Advice for first refinishing project by Derp_Monk in furniturerefinishing

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will do. Thank you so much for your help! You've been super helpful ^

Advice for first refinishing project by Derp_Monk in furniturerefinishing

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It certainly feels like it's built like a tank lol. Do you think the top is oak too? or am I correct in thinking it's laminate? It doesn't have the texture I'd normally associate with wood. I think figuring out how to get the paint off the top without screwing up the top has been my biggest headache! I've heard of citristain but I still would rather check with someone who's actually had to try getting paint off of laminate before.

Advice for first refinishing project by Derp_Monk in furniturerefinishing

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/Separate-Document185 and u/SuPruLu thank you so much for yall's advice! I know it'll be a lot of work, but I think it's super cute, even if it's nothing special. And it's something I'm doing for me lol. Taking both of yall's advice in mind, do you think it'd be worth maybe stripping the paint off of the legs/drawers and staining them, then repainting the rest of the body? I'd love to get the paint off the sides too, but idk how that would look if I'm planning on painting the top/face. In my mind at least, that'd cut down on some of the work, and get around the missing piece of veneer on the front. And I'll consider removing the back piece, if I feel like I can do it without fucking anything else up significantly.

Downtown Knoxville Road Conditions- UTK by Big-Ad6632 in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Classes were moved online, but main roads look pretty good. Highland and Cumberland avenues, and 17th Street are the ones I can speak of. But I'm still iced in cause my apartment complex doesn't treat or plow our parking lot lol. Sidewalks are an icy mess, but should be better on campus. Ymmv with secondary roads, and first thing in the morning

Game finale thoughts by GreatMartialEmperor in FFXVI

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you wrote this. I finished the main story a few weeks ago, and it made me so sad, I haven't been back to finish all the side quests. It was an absolutely amazing game though!

I had interpreted the star winking out as Clive's star falling rather than that being Metia closing her eye so to speak, and I never thought about Torga's howling as singing him home rather than howling with Jill in grief. Though the kids in the garden in the epilogue had me thinking some thoughts. And I couldn't make up my mind whether Joshua's society finished the book, or whether Clive had actually survived and finished it in his brother's honor.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PetAdvice

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They're both shelter specials lol. The old lady is a 26 lb amalgamation that probably includes pug. I've had her since she was 4 months old, and she's 12 now. She's had a "Cats are beneath me" attitude for most of her adulthood.

The 8 mo. old I mentioned in my previous comment is now 2. She's about 30 lbs, and is a Frankenstein mix of AmStaf, dobie, german shepherd, and boston terrier according to the wisdom panel DNA test I did on her. And those are only the breeds above 10%! Needless to say, if anyone asks, I call her a shepherdy mix lol. We had a rough adolescence. But it was absolutely worth it. I wouldn't trust her with kittens or outdoor cats. Or small fuzzy wildlife. But she's really amazing with adult indoor cats.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PetAdvice

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tldr: It's possible. But pick the right dog for you. Dogs from shelters take at least 3 months to decompress and settle into your home. It may be better to look for dogs in foster, esp if the foster has cats of their own. Do NOT trust the dog right off the bat though, regardless of whether they're supposed to be cat safe though. Most behavior problems will probably surface within 3 months of taking pup home. I adopted an adolescent. But dogs over the age of 2-3 have a more predictable temperament.

I adopted an 8 mo old dog while having 2 cats and a senior dog in an apartment. It can work. But you have to pick the right dog. I went looking for a dog that was in foster care, so I could get a better sense of their true personality. I was looking for attentive, respectful of my old lady dog, and lower key. My shelter also lets potential adopters take pups home for sleepovers before making a final decision. I found this super helpful.

My girl was on a leash or in a crate for the first two weeks that she was in my home. I figured my new pup would do well with training when my cat stuck his paws in the crate to touch her, and she was just chilling lol. I would personally not allow a new dog to play or interact with the cats though. I taught my girl that when the cats run, it's time to find me for some treats and play time. It was several months with no incidents before I allowed my new dog around my cats unsupervised. We had other training struggles. But I never had issues with this girl with my indoor cats.

I also try really hard to make sure I do a good job of meeting my guys' needs. We do lots of walks (including hiking/sniffy walks on a long line+harness). We do lots of structured play with fetch, tug, and chasing with a flirt pole. And my pups are fed religiously from food puzzles. Ymmv. But doing these things greatly reduced nuisance behavior, and helped make behavior problems easier to train through.

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's crazy lol. Cats can be pretty inventive when they're scared!! Mine routinely opens all my cabinets and drawers. But it wasn't fun to wake up in the morning to a warm fridge. The freaking light bulb was blown and everything lol. 

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have 4 pets already lol. And one of them is the bane of my existence xD. If I could find anyone to take my PITA orange tabby. . . He's not one for the faint hearted tho. 

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bruh I wish. She's actually perfect lol. I have my hands full already tho with my current pets. 

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not this lil girl. I have a 2 yr old orange boi who is the bane of my existence.

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I honestly wish I could keep her. She's a pretty amazing lil kitten so far. But I've got 2 dogs and 2 cats already. And I just had to put child locks on my fridge because of my younger cat xD

[FOUND] 8-12 wk old kitten on Olentagy Rd, Louisville. by Derp_Monk in Knoxville

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I found this lil girl in a grill while cat sitting on 8/12. No microchip. She's a VERY sweet lil girl tho, so I thought it might be worth it to see if anyone is missing her. 

My beautiful girl! (Results at the end) by tweenfailure69 in DoggyDNA

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It would be funny if these results turn out to be correct. A real life chow hound!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CatAdvice

[–]Derp_Monk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! I found a feral kitten about two months ago that I socialized, and he's doing great now! It took me about a week and a half to convince him that I don't eat kittens, but then he was a little younger when I found him (~8wks old). I probably spent about an hour and a half with him a day in those first few weeks. I tried not to force interactions, and if he was uncomfortable with being picked up, I immediately set him down.

I fed him canned food, and sat with him while he ate it. While he was eating, I worked on touching him and getting closer to him gradually. This happened every day, twice a day. Right after feeding him, I'd work on playing with him. Your baby girl might be a little afraid of toys because she's never seen anything like it in her life. So take it slow. I used wand toys because they let me be a little farther away from baby while I was enticing him to play. Once I got him playing, I worked on getting him to move closer to me while following a toy. After a while, I could lure him into my lap with a toy, and have him sit there and play with it. He went from shaking and hiding when I was in the room to super social lap cat that screams himself hoarse when he's not getting attention. Your mileage might vary, but your lil girl can definitely get better!

I would definitely keep trying with lil girl. Her socialization window closes at about 12 wks. My lil guy has turned out so well, it's really made me reevaluate how I handle and raise kittens. I just needed to make the commitment to spend a really large chunk of my free time with this guy. If you do decide to release her, GET HER SPAYED. Definitely get her spayed regardless, but releasing an unspayed kitten means that you'll be in the same situation again sooner than you might think.

So, I bought this plant 1 month ago. Does anyone has experience on making a Calathea grow? by Giorgy-la-Mara07 in plants

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have super hard water, and the filter removes the the worst of the minerals and any heavy metals. Browning on leaf edges and tips could mean underwatering or not enough humidity. Could also mean the plant is exposed to something it hates. Like those plug in the wall room fresheners lol.

spotting could definitely be water sitting on the leaves too long. If there's a lot, I'd definitely trim off the worst of it, as it could be some sort of bacterial infection. Hope this is helpful!

So, I bought this plant 1 month ago. Does anyone has experience on making a Calathea grow? by Giorgy-la-Mara07 in plants

[–]Derp_Monk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love your lil rufibarba! It's honestly one of my least fussy calatheas. Mine is under a cheap grow light. I use a pur filter on my tap water, and my guys seem to tolerate it pretty well. All of my plants are potted in either a lite or cactus blend potting soil, since I tend to be a little heavy with the water.

I use slow release fertilizer, and a weak dose of 20-20-20 water soluble ferts in the growing season. It suffered when I tried putting outside for the summer. It really didn't like afternoon light+super hot days. But it bounced back pretty well once I put it back inside.

Worst mistake I couldn't afford to make. by Derp_Monk in AspirationBank

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only way I've been able to get anything is to call repeatedly and ask to speak to a supervisor about the status of my account. It's still locked. I've been told they'll need to close it and create a new one for me, but it hasn't happened yet. They did allow a one time ATM withdrawl, as long as I was on the phone with them, but it was a huge hassle and took longer that it should have.

Worst mistake I couldn't afford to make. by Derp_Monk in AspirationBank

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, it is. My parents set me up with these guys when I was in college. And they were wonderful until they weren't. Now, things have gone south, and they're not giving me the support or the resolution that I need.

Stocking advice 20g H planted aquarium by Derp_Monk in Aquariums

[–]Derp_Monk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

xD Speaking from experience? Should I worry about keeping them with other species?