobble down that donut if you had to walk 3.2 km to burn off the calories? Seems that seeing calorie counts don't phase us but actually translating that into exercise can turn a few stomachs. Restaurant goers are likely to make healthier food choices if mileage is put on the menu and they know the amount of exercise it takes to lose what they consume. When faced with a food-ordering decision such as that at a fast food restaurant or cafeteria line, we believe physical activity food labelling may nudge people to select foods with fewer calories. It may have the added benefit of encouraging physical activity Face it, eating out often ends up with nutritional caution being thrown to the wind and excess calories being consu

  Canada's hospitals are not for rich foreign patients, evidently we have a loophole in our vaunted Ontario Health Care System The issue snuck up doctors, nurses and therapists. Without consulting them, hospital executives began marketing expensive medical procedures to international patients. Unlike Ontarians, they paid full price. But they were whisked to the front of the line, while OHIP patients waited. At first, the front-line health workers thought Canada was following its humanitarian tradition. But they soon realized these patients were not needy. They were being admitted in some cases solicited to generate revenue. One of the first to sound the alarm was Pierre La-plante, a registered nurse in the orthopedic wing of Toronto Western Hospital. In spring of 2012, he and his colleagues were dislodged from their nurses lounge to accomodate an influx of Libyan patients. The staff was told they were injured in the civil war in that country. The Libyan government had

  THE SADDEST PART OF THIS TERRORIST ATTACK And so Marcus Cirillo, dressed in a suit with a poppy pinned to his lapel, donned the hat just like his dad's, then bravely marched through Hamilton's streets as he, and the country now watching, said goodbye Tuesday. Up ahead, soldiers in a sombre procession walked alongside the flag-draped casket, thousands looking on. Marcus watched their slow, deliberate steps, then began taking his own, carefully lifting one foot at a time, mimicking the march.

Unquestionably, there has been a rise in the number of religious schools in the Islamic world, and particularly of schools dominated by the more fundamentalist Deobandi, Wahhabi, and Salafi strains of Islam. Pakistan reported that between Independence in 1947 and 2001, the number of religiously based madrassas increased from 245 to 6,870. The schools are often funded by Saudi Arabia. A few schools have produced militants, especially in Pakistan, where the government in the 1980s actively supported the formation of Islamic militias to fight in Kashmir and Afghanistan. While the Saudi state is careful not to directly fund terrorist groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS, it does directly support the madrassas (religious schools) and conservative clerics that espouse the puritanical interpretations of Islam that form the basis of belief for these terrorist groups. Also, individual members of the Saudi royal family have provided support to these groups, although not in an official state c

  Was Zehaf-Bibeau known to the security services, as some reports suggested? Was he among the 90 or so individuals that the RCMP says it has been keeping under surveillance in connection with radical jihadist groups? What went wrong with Parliament's security screen that allowed a man wielding a rifle to first fire the fatal  shots at the cenotaph killing a unarmed reservist and then run across the wide lawn in front of Parliament, burst through the checkpoint at the entrance and penetrate deeply into the building? Parliament Hill is patrolled by security officers and the guards at the entrance of the building are armed. Yet it took the sergeant-at-arms himself to put down the intruder with his own weapon. Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms, is a highly respected RCMP veteran who has earned the gratitude of MPs for personally ending die threat to their lives. It will be difficult in the coming days and months to find the proper balance between a heightened concern fo

Threat Name 1. Adware.BrowseFox/Variant.Process 2. Adware.Zugo.Toolbar 3. Ask Toolbar 4. WeatherBug 5. SearchNewTab 6. CostMin 7. ContinueToSave 8. Baidu PC Faster 9. MySearchDial 10. Aartemis Browser Protector 11. AwesomeHP 12. PUP.bProtector 13. PUP.InstallCore/Variant.Process 14. Trojan.Agent/Gen-DarkKomet.Process 15. Trojan.Agent/Gen-Downloader.Process 16. SearchProtect 17. Babylon Toolbar 18. Trojan.Agent/Gen-Sisron.Process 19. PUP.TrustMediaViewer/Variant.Process 20. Trojan.Agent/Gen-Gulf.Process 21. Trojan.Agent/Gen-Suspicious.Process 22. PUP.Amonetize/Variant.Process 23. PUP.BabylonToolbar.Process 24. Wajam 25. DealPly 

  Some of the colourful trees in our residential area. Unlike some of Canada's Provinces colour abounds here. One former Northern Ontario email. Hi:  I was thinking of North Bay last Tues,   as I drove to Prince George and back to Kamloops.   The trees that turned were only yellow ... saw  one little red bush.  I was thinking if I had been driving in Northern  Ontario the view would be  much more colourful and pretty.   Such is life in B.C. .... can't have everything.   

  Netflix lauded for CRTC spat Re Netflix refuses CRTC demand for confidential data, Sept. 23/2014 Wow! Finally a nice, brutal fight developing over Canada's tight-fisted broadcasting regulations. Netflix has responded to the CRTC's bullying tactics of last week with a forceful uppercut to chairman Jean-Pierre Blais' unenforceable bluff. Blais referred to an "exemption order" that controls Netflix's activities in Canada. Exemption from what? Netflix is clearly exempt from Canadian laws (and "orders") because it does not live in Canada. Will Canada (or the CRTC) take measures to control the Internet? Our Prime Minister says no. Many witnesses to last week's hearings were duly impressed by the forceful presentation by Netflix representative, Corie Wright, on behalf of the very popular American program distributor. She never hesitated to praise a free-enterprise system of TV that has the ability to please customers without the interfer

  There are 4 free ware softwares that you should download and use regularly - Glary utilities - SuperAntiSpyware - Auslogics  Disk Defragement - Malwarebytes The only downside you will be nagged to buy the super-dooper-pooper rmust have Pro or New Editions. Ignore these requests by just deleting the notifications. They all want $30/$50 so save yourself some $$$, the freebies work just as well.

  The average household spends $185 a month on cable, land lines, Internet and cellphones, according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commissioin. The over-the-air crowd is about 8 per cent of the Canadian viewing audience, according to an estimate by Rogers Communications. They want to choose how they get their entertainment and want to be able to combine it with the web-based services. Ifs partly about cost and partly about freedom of choice. "It would mean a million Canadians would lose access to free TV." What is OTA? Over-the-air television is the way TV was before cable. Since the 1950s, broadcasters have sent signals over the air, which can be picked up by antennas. Is it legal? Absolutely. It's as legal as listening to a radio station in your car or at home. Is it expensive? No. All you need is an antenna and coaxial cable. Older TVs may require a box to convert the high-definition signal. Newer TVs can receive it directly. Is the s

"One More Thing"  Apple Watch, a customized smartwatch that  has a strong  health focus, and which also has the ability to work with many  -party apps. The Apple Watch will need to be synced with an iPhone — working  all models  from iPhone 5 up, a potential market of more than 200 million. The  piece of  design innovation is called the digital crown, a souped-up version of  the traditional  dial on the side of watch. In Apple's case, that part helps navigation  by allowing users to zoom in and out of applications. The company said prices for the watch will start at $349 (US.), and  it will be  released in early 2016. The watch will have: -A Sapphire retina display. -Force Touch, which can tell the difference between a light tap and  touch and  will serve as another control method for apps. -voice assistant, Siri, will also be integrated, enabling voice  . -Replies, built-in artificial intelligence that can analyze messag

NATO nations find themselves again staring down an old and familiar foe. Yet decades of detente have left NATO ill-prepared to counter Russian aggression, the very threat it was created to face. In the thawing of the Cold War, members of the military alliance dropped their guard, cut defence budgets and along the way lost their readiness, even their willingness, to confront their one-time nemesis. In recent months, experts have warned that the NATO of 2014 is poorly prepared to counter Russian military moves and that urgent action is needed. Over the last five years, Russia has boosted its defence spending by 50 per cent while NATO nations have cut their military budgets by 20 per cent, even up to 40 per cent, according to NATO. Canada has been part of that trend. After years of increases, the defence budget was cut between 2011 and 2014 as part of the government's overall belt-tightening. According to a briefing document prepared for Defence Minister Hob Nicholson

The president has given J-SOC the rare authority to select individuals for its kill list — and then to kill, rather than capture, them. Critics charge that this individual man-hunting mission amounts to assassination, a practice prohibited by U.S. law. J-SOC’s list is not usually coordinated with the CIA, which maintains a similar but shorter roster of names. J-SOC answers to the Presedential Office only.  When Obama came into office, he cottoned to the organization immediately. (It didn’t hurt that his CIA director, Leon E. Panetta, has a son who, as a naval reservist, had deployed with J-SOC.) Soon Obama was using J-SOC even more than his predecessor. In 2010, for example, he secretly directed J-SOC troops to Yemen to kill the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Canada's creaky broadcast regulator is edging towards giving Canadians more choice in what TV channels they watch, and how they pay for it. Ifs proposing that cable and satellite providers be required to offer consumers a fairly cheap basic service, and then let them choose individual channels in a so-called "pick and pay" model. Those changes are welcome, as far as they go. TV fees have become one of the biggest bills most consumers face each month. And few things irk consumers as much as being forced to shell out for a pack of channels they don't want in order to get the few they do. So the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is on the right track by pushing more choice and greater flexibility. That kind of change can't come soon enough. The CRTC proposes a "skinny basic" package of local Canadian channels, with the price capped at $20 to $30 a month. On top of that, customers of Bell, Rogers and other pr

The RCMP and CSIS estimate as many as 100 Canadians are in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East fighting for or otherwise supporting terrorist groups. What happens when these terrorists want to come back to the country where they were born? In this country, the Harper government — with, it should be noted, the support of the Liberals — passed a new law in 2013 aimed at dealing with the kind of bad guys in the Foley video. The Combating Terrorism Act made it illegal to go overseas to commit acts of terrorism, and even made it illegal to plan to do so. That means the homecoming for these terrorists will be keys to a jail cell. Harper's Conservatives are willing to take the gamble that the courts wll uphold their view. And in the meantime, it will at least delay the return of some of these Canadian jihadis

No Meat Vegetable Soup - Cooking time 3 hrs.- alkaline friendly -large pot - we use a dutch oven -6 cups water -4 level tablespoons of chicken soup base -to taste - basil,worcester, tabasco,seasoned salt,pepper -turnip,baby carrots,green beans,sweet potatoe,white potatoe, celery, mushrooms,cabbage,kale(1/5 of a head) spanish   onion,celery, all cut in 1 inch pieces. Kale cut in strips, too   much of this leafy vegetable will produce a strong taste.We  divide the kale head into 5 parts and freeze 4 of them for future  soup. SuperMarket kale heads vary - ours are particullary large. For the first hour -1 handfull each brown rice,wild rice,barley,condiments. I have  big hands so judge accordingly.Next to go in turnip,sweet  potatoe,celery,carrots,,kale, to start - bring to a boil,turn down  heat to simmer for about a hr. For the second hour Add cabbage,white potatoe, and onion cut in strips, and  mushrooms. green beans, barely simmer - we use a

Samsung Text .(snb) to .jpg to Win7 text. 500,000 Canadians visit Florida every year. TheJOLT Act (Jobs Originated through Launching Travel), would allow Canadian retirees to spend up to eight months, or 240 days, each year in the U.S. without a visa. That's almost two months longer than the current 182-day annual limit. The bad news is that snowbirds who spend that long in the U.S. may be required to pay U.S. taxes."It looks like a great deal. I can be in Palm Springs for 240 days., but they didn't tell you that it comes with a very high tax cost," Roy Berg, international tax lawyer at Moodys Gartner Tax Law in Calgary, said in an interview.The changes, part of a U.S. immigration reform bill introduced in the Senate on April 15, are likely to become law, but it is not clear when they would effect Snowbird travel. ********************************************* To convert Samsung text to Notepad in Win 7  - Take snapshot of Tablet  selected .snb

Printscreen a free software from Gadwin is something you  can use. How often have you run across a Web based picture that you would like to keep. Printscreen can do this for you . Make up your own backgrounds for your computer; real easy with Printscreen.

Ernst Mauch designed some of the world's most lethal weapons, including the one that reportedly killed Osama bin Laden. A state regulator once called him a "rock star" in the industry. Mauch's solution, the iPl, can be personalized so it only fires if the gun's rightful owner is wearing a special watch connected wirelessly to the weapon . Law Officers, some branches of the military, security rent a cop must be overjoyed at this new invention. NRA backed Second Amendment advocates, fearing the technology will be mandated, launched angry protests this year against stores in Maryland and California that tried to sell it. The industry that once revered him now looks at him with suspicion. Anyone can make a gun or a pistol. But if the potential is here to make it safer, we have to do it. We absolutely must. His contacts at the Army Research Laboratory back him up. "He has come up with a design thafs reliable, it provides safety, and it provid

One reason loyalty programs collect so much information is to  predict which items customers might buy, a privacy official says. Hyper-targeted advertising — Ads are tailored based on  knowledge about you and your buying behavior. Coupons can  be sent to your smartphone to anticipate your stored shopping  patterns.  Social media — Google searches, Face-book posts  and Twitter messages. Face-book has the most comprehensive  database ever gathered on social behavior. It gives insights into  how ideas or trends spread, or the extent to which future actions  are influenced by communications with friends.

Families pay more for taxes than basics A new study says the average Canadian family was spending  more on taxes than on food, shelter and clothing combined. The Fraser Institute study says that in 2013, the average  Canadian family earned $77,381 and paid $32,369 in total taxes  which adds up to 42% of income. By comparison, in 1961 the average family earned about $5,000  and spent 56.5 per cent of its income on food, shelter and  clothing, while $1,675 went to taxes (33.5 per cent). The study says the total tax bill represents both visible and  hidden taxes paid to the federal, provincial and local  governments. This includes income taxes, payroll taxes, health  taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, fuel taxes, vehicle taxes,  import taxes and alcohol and tobacco taxes. The think-tank says that since 1961, the average Canadian  family's total tax bill has increased by 1,832 per cent, moving  past increases in shelter costs 0,375 per cent), c

Companies tend to give the best deals to new customers because getting them in the door offers a chance to sell more stuff. Existing customers often think they get the best deal, but don't as a telling Bank of Canada study of mortgage practices revealed. Who wouldn't jump at a two-for-one sale at their favourite store? Thafs 50 per cent off each item. But how many would fight to reduce annual fees on investments from 2 per cent a year to 1 per cent? We know it makes a difference, but the number seems so small. If you invest $6,000 a year for 40 years in a registered retirement savings plan, earn 5 per cent and pay a 2-per-cent fee, you'll have $435,000. If you were only paying 1-per-cent, you'll have $606,000. There are simple ways to stop doing dumb things with your money. Hie first step, is to reflect on past decisions to identify where you can change your behaviour. The goal isn't to make a perfect decision, but do the best you can and move f

I worked as a shift worker for 38 years. Mortality risk was greater for men. the authors said. It has been suggested lack of sleep or poor sleep quality may worsen insulin resistance.They said those working shift work should keep a eye on their health and diabetes related symptoms. British Medical lour rial's Occupation and Environmental Medicine puhlisher the study online. We worrked midnight to 8:00 AM for 5 days, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM 5 days, 4:00 PM to midnight, 5 days.15 days straight and then 10 days off. You  never get used to the midnight shift, everything is upside down. You can only try to eat at  approximate same time. Your sleep cycle is completely out of whack. It takes most of your time off to try and get regulated again. Then the "cycle" starts again. I did work some 12 hr. shits when we were commisioning the new unit installs at 4 stations on the Madawaska River, then I had only 1 day off a month as there were only 2 opera

All is not lost. You have 90 days to restore it. Follow this procedure and you can restore everything as Google will make a .zip backup. THAT'S IT

If you've ever had a burning sensation in the middle of your  chest that works its way up toward your throat, then you're  all too  familiar with heartburn. Also called acid indigestion,  heartburn is  extremely common.  Estimates are that 60 million Americans suffer from  heartburn  at least once a month. For many people it's an  occasional nuisance.  For others, it's a daily misery that makes  eating  and sleeping difficult.  Left untreated, it can lead to serious complications. Everybody experiences heartburn differently. Besides  that  painful burning sensation, it might feel like food is coming back into your  mouth, or you might have a bitter taste in the back  of your throat.  Often, the discomfort gets worse when you bend over or lie  down, Elevate  your head with a folded old blanket under  your mattress raising the head.  Heartburn strikes when stomach acid flows up  into your  esophagus, the tube that connects your