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Israeli PM Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent emergency surgery at Hadassah Medical Center in Israel to treat intestinal damage revealed by a recent computed tomography, better known as a CT scan. The Chief Surgeon said, “Sharon is out of danger, for the moment. His condition is stable and the surgery was a success.” Sharon is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

Yesterday doctors treating Sharon had noticed a swollen abdomen and ordered a CT scan on his torso and found the damage to his intestine. Later tests had shown that part of the large intestine had developed necrosis and needed to be immediately removed.

Hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef stated a press conference that there were “no complications” during surgery. “His (Sharon’s) key problem is lack of consciousness. There is no significant change in his condition. Doctors did not find any occluded artery and there were no blood vessels blocked. He is stable but in critical condition at this time and he is in no immediate danger at this moment.”

Yosef also said that Sharon’s sons and family had met earlier and decided to go forward with the surgery and treatment.

Doctors removed at least 50cm of Sharon’s large intestine.

Yosef also said that possible reasons as to why Sharon’s intestine was damaged were, “maybe infection or decline of blood supply to the intestine.” Yosef also said that the surgery was both a “routine procedure” and “not a dramatic” one. “Hospitals perform these operations sometimes two or three times a day,” he added.

Yael Bossem-Levy, a spokesman for Hadassah Medical Center said earlier that, “the prime minister’s life is in danger. His condition is now very serious, or critical. Sharon’s digestive tract has undergone severe deterioration while he’s been unconscious, and there appears to be a blockage in his blood circulation. The restricted blood flow raised the possibility of necrosis, or death of tissue, in the intestines.”

Levy also stated that Sharon’s condition has “deteriorated to its most critical point since his admission.”

The 77 year-old leader has been hospitalized since January 4th, after suffering a massive stroke which left him comatose. This is his seventh surgery since his hospitalization.

Sharon has been hospitalized for thirty-nine days, and has been on a feeding tube for two weeks.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_PM_Ariel_Sharon_undergoes_emergency_surgery&oldid=4230545”
Shipping

Types Of Roll Off Containers In Putnam County Ny

May, 2014 byAlma Abell

Roll-off containers can make any renovation or constructions project a breeze. In addition to being an extremely efficient solution, roll off containers in Putnam County NY can help you save both time and money. AAA Carting features a great selection of roll off containers, from 10 to 50 cubic yards. All your hauling needs are met and even exceeded due to this unique service provided by one of the best dumpster rental and thrash removal companies in the state of New York.

Roll off containers can carry anything, from carpets, cardboards, furniture, metal and wood to general office waste and landscaping debris . These containers that roll of the back of the truck are available in various shapes and sizes to meet all the needs a residential or commercial customer might have. For example, the 10 yard roll off container should be used for projects such as small bathroom remodel, storage or shed clean-out, spring cleaning or basement clean-up.

If you want to carry roofing material or construction debris, in addition to the projects listed above, the 15 yard long container might be the best choice in your case. Next on, the 20 yard container can be used to transport construction debris, roofing material, and to deal with projects such as kitchen remodeling, two-garage clean-out and siding from a garage or a small house.

The 30, 40 and 50 yard roll off containers in Putnam County NY are specially designed to deal with larger construction and remodeling projects which involve removing large amounts of debris, complete basement renovation, home window replacement, debris from deck removal, steel, construction debris and roofing material.

As you can notice, each type of container is created for various projects. AAA Carting offers 7 different types of containers, dumpster rentals, breakaway compactors and self-contained compactors. Each container is build from top-quality materials and is carefully manufactured to withstand huge amounts of pressure. With a huge experience in roll-off containers, asbestos abatement, trash removal and demolition, AAA Carting is probably the best contractor in Putnam County NY when it comes to waste recycling and trash removal services.

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Wikinews interviews Amber Merritt Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketballer

Thursday, September 6, 2012

London, England— Tuesday, following her team’s 62–37 win over Mexico in the quarter-finals at the North Greewich Arena, Wikinews interviewed Amber Merrit of the Australian women’s national wheelchair basketball team.

In their next match, the Gliders will face the victors from the United States versus Canada, having suffered their first loss of this year’s Games to Canada on Sunday night by seven points.

((Laura Hale)) I’m excited to see you in London, because you were so fantastic in that interview.

[Wikinews previously interviewed Merrit, and teammates in July. —Ed.]
Amber Merrit: Thank you.

((WN)) Which state are you from?

AM: I’m from WA. [Western Australia —Ed.]

((WN)) You wheel change! What was wrong with your wheel?

AM: I smashed out three spokes. Someone hit me, and I lost three spokes in my chair.

((WN)) was that because you were playing really aggressively against Mexico?

AM: Yeah, or they were playing really aggressive against us.

((WN)) Watching that game it didn’t seem that they were playing that aggressive, in terms of they came in with set pieces; they weren’t doing the full-court press; they didn’t seem prepared for your offensive and defensive tenacity. ((Hawkeye7)) You kept on all holding them out, where they weren’t even getting across the centre line

AM: I think we have a really physical style of basketball where we’re going to press, and when we press we try to stop chairs and make sure they don’t get over that halfway line. They’re going to come out and play as hard as they can against us and sometimes there is that odd mishap where they might smash a few spokes cause they hit us. It happens.

((WN)) You tipped a lot in previous games. You haven’t tipped so much in this series.

AM: No, I’ve managed to keep my balance this time. Or maybe they haven’t hit me hard enough to put me down on the floor.

((WN)) Part of the appeal of wheelchair basketball, and I feel guilty admitting it, it watching you guys tip.

AM: And fall out. It’s embarrassing but I like it.

((WN)) You’ve got your next game coming up, which is going to be against the winner of the United States or Canada later today

AM: We’re not 100% sure yet who that’s going to be.

((WN)) Looking forward to meeting them?

AM: Yeah! Looking forward to coming up against them.

((WN)) Who would you prefer?

AM: I don’t know if I have a preference, to be honest. Whoever its going to be, we’re still going to go out there and play as hard as we can and take it to them as a team.

((WN)) Do you think you’ve been adequately prepared coming in to this, with your tournament in Sydney, your tournament in the Netherlands?

AM: Yeah, I think we’ve come in very well prepared for this tournament. We’ve been together for a while now as a team. Of course we had the Gliders and Rollers world challenge. We also went to Arnheim in the Netherlands for a pre-tournament, and we’ve trained together in Cardiff. And then after Cardiff we came in to London; so we’ve had that time together as a team and we’re doing really well.

((WN)) Does that give you an advantage over other teams?

AM: I’m not sure, because I don’t know what other teams have been doing behind the scenes as their training.

((WN)) Thank you very much.

AM: No worries!
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_Amber_Merritt_Australian_Paralympic_wheelchair_basketballer&oldid=2708758”
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Gastric bypass surgery performed by remote control

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample.

If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity.

There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to open the patient or might actually need to revert to standard laparoscopic techniques demands that this basic training be a requirement before a robot is purchased. Robots do malfunction, so a backup system is imperative. We should not be seduced to buy this instrument to train surgeons if they are not able to do the primary operations themselves.”

There are precedents for just such a problem occurring. A previous “new technology”, the electrocardiogram (ECG), has lead to a lack of basic education on the older technology, the stethoscope. As a result, many heart conditions now go undiagnosed, especially in children and others who rarely undergo an ECG procedure.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Gastric_bypass_surgery_performed_by_remote_control&oldid=4331525”
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Teen broadcasts suicide online

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A Pembroke Pines, Florida teenager killed himself Wednesday, November 19, while broadcasting on the live video site Justin.tv. After making suicide threats and being encouraged by Justin.tv viewers and Bodybuilding.com forum members, Abraham K. Biggs, 19, committed suicide by taking an overdose of opiates and benzodiazepine, which had been prescribed for his bipolar disorder.

Biggs first began blogging about his planned suicide 12 hours before the actual event. He died after taking pills and lying on the bed in front of the webcam. After the broadcast, viewers who apparently thought it was a hoax posted messages such as “OMG”, “LOL”, and “hahahah”.

Hours later, after being alerted by viewers who had noticed that Biggs had stopped breathing, law enforcement and paramedics arrived, discovered his body, and covered the camera. The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office has reportedly confirmed Biggs’ death.

According to Montana Miller of the Bowling Green State University, the circumstances of this case were not shocking: “If it’s not recorded or documented, then it doesn’t even seem worthwhile. For today’s generation it might seem, ‘What’s the point of doing it if everyone isn’t going to see it?'”

Biggs’ sister Rosalind was angry that neither the website nor its viewers reacted soon enough to save him. “They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours,” she said. She described him as “very happy” and “friendly and outgoing.” “On a normal day, you couldn’t really tell that he got as low as he did.” However, he did have relationship problems with his girlfriend, according to a friend.

Mental health professionals have warned about the possibility that other mentally troubled people would copy his actions. According to Dr. David Shaffer of Columbia University, “Any video showing it as heroic or romantic or glamorous could reduce the anxiety people might feel about suicide. It becomes a respectable behavior and lowers the threshold of suicide.” He and other psychiatrists recommend that potentially suicidal teens talk to others and “tell what’s going on.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Teen_broadcasts_suicide_online&oldid=4579216”
Online Gambling

Valentine Party Game Ideas That Will Steal Your Heart!

By Elizabeth Chastain

Children always enjoy playing games. Here’s a batch of Valentine party game ideas that would be the perfect complement to a Valentine party, classroom party, or a family get together. The majority of these games can be tailored to all age ranges of kids using a little bit of creativity.

Valentine Bingo

Make your own heart-shaped Bingo cards with a slight variation. Write across the top of each card “VALENTINE”. Then create the grid of boxes underneath. Fill in each of the boxes with a Valentine sticker or clip art of Cupid, pink, red and white hearts, single red rose, vase of flowers, box of candy, piece of chocolate, bottle of perfume, etc. Anything Valentine-related will do. Then take duplicates of these items and affix them to individual index cards. Place the cards into a Valentine printed bag. These cards will be used for calling out to the guests the items to be covered with a Red Hot or Conversation Heart marker.

Count The Kisses If You Can

Fill a sizeable glass container with Hershey’s chocolate kisses. Have the kids write their name on a piece of heart-shaped paper, along with their guess as to how many Kisses are in the container. The youngster who guesses the actual number, or comes the closest, shall be the winner and receive a prize. The Kisses in the container shall then be divided among all the children. Variation: The winner takes all – the entire jar of candy goes home with one child.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oONL_Sb9ql4[/youtube]

Here’s a few more Valentine party game ideas to consider incorporating into your next Valentine event.

Heart Hunt

Cut out 100+ red, white and pink construction paper hearts. Add more if you have a large group. Hide the hearts before the party starts. Have the kids try to find as many hearts as possible. Whoever gathers the most, wins a prize. Variation: Divide the kids into teams and after all the kids have found as many hearts as they can, have each team combine all the hearts collected by each child for a grand total. Whichever team has the most number of hearts collected, shall receive their treats first.

Valentine Cupcake Walk

Tape or lay pieces of paper onto the floor that each have a number written on them. Create or use a Valentine printed bag to hold index cards that each have one of these same numbers written upon them. Whenever the music begins, the kids should start to walk around the party area while stepping on each of the numbers as they go along. When the music stops playing, the kids must step upon the number that is nearest to them. Then a number shall be pulled out from the bag and whoever is standing on that number shall select a cupcake and then that child shall be out of the game. That number will be eliminated from the floor, as well as the bag. The game continues until every child has received a cupcake.

Pin The Heart On Cupid

Hang a large picture of Cupid on the wall. Give each child a red or pink heart with a piece of double-stick tape on the back and his or her name on the front. Blindfold a child, spin him or her around, and then let that child attempt to put the heart where it belongs. Provide a prize to the winner, which will be the child who gets the closest to Cupid’s heart.

Musical Chairs Valentine Style

Cut out large heart-shaped pieces of red and pink felt and place the hearts on the ground. Have the kids walk around them while the music plays. When the music stops, each child must try to stand on one of the hearts. Whoever fails to find a heart to stand upon is out of the game. Each round, remove a heart until only one child remains, who shall then be declared the winner.

About the Author: Explore more

Valentine Party Game Ideas

by visiting

birthday-party-ideas-101.com

, a party planning website written and edited by Professional Organizer, Elizabeth Chastain. You’ll find lots of ideas for invitations, decorations, cakes, games, and favors. Copyright: You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links, and this copyright notice remain intact.

Source:

isnare.com

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Manitoba volunteers go to war against Red River flooding

Monday, April 6, 2009

Over 1,600 volunteers registered to help build approximately 65,000 of the 500,000 sandbags to create dikes 20.5 feet (6 metres) high to protect the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba in the war against the Red River of the North flood.

700 volunteers answered at the rural municipality of St. Andrews alone. Once sandbags are filled for West St. Paul, St. Andrews, and Selkirk, then frozen culverts must be cleared.

The height of the river is expected to be Thursday, and predictions are that it will be less than Flood of the Century of 1997. There is no precipitation in the forecast, and snow in the province should be melted by the end of the week.

“The fear right now is we have to get that ice out of the river. The Amphibex [Excavators] are still working and breaking the ice apart, and everyday we buy with the warm weather and the current, it is thinning the ice down a bit, so when it does start to move, the better chance it’ll move right out into the lake,” said Paul Guyder, the emergency coordinator for the RMs of St. Andrews and St. Clements.

“I feel that we’ve done everything humanly possible to get ready,” said Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba, “But … there are fallibilities with human behaviour. We can take every preventative measure as human beings possible and we can still get Mother Nature proving again she is superior.”

Communities with ring diking will partially or fully close their dikes at the beginning of the week. Provincial officials are considering opening the Red River Floodway gates around mid-week before ice is fully melted.

Ice jams could cause flooding within the city, however opening the gates could spare neighbourhood flooding when the river rises to the estimated 6.3 meters (20.7 feet) height. The province does have back up plans for dealing with ice jams within the city if they do occur. The unpredictability of ice jams and the ensuing water level rise may cause neighbourhood flooding. The city is raising dikes where the river has jammed with ice in the past such as on tight curves and past bridges. Likewise there are excavators and backhoes positioned at these points.

Vulnerable neighbourhoods on the river banks have been reinforced with sandbag dikes at vulnerable areas from the massive volunteer effort over the weekend. Guyader feels no more extra volunteers are needed, however volunteers are still being asked to leave their names and number in case of unpredicted need. Existing personnel will assess roads, and help with clean up.

Approximately 400 of the 800 people who evacuated the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation have returned to their homes.

Former Premier, Dufferin Roblin, brought forward the floodway as a protection for Winnipeg residents and economy following the 1950 Red River Flood. The Red River floodway, “Duff’s Ditch” was finally finished in 1968, and its floodway gates have been opened 20 times saving Winnipeg from an estimated CA$10 billion in damages. The floodway expansion began in 2005 at a price of $665 million.

Polish and Chinese experts have come to survey the Red River Floodway, and Dennis Walaker, mayor of Fargo, North Dakota recognises the need for Red River flood defences down river. “Every town that you drive by from the Canadian line up to Winnipeg is either elevated or ring-diked,” said Walaker.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Manitoba_volunteers_go_to_war_against_Red_River_flooding&oldid=804210”
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Tom Cruise debates psychiatry on NBC’s Today show

Saturday, June 25, 2005

In an interview on NBC’s Today show with Matt Lauer, Tom Cruise aggressively defended his opposition to psychiatry and anti-depressive drugs. This occurred after being asked questions about his criticism of Brooke Shields, who has been taking drugs, including Paxil, for postpartum depression. Cruise is usually known for keeping his cool in interviews, but recently he has been slightly more unbound.

Cruise’s statements, including “Psychiatry is a pseudoscience“, and “There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in a body”, reflect the beliefs of the Church of Scientology, of which he is a member. The interview became particularly tense when Lauer mentioned that he knew people who had been helped by taking Ritalin, an attention-deficit disorder drug.

“Matt, Matt, you don’t even — you’re glib,” Cruise responded. “You don’t even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That’s what I’ve done.”

Cruise went on to say: “You don’t know the history of psychiatry, I do.”

Cruise has not formally studied medicine beyond a high school education, having dropped out in his senior year (1980) to pursue an acting career. In light of this, some members of the psychiatric community have refuted Cruise’s controversial statements. Dr. John Scully, medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, has said “The illnesses we treat – anxiety, depression – are very real illnesses…The treatments work. We have demonstrated that through robust scientific study.”

Lauer insisted that Ritalin helped people: “You’re telling me what’s worked for people I know or hasn’t worked for people I know. I’m telling you, I’ve lived with these people and they’re better,” Lauer said.

Cruise hinted that Lauer was promoting Ritalin and Lauer scoffed: “I am not. I’m telling you in their cases, in their individual case, it worked.”

The exchange ended when the two basically agreed to disagree. Cruise, who is 42, did admit that one of his goals is to speak more about Scientology in an effort to get people to understand it better.

Scientology has historically been at odds with the established medical and mental health community. The rift dates back to the 1950s and Scientology’s founding father L. Ron Hubbard. In his book, “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health”, published in 1950, Hubbard claims that Dianetics (later called Scientology) could cure the majority of human ailments. These claims were sharply disputed by a variety of mainstream science and medical professionals including psychiatrists.

On Monday, June 27, 2005, the American Psychiatric Association released a statement that stated the following:”It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need…Rigorous, published, peer-reviewed research clearly demonstrates that treatment (of mental illness) works…It is unfortunate that in the face of this remarkable scientific and clinical progress that a small number of individuals and groups persist in questioning its legitimacy.”

The APA represents nearly 36,000 physicians specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

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Mayor of London Boris Johnson announces bidders for additional Tramlink vehicles

Saturday, March 26, 2011

On Thursday, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson announced the shortlist of bidders to supply up to ten further trams to Transport for London (TfL) for use on the city’s Tramlink network in Croydon. The trams will be used to supply additional capacity on the network between Elmers End, central Croydon and Therapia Lane — one of the most congested parts of the route.

TfL, who purchased the Tramlink network from Tramtrack Croydon Ltd. in 2008, announced the plans late January, after submitting the tender to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on January 29. According to the notice, the additional trams will operate approximately 75,000km per year, will be needed for “at least 10, but not more than 20 years” and can be either new build or existing vehicles that can be modified — at a reasonable cost — to run on the Tramlink infrastructure.

The tram fleet is currently made up of 24 Bombardier CR4000 trams, which were constructed for the opening of the 28km network between 1998 and 2000. 22 of these trams are currently needed to operate the three tram routes each day, and the new service is expected to require at least an additional five trams daily, bringing about the need for a boost to the fleet levels.

The shortlist to supply the trams consists of City of Edinburgh/CAF, Stadler (Stadler Pankow GmBH) and Pesa (Pojazdy Szynowe PESA Bydgoszcz S.A.Holding, and the the three consortia will now be invited to submit proposals to supply the additional trams. The Invitation to Tender will run for four weeks.

It is not currently known whether the bids made by Stadler and Pesa will be for new-build or second-hand vehicles, however the bid from Edinburgh/CAF is to use a number of the currently-dormant trams that were constructed for that city’s own tram network. The system has had several set backs since construction began, with the network now set to open in stages with a number of tram lines (but not the trams to operate them) being cancelled, leading to a large surplus of vehicles that could be hired out in the short term. The trams are amongst some of the longest and heaviest in Europe, though, and will require a large amount of modification to enable them to be able to operate on Croydon’s network if the bid is successful.

Shortly after the announcement, whilst inspecting one of the network’s current trams at East Croydon tram stop, Boris Johnson said: “I have no greater responsibility as Mayor than to ensure people can move around this city with ease, comfort and reliability.

“Trams in Croydon have proved a major success and this is reflected in journey numbers which have soared by 45 per cent since the network opened in 2000.

“I look forward to the extra vehicles developing this vital, much-appreciated, and indeed attractive, form of transport further.”

Funding for the new trams is expected to largely come from TfL, however the London Borough of Croydon has also confirmed a £3m contribution to the project. This will also include the refurbishment of tram stop surrounds.

Croydon Council Leader Mike Fisher said: “This is looking like a great deal for Croydon and shows the benefits of an ambitious local authority and committed Mayor working together, pooling resources and expertise.

“There is real support to get additional trams for Croydon to keep pace with growing demand for Tramlink services and also to secure major improvements for pedestrians and transport users around and between East and West Croydon stations.”

TfL anticipates that, providing a successful bid is made, the new trams would be delivered to the network’s depot at Therapia Lane in late 2011, with an entry into service from early 2012.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Mayor_of_London_Boris_Johnson_announces_bidders_for_additional_Tramlink_vehicles&oldid=3763320”
Steel Manufacturer

Deck Railing Ideas: The Finishing Touches

Having a wide variety of deck railing ideas to choose from can help you put the finishing touches on a successful woodworking project. This is the place where you intend to spend some comfortable weekend afternoons, perhaps drinking a beer or two while you take in the weather. You might want to invite some friends over and give them some room to enjoy themselves. Whatever your basic reasons for starting the project, you need a great way to finish it off. It isn’t complete until you can keep people from falling over the edge. You can do this in the most basic way possible, or you can put some style into it. Here are some of your options.Simple PicketsIf you want to stay as basic as possible, you can always go with simple beveled wood pickets. 2×2 in dimension, they will be fastened to a 2×6 piece at the top of the structure and then fastened to the rim joist on the other side of the picket. These aren’t fancy, but plenty of people have completed their projects with these without anyone daring to criticize. If you’re more interested in providing functionality than getting deep into style, deck railing ideas along these lines should be up your alley.Custom WoodIf you want to stick with wood for your deck railing ideas, you’ve literally opened up a Pandora’s Box full of your own creativity. The sky is the limit when it comes to working with wood. Any size or shape you can think of can be used, even if it clashes ridiculously with the rest of your project. Don’t laugh, some of the most striking balustrade examples have been developed through just such imagination. It doesn’t hurt, of course, to bring a professional on board just to make sure what you’re planning is structurally sound. Using MetalIf you want something that provides strength while still allowing you to get away with not using a professional, you might consider aluminum inserts. Using pre-fabricated extrusions, you can insert these into the existing holes and you won’t have to worry about welding. You don’t even have to spend a lot of money. Take a trip to your local lumberyard and you’ll probably find something that will work for your project. Working With ProsWhen it comes to deck railing ideas, don’t overlook the benefits of working with professional carpenters and contractors. A DIY project can be fulfilling, but unless you have years of amateur experience, you’re not going to be able to live up to the standards of a professional. It’s something to consider if you ever feel in over your head.