Marty Acuff, 64, has been taking Zumba for the past year at the Carter Senior Center. She said the dancing aerobics class fits nicely into her schedule, which also includes strengthening and cardio fitness classes five days a week.

"It's been a godsend for me," said Acuff, a diabetic. "I found it was helping me with my joints and weight."

The Strawberry Plains woman has lost 33 pounds.

"If I don't exercise I know it, and I miss it," she said. On a recent Monday at the Carter Senior Center, she was prepared to leave her exercise class a few minutes early so she could change into her bathing suit to go to a water Zumba class at another location.

When it comes to the Baby Boom generation, it's not just bingo and card games at today's senior centers.

Hemal Tailor, director of senior services for Knox County, said the emphasis is now on exercise and health. "We have belly dancing, pi-yo and ballroom dancing," Tailor said. "The active programs are a lot more popular."

Seniors are no longer content to stay home.

"Job fairs are still very popular," Tailor said. "They want to be a continued presence in our community."

The centers also offer things like tai chi and line dancing and have movie and book clubs.

"They're always talking about the latest best-selling novel," she said. "They know what they want. And they'll tell you exactly what they're thinking. There's no holding back with them whatsoever."

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Active boomers redefine senior centers

Kolkata, July 8 : Former Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev said Sachin Tendulkar showed hard work and dedication that helped him shape up a successful career.

He visited Kolkata on Sunday for the annual award ceremony of a coaching institute.

Aakash Institute, which prepares students for medical and engineering entrance examinations, held its annual function on Sunday, where Kapil was invited as a chief guest.

The cricketer motivated the students and shared his success story with them.

Kapil urged the students to have faith in them to be successful in life.

You should always have faith in yourself. If you have faith in yourself you can easily achieve what in want in life, said Kapil. At the same time one should show his hard work and dedication towards his goal.

Citing the example of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, he said: Both of them joined Indian cricket team almost at the same time. Both of them were extremely talented. But, Sachin showed his hard work and dedication and the other one failed to do so.

Kapil urged parents to support their children to follow their dreams.

You must have a dream and should always follow it, he told students.

Talking about hard times in life, Kapil said: We should be thankful to god that we have such a wonderful life. Its true that in every match I cant score a century but at the same time everyday it cant be a zero.

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Sachin showed hard work: Kapil Dev

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the St. Louis Center. The grant will be used to expand the St. Louis Centers Fitness for Life program. Fitness for Life will provide adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in the 5 Healthy Towns (Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Grass Lake and Stockbridge) opportunities to be physically active. Participants will engage in activities that improve muscle strength, aerobic endurance, flexibility, motor ability and body composition.

"The St. Louis Center residents have responded incredibly well to our Fitness for Life Program, from losing up to 50 lbs to learning to ride a bike. said Caitlin Deis, St. Louis Center fitness specialist. We want to invite residents in the 5 Healthy Towns with intellectual and developmental disabilities to benefit from Fitness for Life."

The St. Louis Center will host an informational meeting about the program from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, September 5. The St. Louis Center is located at 16195 Old US-12 in Chelsea. For more information about Fitness for Life, please contact Caitlin at 734-475-8430.

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation governed by a volunteer board of directors. The foundation serves the populations included in the school districts of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester and Stockbridge. The CWF will grant funds for projects dedicated to creating a culture of wellness and sustainable improvements in health. For more information, contact Matt Pegouskie, program and community resource manager, at 734-433-4599 or visit 5healthytowns.org.

"The St. Louis Center residents have responded incredibly well to our Fitness for Life Program, from losing up to 50 lbs to learning to ride a bike. said Caitlin Deis, St. Louis Center fitness specialist. We want to invite residents in the 5 Healthy Towns with intellectual and developmental disabilities to benefit from Fitness for Life."

The St. Louis Center will host an informational meeting about the program from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, September 5. The St. Louis Center is located at 16195 Old US-12 in Chelsea. For more information about Fitness for Life, please contact Caitlin at 734-475-8430.

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation governed by a volunteer board of directors. The foundation serves the populations included in the school districts of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester and Stockbridge. The CWF will grant funds for projects dedicated to creating a culture of wellness and sustainable improvements in health. For more information, contact Matt Pegouskie, program and community resource manager, at 734-433-4599 or visit 5healthytowns.org.

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MANCHESTER: Chelsea Area Wellness Foundation gives $10,000 to St. Louis Center to expand Fitness for Life

When catching up with friends, turning on the television or flicking through a magazine, its very clear and undeniable that sex is a topic that smothers us.

Being part of the gay community generally magnifies sex and can be overwhelming when it is easily accessible and forms part of our identity.

Feeling sexy and worthy is not always easy for everyone and the perception that gay men have a heightened sex life is once again a generalisation that can affect the daily lives of men who just dont see it as a priority.

Labels are used to identify things and as humans, being labelled as gay or straight seems to automatically stamp us with a whole list of generalisations that may or may not be true to your character or own identity.

Sex just may not be your thing and thats ok

The struggle to feel worthy and good enough is challenging for many of us, let alone having to conform to a label that simply just may not apply to you.

We cant deny there is a large perception that gay men are focused on sex and want it whenever and wherever they can.

Its too easy to scroll open your phone to find somebody in your area who is looking to share a sexual experience.

Of course this does not apply to all gay men, nor is there anything wrong with men who choose to have a highly active sex life, but it can become a very big problem for gay men like myself who doesnt have a big desire to make sex a part of my weekly routine.

This does not mean Im an alien from out of space, who lives in a bubble without any human emotion or feelings, but fitting into a society where sex is relevant and does form part of a relationship with a loved one, I do find it to be a struggle. It makes me feel anxious, afraid of ridicule and rejection.

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Sex / Health / Fitness: Not that sexual

Anytime Fitness must operate in line with the towns regulation health clubs, a Plymouth Superior Court judge has ruled.

That decision will be appealed, according to Rob Kraus, attorney for Anytime Fitness owner Jake Pylant.

At issue is the towns requirement that a staff member trained in the use of an automatic external defibrillator must be on duty at health clubs in town during business hours, or 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the case of Anytime Fitness. The gym is located at 187 Summer St.

While he respects the judges decision that the towns bylaw is valid and enforceable, he disagrees, Kraus said. In challenging the towns bylaw, he said state law should apply.

State lawmakers created a law that provides for access to convenient, affordable fitness clubs like Anytime Fitness, he said. Its disappointing the health board saw fit to adopt a more stringent regulation.

Anytime Fitness and Pylant, a franchisee, sued the town in May 2011, claiming that the Board of Healths regulation was unenforceable because it conflicted with an act of the Legislature. State law says the AED requirement only applies when staff is on duty during business hours.

Associate Justice Robert Cosgrove disagreed that there was a conflict. In his decision he wrote, But no comparable inference fairly arises that the Legislature intended to prohibit a health board from imposing more extensive requirements; again, had the Legislature intended such a result, it simply could have said so.

Board of Health Chairman Joe Casna said he understands the boards decision poses a hardship for Pylant, but that it would be unsafe for a health club to be open without a staff member on duty who has been trained in the use of an AED.

At the end of the day, its a matter of public safety, he said. I think there should be staffing there under any circumstances.

Casna said he sympathizes with Pylant and hopes Pylant can adjust his business plan so it wont hurt him financially, but that circumstances dictate the business cannot continue as usual. He said its vital that someone with training is present, because AEDs can save lives.

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ANYTIME FITNESS: Court sides with Kingston Board of Health

Americans worried about running out of money in their golden years are trying a new investment strategy: day trading their retirement funds.

Disillusioned with the conventional buy-and-hold approach, baby boomers are anxious to improve their retirement prospects after two punishing bear markets in the last decade.

Some people are trading the mutual funds in their 401(k) plans more frequently. Others are venturing into options. And some aggressive investors have begun day trading their nest eggs all in a bid to make up for lost time.

"A lot more frequent trading is happening," said Chad Carlson, a financial planner based outside of Chicago. "People are saying, 'I'm that much closer to retirement so I have to do something.'"

That thinking prompted 49-year-old Vlad Tokarev to start day trading his three individual retirement accounts last year.

The Minneapolis biomedical software engineer wants to quit working before age 65. But after watching his 401(k) get pounded in the last bear market, he fears that another plunge in the stock market could wreak havoc with his plans.

Minutes before the market closes every day, Tokarev buys or sells a mutual fund linked to the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index. His goal is to profit from temporary fluctuations in stock prices, so he buys when stocks are falling and sells when they're rising.

"I didn't see a lot of returns using the buy-and-hold method," he said.

Most Americans with IRA or 401(k) accounts embrace the "set it and forget it" philosophy. Only about 15% of investors made any change to their 401(k)s last year, according to benefits firm Aon Hewitt.

But among those willing to make shifts, there's a growing inclination to do so more frequently as retirement approaches, according to some financial planners. These experts sympathize with investor frustrations but predict that this type of trading will backfire for most.

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Anxious investors day trading with retirement accounts

OLeary flying high as personal taxi service firm remains profitable

By Gordon Deegan

Monday, July 09, 2012

Tillingdale Ltds financial performance last year may not be enough to persuade Michael OLeary to leave the airline business anytime soon, but the Ryanair bosss taxi firm remains profitable.

The firm provides a personal taxi service to Mr OLeary and the figures show that its accumulated profits increased by more than 7% from 582,637 to 624,144 last year.

Mr OLeary and his wife, Anita, are Tillingdale Ltds directors and the firm provides a taxi service for Mr OLeary to his workplace at Ryanairs Dublin Airport headquaraters from his home in Mullingar.

Mr OLearys purchase of a taxi plate sparked outrage and amusement in 2003, allowing the Ryanair chief executive to travel to work on the 174km round trip in taxi and bus lanes.

However, the enterprise is perfectly legal as long as Mr OLearys journeys are metered and the vehicle has a driver present.

The company established in 2000 and which also provides horse breeding services is wholly owned by the OLearys.

Tillingdales cash decreased from 813,197 to 547,218 in the 12 months to the end of August last year. But, in spite of the drop in cash, the firms balance sheet strengthened with net assets increasing from 582,640 to 624,147. This followed a large drop in the companys creditors, decreasing from 482,162 to 204,590.

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O’Leary flying high as personal taxi service firm remains profitable

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire -07/09/12)- HP (HPQ) today expanded its all-in-one desktop PC portfolio with business and consumer designs that deliver multimedia-rich performance, trusted reliability and enhanced security in a small footprint.

The new all-in-ones are designed as cost-, space- and energy-efficient alternatives to a traditional desktop and monitor combination for consumers and businesses, including government, healthcare, education and retail customers. The new lineup also includes touch-enabled solutions for businesses, building on 30 years of touch-technology innovation for convenient and intuitive computing.

"Customers have been asking for all-in-one PC designs that do not compromise on performance, reliability or security," said Emilio Ghilardi, vice president, PC Division, Americas, HP. "With these sleek, elegant designs and powerful options, HP continues to innovate to meet the needs of a growing marketplace."

Products announced today are:

"All-in-one PCs are expected to grow in popularity, accounting for 27 percent(1) of worldwide desktop PC sales by 2016," said Danielle Levitas, group vice president, IDC. "In a recent commercial PC buyer study in the United States, IDC found that the purchase intent for all-in-ones was up across the range of small to large businesses. This trend puts vendors with a broad offering of all-in-one products and options -- like HP -- in a very good position to meet that growing commercial demand."

Smart designs for accelerated business efficiency The HP Compaq Elite 8300 All-in-One Business PC, HP's most powerful and multimedia-rich all-in-one PC, provides demanding enterprise users with proven performance and the option for intuitive touch experiences. An attractive, space-efficient solution ideal for customer-facing work areas, kiosks and more, the PC features a 23-inch diagonal, full high-definition (HD)(2) display with an optional built-in 2-megapixel (MP) webcam and dual microphone array. SRS Premium Sound PRO also comes standard for high-frequency definition in a variety of listening environments.

Powered by third- and second-generation Intel Core vPro processors(3, 4) that provide outstanding performance, the HP Compaq Elite 8300 All-in-One offers Intel HD Graphics or a choice of discrete graphics to enhance imagery and multimedia capabilities. Intel Smart Response Technology disk cache solution(5) also delivers a level of performance normally associated with solid state drives, while retaining the data-storage capacity of today's large hard disk drives.

With its added touch functionality, the HP Compaq Elite 8300 Touch All-in-One employs multitouch, optical technology for interactive healthcare, retail and other applications. The multitouch technology recognizes simultaneous input from two fingers to enable the use of gestures, and the onboard suite of HP touch-enabled software provides interaction with files, media and productivity applications.

The HP Compaq Elite 8300 Touch All-in-One provides a solution for healthcare patients to conveniently enter personal data and for students to stay engaged. Both of the space-saving HP Compaq Elite 8300 models also feature VESA-compatible mounting,(6) which allows retail business to save valuable floor space and lets manufacturing facilities deploy systems in easily accessible areas without cluttering work space.

The HP Compaq Pro 6300 All-in-One Business PC is a mainstream business-class all-in-one designed for reliable and consistent computing. The non-touch PC sports third- and second-generation Intel Core processors(3) with optional discrete graphics for solid performance and simple manageability for growing business environments, including government organizations. It offers a 21.5-inch diagonal, full HD,(2) LED-backlit display, internal stereo speakers and optional 2MP webcam.

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HP Expands All-in-One PC Portfolio, Offering Businesses and Consumers Performance, Reliability and Security

Team SCANs 16U team is nationally recognized as one of the countrys top teams, but the 15U group isnt far behind.

The Bronx-based team traveled to Madison, N.J. for the Elite Proving Grounds tournament and came away champions. The group, which also included players from the 14U group, won the championship game against a tough Team IZOD team based out of northern New Jersey, 59-52. SCAN also defeated Team Philly Triple Threat in the semi-finals while Team Izod defeated The City to advance to the final.

SCAN was led in double figures by point guard Bryce Aiken, shooting guard Devonte Green and forwards Cheik Diallo and Thomas Bryant. The 6'9 Diallo, who attends Our Savior New American, was awarded the tournament MVP for his efforts in the championship game, recording a near triple double.

SCAN received huge contributions from Chancellor Ellis, Temple Gibbs, Unique McLean, Dondre Rhoden, Matt Zignorski, and Austrian Robinson. Head Coach Oswald Cross, flanked by assistants Sean MacIsaac, Howie Joseph and Carom Carmichael, were happy with the teams overall effort, unselfishness and defensive intensity.

"It's great to see such talented group of individuals put aside their own personal stats and accolades for the greater good of the team, Cross said. It's what we as coaches try to preach and it showed today and hopefully stays the same throughout the remainder of the summer.

The team has enjoyed great success during the spring portion of their season and hopes that this championship gives them a great head of steam heading into the July live recruiting period. The 2015 team is scheduled to play in showcases in Springfield, Mass., South Carolina and Las Vegas. The 2016 group, meanwhile, will head down to Orlando, Fla. for the AAU Nationals.

zbraziller@nypost.com

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Adding to program's recent success, SCAN 15's win Elite Proving Grounds

Lesley Young, Special to The Commercial Appeal

Cheryl Schlitt, 49, of Germantown transformed from a stay-at-home mom who wore a size 23, to boxing six days a week, slipping into a size 8, and becoming her trainer's professional boxing sponsor as Boxer Girl.

Before: "I had been overweight forever," said Cheryl Schlitt, with daughter Megan.

For 20 years Cheryl Schlitt was a typical stay-at-home mom.

She raised two children, volunteered at St. George's Independent School, and led the PTA.

She was also a size 23.

"I had been overweight forever," said Schlitt, 49, of Germantown.

Once her kids went away to college, she viewed her status as a mother a little differently.

"I was not going to be a dumpy college mom," she said.

Little did she know that seeking out the help of a personal trainer would lead her not only to boxing six days a week, but also to becoming a prizefight sponsor.

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Success Story: Boxing routine turns 'princess' into puncher