Free Ben & Jerry's!

Mark your calendar and plan dessert treat at Ben & Jerry’s on Tuesday 2/14/11. Pick up a FREE sample of Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream ice cream for you and your family. Find a location near you.

Free Pei Wei Thai Basil Chicken Entree with Purchase!

Go to Pei Wei Market online and create your Pei Wei Passport.  When you do, you’ll get a free Thai Basil Chicken entree when you purchase another entree.  Expires 2/17.

Thai Basil Chicken is a sweet and zesty pesto with lemongrass and lime stir-fried with red bell peppers, scallions and cashews. It also has lotus chips and fresh cilantro.

Attn Men: Groupon Valentine's Day Deals You Cannot Pass By

Valentine's day is around the corner. Just a mere 2 weeks away. Have you thought about what to get your girl and don't have a clue? Have you looked at your bank account, wishing you had more to spend? Or, are you like me, and enjoy a fabulous deal that will make your love squeal with joy? Well, guys- here is an amazing deal for you!

Head to GROUPON TODAY to purchase her a nice pair of Swarovski crystal earrings! Only $19 shipped! Yes, you heard me right, that is including shipping to your door in time for Valentine's Day! My boyfriend doesn't know it yet, but this is what he got me! ;)

Head over to GROUPON to get your girl this fabulous gift, at 70% OFF!

Superfood Series - Blueberries

What's so super about them?

They're possibly the ultimate superfood. Some nutritionists believe that if you make only one change to your diet, it should be to add blueberries.

Just 100g (4oz) of blueberries contain the same amount of age-defying antioxidants as five servings of other fruit and vegetables. Antioxidants help guard against a range of cancers, heart disease, asthma, arthritis and cataracts, Alzheimer's and age-related neurological diseases.

By preventing infectious bacteria from clinging to the wall of the gut, bladder and urethra, blueberries also offer protection against cystitis.

Key ingredients?

High in vitamin C and a good source of fibre, blueberries have a compound, pterostilbene, which acts to protect the heart in the same way as cholesterol-lowering drugs. They also contain anthocyanins, which give them their blue colour. Other flavonoids reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. There is also resveratrol, which again is believed to have an anti-cancer effect.

Does it boost brainpower?

Yes. A US university study showed that blueberries slow down mental ageing. When older rats were fed the fruit for two months, they navigated mazes faster and had improved balance and co-ordination. In humans, about 100g a day can stimulate the growth of new brain cells.

Will they make me gorgeous?
Quite possibly. They contain polyphenols, which combat the effects of free radicals, a key cause of wrinkles, and so keep skin looking younger for longer. They also help the body to make collagen, which keeps skin supple.

How many calories?
A mere 83 for a cup of berries (around 145g).

How much do I need to eat?
A small cupful, about 100g a day.

How should I eat them?
In fruit salads, or sprinkled on yogurt or oatmeal/grits/not cereal. Bake them in muffins, snack on them at your desk to beat sugar cravings… you get the gist. Keep a bag in the freezer, so you always have some to hand.

Recipes with blueberries:
Blueberry yogurt multigrain pancakes
Blueberry crumb bars
Blueberry goat cheese crostini
Blueberry oatmeal scones

My Fitness Pal- FREE DIET SOFTWARE!!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I work out hard. I find my way to the gym whenever I can. I push myself to the limit and love finding new, creative and challenging ways to try and achieve my fitness goals. I can't say I have never dieted- I have. I can't say that it was bad for me- it wasn't. I lost my first 20 lbs on the South Beach Diet and still use recipes that I learned from eating that way very often. I have never gained that weight back.

However, I haven't become toned and sleek, either. That, my friends, takes patience and perseverance. I have been committed to the gym for almost 2 years now. I have gone from a size 6/8 to a size 2. I just have yet to achieve that overall toned look. I had a hard time coping with the fact that even at a size 2, my body wasn't looking like that girl up there ^.

Recently, a friend of mine put a post up about her weight loss goals and how she was achieving them. MyFitnessPal.com. A free website where you can track the food you eat and the exercises you do. Not only do you track it, but you initially enter information and your goals and it will ANALYZE everything for you! There are tons of users, so most foods you can imagine are already in the database.

The big bonus here--- There is a FREE iPhone AND Android app for this site! That means, no matter where you are, you can be entering in calories consumed. I never realized how much junk I eat during the day while working. Now that those numbers are pretty much staring me right in the face, I make much better decisions for my diet.

If you are the type to cook your own meals at home, there is a place where you can enter the recipes you make and get the breakdown in calories, protein, fat, etc. I think this is great for everyone- whether you are trying to lose weight or not. It's important that you know what is going in your body, and My Fitness Pal makes it easy to keep track and look at your own personal diet trends.

SOPA/ PIPA- What you need to know

I've been searching the internet for a good explaination of what is going on that isn't several pages long. I found an article written by James, manager or crashmasters on his website, crashmasters.com. Thank you, James- for putting this in a way that everyone can understand.

Here is that article. Please read it.

Hey everyone, James here with a little bit of a wake up call for you.

Over the past few months, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and other various media associations have been pushing for the Stop Online Piracy Act (S.O.P.A.) and the Protect-IP Act (P.I.P.A.) to pass through our Senate and House of Representatives. But what do these bills mean to YOU?

I am sure a lot of you are going to look at the first name and say, “Oh, well, it is just there to stop piracy! That is a GOOD deed!”

Yes, it is. However; what else is in this bill? Is the MPAA simply trying to shut down online movie pirates? Or is there something more? Since most piracy sites are hosted OUTSIDE of the US, there is only one thing they can do. They can block “infringing” domain names from being accessed by United States Citizens via their ISP.

I know what you are thinking, “I thought our traffic was anonymous?!”

Yes, in most cases, it is. However, with either of these acts, ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) and web sites like Google (the largest, and most widely used search provider in the world) would be forced to hand over logs of traffic, and search results. So even if you delete that certain history from your computer, Comcast, Frontier, and even Google, will have to give it up the results, and WHO YOU ARE, just because the government says so.

Here is a short video to break down exactly what is going on. Mind you, this is BOTH bills in a nut shell. It is much worse, and more secure than you think.

Protect IP and SOPA in a Nut Shell

I assume I have your attention now?  As the video states; this does not just effect businesses, and larger websites. This effects YOU.

Allow me to put this into clearer terms, and this will be the end of my rant.

Say you go to a local Karaoke bar. Your best friend, boy/girlfriend gets up and sings their heart out, or falls on their face. Either way, it is hilarious and awesome. You videotape said friend/significant other and upload that video to YouTube.

A few days, or even hours, later; your video is removed, and you have an e-mail, or letter in your inbox saying that Warner Music, or Sony/BMG, is about to sue you for everything you own because you infringed on their material.

Oh, and did I mention it is up to a 5 year felony?

And all you wanted to do was get a laugh.

Welcome to the “future” of the internet if you do not speak up. Think it would not happen to you? Remember the baby in the video? Because this new bill negates and destroys the “Fair Use Act” and the “Freedom of Information Act”, Sony and Warner can WIN. Easily, I might add.

Speak up, internet. Whether you just Facebook all day, or are the hardest of all hardcore bloggers. Shoot over to http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/ and send that email to your local congressman/woman and let your voice be heard. Customize it, or just send it out the way it was formatted. Either way; your voice DOES matter.

-James

Manager of Crashmasters Computer Sales and Repair

Groupon- It's Worth It!

If you have never used Groupon, you are missing out. Groupon is a daily deal site that offers area attractions at 50% (give or take). I was never a huge Groupon person until I started pulling those purse strings tighter. I only purchase what I feel is a good value and that I will use (as they do expire, eventually). So far I have gotten $3 movie tickets, $10 dinners for 2 and attraction tickets at over 70% off.

Groupon also has a "Goods" link as well. Most recently they have posted many items that will help you get back on the New Years Resolution bandwagon. I have my eye on the $20 Shawn T's Rockin' Body set. That's a STEAL!

Visit GROUPON now! Sign up and start saving! (Everything I have purchased I would have done anyway at full price.)