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Norman gives the second talk at the Mar de Jade April 2013 Sesshin on Dogen's Guidelines for Study of the Way (Part 1) as found in Moon in a Dewdrop by Kazuaki Tanahashi.
Dogen's Guidelines for Study of the Way ¡Part One
By Zoketsu Norman Fischer | April 7, 2013
Transcribed and edited by Barbara Byrum and Cynthia Schrager
Tonight I would like to begin studying another Eihei Dogen text, Gakudo yojin-shu, Guidelines for Studying the Way. In this text, Dogen enumerates important points for practice and then talks about each one in turn. He wrote this text in his early thirties, just when he came back from China to Japan. He wanted to explain how to practice Zen to Japanese people at a time when this practice was new to them. He wanted to carefully lay out all the important points.
The first point is: "You should arouse 'the thought of enlightenment,'" called bodhicitta in Sanskrit. This is the moment when you realize that you must take charge of your life and do spiritual practice, that you can't put it off anymore. It's more than just a passing thought. We have many passing thoughts, but this thought is different. It's one that leads us to strong commitment and action. When this thought arises in a person's mind, it means that eventually they will become a buddha. This is always the beginning of the story for every buddha: the thought of enlightenment comes into his or her heart. It is the same for us in the beginning, when we realize that we must do something, and eventually it leads to commitment and vow.
Dogen begins by saying,
The thought of enlightenment has many names, but they all refer to one and the same mind.
Then he quotes the great Buddhist sage Nagarjuna,
The mind that fully sees into the uncertain world of birth and death is called the thought of enlightenment.
This thought comes to you when you realize how unreliable and shaky the ordinary world of birth and death is. Maybe for a long time we might think that everything should be fine, but just not for us. We might say, I keep having bad luck, because I had bad parents. I keep messing up, and things don't go right for me. If I can just get it right and make the right kind of effort and get a little more luck, then everything will be fine. Probably everybody else is doing just fine. I am the only one who is having this kind of problem.
You might think this way for quite a long time. Or maybe you don't think about it at all, and you just struggle through your life. But one day you realize, It's not just me. It's not just my problem. Everybody has this problem, because the ordinary world of birth and death really is unreliable. There really is no way to get conditions just perfect for your life. When we realize that, the thought of enlightenment comes into our mind. We realize that the path of spiritual practice is another way of life.
Dogen says,
Thus if we maintain this mind, this mind can become the thought of enlightenment.
A lot of times we have that thought of enlightenment, but then we think, That can't be right, or we try to cover it up and distract ourselves with something else. But Dogen says that this is a true thought, and you should cherish and strengthen it and develop it. I think that maybe we are afraid that if we think like this, we will become depressed, and we will be in despair. We will think that life is impossible and completely unreliable, and we won't be able to do anything. But Dogen says,
If you cherish this thought and develop it, it will lead to the thought of enlightenment and a strong commitment for the spiritual path.
Indeed, when you understand discontinuity, the notion of self does not arise.
In other words, you realize that every moment comes and every moment goes, that impermanence is a radical fact of every moment. When you realize that, you have a sense of awe. You can no longer attach to yourself as you did before.
Ideas of name and gain do not arise.
When you see impermanence, you can no longer chase after all the things you were chasing after in your life before. You can no longer cling to yourself, and cling to all the things that you think belong to you and that you want. When you let go of that holding on, your problems dissolve. So he wants us to understand how destructive to our lives is the holding on to ourselves, and to all the things that we think we have, and to all the things we that think we want.
Fearing the passing of the sunlight [in other words when we realize that time passes swiftly], we are going to practice the way as if our hair is on fire.
There is a quality of urgency here, because when we do the practice, we can overcome this kind of fire.
When you think about how brief this life is, you want to practice just like the Buddha, who raised his foot.
This refers to a story about the Buddha. It is a long story, but once the Buddha raised up his foot, and he held his foot up for quite a long time. In other words, he kept being persistent with something difficult. He didn't give up. He just kept on.
When you hear a beautiful song sung by a goddess or a mystical bird, [special creatures in Japanese and Buddhist mythology, who sing beautiful songs], let it be just like the evening breeze brushing against your cheek.
In other words, appreciate it, but don't grasp it. Let it go. Let it just brush by your cheek.
If you see this beautiful face [and here he gives the names of the most famous beautiful women in Chinese and Japanese history], let it be like the morning dew coming into your sight. When you see the morning dew, it has already melted away, and it is gone. Freedom from beautiful sounds and beautiful forms naturally arises when we practice.
So we enjoy something passing, just as everything is passing, but we don't grasp it. Because when you try to grasp something that is passing, and you can't stop it from passing, you suffer a lot.
If you ever hear of stories from the past and the present, of people who have a small viewpoint and a lot of trouble, it is because they are grasping and clinging to themselves, and they have missed the Buddha way for their life. What a terrible and regrettable thing this is for them.
He is saying think about it: You have seen this with your own eyes. Think about it, and apply it to your own life.
Suppose you could expound great teachings, and you were a true master, but you had not given up the clinging, and you had not given up looking for your own advantage, then you could not call this the thought of enlightenment. There are plenty of people like this. Some say, "The thought of enlightenment is supreme, perfect enlightenment already." Even when they themselves are attached to their own advantage, they tell you, "Don't be attached to your own advantage." Some people say, "The thought of enlightenment is the understanding that everything is included in all moments of your life." Some of them say, "The thought of enlightenment means that everything is empty and nothing has substance." Some of them say, "The thought of enlightenment is like entering the Buddha house."
In other words, they say all kinds of things about the lofty thought of enlightenment, but because they haven't let go of their self-grasping and seeking their own advantage, they don't know what they are talking about.
So look at your own mind and try to see this feeling of grasping and needing something for yourself. Does this thought in your mind feel like emptiness? Does it feel like the Buddha realms? Does it feel like everything in the universe is included in these thoughts? No, it doesn't feel like that at all! It feels very small and very confining, full of anxiety, full of unhappiness. There is nothing in that thought or in that kind of mind that you could call "the thought of enlightenment." So you can observe in your own mind and see that that's true.
From ancient times, great sages have realized the truth. Many of them lived ordinary lives just like you and me, without being distorted by this grasping and needing self advantage all the time. Because of this, even in the midst of ordinary life, they could be free.
The thought of enlightenment is the mind that sees into impermanence. That is the most important thing. This is completely different from the ordinary mind of confused people. All the lofty thoughts about "empty" and "Buddha realms" and "everything included" all have their place. You can enjoy all of those profound things some day, but first you have to have the thought of enlightenment. First, you have to feel in your heart the truth of impermanence. You have to see through your grasping and your clinging to self advantage.
Even though it doesn't go away [because it doesn't go away until you are really a buddha], now you understand what it is, and you are no longer committing yourself to it.
That's the difference: you are not committing yourself to it anymore. You are committed to going beyond it, and that commitment is clear. That is the thought of enlightenment, when that commitment is clear. Then all that other great stuff comes. But the people who are talking all this great stuff, but don't have the thought of enlightenment, forget it. So Dogen says not to be mistaken by all this.
If you don't have self-concern and self-worry and self-cherishing and self-interest, what do you have? Love. Love is the opposite of need for me. When you remove all this grasping, then naturally it means that your concern is wide. Your concern is for others. So when the thought of enlightenment comes, it is the thought of love. Of course, in ordinary life, you can't entirely forget yourself, because among the many people that you love, you have to love yourself. After all, you are a person too. If you don't love yourself and take care of yourself, how are you going to love all the others?
So we can do what we have been doing: we can return to ourselves in zazen. Return to presence, return to body, and return to the breath. This is how we will develop the thought of enlightenment. Just keeping our eyes open, we will see that all of our problems come from grasping the self. We will see in our own experience how every time that we have some suffering, it comes from grasping for something for ourselves.
When the feeling of the self arises, sit quietly, and pay attention to it.
So this is a very important point. When you find your mind spinning around with unhappy concerns, problems that you really think that you have that are causing you suffering, at that time, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, Whose problem is this? What is really going on here? and you will see it in a new way.
Is your "self" in your mind, your thoughts, your awareness, your knowledge or your memories? I guarantee that if you look for yourself in those places, you won't find it there. Maybe it is in your breath, which ties together your whole life. But what is your breath, after all? It is just coming and going. There is nothing there that is solid.
So what are you so worried about? What are you clinging to and grasping so much? When you are confused, you are clinging to absolutely nothing, and you are miserable. When you are awakened, you are free. You become attached to a self that is not there. You become attached to some solid life, but you can't find some solid life. You forget to practice the Buddha way, which is the one thing that you should be doing! You let yourself be swept away by your confused mind, which is the one thing that you should not do. You avoid the truth, and you get mixed up in confusion. What a mess!
Then Dogen says:
Once you hear the teaching, you should practice the teaching without fail. Even if there is a loyal servant of the King, and the loyal servant offers some good advice, and the King accepts the advice, it can change the destiny of the whole nation. If a buddha gives good practice advice, and you take the advice, it will turn your whole mind around. A bad king is someone who does not listen to good advice from their servant.
We shouldn't be that way. When we are offered some good teaching, we should step forward and make use of it. If you are stubborn, and you insist on your own point of view, and when you don't listen to something that you know to be true, and as they say, "It goes in one ear and out the other," then you will be floating along in birth and death. Often the waters of birth and death are very turbulent, but you will float along until you sink. If you don't listen to good teachings, you can't raise virtue in your life.
This is important not only for you and your life, but for all of us together.
I was thinking the other day that for a long time people believed in some kind of magical politics. When the right revolution happens, everything will be fine after that. When we elect the right president, everything will be good. It seems that now this is fairly unbelievable, isn't it? We can't really believe in this type of thing anymore. We can elect better presidents, and certainly we should, but I don't think that there is going to be any magic.
So how are we going to have a world in which we can survive? Only when people become decent. When more and more people become wise and not so frightened and anxious that they can easily accept bad and corrupt leadership.
Your happiness and your wisdom and your letting go of your self-clinging, that causes you so much unhappiness, is not only for yourself. As more and more of us have the courage to open our hearts, the world will become better. It will certainly become better in our hearts. It will become better in our families, and, eventually, everywhere. It doesn't need to be every single person on earth who opens his heart, only a certain number. I think around two billion! [Laughter] That's all we need: two billion people, who have the courage of real love.
So even if you don't want to make this effort for yourself because you are too lazy, do it for everybody else, because I think we need it.


text: League of Legends Yasuo Please leave us review. This New theme is about the The Yasuo adaptation. For all uses of this name, use this The Yasuo to show love. Yasuo Epithet: The Unforgiven Roles: Assassin, Fighter Abilities: Sweeping blade, Last breath, Way of the wanderer, Wind wall, Steel tempest Armor: 24.712 (+3.4 per level) Attack speed: 0.658 (+3.2% per level) Attack damage: 55.376 (+3.2 per level) Health: 517.76 (+82 per level)

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Published February 15, 2013
Associated Press
A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb Friday, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring about 1,100 people.
The spectacle deeply frightened many Russians, with some elderly women declaring that the world was coming to an end. Many of the injured were cut by flying glass as they flocked to windows, curious about what had produced such a blinding flash of light.
The meteor -- estimated to be about 10 tons and 49 feet wide -- entered the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of at least 33,000 mph and shattered into pieces about 18-32 miles above the ground, the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement. But even small asteroids pack a tremendous punch, explained Andrew Cheng of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
"It doesn't take a very large object. A 10-meter size object already packs the same energy as a nuclear bomb," Cheng, who led a 2000-2001 mission for NASA to orbit and land on an asteroid, told FoxNews.com.
'It doesn't take a very large object. A 10-meter size object already packs the same energy as a nuclear bomb.'
- Andrew Cheng of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, who led a 2001 mission to orbit and land on an asteroid
Amateur video showed an object speeding across the sky about 9:20 a.m. local time, just after sunrise, leaving a thick white contrail and an intense flash.
"There was panic. People had no idea what was happening," said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, a city of 1 million about 930 miles east of Moscow.
"We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud, thundering sound," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
The meteor hit less than a day before Asteroid 2012 DA14 is to make the closest recorded pass of an asteroid to the Earth for a rock of its size -- about 17,150 miles. But the European Space Agency said its experts had determined there was no connection -- just cosmic coincidence.
The meteor released several kilotons of energy above the region, the Russian science academy said. According to NASA, it was about 15 meters or 49 feet wide before it hit the atmosphere, about one-third the size of the passing asteroid.
Some meteorite fragments fell in a reservoir outside the town of Chebarkul. The crash left a 26-foot-wide crater in the ice.
The shock wave blew in more than 1 million square feet of glass, according to city officials, who said 3,000 buildings in the city were damaged. At one zinc factory, part of the roof collapsed.
The Interior Ministry said about 1,100 people sought medical care after the shock wave and 48 of them were hospitalized. Most of the injuries were caused by flying glass, officials said.
There was no immediate word on any deaths or anyone struck by space fragments.
Meteors typically cause sizeable sonic booms when they enter the atmosphere because they are traveling so much faster than the speed of sound. Injuries on the scale reported Friday, however, are extraordinarily rare.
"I went to see what that flash in the sky was about," recalled resident Marat Lobkovsky. "And then the window glass shattered, bouncing back on me. My beard was cut open, but not deep. They patched me up. It's OK now."
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Lessons had just started at Chelyabinsk schools when the meteor exploded, and officials said 258 schoolchildren were among those injured. Amateur video footage showed a teacher speaking to her class as a powerful shockwave hit the room.
Yekaterina Melikhova, a high school student whose nose was bloody and whose upper lip was covered with a bandage, said she was in her geography class when a bright light flashed outside.
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Russian television ran footage of athletes at a city sports arena who were showered by shards of glass from huge windows. Some of them were still bleeding.
Other videos showed a long shard of glass slamming into the floor close to a factory worker and massive doors blown away by the shock wave.
The vast implosion of glass windows exposed many residents to the bitter cold as temperatures in the city were expected to plummet to minus 4 Fahrenheit overnight.
The regional governor immediately urged any worker who can pane windows to rush to the area to help out.
Meteroids are small pieces of space debris -- usually parts of comets or asteroids -- that are on a collision course with the Earth. They become meteors when they enter the Earth's atmosphere. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere, but if they survive the frictional heating and strike the surface of the Earth they are called meteorites.
The site of Friday's spectacular show is about 3,000 miles west of Tunguska, which in 1908 was the site of the largest recorded explosion of a space object plunging to Earth. That blast, attributed to a comet or asteroid fragment, is generally estimated to have been about 10 megatons; it leveled some 80 million trees.
Scientists believe that a far larger meteorite strike on what today is Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula may have been responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. According to that theory, the impact would have thrown up vast amounts of dust that blanketed the sky for decades and altered the climate on Earth.
The meteor could have produced much more serious problems. Chelyabinsk is an industrial town long held to be one of the world's most polluted areas, and the area around it hosts nuclear and chemical weapons disposal facilities.
Vladimir Chuprov of Greenpeace Russia said the Russian government has underestimated potential risks of the region. He noted that the meteor struck only 60 miles from the Mayak nuclear storage and disposal facility, which holds dozens of tons of weapons-grade plutonium.
A chemical weapons disposal facility at Shchuchye also contains some 6,000 tons of nerve agents, including sarin and VX, about 14 percent of the chemical weapons that Russia is committed to destroy.
The panic and confusion that followed Friday's meteorite crash quickly gave way to typical Russian black humor and entrepreneurial instincts.
Several people smashed in the windows of their houses in the hopes of receiving compensation, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Others quickly took to the Internet and put what they said were meteorite fragments up for sale.
One of the most popular jokes was that the meteorite was supposed to fall on Dec. 21 last year -- when many believed the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world -- but was delivered late by Russia's notoriously inefficient postal service.
The dramatic event prompted an array of reactions from prominent Russians.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at an economic forum in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, said the meteor could be a symbol for the forum, showing that "not only the economy is vulnerable, but the whole planet."
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a nationalist leader noted for his vehement statements, blamed the Americans.
"It's not meteors falling. It's the test of a new weapon by the Americans," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the incident showed the need for leading world powers to develop a system to intercept objects falling from space.
"At the moment, neither we nor the Americans have such technologies" to shoot down meteors or asteroids, he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science, called the back-to-back celestial events an amazing display.
"This is indeed very rare and it is historic," he said on NASA TV. "These fireballs happen about once a day or so, but we just don't see them because many of them fall over the ocean or in remote areas."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/15/injuries-reported-after-meteorite-falls-in-russia-ural-mountains/#ixzz2L7KxuFKO


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This is Helle Kühl. In May 2009 she was knocked off her bike by a car near Copenhagen's Central Station. The car was a rental driven by an American woman who was insured by American Express.
According to the Danish newspaper BT, the police have said that the American woman wasn't used to watching for cyclists and, after the accident, couldn't understand that it was her fault. Helle Kühl was heading straight on through an intersection. A right-turning bus had stopped for her but the American woman, who was turning left across the intersection, didn't.
American Express, through a collection agency, has been hassling Helle Kühl for $3106.41 - about 16,000 Danish kroner - for the damages to the car.Helle Kühl said to BT newspaper: "This is completely insane. I'm an innocent victim and now they want me to pay 16,000 kroner because I got run over. This is an Americanization of the situation".
There were many witnesses to the accident who back Helle Kühl op and who gave her their names at the scene in case she needed them to witness. Her Danish insurance company handled their side of it efficiently, paying out for a new bike, clothes and the traumatic experience.American Express has, however, sent five emails and two letters to Helle Kühl demanding 16,000 kroner for the damages to the car. She has tried to refer them to the car rental company and their insurance, to no avail. They continue to pressure her with their letters and emails, even though they have said earlier that the case was closed.Here's the letter from the collection agency, Vengroff & Williams Associates, which Danish Broadcasting has acquired.
It reads: "The hire vehicle that our client was in charge was damaged by you and American Express has paid the rental company for the damages incurred to their vehicle. We now seek to obtain payment from you as the third party liable for the damages caused."
According to Danish Broadcasting, American Express have stated that they are looking into the case and are "taking it seriously".
Let's hope so.Via: The Danish newspaper BT's article "Innocent Traffic Accident Victim Sent Massive Bill" and Danish Broadcasting Corp. (DR).


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Embedded Linux Primer
Embedded Linux Primer, a practical, real-world approach
Christopher Hallinan, Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN-13: 978-0131679849
Second edition published in 2010
Hallinan begins by touring a typical Linux-based embedded system, introducing key concepts and components, and calling attention to differences between Linux and traditional embedded environments. Writing from the embedded developer's viewpoint, he addresses issues ranging from kernel building and initialization to bootloaders, device drivers to file systems.
This book covers the increasingly popular BusyBox utilities; presents a step-by-step walkthrough of porting Linux to custom boards; and introduces real-time configuration via CONFIG_RT--one of today's most exciting developments in embedded Linux. You'll find especially detailed coverage of using development tools to analyze and debug embedded systems--including the art of kernel debugging.
- Understand the details of the Linux kernel initialization process
- Learn about the special role of bootloaders in embedded Linux systems, with specific emphasis on U-Boot
- Use embedded Linux file systems, including JFFS2--with detailed guidelines for building Flash-resident file system images
- Understand the Memory Technology Devices subsystem for flash (and other) memory devices
- Master gdb, KGDB, and hardware JTAG debugging
- Learn many tips and techniques for debugging within the Linux kernel
- Maximize your productivity in cross-development environments
- Prepare your entire development environment, including TFTP, DHCP, and NFS target servers
- Configure, build, and initialize BusyBox to support your unique requirements
There is a reason this book has been the #1 book on Amazon embedded systems for more than two years now!
Be sure to also visit the book's homepage.


text:
In Europe, there's a movement to provide better protections for Web users. The European Union has outlined tough new data privacy recommendations that it wants to become law. Among its targets, the American companies Facebook and Google. Google just announced a new privacy policy that would track all the Web movements of its registered users.
Teri Schultz is in Brussels and reports on EU efforts to strengthen online protections of personal information.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: It may sound basic but it's a right the EU feels the need to reinforce.
VIVIANE REDING: Personal data belongs to the person.
SCHULTZ: EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wants citizens to have more control over their online identities. She's spent years working on EU law related to digital rights and if her plan passes the European Parliament, it would overhaul existing 1995 laws and harmonize 27 national systems under one set of rules.
REDING: Citizens will have to know how their data is processed. To use the data, it will be necessary to have been given the explicit consent by the citizens.
SCHULTZ: The laws would apply to all companies that gather private data. If they don't get permission before using it or they break any of the other new regulations, they can be fined a million dollars or up to 2 percent of their annual income.
Privacy advocate Andrew Keen says he's pleased the EU is siding with consumers who may want to reclaim their personal lives from the Internet. Keen says he killed his own Facebook account but he reminds everyone else:
ANDREW KEEN: The technology doesn't know how to forget. When we post something - that drunken photo, that inappropriate tweet - it's going to last forever unless Viviane Reding has her way.
SCHULTZ: Keen is referring to another part of the new proposal, the right to be forgotten. That would mean if you asked, social networking sites would be legally required to erase your history, the same would go for any other company. You'd have the right to request that an online search for general information about you would come up empty. Transparency policies would have to be transparent under Reding's requirements.
REDING: Clear and understandably written in plain language.
SCHULTZ: That may sound like oversimplification, until you find out, as ZDNet editor Zack Whittaker explains...
ZACK WHITTAKER: At one point Facebook's terms and conditions was longer than the U.S. Constitution. Most people will not read the fine print; the legal jargon companies and businesses often use to protect themselves.
SCHULTZ: U.S. companies, among them the Internet's most active aggregators and users of online private data, will be subject to the regulations if they have a European-based subsidiary, as most do.
At a conference this week in Munich, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg made what was widely seen as an effort to remind zealous European regulators that Facebook's financial friendship is worth having.
SHERYL SANDBERG: Facebook added $15.3 billion in value to the European economy just in the past year, mostly by driving about $32 billion in revenue.
SCHULTZ: That also helped create 232,000 European jobs, Sandberg noted. She didn't directly reference the privacy revamp. But with Europe dogged by debt and Facebook expected to soon file an initial public offering likely to earn billions, Sandberg could afford to be subtle.
For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, the first month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the New Year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs.
The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of manufacturing conditions fell to a reading of 49.5. That's down from 51.7 in October.
Any reading above 50 signals expansion, while readings below 50 indicate contraction. Manufacturing grew in October for only the second time since May. The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers.
A measure of new orders fell to its lowest level since August, a sign that production could slow in the coming months.
"Today's report suggests that the manufacturing sector is likely to remain a weak point in the recovery for a few months yet," Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas, said in a note to clients.
Businesses expressed concerns about the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for sharp tax increases and government spending cuts that will take effect in January if Congress and the Obama administration fail to strike a budget deal before then.
Worries about the fiscal cliff have led many companies to pull back this year on purchases of machinery and equipment, which signal investment plans. The decline could slow economic growth and hold back hiring in the October-December quarter.
A measure of hiring in the ISM survey fell to 48.4, the lowest reading since September 2009.
Companies "are just backing off and not making any moves until things clear up a bit," Bradley Holcomb, chairman of the ISM's survey committee, said.
Superstorm Sandy had only a limited impact on factory activity last month, according to the ISM survey. The storm hit the East Coast on Oct. 29 and affected businesses in 24 states.
Two regional manufacturing surveys released in mid-November showed the storm disrupted factories in the Philadelphia and New York regions. On Friday, the government said Sandy contributed to a decline in consumer spending in October.
The economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, much better than the 1.3 percent pace in the April-June quarter. But most economists expect growth will slow to below 2 percent in the final three months of the year, mostly because of Sandy and the impact of the fiscal cliff.
U.S. consumers cut back on spending last month while their income remained flat. The decline was partly related to the storm. Still, economists said fear of higher taxes played a role in the diminished spending figure. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.
Surveys show consumers remain upbeat about the economy, despite the worries about taxes and spending cuts. A measure of consumer confidence reached a five-year high in November. More consumer spending could boost factory output.
If lawmakers and President Barack Obama can work out a budget deal that averts the tax increases, most economists predict a good year for the economy.


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Joe Blanton (9-13, 4.98) vs. Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.41).
The Dodgers and Cards combined for 13 runs last night, and given the numbers of tonight's starters, don't expect a pitchers' duel. New daddy Joe Blanton will certainly be rested — parents of newborns get a lot of sleep, right? I'm not sure if Jaime Garcia is a father or not, but he's had problems pitching away from Busch Stadium. Diaper rash versus road woes, who ya got?


text:
short and stout.
Here is my handle
here is my..."
Heather L., do you take one lump or two?
- Related Wreckage: This One's for the Ladies
When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong.
This deserves a triple X rating.
But I'll have a big ol' slice of that spout anyway, please. I do love me some spout.
Uh . . . , words fail me. One lump or two . . . {{snicker}}
ha ha ha Instant classic!
O.M.G. Now granted, I've been a bit shall we say, 'deprived' of late, but still... this actually made it into the display case?!?!?!
WV: gisheigi - the gutteral sound I made in my astonishment upon first viewing this wreck...
"Attention bakery department, please have the cake decorator pick up line two, Dr. Freud is on hold."
Oh please tell me there isn't cream cheese filling! Egads!
(word verification exctish: as in is this cake suppose to exctish me?)
Oh No!
Ummmm... wow! That's quite a "spout"! ~ Jennie
They needed to reconsider the color change on their 'spout', matching the handle decor might have been safer!
I do NOT want to see that thing "get all steamed up"...
It lookes like a dogs head! Tilted to the side, with pink ears and a rose insted of an eye. And a gap instead of a nose so they didn't have to make yet another colour of icing. Pink, green and white should go a long way when making dog head CCC!
Hmmm. Are you sure you want to drink that? lol
You know, just once, I would love to see someone actually order a cake that looked like a phallus and see what the wreckerators came up with. If they can turn butterflies, tea pots, balloons, etc. into members, what could they turn a member into?
Is your teapot's spout too small? Click here!
ya know what... after looking at the spout, blinking a few times in shock... and re-looking at the cake, I've deceided the handle hole also gives me the heebie-jeebies
Dibs on the "spout"
Ewwwwwwwww!!! A little exhibtionistic pervert teapot!! And I just wanted to cook some tea.
Perfect for a little girl's first tea party!
And of course it had to be pink.
I'm pretty sure that was unintentional, but still... yikes.
Now, off to find something to scour my brain...
Well, hello! :D
Oh, dear. That's got a bit of the phallic to it. The ladies who lunch will be appalled.
Why does chamomille sound dirty now?
That is just bad!! How do these cakes actually make it out of the bakery?
Freud would have a field day.
(and btw the one lump or two comment was just too much! I just ate breakfast. ew)
This was probably the birthday cake that started Amber along her merry way.
I love this site so much. Thanks for keeping up the postings and updates even while on the road. Talk about your wreck stars!
The real crime wasn't the error of how it came out, but actually putting it on the display case! What person didn't SEE this??
Hahahahahahahaha! This is my new favorite wreck of all time!
Love it!
I am still sitting here with my mouth agape.
Anonymous said...
"Perfect for a little girl's first tea party!"
...and now you know how Lorena Bobbit got started.
I'm just going to say it looks like an elephant trunk... yeah... that's it
I'm a little "pee" pot, perhaps?
Really, some people must do this type of thing on purpose - who can't see this? Even so, this would have been a wreck even if the spout wasn't so phallic!
wv: defecace - a descriptive word for some of the c*** we see in bakery cases.
Veggie T, I'm with you...can any other disney freaks see Dumbo in his clown get up here? Or is it just me?
I think Freud would have a field day with me...
I never realized a little teapot could look as if it had caught an std... I mean it don't look right on SOOOOO many levels.
Paging Dr. Freud... Paging Dr. Freud... stat!
When I clicked on the related posts link, I expected it'd be this one: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-made-me-laugh-til-i-cried.html
But the linked one was good too. :-D
I know you were this was on your mind...
Nothin' like a good piece of spout!
Thank you - I needed a good cleansing laugh this morning after oversleeping a criminally long time. *SO* looking forward to you coming to Bethesda!!
Oh MY! What a big..."spout" you have!
Woo-hoo...hope they serve sake with that teapot!
Word Verification (SCORE!!):
maturrec: "Warning: the following teapot is intended only for maturrec". That is, "Mature Recreation".
my husband's reaction: "What's that, a teapot?" "Yeah." "No, I think it's more of a pee-pot."
is that rose a crypt orchid?
("retained testicle")
I'll take two nuts with that spout.
And tell Loraina that her Cake is ready!
What makes me more sad is that it's rather pretty otherwise, then you get SHEMALE!
"yes, please!"
"One hump or two?"
"Oh my!!!"
Oh, Lord. You just know that cake was meant for somebody's granny.
Oh my goodness gracious...LOL!
you shoulda warned us about the adult content in this one :-)
Nice spout by the way...
We should totes hook this guy up with Mrs (Angela Lansbury) Potts from Beauty and the Beast.
Whoa... dirty cake alert! And the worst part is that is was probably for a bunch of little girld fancy tea party. Oy.
This is amazing.
To paraphrase Mae West: Is that a teapot yer holding, or are ya just glad to see me?
Nothing like a good laugh first thing in the morning. That is hilarious.
OMG....did it have to be PINK?
Wow! "Pour some sugar on me.."
Amy B.
all the ladies go crazy for my sugar lumps
It COULD be a flower-loving elephant if you tip your head and squint just right. :P
Actually.....if you look at the whole thing long enough....it looks like a cute pink and white elephant's head...with the obviously pre-fab rose being the eye.
Looks like Jenna Jameson got herself a day job.
Bwow chika bow wow...
heh heh heh....
Is that a spout in your pot or are you just happy to see me?
I dunno... looks like the "spout" is suffering some shrinkage. Must be iced tea in that pot!!
Oh a side note, I just bought your book and read it and laughed so hard that I cried. Thank you, oh thank you for such a wonderful contribution to the world of the written word!
WV: doweep. "When you see this cake, you doweep".
ROFL that's classic!
oh my. (i'm a little pee pot...*snicker*)
oh thats a gem!
Someone needs to submit this to failblog too! Oh my!
Jen, Just got my copy of the CakeWrecks book in the mail today! I immediately sat down and devoured it. Awesome job!
Nice FotC reference... can't have a pot of tea without sugar lumps.
Amazing. The comments are just as great.
At least it's a HAPPY ,little spout!
I want to meet the person who thought they could make a teapot out of cupcakes. That kind of thinking takes cojones....which may explain why the thing looks the way it does.
Well blow me down.
... "when i get all steamed up, hear me shout. tip me over and pour. me. out."
*sigh* if only it were that easy. ;-)
i do believe this little teapot should be in your next book!
gearing up for AUSTIN tomorrow! can't wait to meet y'all! i'll be the blonde with a texas drawl. ;-)
I always prefer those spouts that are bigger than a baby's arm ;)
ROFL Double AA -- "Handle hole" is what we're calling it these days?
the spout was so ...stunning that i didn't even notice it was a CCC til reading the comments!
WV: watol = watol you have with your pee -- i mean tea?
It looks like the decorator was aiming for delicate and feminine... and missed. By far. At least it was a shocking pink and not the lovely fleshy pink we saw on the fire hose cake. *shudder*
Oooh, this one would've gone great with the CCC bra and panties photos I submitted this summer! Too funny!!!
I knew I liked tea for a reason!
That certainly does not look like a spout.
I've never scene a cirmcumcised tea pot before!
I just got your book, Jen. It made my day!!!
Um...the flowers are pretty.
When I'm horrified by cakes on this site, I think about how delicious they must be because that would be the only excuse for selling such monstrosities.
Have you ever done a post about what people can do if a bakery severely messes up a cake (putting the wrong inscription, etc?). Do they have to make it right?
It seems the guy that drew the phallus on the "little Mermaid" movie poster got fired from Disney and decided to follow his dream to become a cake Wreckorator.
Wow, is that a cake you're eating or are you just happy to see me XD
You know what really gets me? That's actually a pretty decent buttercream rose in the middle. Why on earth is someone who can actually do some decent decoration making such a hideous mess of a cake?
No. No freaking way...
hahahahah! I do believe that is a XXX CCC?
Um.. that's about all I can say!
Oh, give me this cake! Give it to me! yeah!
Today is my 40th birthday and now, my simple DQ ice cream cake somehow feels... inadequate.
I have cake envy!
Teabag, anyone?
I dont know if i am allowed to say the word that comes to mind when I see that Uh "spout"... oh yeah its a tea pot. Hehehe!
I wonder what the flavor is. At least you wont have to add your own cream to this tea.
I just found your blog...I heard about your new book on PW. I could not stop laughing when I saw this one! Instant pick me up!
At least it's not steaming.
I wonder if it has cream filling...
OMG, I haven't laughed that loud at a wreck in some time. Them wreckerators still got it!
wv: gated
I would have preferred the expur-gated version.
tip me over baby!!!!
Ohhhhh, that's not right.
Well, it's okay if it's short, as long as it's stout.
Hey, just a quick request. If you have an "adult rated" cake would you mind putting some sort of note at the top? My kids love to look at the cake wrecks and I'd hate to have to explain this to them! :) (Yes, I usually preview it, but sometimes they look over my shoulder.)
That is horrible!!! Wouldn't the decorator see what it looks like and scrap it or at least change the color!?
wow thats worse than i thought any cake could ever be.... lol
this is the worst cake i've ever seen.
check out my guilty pleasure http://www.fatkidsfalling.com
I like to drink my tea directly from the spout.
I'll take spout any way I can get it...just not 3 inch spout...
My husband and children (ages 8 and 9) just looked at the cake. I asked them what they saw . . . all three of them said, "It's a teapot." My children wanted to know what was wrong with it . . . I said, "nothing." My husband looked at me and asked, "Is there SUPPOSED to be something wrong with it?" I asked him if he saw anything else. He said, "Nooooooo . . . " I said, "It's pink. The spout." His eyes widened, "OI YO! OI NO!" My kids asked, "What? What is it?" We both replied in unison, "It's a teapot!"
Instant CakeWrecks Hall-of-Fame!
WV: layotte - I had to layotte floor I was laughing so hard
MC from NZ
Um... and somebody's going to have to cut off Mr Happy in the process of eating that cake.
I'm never going to look at that rhyme the same way again.
"Twirly McSwirl said...
Well, it's okay if it's short, as long as it's stout."
Bwahahahaha! That is a very good outlook!
It's not the size of the spout; it's the steam in the kettle!
Holy moly! That had to be intentional. So funny!
Omg, this made me laugh out loud! As a psychologist I think this site is better than Roscharch.
And to John: Good recovery!!
Nope. I got nothin'. Just *errr*
(kind of like a dial tone...which now that I think about it is becoming a bit old fashioned 0_o )
All it's missing is some "tea" drips. Ha!!!
There is NO WAY this was not done on purpose.
I'll have what she's having... :)
Good Lord! I roared with laughter at this, prompting my 6 year old daughter to say "what's the matter mummy?" Boy am I glad she thought it looks like a teapot and she doesn't have my tawdry mind!
Greetings from England.
Nice. I wonder if they took a good look at that before they put it out?
the best is still that space shuttle...
Sometimes a teapot is just a teapot.
And somewhere in Arkham Asylum, Jervis Tetch is crying his eyes out...
hehe "Be Our Guest" has been stuck in my head for a couple days now and the line about "one lump or two" just made me giggle.
Uh... the captcha on this page is "herpape"... I am speechless...
Barnes & Noble
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A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.
Now, don't you have a photo you want to send me? ;)
We don't have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it's cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.
Payments must be made through Paypal, which accepts all major credit cards. Sorry, but that means no checks or MOs or barter-based chickens.
We ship everything first class USPS, and will do our best to have your package in the mail within 2 days of your order.
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text:
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text:
Mobile Banking is Here to Stay
1. The Future is Now
We are not that far away, maybe 2 or 3 years, from banks seeing more traffic hitting their mobile channel than online.
-- Huntington Bank's SVP Chief Digital Officer Jeff Dennes during a panel Thursday on Bank Systems & Technology's virtual event titled "How Mobile Is Transforming Banking's Competitive Landscape." Dennes said that those banks that are waiting for HTML 5 to come along and make their online channel mobile friendly are making a big mistake. They need to start positioning themselves in the mobile market immediately, he added, and that means building a mobile app.
Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio


text:
If you have a skunk on your property, you are going to need to think about skunk removal in Minocqua. And you will need to think about it quickly. You do not want to waste time in waiting to see if the skunk goes away on its own.
The most obvious reason you don't want to wait is because of the smell. It is a powerful one and can take a long time to dissipate. When it gets into your structure, carpeting, drapes and furniture, they can become permanently damaged.
Get Skunk Removal For 54556
Getting the necessary cleaning done is not an inexpensive thing and will need to be done immediately. It's better to get skunk removal in Wisconsin before it's too late.
Aside from the smell, skunks can also be extremely destructive, particularly if you have a garden. These are digging animals and will cause problems for you as they search for bugs and worms to eat. They also have a habit of getting into your garbage and making a mess.
They are not generally aggressive but will sometimes bite dogs or cats that get too close. They may carry rabies as well as distemper, fleas, ticks and mites. All of these are obvious reasons neither you nor your pets should get near them.
Rather than try to deal with the problem yourself, it is much better to call in someone who is a professional in skunk removal. This is much safer for you as you won't risk getting bit or sprayed, potentially being temporarily blinded in the process. Chances are very good that a non-professional trapping a skunk will end in the skunk spraying, causing damage to your property and an obvious odor issue that will need to be dealt with.
Call a professional in skunk removal if you are experiencing a problem with skunks. The sooner you call, the sooner the situation can be handled with a minimum of distress for all concerned. If you should experience a problem with the skunk odor in your home, they can often help you address that as well.
I learned from the management company that the crawlspace door had been inadvertently left open throughout the winter. When the current tenant noticed the open crawlspace door, he had closed it. The skunk smell began about 3 weeks after the crawlspace door had been closed.
When I arrived at the property I did an inspection of the foundation. It was an older home but there were no animal entry-points, and the entire foundation appeared structurally sound. I then performed an inspection of the crawlspace. There were signs of skunk activity, such as droppings, but no skunk odor and of course no skunk.
Professional Skunk Removal In Minocqua
After removing more than a thousand skunks in my career, I find it pretty easy to determine a live skunk smell as opposed to a dead skunk smell. This skunk was definitely dead!
I walked back out of the house to clear my nose, and entered the home through the back door. By doing this I was able to "center" the skunk odor thereby giving me a sense of where the source of the odor was strongest. My conclusions didn't make sense to me. The skunk odor appeared to be strongest as I walked up the steps in the front room to the second floor, which was 13 feet above the crawlspace.
Now in my area of the US, the only skunks we have are striped skunks, and striped skunks don't climb, at least not 13′!
I went back into the crawlspace to determine whether the skunk had gotten into one of the air ducts, and that possibly the smell was being distributed by the heating unit. Upon inspection I found that the ducting was intact.
Skunk Exterminators in Wisconsin
1-(833) 457-0929
I did another search of the crawlspace looking for anything unusual and concentrated on some very small blue Styrofoam shavings at the base of the interior, front wall of the crawlspace. I had originally attributed these shavings to mouse chewing, but on closer inspection it appeared a larger animal had chewed the Styrofoam insulating board.
Skunk Removal Services In Minocqua, WI
That fact, together with a 3″ gap between the insulating board and the exterior brick wall gave me an intriguing hypothesis. I aimed my flashlight up into that 3″ gap and using a mirror I could see that there was dirt smeared on the outside surface of the blue insulating board and the direction it went was up!
Back into the house I went, this time with a stepladder. As I climbed the stepladder and got closer to the ceiling of the first floor the skunk odor got stronger. I then removed one of the air vents in the ceiling and the smell was overwhelming. Well, now I knew I was getting somewhere!
I called the rental management office, explained the situation and asked for permission to cut a hole in the ceiling of the house. After receiving the o.k., I carefully cut a hole in the area where I determined the smell was most intense. When I put my head through that hole in the ceiling I was very relieved to see a dead skunk lying 2 feet away. After removing the dead skunk I did a more complete investigation of the area above the ceiling. There were many skunk tracks in the dust, and even a skunk dropping. I decided we needed to get professional skunk removal.
My conclusions are that the skunk had been living in the crawlspace through the winter months as skunks will often do. When the tenant closed the crawlspace door, he had trapped the skunk inside the crawlspace. The desperate animal, seeking an exit, had somehow shimmied, or forced itself up the wall between the blue insulating board and the inside surface of the brick exterior wall. It then found itself in the void between the ceiling and the floor of the second level. That is where it died of dehydration.
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other animals. It is mostly transferred by saliva entering a wound which in turn travels through your blood stream to your brain causing inflammation and swelling. The most common hosts for rabies in the United States are bats, though worldwide, dogs are the dominant source for transmission. Other animals that could carry rabies are raccoons, skunks, foxes and any other stray mammal.
Keeping these carriers away from society has become quite a task. Animal skunk removal experts pride themselves on keeping the streets safe from rabid mammals. They will come to your home, business or property and remove any animal deemed unfit for its surroundings. They are of course regulated by state regulations to trap and relocate this animal appropriately.
The largest issue face by skunk removal experts is educating others on how to deal with potential rabies exposure. If you are bitten by an animal it is very important to immediately call 911. It is also important to attempt capture of your enemy to use for testing to make sure that the animal is or isn't a host for rabies. If unable to test the animal you could be in for a wild ride of month long treatments costing up to two thousand dollars.
It is important to never handle a wild animal: dog, squirrel, skunk, or raccoon that you are unsure of. Making sure that your children are aware and to inform an adult if they see a sick or injured animal and to not touch is also very important. The most common deaths from rabies exposure are in children.
1-(833) 457-0929 toll free
Other pest control services we offer :
- Termite Infestation Minocqua WI
- Hornet Exterminator Minocqua WI
- Rodent Removal Minocqua WI
- Remove Squirrels Minocqua WI
- Bed Bug Fumigation Minocqua WI
- Flea Infestation Minocqua WI
- Earwig Infestation Minocqua WI
- Centipede Infestation Minocqua WI
- Bird Netting Minocqua WI
- Possum In Attic Minocqua WI
See our Skunk Pest Control video.
Get city data on Minocqua, Wisconsin.


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text: Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. It was great the other day to have all four living members of the Rolling Stones on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. But we might've listened differently had we known this. The AP tabulated the ages of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood. They are older than the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. On average, the Stones are closing in on 69. The Supremes are spry young kids who average just under 67 years old. You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Gastric Restrictive Surgery
Procedure overview
What is gastric stapling (restrictive) surgery?
Gastric stapling surgery, also called gastric banding surgery, is a type of bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) procedure performed to limit the amount of food a person can eat. Bariatric surgery is the only option today that effectively treats morbid obesity in people for whom more conservative measures such as diet, exercise, and medication have not been effective
In gastric banding surgery, no part of the stomach is removed and the digestive process remains intact. Either staples or a band are used to separate the stomach into two parts, one of which is a very small pouch that can hold about one ounce of food. The food from this "new" stomach empties into the closed-off portion of the stomach and then resumes the normal digestive process. Over time, the pouch can expand to hold two to three ounces of food. Because the size of the stomach is reduced so dramatically, this type of procedure is referred to as a restrictive procedure.
After gastric stapling or banding, a person can eat only about three-quarters to one cup of food. The food must be well-chewed. Eating more than the stomach pouch can hold may result in nausea and vomiting. Restrictive procedures pose fewer risks than gastric bypass procedures, but they are also less successful because continuous overeating can stretch the pouch so that it accommodates more food.
The types of gastric banding procedures include:
Adjustable gastric banding (AGB). This procedure involves attaching an inflatable band around the top portion of the stomach and tightening it like a belt to form a small pouch that serves as a new, much smaller stomach. After the procedure, the diameter of the band around the stomach can be adjusted by a doctor by adding or removing saline (salt water). No staples are used in this procedure, which is relatively new in the U.S.
Like other restrictive procedures, AGB may not achieve significant weight loss. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an AGB system in 2001 that can be put in place with a laparoscope (a small, thin tube with a video camera attached) rather than with an open incision for patients who are morbidly obese, as indicated by a Body Mass index (BMI) of 40 or more. -
Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG). This procedure uses a combination of staples and a band to create the pouch. There is a dime-sized opening at the bottom of the "new" stomach that opens into the rest of the larger stomach. Plastic tissue or mesh is wrapped around the opening to help prevent the opening from stretching. Weight loss is about 50 to 60 percent of excess body weight at one year after the surgery.
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). This procedure uses staples to remove a large portion of the stomach; the remaining stomach "sleeve" will hold approximately one-quarter cup of liquid. Over time, the stomach can expand to hold one cup of food.
This procedure was created as a first step of a two-step surgery (second step surgery involves changing the direction of food in the small intestine for a malabsorption). Many patients lose the desired amount of weight and do not have the second surgery. Weight loss can be 33 to 80 percent of excess body weight at one year after surgery. Since the rest of the stomach has been removed, this procedure is not reversible.
VBG and AGB may be performed with a laparoscope rather than through an open incision in some patients. This procedure uses several small incisions and three or more laparoscopes—small thin tubes with video cameras attached—to visualize the inside of the abdomen during the operation. The doctor performs the surgery while looking at a TV monitor. Laparoscopic gastric surgery usually reduces the length of hospital stay and the amount of scarring, and often results in quicker recovery than an "open" or standard procedure.
Persons with a BMI of 60 or more or persons who have already had some type of abdominal surgery are usually not considered as a candidate for the laparoscopic technique.
The digestive system
Digestion is the process by which food and liquid are broken down into smaller parts so that the body can use them to build and nourish cells. Digestion begins in the mouth, where food and liquids are taken in, and is completed in the small intestine. The digestive tract is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus.
The stomach is where the three mechanical tasks of storing, mixing, and emptying occur. Normally, this is what happens:
First, the stomach stores the swallowed food and liquid, which requires the muscle of the upper part of the stomach to relax and accept large volumes of swallowed material.
Second, the lower part of the stomach mixes up the food, liquid, and digestive juices produced by the stomach by muscle action.
Third, the stomach empties the contents into the small intestine.
The food is then digested in the small intestine and dissolved by the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, and the contents of the intestine are mixed and pushed forward to allow further digestion.
Reasons for the procedure
Bariatric surgery is performed because it is currently the best treatment option for producing lasting weight loss in obese patients for whom nonsurgical methods of weight loss have not been effective.
Potential candidates for bariatric surgery include:
Persons with a BMI greater than 40
Men who are 100 pounds over their ideal body weight or women who are 80 pounds over their ideal body weight
Persons with a BMI of 35 or more who have another condition such as obesity-related type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, or heart disease
Because the surgery can have serious side effects, the long-term health benefits must be considered and found to be greater than the risk. Despite the fact that some surgical techniques can be done laparoscopically with reduced risk, all bariatric surgery is considered to be major surgery.
Although not all risks with each procedure are fully known, bariatric surgery does help many people to reduce or eliminate some health-related obesity problems. It may help to:
Lower blood sugar
Lower blood pressure
Reduce or eliminate sleep apnea
Decrease the workload of the heart
Lower cholesterol levels
Surgery for weight loss is not a universal remedy, but these procedures can be highly effective in people who are motivated after surgery to follow their doctor's guidelines for nutrition and exercise and to take nutritional supplements.
There may be other reasons for your doctor to recommend a gastric banding procedure.
Risks of the procedure
As with any surgical procedure, complications may occur. Some possible complications include, but are not limited to, the following:
Blood clots
Bleeding ulcer
Development of gallstones
Obstruction or nausea can occur when food is not well-chewed
Poor nutrition
Scarring inside the abdomen
Vomiting due to eating more than the stomach pouch can hold
Risks specific to vertical gastric banding include breakdown of the line of staples and erosion of the band. Rarely, stomach juices may leak into the abdomen and emergency surgery may be needed. The most common complication that may develop with adjustable gastric band surgery is that the stomach pouch enlarges. Band slippage and saline leaks are also risks specific to adjustable gastric band surgery.
Risk is reduced with a laparoscopic banding procedure because there is no incision in the stomach wall.
There may be other risks depending on your specific medical condition. Be sure to discuss any concerns with your doctor prior to the procedure.
Before the procedure
Your doctor will explain the procedure to you and offer you the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have about the procedure.
You will be asked to sign a consent form that gives your doctor permission to perform the procedure. Read the form carefully and ask questions if something is not clear.
In addition to a complete medical history, your health care provider may perform a complete physical examination to ensure you are in good health before undergoing the procedure. You may undergo blood tests or other diagnostic tests.
You will be asked to fast for eight hours before the procedure, generally after midnight.
If you are pregnant or suspect that you are pregnant, you should notify your doctor.
Notify your doctor if you are sensitive to or are allergic to any medications, latex, iodine, tape, or anesthetic agents (local and general).
Notify your health care provider of all medications (prescription and over-the-counter) and herbal supplements that you are taking.
Notify your doctor if you have a history of bleeding disorders or if you are taking any anticoagulant (blood-thinning) medications, aspirin, ibuprofen, naprosyn, or other medications that affect blood clotting. It may be necessary for you to stop some of these medications prior to the procedure.
You may be asked to begin exercising and alter your diet several weeks before surgery.
If you are a woman of childbearing age, you may receive birth control counseling so that you do not become pregnant in your first year after surgery due to the risk to the fetus from rapid weight loss.
You may receive a sedative prior to the procedure to help you relax.
Based on your medical condition, your doctor may request other specific preparation.
During the procedure
Restrictive gastric banding surgery requires a stay in the hospital. Procedures may vary depending on the type of procedure performed and your doctor's practices.
Gastric banding surgery is generally performed while you are asleep under general anesthesia.
Generally, gastric banding surgery follows this process:
You will be asked to remove clothing and will be given a gown to wear.
An intravenous (IV) line may be started in your arm or hand.
You will be positioned lying on your back on the operating table.
A urinary catheter may be inserted.
If there is excessive hair at the surgical site, it may be clipped off.
The anesthesiologist will continuously monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and blood oxygen level during the surgery.
The skin over the surgical site will be cleansed with an antiseptic solution.
For an open procedure, the doctor will make a single large incision in the abdominal area. For a laparoscopic procedure, a series of small incisions will be made. Carbon dioxide gas will be introduced into the abdomen to inflate the abdominal cavity so that the stomach and other structures can easily be visualized.
For an adjustable gastric band procedure, a band with small reservoirs or balloons on the inside will be placed around the top end of the stomach to create the small pouch that will serve as the new stomach. A narrow passage will connect to the rest of the stomach. The band will be inflated with a salt solution.
For a vertical banded gastroplasty procedure, the pouch will be created with a line of staples.
A drain may be placed in the incision site to remove fluid.
The incision(s) will be closed with sutures or surgical staples.
A sterile bandage/dressing will be applied.
After the procedure
After the procedure, you will be taken to the recovery room for observation. Once your blood pressure, pulse, and breathing are stable and you are alert, you will be taken to your hospital room. Weight loss surgery usually requires an in-hospital stay of several days.
You may receive pain medication as needed, either by a nurse or by administering it yourself through a device connected to your intravenous line.
You will be encouraged to move around as tolerated while you are in bed, and then to get out of bed and walk around as your strength improves. It is important for you to move around soon after y our surgery to prevent the formation of blood clots.
At first you will receive fluids through an IV. After a day or two you will be given liquids, such as broth or clear juice, to drink. As you are able to tolerate liquids, you will be given thicker liquids, such as pudding, milk, or cream soup, followed by foods that you do not have to chew, such as hot cereal or pureed foods. Your doctor will instruct you about how long to eat pureed foods after surgery. By one month after your procedure, you may be eating solid foods.
You will be instructed about taking nutritional supplements to replace the nutrients lost due to the reconstruction of the digestive tract.
Before you are discharged from the hospital, arrangements will be made for a follow-up visit with your doctor.
At home
Once you are home, it will be important to keep the surgical area clean and dry. Your doctor will give you specific bathing instructions. The stitches or surgical staples will be removed during a follow-up visit.
The incision and abdominal muscles may ache, especially with deep breathing, coughing, and exertion. Take a pain reliever for soreness as recommended by your doctor. Aspirin or certain other pain medications may increase the chance of bleeding. Be sure to take only recommended medications.
You should continue the breathing exercises used in the hospital.
You should gradually increase your physical activity as tolerated. It may take several weeks to return to your previous levels of stamina.
You may be instructed to avoid lifting heavy items for several months in order to prevent strain on your abdominal muscles and surgical incision.
Weight loss surgery can be emotionally difficult because you will be adjusting to new dietary habits and a body in the process of change. You may feel especially tired during the first month following surgery. Exercise and attending a support group may be helpful at this time.
Notify your doctor to report any of the following:
Fever and/or chills
Redness, swelling, or bleeding or other drainage from the incision site
Increased pain around the incision site
Following gastric banding surgery, your doctor may give you additional or alternate instructions, depending on your particular situation.


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Today's Names to Know: Boston College, Matt Ryan, Curt Schilling, Ohio State, London, Steven Jackson, Boston Celtics, The Starter Wife, UNC hoops, David Stern, "real" fans.
Because no matter what
Both BC and OSU are unbeaten: It all comes down to strength of schedule and "quality" wins; B.C. has the edge, particularly after racking up the most impressive single win of any BCS contender: Winning AT Virginia Tech, one of the toughest places to play in the country.
The Eagles did it in the slop, a rainy mess, with the Hokies controlling the game – dominating – for 55 minutes before re-energized Heisman contender (dare I say "front-runner?") Matt Ryan engineered two TD drives, with a very effective/lucky onside kick in between.
It was one of those "miracle" wins where you begin to think that B.C. has a destiny this season to reach the national title game.
Come Sunday morning, B.C. will have a stronger claim to that national title game than any other team in the country. Their most impressive trick: Leap-frogging the Buckeyes before OSU even takes the field.
(The only question is whether I put LSU ahead of
World Series: Red Sox take 2-0 lead over
Curt Schilling pitched phenomenally, and the Red Sox tag-team bullpen of Okajima and Papelbon shut down any
As for the Rockies, now, we're in territory that
But this is the World Series, where being down 2-0 means that every single one of the three games in
CFB Preview and Picks: TWO unbeatens could go down. But which ones? I am projecting this weekend to be as crazy as the last four.
At Rutgers over 7
10 South
NFL Week 8 Preview and Picks: My Top 5 Most Intriguing Storylines.
2. Pats 8-0: And don't give a f***
3. Favre's MNF finale: Maybe, finally?
4. Steven Jackson returns: Rams need him.
5. 2-4 teams: On edge of playoff abyss
Steelers (4-2) over at Bengals (2-4)
At Titans (4-2) over Raiders (2-4)
At Rams (0-7) over Browns (3-3)
Giants (5-2) over Dolphins (0-7) (
At Vikings (2-4) over Eagles (2-4)
Colts (6-0) over at Panthers (4-2)
At Jets (1-6) over Bills (2-4)
Chargers (3-3) over Texans (3-4)
At Bucs (4-3) over Jags (4-2)
At Pats (7-0) over Redskins (4-2)
Saints (2-4) over at 49ers (2-4)
At Broncos (3-3) over Packers (5-1) (MNF)
Today's Must-Read: The NFL is letting down its female fans. This is an example of a great post – passionate, interesting, exclusive, exhaustively researched. Kudos to The Starter Wife and the Ladies... on this terrific post.
(And TSW earns extra points from me because she emailed to say The Starter Boyfriend adopted her Steelers. Given the fact that I have my NFL allegiance from adopting the team for which I was assigned to write a Deadspin season preview, he's doing OK by me.)
NBA Preview: Top 5 Storylines
1. Celtics: After 20 years, a return to relevancy
3. Durant + Rookies: Big sleeper? Al Thornton.
4. Surprises: Who is this year's Warriors?
5. Refs: Fan Preview: "YOU ON THE TAKE, REF?!"
What's your top NBA storyline this season? And what's your top under-the-radar storyline this season? Coming Monday: Awards. Coming Tuesday: Playoff/Finals Picks.
College Hoops: UNC tops Coaches' preseason Top 25. UCLA,
More Top 25 notes: Two-time defending champ
As a reminder, my first crack at the Final Four is: UCLA (champs),
More NBA: David Stern won't punish all the refs – half the freaking group – who violated the league's ban on casino gambling. What was he going to do: Suspend half the league's refs?
I recognize that the rule was probably a little overwrought, except for two things: (1) The fact is, the refs DID break a rule, which is disconcerting, because it involves gambling, if legal.
(2) What's so unreasonable about asking pro sports officials to steer clear of casinos while they are employed by the NBA? Is their compulsion so great they can't put their incredibly exclusive job ahead of their need to gamble? Because if that's the case, aren't they at risk to fall into a trap where their gambling compromises their job?
(The same thing applies to players: Don't you think that Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley's severe gambling habits puts them in at least MILD risk of compromising games in the service of their psychological addiction? It's hardly a heretical point to raise.)
What makes a "real" fan: Huge thanks to all commenters who made yesterday's discussion of what makes a "real" fan one of our most interesting ever. And additional thanks to all readers who emailed me directly to share their own thoughts and stories. Enjoyed them all.
Find any blogger reaction to the post? Email the URL to me so I can link to it (whether they found the story compelling or not -- I welcome all discussion). For example, the highly esteemed Eric McErlain at Fanhouse put up this. It's a really phenomenal post by one of my favorite sports thinkers, and I really recommend you give it a read. (Here's another Fanhouse post from Josh Alper, on his brief fling with Michigan State.)
More Reactions (updating):
Sam Versus World.
FreeDarko. (Last link, with the phrasing I'd like to frame: "Shanoff's liberated fandom.")
(Ironically, the name of my first company, a start-up, was "Real Fans," an online-sports pioneer acquired by AOL. Were any of you out there AOL members back in mid-90s and remember the site? God, it was so fun. Sometime, I'll recount how crazy it was, as if anyone really cares.)
Wow, how about that: Two days this week of two-a-day posting? Could this be the start of a trend? Hmm...


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There are so many things to like about "The Lego Movie": a great voice cast, clever dialogue and a handsome blend of stop-motion and CGI animation that feels lovingly retro, while still looking sharp in 21st-century 3-D.
But the best thing about this movie, which was produced in full partnership with the Danish toymaker famous for its plastic-brick building system, is its subversive nature. While clearly filled with affection for — and marketing tie-ins to — the titular product that's front and center, it's also something of a sharp plastic brick flung in the eye of its corporate sponsor.
Once celebrated for fostering creativity through simple yet versatile sets that could be combined into a wide variety of structures — a barn, a boat, a plane — the 80-year old Lego company is probably best known today as a purveyor of narrowly proscribed model kits with hundreds of highly specialized pieces designed to replicate, in meticulous detail, say, the A-wing starfighter from "Star Wars," and nothing else.
The most essential item of the modern Lego set has become, unfortunately, the instruction booklet.
Thankfully, and somewhat surprisingly, "The Lego Movie" takes dead aim at this disturbing trend, undermining, with delightful results, the hegemony of a creative toy that comes with its own set of inflexible rules. "The Lego Movie" is an homage to the spirit of the iconoclast (i.e., the child).
Its hero, ironically, is anything but a rule-breaker. Set in a world built entirely of Legos, the story revolves around construction worker Emmet Brickowski (voice of Chris Pratt), a tiny plastic Everyman who loves nothing better than following instructions. But when his Lego universe is threatened by an evil villain (Will Ferrell) who intends to glue all the world's pieces — and its people — together, Emmet must join forces with a group of rebels to stop him. (In a nod to the term Lego uses to designate its in-house designers, these creative free spirits are known as "master builders.")
Guided by a leader who's part Gandalf and part Morpheus (Morgan Freeman), this underground resistance movement consists of a fittingly motley crew: a punk-ish loner named Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks); her egotistical boyfriend, Batman (Will Arnett); a well-worn Lego spaceman figure from the mid-1980s (Charlie Day); and a robot-pirate hybrid named Metal Beard (Nick Offerman). The rest of the freedom fighters are a cheeky mix of Lego-sized historical personages (Abraham Lincoln, Shakespeare and Shaquille O'Neil) and co-branded comic book heroes (Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman and others).
Keep an ear out for cameos by such stars as Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Billy Dee Williams, good-naturedly reprising his role as Lando Calrissian from the "Star Wars" trilogy. It's hard not to have fun when the film (written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) is having such a good time with pop culture.
The chief party animal, of course, is Ferrell. Overplaying his character, Lord Business, like a distant cousin of his dim-witted "Megamind" villain, the actor once again gets tons of comic mileage out of his patented silly grandiloquence. ("Nail polish remover" — a deadly weapon if you're a plastic toy and your face has been painted on — becomes, in Ferrell's threatening delivery, the "poe-leash remover of nah-eel.")
"The Lego Movie" pokes fun at anyone who would argue that Lego products are, as one character puts it, "a highly sophisticated, interlocking brick system," and not simply toys. But it also makes fun of itself, tweaking the conventions of narrative filmmaking, animation and Lego model-making itself. It's a constant pleasure to discover how the animators have figured out how to render such un-bricklike substances as water, soap bubbles, the steam from a locomotive or flames.
The moral of this story is a sweet and uncomplicated one: Believe in yourself; everyone is special; there's a time to follow the rules and a time to break them. Sure, those sentiments are cloying. In fact, they sound like something you'd see on one of those stupid, inspirational cat posters, don't they?
As it turns out, that's exactly how a character in this adorably acerbic little movie describes them.
Three and a half stars. PG. Contains mild action and some rude, nose-thumbing humor. 94 minutes.
Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time. Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post