Published: Friday, August 24, 2012, 12:01 a.m.

He lives independently in a tidy Mukilteo condo, drives and still works a little.

His trim middle would put quite a few 20-somethings to shame.

"I see a lot of people younger than me with one foot in the grave," Peterson said.

His secret: exercise. In particular, he credits a fitness class he regularly attends at the Carl Gipson Senior Center in Everett.

It's called Enhance Fitness, and it blends low-impact aerobics, strength training, flexibility, balance and what instructor Vicki Cairns describes as "silliness."

What she means is her students have fun. They crack jokes, trade stories and support each other when times get tough.

The class is as much a social club as a workout. Many of those who show up end the class with a cup of coffee and conversation.

"It's physical health and mental health," Cairns said.

The class was developed by Senior Services of Seattle along with the University of Washington and Group Health Cooperative in the mid-1990s.

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Seniors credit their vitality to fitness class

WASHINGTON (AP) Mitt Romneys success in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans personal information including their purchasing history and church attendance to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned.

For the data-mining project, the Republican candidate has quietly employed since at least June a little-known but successful analytics firm that previously performed marketing work for a colleague tied to Bain & Co., the management-consulting firm that Romney once led.

The head of Buxton Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, chief executive Tom Buxton, confirmed to the AP his companys efforts to help Romney identify rich and previously untapped Republican donors across the country. The Romney campaign declined to discuss on the record its work with Buxton or the projects overall success.

The project shows that the same strategies corporations use to influence the way we shop and think are now being used to influence presidential elections. The same personal information that we give away, often unwittingly when we swipe our credit cards or log into Facebook, is now being collected by the people who might one day occupy the White House.

There are no records of payments to Buxton from Romneys campaign, the Republican National Committee or a joint fundraising committee. Under federal law, companies cannot use corporate money or resources, such as proprietary data analysis, for in-kind contributions to campaigns.

The effort by Romney appears to be the first example of a political campaign using such extensive data analysis. President Barack Obamas re-election campaign has long been known as data-savvy, but Romneys project appears to take a page from the Fortune 500 business world and dig deeper into available consumer data.

Buxton said hes working for the Romney campaign because he wants to be on the winning team.

He once worked with a former Romney business partner to provide insights, for example, about where Petco should open a new pet-supply store to maximize profits. In addition to Buxton, the data-mining project was described to the AP by a Romney fundraiser who spoke on condition of anonymity because the fundraiser did not want to face repercussions for describing internal campaign processes.

Businesses use those kinds of analytics firms to answer key questions for clients, such as where to build a retail store or where to mail pamphlets touting a new product. The analysis doesnt directly bring in campaign contributions, but it generates the equivalent of sales leads for Romneys campaign.

The project relies upon a sophisticated analysis by powerful computers of thousands of commercially available, expensive databases that are lawfully bought and sold behind the scenes by corporations, including details about credit accounts, families and children, voter registrations, charitable contributions, property tax records and survey responses. It combines marketing data with what is known in this specialized industry as psychographic information about Americans.

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Romney mines personal data to target donors

Special greeting: Fields Memorial School in Bozrah will greet students on Wednesday with a special morning welcome by principal Karen Scopino on the schools playground.

Student success plans: Teachers in sixth through eighth grades will implement state-mandated student success plans this year. All students in the state in grades 6-12 now must have a student success plan to assist them in being career and college ready. The plans help students explore careers, set goals for academic and personal growth, create and compile samples of best work from the middle and high school years and provide opportunities for students to reflect on what they are doing well and on areas that need improvement. Middle school parents will receive additional information this fall.

School goals: The school will continue with a safety/school climate goal and an academic goal and is adding a technology goal, Scopino said. We now have smart board technology available in kindergarten and first grade as well as in the technology laboratory, she said. One of our priorities this year is to continue to develop and enrich our technology and our website for families and staff. The schools website, http://www.fmsbozrah.org, is updated frequently and contains much information for students and families.

Nutrition news: Nutrition guidelines have changed and the school will distribute a brochure with important nutritional information for parents. The school encourages parents to develop a list of nutritious snacks and lunches that their child will enjoy bringing to school.

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Back to school: Technology goals, student success plans coming in Bozrah

WASHINGTONMitt Romney's success in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans' personal information -- including their purchasing history and church attendance -- to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned.

For the data-mining project, the Republican candidate has quietly employed since at least June a little-known but successful analytics firm that previously performed marketing work for a colleague tied to Bain & Co., the management-consulting firm that Romney once led.

The head of Buxton Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, chief executive Tom Buxton, confirmed to the AP his company's efforts to help Romney identify rich and previously untapped Republican donors across the country. The Romney campaign declined to discuss on the record its work with Buxton or the project's overall success.

The project shows that the same strategies corporations use to influence the way we shop and think are now being used to influence presidential elections. The same personal information that we give away, often unwittingly when we swipe our credit cards or log into Facebook, is now being collected by the people who might one day occupy the White House.

There are no records of payments to Buxton from Romney's campaign, the Republican National Committee or a joint fundraising committee. Under federal law, companies cannot use corporate money or resources, such as proprietary data analysis, for in-kind contributions to campaigns.

Buxton said he's working for the Romney campaign because he wants "to be on the winning team."

He once worked with a former Romney business partner to provide insights, for example, about where Petco should open a new pet-supply store to maximize profits. In addition to Buxton, the data-mining project was described to the AP by a Romney fundraiser who spoke on condition of anonymity because the fundraiser did not want to face repercussions for describing internal campaign processes.

Businesses use those kinds of analytics firms to answer key questions for clients, such as where to build a retail store or where to mail pamphlets touting a new product. The analysis doesn't directly bring in campaign contributions, but it generates the equivalent of sales leads for Romney's campaign.

The project relies upon a sophisticated analysis by powerful computers of thousands of commercially available, expensive databases that are lawfully bought and sold behind the scenes by corporations, including details about credit accounts, families and children, voter registrations, charitable contributions, property tax records and survey responses. It combines marketing data with what is known in this specialized industry as psychographic information about Americans.

The effort by Romney appears to be the first example of a political campaign using such extensive data analysis.

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AP Exclusive: Romney uses secretive data-mining

Assist-assassin Wayne Routledge has vowed to keep putting the success of the team before his own individual glory as the Swans prepare to face West Ham United at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday (12.45pm).

Routledge provided the assists for two of Swanseas five goals at QPR last Saturday, plus a major role in Michus opener, as the Swans recorded an impressive 5-0 victory on the opening day of the new Barclays Premier League campaign.

Despite limited starts last season, Routledge still finished the campaign with the highest number of assists throughout the squad with nine.

It would be nice to score a few goals this season, but Im happy to keep making them for others, explained Routledge. Thats part of my job.

I had to be patient last season, so it was nice to get a start at Loftus Road and for the team to win 5-0 on the opening day. That doesnt happen too often.

It was great to win the first game; put in a good performance and come away with the three points, which is the most important.

Now weve got to carry that on against West Ham on Saturday. The boys are up for it.

Routledge, like fellow wide-man Nathan Dyer, were employed in a new role by boss Michael Laudrup who prefers his wingers to work inside a lot more rather than hug the touchline like last season.

I have been used to playing wide on the touchline my whole career, added Routledge. Coming inside opens up a whole new game and its something Ive got to get used to.

Ive got to adapt my game to different things, but thats what happens when a new manager comes in. Its a bit like going into the unknown where you have to get to know the manager and new ways. You have to adapt and aim to become a better team.

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Team glory more important than personal success for Swans winger

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire -08/24/12)- The Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., have reviewed a recent change to Missouri Supreme Court laws involving personal injury damages, and are very interested in this development, as it may influence other tort reform efforts taking place across the country.

The Missouri Supreme Court recently lifted a cap on the amount of damage victims of medical malpractice could receive (Case: No. SC91867, Appeal from the Circuit Court of Greene County Honorable Dan J. Conklin, Judge). This decision has the potential to dramatically affect the future of victims and the medical professionals accountable for such mistakes. The vote to overturn the cap took place on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 after an appeal came through from a recent verdict pertaining to a child born with brain damage.

When Deborah Watts' son showed signs of brain damage after a medical professional repeatedly put off medical treatment, she filed a lawsuit against the hospital. A jury determined that her losses totaled $3.37 million for medical damages and $1.45 million for non-economic damages. However, the cap forced the court to reduce her non-economic damages to $350,000. After filing an appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court decided that the cap violated Ms. Watts' right to trial by jury and removed the limit.

In the months following this decision, many other states may also review laws or potential laws that place similar limits on personal injury damages. Tort reform is a popular but controversial issue in the United States, and when caps such as this are overturned, the effects can be far-reaching. The legal team at Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., is dedicated to helping clients pursue the full amount of compensation they need following an accident or injury, and to that end, are hopeful that this decision will influence other states to not impose restricting caps on medical malpractice damages.

About the Firm

Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., is a personal injury law firm based in Pennsylvania, with offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. To learn more about the services they offer, contact the team today at 215-238-1130.

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Missouri Officials Overturn Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages

Two months ago, to take a course from the University of Pennsylvania's medical school, you needed to excel at a grueling admissions test and pray you were one of the few who got accepted - not to mention pay tuition once you got there.

Now you can stumble out of bed halfway around the world and still catch courses taught by Penn medical professors.

All for free, at the moment.

Both the medical school and the university are amping up their participation in the online education game. Fifteen Penn professors are now signed up to offer free classes over the online learning platform Coursera (www.coursera.org), including seven from the Perelman School of Medicine.

One is bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, whose just-completed Health Policy and the Affordable Care Act class attracted more than 30,000 students - about 5,000 more than the Penn student body.

Emanuel's class is being outdrawn by Wharton School professor Kevin Werbach's Gamification, which starts Aug. 27 and will apply game-design techniques to business problems. Its 50,000 sign-ups top the Penn offerings so far.

Last month, Penn joined with the California Institute of Technology to invest $3.7 million in Coursera, which now offers 117 free courses from 16 official partners, including Stanford, Duke, and Princeton Universities. The University of California Berkeley and two Indian colleges also offer classes on Coursera but are not yet official partners.

The online courses mimic aspects of a traditional experience by having not only video lectures, but also strict class start and end dates, homework assignments, interactive quizzes, and discussion boards for students.

"Coursera feels like a good partner for us," said Deirdre Woods, interim executive director of Penn's Open Learning Initiative, which is for now primarily devoted to the Coursera project. "Penn is about rigor . . . and [Coursera's] philosophy was very much in line with that."

Of Penn's 16 online courses, two are currently in session and more will start up in the next several months.

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Penn amps up role in Coursera online-education effort

The Chinese company is rumored to be working on a Windows RT convertible laptop, and now it says the Yoga is on the way.

Namaste! Lenovo says the IdeaPad Yoga, its folding, reversible tablet/laptop hybrid running Windows 8, is coming soon.

The company this morning tweeted a shot of the device -- which we first saw at CES in January -- along with the simple message "It won't be long now."

The tease comes on the heels of rumors that the Chinese company is developing a convertible laptop/tablet that will run Windows RT, a more limited version of Windows 8 designed for ARM-based devices.

The Yoga comes with a keyboard that folds around almost 360 degrees to hide and transform itself into a tablet. If the Yoga and the mysterious convertible Windows RT tablet are one and the same, it would likely compete directly with Microsoft's own Surface tablets.

While the Surface can dock with a keyboard to make the transition from tablet to laptop, the real question is, can it do a sun salutation?

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Lenovo teases Windows 8 reversible Yoga tablet/laptop

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Santosh Maknikar leads yoga class at Salt Lake's Krishna Temple, Monday, July 16, 2012.

Health Classes are structured for those new to yoga and advanced practitioners alike.

The word seva means giving selflessly to help other living beings. Its more than just a word to Santosh Maknikar, founder of Yoga For People, who built the Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest around the concept.

"We wanted to make it available for everyone," Maknikar said, "affordable for everyone to explore all types of yoga."

Helping people yoga style

The Utah-based Yoga For People teaches yoga free in homeless shelters, prisons, schools and libraries in Salt Lake City and Park City. Santosh Maknikar founded the nonprofit in 2011 with the goal of making the healthful benefits of yoga accessible.

When I moved to the United States, I was surprised to see how many more people go to yoga classes in the U.S. than in India, said Maknikar, who is from Latur, India. But I was also surprised at the high cost of these classes.

Thats when he decided to make yoga available to people who had financial or health limitations.

In June, Yoga For People provided its 300th free class in just eight months. The nonprofit is always seeking to expand its volunteer base.

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Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest wants to make you feel good

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53SdUXmMCNs

23-08-2012 06:46 Health and Fitness Event. Have you considered starting a small business where you work at home? I along with 6000+ entrepreneurs attended a network marketing training in Phoenix AZ. Visit website listed above and fill in your contact information to find out more. For more pictures and story visit Doris Hullett's

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Health and Fitness Event - Doris Hullett - Video