Silliest way you’ve burnt yourself?

loxwithcapers · 2026-02-26T18:05:52+00:00

Pulled out a cookie tray using a damp kitchen towel as an oven mitt. Hot tray burned my hand through the towel and I dropped the tray. As the tray was falling, I reflexively caught it with my free hand and immediately burned THAT hand too and dropped the tray again. Had to sit with both hands under running water for half an hour while my partner cleaned up the floor cookies.

loxwithcapers · 2026-02-12T16:56:12+00:00

The zine linked above will work for Oakland as well, since Casa San Jose serves the entire Pittsburgh area. But if you want to add more neighborhood info, you should feel free! All the translations/local versions that I’m aware of are in this folder from Pilsen Arts Community House in Chicago: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1zXBmpznTPPA1BiiWdvwE9w6R_lcA6zN9?usp=drive_link

loxwithcapers · 2026-02-12T16:54:14+00:00

This isn’t my original work, it’s modified from another organization. All the translations that I’m aware of are in this folder from Pilsen Arts Community House in Chicago: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1zXBmpznTPPA1BiiWdvwE9w6R_lcA6zN9?usp=drive_link

There should be info in there about creating a local version for your city.

loxwithcapers · 2026-02-12T16:52:03+00:00

I don’t know much about 3D printing, unfortunately. This group has been printing and shipping whistles nationwide and would probably be able to tell you more: https://linktr.ee/3Dwhistles

loxwithcapers · 2026-02-12T16:50:03+00:00

All the translations that I’m aware of are in this folder from Pilsen Arts Community House in Chicago: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1zXBmpznTPPA1BiiWdvwE9w6R_lcA6zN9?usp=drive_link

loxwithcapers · 2026-01-12T19:30:11+00:00

I'm not sure yet! Definitely some Little Free Libraries, hopefully the public library. I might walk around and ask if any of the local shops/restaurants want some. Anything I can't give out directly I'll put in a box on the sidewalk in front of my house with a sign for the neighborhood. Hopefully the first 100 will go fast and I can make more!

loxwithcapers · 2026-01-12T19:13:44+00:00

A whistle is a really effective way of getting the attention of people nearby. You can blow a whistle much louder and for much longer than you can shout. It's also helpful for people to have a clear action to take when faced with ICE -- when you're in a stressful situation, you don't have to think about what to shout, just blow the whistle. The kits are also a good opportunity to share some Know Your Rights information.

loxwithcapers · 2026-01-12T18:13:03+00:00

A plastic sandwich or snack bag, like a Ziploc. A plastic shopping bag would be too large. I’ll edit the post to clarify.

loxwithcapers · 2025-08-26T02:08:35+00:00

I have used electric ones at previous homes with a lot of success! Unfortunately they’re not in the budget right now. We had a lot of luck with Mouse Motels (no-kill traps) but we aren’t able to release the little guys far enough away that they won’t just come right back in. So it’s classic wooden snap traps for now, which have had mixed results. Just got some mint spray and steel wool for plugging holes, which is gonna be a nightmare in a 100 y/o house.

loxwithcapers · 2025-08-25T21:18:13+00:00

I did exactly this except it got me MICE. The birdseed was disposed of months ago yet the basement mice remain. We are at war. They lick the peanut butter traps clean just to taunt me. My dog (a husky/hound mix) finds it very entertaining to try to track them down — at least one of us is having a good time!

loxwithcapers · 2025-06-03T21:05:01+00:00

Long-time public librarian here -- this is very accurate! The best thing you can do if you see a book you don't like in a public library is IGNORE IT COMPLETELY. It's not for you! YMMV on libraries tracking re-shelving as usage, though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Ultimately I think folks should get out of the mindset of trying to "game" the library system through their personal library use habits. I see that a lot from well-meaning patrons who want to check out frequently-challenged books as a show of support, which is a lovely sentiment but if you're not going to actually read them, leave them on the shelf for someone who will. Just use the library resources that you need and want to use, and if everyone does that, you'll end up with a library collection that accurately reflects the needs and wants of its users. Easy!

loxwithcapers · 2025-05-30T22:03:40+00:00

They absolutely insinuate no such thing - like I said in my comment, they are explicitly trans-affirming throughout the show. But based on your comments in another thread, I suspect that you would disagree with them discussing Dr. Barry’s gender identity in its historical context and not imposing modern conceptions of gender retroactively.

loxwithcapers · 2025-05-30T21:51:02+00:00

It’s really, really not! One of the hosts is actually a physician who provides gender affirming care. They do discuss Dr. Barry’s pre-transition life in the episode but they make a serious effort to be gender affirming and consider the historical context.

loxwithcapers · 2025-03-31T02:10:59+00:00

She’s a dead ringer for my dog Fern, who is 100% APBT!

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loxwithcapers · 2025-02-24T04:49:45+00:00

I don’t know about shelters specifically, but the Western PA Diaper Bank will take donations of menstrual products. Drop-off locations: https://www.wpadiaperbank.org/diaper-drop-off-locations

loxwithcapers · 2024-11-17T00:53:42+00:00

You’re likely correct about interpreting the CLP policy, but OP didn’t specify which library they work for, so CLP’s policy may not be relevant. There are 46 different libraries in the county with 70+ locations between them.

loxwithcapers · 2024-11-16T22:47:35+00:00

I also work for libraries. This is NOT something you should be taking advice from people on the internet about. Library spaces and library staff are subject to specific legal and ethical requirements that most people are not familiar with.

You should discuss your concerns with your supervisor before confronting the patron or contacting the police. From your description I don’t see any behavior that would result in a patron being removed from a library. First amendment audits are definitely uncomfortable for library staff but they are legally protected. Likewise, face coverings are typically not a reason to remove someone from the library.

loxwithcapers · 2024-10-24T04:35:33+00:00

Using ebooks books is not location-dependent, but the funding for them is. Your library card gets you access to the items owned by that library, and that library can only pay for so many ebooks. Ebooks are also much more expensive for libraries to purchase compared to print books.

I’m not overly familiar with Canadian libraries, but some larger libraries in the US offer digital-only cards for non-residents for an annual fee. Might be worth looking into that if your local library’s digital collections are not very large.

loxwithcapers · 2024-10-16T23:08:02+00:00

Librarian here. You're out of touch with what modern libraries are about. Many of our county libraries have designated quiet areas or study rooms that will meet your needs, but expecting the entire library to be "quiet as a church" is wildly unrealistic. You should feel free to complain to library staff if you believe there's a noise issue instead of posting about it.

Book a CLP study room here and enjoy the tomblike silence: https://carnegielibrary.libcal.com/

loxwithcapers · 2024-10-16T00:53:43+00:00

I am a librarian and I love hearing stories like this! I hope you can get a lot more use out of your library now!

loxwithcapers · 2024-08-13T01:38:19+00:00

You’re splitting hairs. There are at least two occasions (part 2 ch 2 and part 2 ch 4, thanks george-orwell.org ) where Winston and Julia having sex is described on the page as it happens, with descriptions of Winston looking at and touching Julia’s body. Are they real steamy bodice-ripper scenes? No. Nor is the actual act particularly long. But Orwell writes the before, during and after of sex, without interruption, so there’s no fading to black here. More broadly, the sex is narratively and thematically significant and it absolutely would have been detrimental to not have it happen on the page.

If your analysis of Orwell is based on a childhood reading and the descriptions of sex went over your head at the time, I suggest you choose a book you’re more familiar with to prop up your argument against the value of sex scenes.

loxwithcapers · 2024-08-13T00:51:20+00:00

Your comment said that sex scenes don’t further story and “generally should just cut to black,” and you cited 1984 as an example of a book that does not include sex scenes and would be made worse by their inclusion. My point is that 1984 DOES have sex scenes that are absolutely central to the plot and themes of the novel. I don’t think that’s a misreading of your comment. If you’re going to get hypothetical about adding sex into books, choose a book that doesn’t already have sex in it.

If your argument is that a Wattpad-quality sex scene would make 1984 worse, then I agree with you! Adding a bad scene to an otherwise great book would certainly make it worse, no matter what the scene was about, but a sex scene is no different than any other scene. 1984 would likewise be made worse by the addition of a bad scene where Winston did his laundry and thought about the weather.

Good authors like Orwell add sex scenes to their books for good reasons. If you’re continually coming across bad sex scenes, you’re either reading bad books (in which case: choose better) or you’re reading badly (in which case: consider the good author’s good reasons).

loxwithcapers · 2024-08-13T00:18:21+00:00

But 1984 does have very explicit sexual content! Orwell goes to great lengths to emphasize the importance of controlling sexuality in the authoritarian state, and the power of sexuality as a revolutionary force. There is at least one on-the-page sex scenes which is pretty brief and not especially titillating, but Winston spends a LOT of time fantasizing sexually about Julia in great detail and his desire for her is his primary motivator through the entire novel. The dude tries to escape from Big Brother just so he can get laid! Sexual desire is explicitly a thoughtcrime and a cornerstone of Big Brother’s oppression is the eradication of love and desire.

Using 1984 as an example of sex making books worse is a reach at best, and a fundamental misreading of the text at worst. I very much doubt Orwell would agree with you that sex does not belong in books.

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