First, I would get a fungicide that has tebuconazole in it (a systemic offering very broad coverage). Bayer makes a 3-in-1 product that has imidicloprid (systemic insecticide), tebuconazole (systemic fungicide) and a miticide (I forget the name - T-Fluvalinate?) and apply it 3 times at 2 week intervals. I would also either get the plant into a well aerated soil or bury the pot, which effectively turns the container into a small raised bed (hydrologically speaking). This will reduce or eliminate the limiting effects of what appears to be a heavy soil the plant is in. The long term plan would be A) wait for the plant to recover so you can be sure it will survive a repot. B) Repot into a suitable soil and begin eliminating unnecessary branches & start shaping. C) Feed hard & allow the plant to grow wild after repotting, but restrain the top of the plant - you can grow a top on a yew any time. D) at some point, you'll want to cut the plant back hard to get rid of the gangly branches. This should be in the spring or when you bring the plant in for winter protection after a summer of robust growth - 2-3 years from now, probably. I can't tell if the lower trunk is as straight as it looks or not. If it isn't straight, you have good potential for a slant style, or even a literati. If it IS straight, you'll prolly want to do some carving to try to disguise that issue. I can't see the branch placement or trunk movement well enough to offer anything more specific, but I do know that making the restoration of the health of the plant your focus is key - it's hard to work a brownsai. ;-) Al

Interesting that you should say that because a lot of physicians and manufacturers will say that it is fine for persons with pacemakers to use a microwave oven and that it is only fields like those in an MRI, induction furnaces in steel mills, crane mounted magnets in car wrecking yards, power plant generators, etc. that must be avoided. http://www.cardiacspecialists.com/pacemaker_defibrillators.htm http://www.arrl.org/interference Most pacemaker manufacturers seem to think that both microwave ovens and pacemakers are well shielded enough that using a microwave oven is not a problem. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ However, this is what appears on the the National Institute of Health website, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pace/lifestyle.html Once you have a pacemaker, you have to avoid close or prolonged contact with electrical devices or devices that have strong magnetic fields. Devices that can interfere with a pacemaker include: Cell phones and MP3 players (for example, iPods) Household appliances, such as microwave ovens High-tension wires Metal detectors Industrial welders Electrical generators These devices can disrupt the electrical signaling of your pacemaker and stop it from working properly. You may not be able to tell whether your pacemaker has been affected. How likely a device is to disrupt your pacemaker depends on how long you're exposed to it and how close it is to your pacemaker. To be safe, some experts recommend not putting your cell phone or MP3 player in a shirt pocket over your pacemaker (if the devices are turned on). You may want to hold your cell phone up to the ear that's opposite the site where your pacemaker is implanted. If you strap your MP3 player to your arm while listening to it, put it on the arm that's farther from your pacemaker. You can still use household appliances, but avoid close and prolonged exposure, as it may interfere with your pacemaker. You can walk through security system metal detectors at your normal pace. Security staff can check you with a metal detector wand as long as it isn't held for too long over your pacemaker site. You should avoid sitting or standing close to a security system metal detector. Notify security staff if you have a pacemaker. Also, stay at least 2 feet away from industrial welders and electrical generators. Some medical procedures can disrupt your pacemaker. These procedures include: Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI Shock-wave lithotripsy to get rid of kidney stones Electrocauterization to stop bleeding during surgery Let all of your doctors, dentists, and medical technicians know that you have a pacemaker. Your doctor can give you a card that states what kind of pacemaker you have. Carry this card in your wallet. You may want to wear a medical ID bracelet or necklace that states that you have a pacemaker. This is what the NIH says about induction stoves at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ Patients are at risk if the implant is unipolar and left-sided, if they stand as close as possible to the induction cooktop, and if the pot is not concentric with the induction coil. Unipolar pacing systems can sense interference generated by leakage currents if the patient touches the pot for a long period of time. The most likely response to interference is switching to an asynchronous interference mode. Patients with unipolar pacemakers are at risk only if they are not pacemaker-dependent. ============================================ and this at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12741330 Actual pacemakers do not present any electromagnetic interference with 50 Hz and 60 Hz or induction cooktop frequency working. They are insensitive with medically correct settings. Unusual high sensitivity leads only to noise reversion mode, or transient ventricular tracking.

FALLAYA: To answer your last rude posting, yes I do have a life -a very full one - at least I did until my DIL tried to completely take control of it. I have many friends so no am not lonely, and I belong to a quilting guild and used to teach quilting classes at the local quilt shop before starting to babysit my granddaughter. I also am active in my church but thanks to my controlling DIL have had to put church activities on hold as well as teaching and enjoying lunches with my quilting and church friends, etc until I was to be allowed out of the house with the baby. I also volunteered at one of the hospitals here. You seem to have missed the post where I said THEY asked ME to babysit to save them money" so I was doing them a favor. So yes, I had a full and happy life. What do you have to do besides smother your child and write nasty notes to others. I have a feeling that you have a very low self esteem and have to be arrogant and rude in these posts to make yourself feel better. So sad! Maybe you should get a babysitter and get out of the house a bit more. Oh, that's right, no one will probably watch your baby if they have to put up with you. TO EVERYONE ELSE: Again, it is nice to see that I am not the only one who finds Fallaya annoying and immature. And, I am happy to tell you that things are getting better. MY son and DIL called ME (yes, Fallaya, THEY called ME, and we have talked about all of this. I have refused (yes, Fallaya, I refused THEM to take the baby back yet. My son agreed with me that his wife was too overbearing and overprotective and he talked to her. She has an appointment with her doctor to see if maybe she is suffering from post partum depression and all of this has also made her make an appointment with a therapist to help her deal with her anxieties. I have told them I will take the baby back once she has worked through her problems, not until then. In the meantime they have had to put the baby in a daycare center and spend the money and after 2 days the day care center told my DIL that they could not put up with her constant calls and demands to them about the baby so she needs to find another day care center. That was when my son really began to see just how bad her problem was.So FALLAYA, I am the monster-in-law? Even people who get paid to care for children found her overanxious and overbearing and overprotective. so some good will come out of this after all. So, FFALLAYA, you wont get your wish that I will never see the baby again. I will, and will also gain control of my life back again. And I am not demanding to go back to doing everything I used to do until the baby gets older but will instead keep my activities within reasonable limits and merely run my errands and occasionally attend a church committee meeting and maybe once in awhile meet some friends for lunch. Maybe this should show you FALLAYA that you need some serious help yourself because, honestly, you are the one who is pitiful. Again, i wish you luck. You are going to need it. To everyone else, thanks for listening and not judging. No one is perfect (not even you FALLAYA) and life throws bad things in the way of even good people sometimes but if people are mature enough to deal with the problems in a kind, compassionate way (like smiling and biting ones tongue, Fallaya) perhaps good things can come out of the bad. My DIL is getting the help she needs and her baby won't grow up feeling smothered now NO MATTER WHO TAKES CARE OF HER.

I am an owner of a condo that I rent to students. I am also a parent who pays rent for a college kid in a different city. It’s totally unacceptable to demand rent from a tenant if the owner does not provide an apartment that is in good working order. I just had to “remind” the owner of my daughter’s apartment that a toilet, kitchen sink, washer, dryer, fridge/freezer, DW, were all in the listing. Since some of those things were not working upon move-in, it took some “talking” to light a fire and get those things fixed pronto. As an owner, I am responsible to make sure everything is working, not creating health hazards (like mold). You need to take lots of pics and report the problem repeatedly, by email or some other “paper” trail. If you try a DIY fix, you are giving the owner an excuse to say you created a problem and they might blame you and charge you, withhold your deposit, evict you, or file civil charges against you for damaging their property. If you report it and take lots of pics, you can avert those problems.