Here ya go...

Revenue Recognition as it relates to valuation of a company prior to stock issuance

Revenue recognition Revenue recognition still receives a great deal of attention from the SEC. Some of the most common topics include the following:

• Software revenue recognition

• Multiple-element arrangements

• Gross versus net revenue presentation

• Reseller arrangements

• Collaboration agreements

• Barter transactions

• Bill and hold/consignment sales

• Upfront fees

New revenue recognition guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) will affect almost all entities and significantly increase required disclosures. While current guidance is often industry-specific and spread across various pieces of accounting literature, Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” provides a single, comprehensive model to be applied in all industries. The standard is effective for public entities for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods therein. For non-public entities, the standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted only as of annual reporting periods (including interim reporting periods within those periods) beginning after December 15, 2016. Companies contemplating an IPO should begin an assessment of the impact of the new standard on the organization so they can articulate to investors, investment bankers and other stakeholders the potential impact of the adoption of the new guidance.

https://asc.fasb.org/imageRoot/32/79982032.pdf

Summary Why Is the FASB Issuing This Accounting Standards Update (Update)? On May 28, 2014, the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued a converged standard on recognition of revenue from contracts with customers. In June 2014, the FASB and the IASB (collectively, the Boards) announced the formation of the FASB-IASB Joint Transition Resource Group for Revenue Recognition (TRG). One of the objectives of the TRG is to inform the Boards about potential implementation issues that could arise when organizations implement the new revenue guidance. The TRG also assists stakeholders in understanding specific aspects of the new revenue guidance. The TRG does not issue authoritative guidance. Instead, the Boards evaluate the feedback received from the TRG and other stakeholders to determine what action, if any, is necessary for each potential implementation issue. Implementation questions submitted to the TRG and discussions at TRG meetings informed the Board about a few issues in the guidance on identifying performance obligations and licensing. Those issues include: 1. Identifying Performance Obligations: a. When identifying performance obligations, whether it is necessary to assess whether promised goods or services are performance obligations if they are immaterial in the context of the contract b. Determining whether promised goods and services are separately identifiable (that is, distinct within the context of the contract) c. Determining whether shipping and handling activities are a promised service in a contract or are activities to fulfill an entity’s other promises in the contract. 2. Licensing: a. Determining whether the nature of an entity’s promise in granting a license is to provide a right to access the entity’s intellectual property, which is satisfied over time and for which revenue is recognized over time, or to provide a right to use the entity’s intellectual property, which is satisfied at a point in time and for which revenue is recognized at a point in time b. The scope and applicability of the guidance about when to recognize revenue for sales-based or usage-based royalties promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property c. Distinguishing contractual provisions that require an entity to transfer additional licenses (that is, rights to use or access intellectual property) to a customer from contractual provisions that define the 2 attributes of a promised license (for example, restrictions of time, geographical region, or use). To address those issues, the Board decided to add a project to its technical agenda to improve Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, by reducing: 1. The potential for diversity in practice at initial application 2. The cost and complexity of applying Topic 606 both at transition and on an ongoing basis.

Dune Buggy Crazy!!

Don't try this at home - or anywhere else for that matter!

Borg Soliliquy

What does a consultant do?

Don't Des-Pair From MEH.com

My time draws near. I’ve led a rich life. I’ve loved and been loved. Made the right friends and the right enemies. Seen the sun rising over the mountains and setting over different mountains from the first mountains I just mentioned. I regret nothing.

Except one thing: all the time I spent trying to match socks.

You’d think first of all, that you’d just be able to buy the same black socks every time. But no, they’re never quite the same. Even if you buy the same brand, they keep making little tweaks to the size, the shade, the thickness, the elasticity. It’s really hard to tell the difference until you put them on - and then it’s impossible to ignore.

So when you take them out of the laundry, the detective work begins. Is this sock a little darker than that one? Or, wait, a little lighter? A little more of a blue undertone, or a brown? Or is it just the light in here? It starts with color.

But it doesn’t end there. There’s the thickness to consider. And the construction. Does it have that different little elastic band across the top? How wide is it? Is there a clearly defined sole, with a distinct weave, or is if the same all the way around?

Don’t forget the toe. First, match up the gold-toe ones, that’s easy. Then the ones with a reinforced toe, a little more difficult. Then it gets tricky. Does the toe seam go over the top of the toes, or across the front of the foot, parallel to the floor?

Now imagine this, once a week, for the sixty or seventy years of your adult life. I wish I had that time back now.

I wish I’d had the courage to wear clearly and distinctly matchable socks. Perhaps socks with bold, colorful patterns that made no bones about who their mate is. Socks that you could match as easily as looking at them. Maybe even socks you could match as you pull them out of the drawer!

But it was a different time. That just wasn’t done. And by the time fashions changed, I was an old man, set in my ways. That’s the only thing I envy about younger people: their freedom to wear whatever socks they please. I’m sure they all take advantage of it, to save themselves those wasted hours they’ll never get back. They’d have to be fools not to.

Dead Snake found

Dead snake found near water plant in Ft. Myers

The Art of Manliness

by BRETT & KATE MCKAY

Merry Christmas! Kate and I will be taking the coming week off to spend time with family and reboot before the new year. So we won’t be publishing anything new on the site until January. But for those of you who still need an AoM fix while we’re away, we’ve put together this recap of...
Read the article.

Outdoors

The Gun Source

Berry Cobbler in the Crockpot

Lithotripsy Use Declining?

by Wayne Kuznar

CLEVELAND—A shift away from shock-wave lithotripsy (SWL) and toward flexible ureteroscopy is changing the landscape of stone disease treatment, said Mihir M. Desai, MD, during the Cleveland Clinic's Nephrology Update 2008.
The enthusiasm for SWL at many academic centers in the United States is waning as new-generation compact lithotriptors are less successful at stone fragmentation compared with the earlier Dornier HM3, said Dr. Desai, Director of the Stevan B. Streem Center for Endourology, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, and associate professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. This is because of attempts to reduce SWL's effect on surrounding tissue by reducing the focal zone and the persistence of long-term safety concerns with shock-wave delivery.
The preferred methods for treating renal stones at the Cleveland Clinic, as in many other centers, are now percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) for larger calculi and flexible ureteroscopy for small- to medium-sized renal calculi, he said. “Second and third generation flexible ureteroscopes are smaller, have greater deflection and can reach more areas of the urinary tract,” he said.

SWL safety concerns

SWL may pose certain safety concerns. In a 19-year follow-up of patients undergoing SWL for renal and proximal ureteral stones, Krambeck and colleagues found significantly increased risks of hypertension and diabetes compared with controls, even after adjusting for BMI, Dr. Desai noted.
Limitations of this study included its retrospective nature, the 59% response rate from the original series, the use of a first-generation (Dornier HM3) lithotriptor in all cases, and the lack of a clear causal relationship between SWL and hypertension and diabetes.

Recent research, however, has found an elevation of pancreatic enzymes in patients undergoing SWL, establishing a potential link between it and the development of diabetes, Dr. Desai noted.
Japanese investigators found no such link between SWL of renal stones and hypertension or diabetes. Even though the association of SWL and diabetes currently remains controversial, the potential for diabetes should be factored into counseling of patients when explaining options for the treatment of kidney stones, he said.
A poor response to lithotripsy has been observed with certain stone characteristics. Predictors of a poor response are greater stone density, a greater stone-to-skin distance, and a larger stone volume.

Ureteroscopy advances

Active deflection of scopes and the availability of accessories, such as nitinol baskets and holmium laser, have also enabled the increasing application of flexible ureteroscopy for renal calculi, Dr. Desai added.
One advantage of flexible ureteroscopy is fragmentation of stone under direct visualization. “It doesn't have the unpredictability of shock-wave lithotripsy,” he said.
Other advantages include the ability to reposition fragments into a favorable location, basket removal of some stone burden, and proper identification of parenychmal calcifications.

Recent studies also indicate that flexible ureteroscopy can be performed in patients on active coagulation without hemorrhagic or thromboembolic complications, he said.

 “Multiperc”

Complete removal of staghorn calculi is mandatory, as these stones are associated with high rates of morbidity, mortality, persistent infection, and rapid stone regrowth.

For staghorn calculi, Dr. Desai recommends aggressive PNL, or “multiperc” [multiple percutaneous access]. Multiperc is the philosophy of completely clearing all calculi using multiple tracts and/or sittings, with SWL reserved for the occasional patient in whom percutaneous clearance is either dangerous or unfeasible.

Multiperc offers the capability for complete stone clearance in a single hospitalization with a reduced need for ancillary procedures and re-treatments.

Examining multiperc results over a 13-year period during which 650 kidneys were treated reveals a complete clearance rate of 85%, a need for ancillary procedures 9% of the time, and a 91% final clearance. Thirty-two percent of the cases were managed with a single tract, 36% needed two tracts, and 12.4% required more than three.

The potential impact on renal function has been a concern with multiperc, but percutaneous nephrostomy tracts appear to cause minimal change in renal function, said Dr. Desai. “There is a slight decrease [during] the immediate postoperative period in creatinine clearance and estimated glomerular filtration rate but a marginal improvement in kidney function [as ascertained by CKD class] at one year,” he said. “The overall impact on renal function was positive.”

Kukreja and colleagues in 2003 showed that PNL in patients with preoperative renal insufficiency resulted in normalization of kidney function in one third and an improvement in another 47%. Pre-existing conditions, such as proteinuria and infection, were significant predictors of long-term renal function.

For patients with renal insufficiency, technical modifications, including staging (less than 90 minutes of nephroscopy time), prior nephrostomy drainage, hydration, and antibiotics, may be necessary to preserve renal function.

Multiperc does result in blood loss that was associated with a mean drop in hemoglobin of 1.9% and higher loss with multiple tracts. The procedure-specific transfusion rate is about 11%. Aside from multiple tracts, other factors that affect blood loss during PNL are previous open surgery or PNL, an operative time greater than 90 minutes, intraoperative complications, and diabetes. PNL appears safe in anticoagulated patients, he said.

Medical expulsive therapy

Medical expulsive therapy can be offered as an initial treatment if pain is well-controlled, renal function is adequate, and sepsis is absent, Dr. Desai said. Persistent obstruction, a stone that is not passing, or increasing colic are indications for removal.

“Ninety-five percent of stones pass within the first four weeks; this is the cutoff we generally use when observation stops and treatment is indicated,” he said.

Robotics: The future

An attempt to overcome these limitations has led to the introduction of robotics, said Dr. Desai. Investigators at Cleveland Clinic have worked on a flexible robotic catheter control system to perform flexible ureteroscopy. The robotic catheter system has instinctive control via a joystick. The tip of the sheath can be positioned in space at any time by control of the 3D joystick called the master input device.

After showing its feasibility in animal models, the robotic system was used to perform flexible ureteroscopy in 18 adult humans, 15 of whom had one stone each. On kidney, ureter, bladder radiography, stone clearance was 44% on postoperative day 1, 78% at two weeks, and 89% at three months; an ancillary ureteroscopic stone removal was required in one case.

Blasted Again!

Well. for the eighth time I will go under the blaster to have a kidney stone pulverized. I have had 20 stones that either passed or were blasted, extracted or "scoped", and still have nine more waiting their turns. This one is about 9mm in diameter and very rough. It is currently lodged just outside the right kidney and is too large to drop any further.

Kidney stones are an interesting phenomenon. Many believe that production is inherited, while others believe it is a result of the types of food and beverages one drinks.

One striking statistic is that a significant percentage of all instances of kidney stones occur in the Southeast, and are concentrated along I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte.

Some also believe that a prime cause of calcified stones is a calcium deficiency and that the best treatment is to take calcium, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements, which have been shown to actually dissolve stones with consistent prolonged use.

Below is a picture of the lithotrypsy machine that is normally used on me.

MODULITH® SLX-F2 lithotripter

From the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Every new lithotripter launched by STORZ MEDICAL is bound to set new standards in the market. Even in areas in which we have established ourselves as the unchallenged market leader, we do not sit back and rest on our laurels, but rather provide additional technical innovations to further increase therapy efficiency and make therapies even gentler on patients.

Rather than expecting people to adapt to new technologies, we must ensure that technical progress is adapted to the requirements of people. Acting up to this principle backed by the experience of more than two decades in designing shock wave devices the new, unique MODULITH SLX-F2 was developed.

Kidney stones, one of the most painful of the urologic disorders, are not a product of modern life. Scientists have found evidence of kidney stones in a 7,000-year-old Egyptian mummy. Unfortunately, kidney stones are one of the most common disorders of the urinary tract; more than 1 million cases were diagnosed in 1996. An estimated 10 percent of people in the United States will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives. Men tend to be affected more frequently than women.

Most kidney stones pass out of the body without any intervention by a physician. Stones that cause lasting symptoms or other complications may be treated by various techniques, most of which do not involve major surgery. Also, research advances have led to a better understanding of the many factors that promote stone formation.

Introduction to the Urinary Tract

The urinary tract, or system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located below the ribs toward the middle of the back. The kidneys remove extra water and wastes from the blood, converting it to urine. They also keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. The kidneys produce hormones that help build strong bones and help form red blood cells.

Narrow tubes called ureters carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, a triangle-shaped chamber in the lower abdomen. Like a balloon, the bladder's elastic walls stretch and expand to store urine. They flatten together when urine is emptied through the urethra to outside the body.

What is a Kidney Stone?

A kidney stone is a hard mass developed from crystals that separates from the urine and builds up on the inner surfaces of the kidney. Normally, urine contains chemicals that prevent the crystals from forming. These inhibitors do not seem to work for everyone, however, so some people form stones. If the crystals remain tiny enough, they will travel through the urinary tract and pass out of the body in the urine without being noticed.

Kidney stones may contain various combinations of chemicals. The most common type of stone contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate. These chemicals are part of a person's normal diet and make up important parts of the body, such as bones and muscles. A less common type of stone is caused by infection in the urinary tract. This type of stone is called a struvite or infection stone. Much less common are the uric acid stone and the rare cystine stone. Urolithiasis is the medical term used to describe stones occurring in the urinary tract. Other frequently used terms are urinary tract stone disease and nephrolithiasis. Doctors also use terms that describe the location of the stone in the urinary tract. For example, a ureteral stone (or ureterolithiasis) is a kidney stone found in the ureter. To keep things simple, however, the term "kidney stones" is used throughout this fact sheet.

Gallstones and kidney stones are not related. They form in different areas of the body. If you have a gallstone, you are not necessarily more likely to develop kidney stones.

Who gets Kidney Stones?

For unknown reasons, the number of people in the United States with kidney stones has been increasing over the past 20 years. White Americans are more prone to develop kidney stones than African Americans. Stones occur more frequently in men. Kidney stones strike most typically between the ages of 20 and 40. Once a person gets more than one stone, others are likely to develop.

What Causes Kidney Stones?

Doctors do not always know what causes a stone to form. While certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible.

A person with a family history of kidney stones may be more likely to develop stones. Urinary tract infections, kidney disorders such as cystic kidney diseases, and metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism are also linked to stone formation.

In addition, more than 70 percent of people with a rare hereditary disease called renal tubular acidosis develop kidney stones.

Cystinuria and hyperoxaluria are two other rare, inherited metabolic disorders that often cause kidney stones. In cystinuria, too much of the amino acid cystine, which does not dissolve in urine, is voided. This can lead to the formation of stones made of cystine. In patients with hyperoxaluria, the body produces too much of the salt oxalate. When there is more oxalate than can be dissolved in the urine, the crystals settle out and form stones.

Absorptive hypercalciuria occurs when the body absorbs too much calcium from food and empties the extra calcium into the urine. This high level of calcium in the urine causes crystals of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate to form in the kidneys or urinary tract.
Other causes of kidney stones are hyperuricosuria (a disorder of uric acid metabolism), gout, excess intake of vitamin D, and blockage of the urinary tract. Certain diuretics (water pills) or calcium-based antacids may increase the risk of forming kidney stones by increasing the amount of calcium in the urine.

Calcium oxalate stones may also form in people who have a chronic inflammation of the bowel or who have had an intestinal bypass operation, or ostomy surgery. As mentioned above, struvite stones can form in people who have had a urinary tract infection. People who take the protease inhibitor indinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection and AIDS, are at risk of developing kidney stones.

What are the Symptoms?

Usually, the first symptom of a kidney stone is extreme pain. The pain often begins suddenly when a stone moves in the urinary tract, causing irritation or blockage. Typically, a person feels a sharp, cramping pain in the back and side in the area of the kidney or in the lower abdomen. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. Later, pain may spread to the groin.

If the stone is too large to pass easily, pain continues as the muscles in the wall of the tiny ureter try to squeeze the stone along into the bladder. As a stone grows or moves, blood may appear in the urine. As the stone moves down the ureter closer to the bladder, you may feel the need to urinate more often or feel a burning sensation during urination.

If fever and chills accompany any of these symptoms, an infection may be present. In this case, you should contact a doctor immediately.

How are Kidney Stones diagnosed?

Sometimes "silent" stones - those that do not cause symptoms - are found on X-rays taken during a general health exam. These stones would likely pass unnoticed.

More often, kidney stones are found on an X-ray or sonogram taken on someone who complains of blood in the urine or sudden pain. These diagnostic images give the doctor valuable information about the stone's size and location. Blood and urine tests help detect any abnormal substance that might promote stone formation.

The doctor may decide to scan the urinary system using a special X-ray test called an IVP (intravenous pyelogram). The results of all these tests help determine the proper treatment.

How are Kidney Stones treated?

Fortunately, surgery is not usually necessary. Most kidney stones can pass through the urinary system with plenty of water (2 to 3 quarts a day) to help move the stone along. Often, you can stay home during this process, drinking fluids and taking pain medication as needed. The doctor usually asks you to save the passed stone(s) for testing. (You can catch it in a cup or tea strainer used only for this purpose.)

The first Step: Prevention

If you've had more than one kidney stone, you are likely to form another; so prevention is very important. To prevent stones from forming, your doctor must determine their cause. He or she will order laboratory tests, including urine and blood tests. Your doctor will also ask about your medical history, occupation, and eating habits. If a stone has been removed, or if you've passed a stone and saved it, the laboratory can analyze it to determine its composition.

You may be asked to collect your urine for 24 hours after a stone has passed or been removed. The sample is used to measure urine volume and levels of acidity, calcium, sodium, uric acid, oxalate, citrate, and creatinine (a product of muscle metabolism). Your doctor will use this information to determine the cause of the stone. A second 24-hour urine collection may be needed to determine whether the prescribed treatment is working.

Lifestyle Changes

A simple and most important lifestyle change to prevent stones is to drink more liquid - water is best. If you tend to form stones, you should try to drink enough fluids throughout the day to produce at least 2 quarts of urine in every 24-hour period. People who form calcium stones used to be told to avoid dairy products and other foods with high calcium content. But recent studies have shown that foods high in calcium, including dairy foods, help prevent calcium stones. Taking calcium in pill form, however, may increase the risk of developing stones. You may be told to avoid food with added vitamin D and certain types of anticids that have a calcium base. If you have a very acidic urine, you may need to eat less meat, fish and poultry. These foods increase the amount of acid in the urine.
To prevent cystine stones, you should drink enough water each day to dilute the concentration of cystine that escapes into the urine, which may be difficult. More than a gallon of water may be needed every 24 hours, and a third of that must be drunk during the night.

Medical Therapy

The doctor may prescribe certain medications to prevent calcium and uric acid stones. These drugs control the amount of acid or alkali in the urine, key factors in crystal formation. The drug allopurinol may also be useful in some cases of hypercalciuria and hyperuricosuria.

Another way a doctor may try to control hypercalciuria, and thus prevent calcium stones, is by prescribing certain diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide. These drugs decrease the amount of calcium released by the kidneys into the urine.

Some patients with absorptive hypercalciuria may be given the drug sodium cellulose phosphate, which binds calcium in the intestines and prevents it from leaking into the urine.

If cystine stones cannot be controlled by drinking more fluids, your doctor may prescribe the drug Thiola, which helps reduce the amount of cystine in the urine.

For struvite stones that have been totally removed, the first line of prevention is to keep the urine free of bacteria that can cause infection. Your urine will be tested regularly to be sure that no bacteria are present.

If struvite stones cannot be removed, your doctor may prescribe a drug called acetohydroxamic acid (AHA). AHA is used with long-term antibiotic drugs to prevent the infection that leads to stone growth.

People with hyperparathyroidism sometimes develop calcium stones. Treatment in these cases is usually surgery to remove the parathyroid glands (located in the neck). In most cases, only one of the glands is enlarged. Removing the glands cures the patient's problem with hyperparathyroidism and with kidney stones as well.

Surgical Treatment

Surgery should be reserved as an option for cases where other approaches have failed or shouldn't be tried. Surgery may be needed to remove a kidney stone if it

• Does not pass after a reasonable period of time and causes constant pain
• Is too large to pass on its own or is caught in a difficult place
• Blocks the flow of urine
• Causes ongoing urinary tract infection
• Damages kidney tissue or causes constant bleeding
• Has grown larger (as seen on followup X-ray studies).

Until recently, surgery to remove a stone was very painful and required a lengthy recovery time (4 to 6 weeks). Today, treatment for these stones is greatly improved, and many options do not require major surgery.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is the most frequently used procedure for the treatment of kidney stones. In ESWL, shock waves that are created outside of the body travel through the skin and body tissues until they hit the dense stones. The stones break down into sand-like particles and are easily passed through the urinary tract in the urine.

There are several types of ESWL devices. In one device, the patient reclines in a water bath while the shock waves are transmitted. Other devices have a soft cushion on which the patient lies. Most devices use either x-rays or ultrasound to help the surgeon pinpoint the stone during treatment. For most types of ESWL procedures, anesthesia is needed.
In some cases, ESWL may be done on an outpatient basis. Recovery time is short, and most people can resume normal activities in a few days.

Complications may occur with ESWL

Complications may occur with ESWL. Most patients have blood in their urine for a few days after treatment. Bruising and minor discomfort of the back or abdomen from the shock waves are also common. To reduce the risk of complications, doctors usually tell patients to avoid taking aspirin and other drugs that affect blood clotting for several weeks before treatment.

Another complication may occur if the shattered stone particles cause discomfort as they pass through the urinary tract. In some cases, the doctor will insert a small tube called a stent through the bladder into the ureter to help the fragments pass. Sometimes the stone is not completely shattered with one treatment, and additional treatments may be needed.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

Sometimes a procedure called percutaneous nephrolithotomy is recommended to remove a stone. This treatment is often used when the stone is quite large or in a location that does not allow effective use of ESWL.

In this procedure, the surgeon makes a tiny incision in the back and creates a tunnel directly into the kidney. Using an instrument called a nephroscope, the surgeon locates and removes the stone. For large stones, some type of energy probe (ultrasonic or electrohydraulic) may be needed to break the stone into small pieces. Generally, patients stay in the hospital for several days and may have a small tube called a nephrostomy tube left in the kidney during the healing process.
One advantage of percutaneous nephrolithotomy over ESWL is that the surgeon removes the stone fragments instead of relying on their natural passage from the kidney.

Ureteroscopic Stone Removal

Although some kidney stones in the ureters can be treated with ESWL, ureteroscopy may be needed for mid- and lower-ureter stones. No incision is made in this procedure. Instead, the surgeon passes a small fiberoptic instrument called a ureteroscope through the urethra and bladder into the ureter. The surgeon then locates the stone and either removes it with a cage-like device or shatters it with a special instrument that produces a form of shock wave. A small tube or stent may be left in the ureter for a few days to help the lining of the ureter heal. Before fiber optics made ureteroscopy possible, physicians used a similar "blind basket" extraction method. But this outdated technique should not be used because it may damage the ureters.

Is any research being done on Kidney Stones?

The Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) funds research on the causes, treatments, and prevention of kidney stones. NIDDK is part of the Federal Government's National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

New drugs and the growing field of lithotripsy have greatly improved the treatment of kidney stones. Still, NIDDK researchers and grantees seek to answer questions such as

• Why do some people continue to have painful stones?
• How can doctors predict, or screen, those at risk for getting stones?
• What are the long-term effects of lithotripsy?
• Do genes play a role in stone formation?
• What is the natural substance(s) found in urine that blocks stone formation?

Researchers are also working on new drugs with fewer side effects.

Prevention Points

• To remember: If you have a family history of stones or have had more than one stone, you are likely to develop more stones.
• A good first step to prevent the formation of any type of stone is to drink plenty of liquids-water is best.
• If you are at risk for developing stones, your doctor may perform certain blood and urine tests to determine which factors can best be altered to reduce that risk.
• Some people will need medicines to prevent stones from forming.
• People with chronic urinary tract infections and stones will often need the stone removed if the doctor determines that the infection results from the stone's presence. Patients must receive careful followup to be sure that the infection has cleared.

Foods and Drinks Containing Oxalate

People prone to forming calcium oxalate stones may be asked by their doctor to cut back on certain foods on this list:

• Beets
• Chocolate
• Coffee
• Cola
• Nuts
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Tea
• Wheat bran

People should not give up or avoid eating these foods without talking to their doctor first. In most cases, these foods can be eaten in limited amounts.

This e-text is not copyrighted. The clearinghouse encourages users of this e-pub to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired.

Idiot Sightings

I feel like a VALEDICTORIAN !!!!!
I handed the teller at my bank a withdrawal slip for $400
I said "May I have large bills, please"

She looked at me and said "I'm sorry sir, all the bills are the same size."
When I got up off the floor I explained it to her.
____________________________________________________________________

When we arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'it's open!' His reply: 'I know. I already got that side.'

-Ford dealership in Canton,MS
____________________________________________________________________

We had to have the garage door repaired.
The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener.
I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower.
He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4.
He said, 'NO, it's not..' Four is larger than two.'

We haven't used Sears repair since.
____________________________________________________________________

I live in a semi-rural area.
We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office
to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road.
The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here!
I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

-From Kingman , KS
____________________________________________________________________

My son went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco.
He asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.'
The worker said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

-From Kansas City
____________________________________________________________________

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked,
'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?'
To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?'
He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'

-Birmingham , Ala.
____________________________________________________________________

The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street.
I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for.
I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red.
Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'

-probation officer in Wichita , KS
____________________________________________________________________

At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker who was leaving the company due to 'downsizing,' our manager commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.'
Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

-lunch at Texas Instruments.
____________________________________________________________________

I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

-deputy with the Dallas County Sheriff's office.

How the Internet started

A revelation with an Incredibly Big Message (IBM):
Well, you might have thought that you knew how the Internet started, but here's the TRUE story ....

In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband: "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her - as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said: "How, dear?"

And Dot replied: "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for
sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price.

And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP)

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted - for insider trading.

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung.

They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land.

And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drum heads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say: "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."

And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known. He said: "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied: "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE)

And that is how it all began.

Talent Unequaled!

It doesn't get any better than this!

Leftists “don’t get” poverty

Leftists “don’t get” poverty only if one assumes that they truly intend to end poverty. This would be a false assumption. Leftists NEED poverty and they create and expand poverty, because it is good for politics. It is a Marxian myth that history is a series of struggles between the very rich and the very poor.
The very rich and the very poor have always had a symbiotic relationship, going back at least as far as ancient Rome. The very rich in government support the very poor economically, and the very poor support the very rich politically. This has not changed. Leftists provide free food, free housing, and subsidies of various kinds to poor people, and they expand the poverty rolls by punishing people who actually try to exit poverty.
Leftists have created multiple generations of welfare dependents who will never escape poverty and live in crime ridden, filth infested slums. In return for this “support” the people who live in these dumps vote for them, thinking they will help them, when in reality, Leftists put them in poverty deliberately and keep them there. Leftists understand poverty all too well, and use it to gain political advantage.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming that Leftists actually want to end poverty and are just mistaken in their methods. Leftists need poverty to get elected.

Bingo - Bingo the Clown-O

WHY I AM SCARED OF CLOWNS!

The Story of Stuff - REALLY??

This video is being shown in many public schools across America.

No wonder our citizens have a skewed view of the "American Dream".

Many of the quoted "facts" in this video are simply not true.

1. The governments job is not "to take care of us."

2. No where near 50% of the government's budget is military. Rather it's about 20% - a better example of 50% would be the combination of medicare, social security and medicaid.

3. No corporation even approaches 1/100th the size of the U.S. Government - to show "the corporation" as if it were only one large entity is a gross distortion of the power balance between gov't. and the private sector.

See if you can find other distortions or misstatements - maybe something about trees?

The Ross Sisters