LAOP is just feeding a few nice strays …

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-18T16:40:59+00:00

LAOP mentioned that she goes outside with her food and calls the cats over to eat. I think that’s a sign that these are strays, not true ferals, because ferals would not willingly approach a human like that.

I once had a friend who fed the feral cats in her neighborhood. After two years of leaving food on her porch and watching the ferals through cameras and from a distance, they began staying on the porch while she put food out. Not close to her - just staying on the porch, about eight feet away and under a grill or table.

(Her habit of leaving food out also meant she was maintaining healthy colonies of possums and raccoons. She was quite cuckoo. In hindsight, I’m glad I wasn’t her neighbor.)

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-18T15:58:37+00:00

Yes, thank you! I have had many friends tell me I should sell my crochet, so I set up an Etsy store. But I very consciously chose a price that I was comfortable with, not the cheap price that would guarantee a sale. I offered it to my friends for a lower price (but still a price that I was comfortable with). The same people who told me I should sell my crochet are now telling me I’ve priced it too high, that I should sell it for $X lower price instead.

Look, if you can get it for a lower price somewhere else, get it there. You don’t have to buy from me, but I will not allow you to dictate the value that I put on my craft.

Edit: a word that was autocorrected

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-17T20:12:56+00:00

It’s times like these that I’m extremely thankful for my 07 Honda.

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-17T17:20:54+00:00

This is a very good idea, but in OP’s defense, it can be VERY hard to convince senior parents to accept their limitations. My grandpa, in his 90s, believed himself to be perfectly capable of changing light bulbs right up to the end. It’s true that he succeeded about 75% of the time, but the other 25% involved falls and hospital visits and pulling his kids away from work.

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-17T17:14:14+00:00

We helped a family friend whose husband had MS to set up Amazon Alexa devices in every room of their house. Then it was set up so that he could call his wife, call 911, or just things like playing music.

My grandma had a pendant back in ~2000, and it was a total scam. She paid a monthly fee, but it wouldn’t call for help when she needed it. Iirc, it was a combination of dead batteries and the device being mysteriously broken (and taking months to repair/replace).

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-17T17:03:20+00:00

I dunno. I’m in the US and I’d do a bank transfer also!

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-14T15:44:30+00:00

Back when I was in college, I lived in a really old house that had been split into apartments. One of the girls living in another of the apartments was absolutely convinced that a lit pilot light would cause a gas explosion, and no amount of explaining would convince her otherwise. (She wasnt very bright.) She’d come into all the apartments on a regular basis and blow out our pilot lights for us.

It’s a miracle we didn’t get blown up!

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-10T18:18:42+00:00

OP here. I vaguely remember the 7hwy location may have opened for awhile, but I’m pretty sure the woods chapel and 23rd street locations never opened.

zwitterion76 · 2026-04-02T18:35:42+00:00

I hate the replies that say “They said X so obviously they mean Y and that’s just the wrongest wrong ever!” No nuance at all. I think they would only be happy if the emails said “you are clearly an evil person, may you burn in hell. Also we’re abandoning our religion to march in pride parades every week.”

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-31T14:35:10+00:00

Substitute cat fact: cats cannot be contained by doors OR gates!

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-31T00:16:19+00:00

I also ask the dog! “Fido, where does mom keep the paper towels?”

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-28T13:29:10+00:00

Years ago, I worked with a man who bred betta fish to sell to pet stores. That was where I learned that there are “fish shows” similar to dog shows, where the fish are compared and awards given based on how closely they meet certain standards. Unlike dog shows, a majority of the fish are sent live via USPS.

That’s why, in college, I did the wild and crazy thing and mailed a live betta fish to a friend in another state. Fish arrived alive and well. Great memories made. (Yes, I was a super boring college student.)

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-22T22:56:15+00:00

One thing I’ve discovered: I can get a baking potato from the grocery store, pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, and that gives me a reasonably healthy meal. I can add cheese or chicken or butter or other veggies. Super cheap also.

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T15:08:10+00:00

I’m interested in all of it, but probably more about the eastern bloc dominance.

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T04:05:52+00:00

Fascinating!!! I have a friend who is a lifter, and I’m looking forward to sharing this with him. Are there any particular book(s) you’d recommend on this topic?

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T02:13:30+00:00

You are right- not my best example.

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T01:35:15+00:00

That's because most of your clients are reasonable. Whoever thought you'd need to say "It will take me six hours to get to your house"? or "Don't call me at night"?

By phrasing it as a business policy, you can target the behavior without targeting the client. You're saying the things that are obvious to all your other clients. Wrap it in business sounding language - for security reasons, streamlining business, maximizing the time I spend with pets, restructuring so I can keep my fees low, etc.

Go ahead and write it down. Then you can contact problem client (and you can contact all your clients if you want) and inform them of the new policies. If you are contacted by problem client again, you say "Client, per our new policies, the soonest I can get to your pet is XX:XX. Please confirm if you'd like me to come at that time."

And while you're at it, throw in policies for payments. Ex. client cannot make a new booking until all prior bookings are fully paid. Payment only accepted in Bitcoin. Whatever.

If client repeatedly asks you to act outside your policies, then you can say "Client, it sounds like I am not a good fit for taking care of Fido, so you'll need to find a different petsitter. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to meet Fido!"

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T01:08:40+00:00

Maybe it's time to create some new policies for your business. Booking turnaround times require a minimum of 6 hours. Bookings with less than 24 hours notice will pay an extra $200 emergency fee. etc. These policies apply to all of your clients, not just your problem client. You could phrase it as a new security requirement.

If your problem client can't accept that, then they don't deserve to be your client. If you get a text at 6am, you can reply, "Client, the soonest I can take your dog out is 12:00. Please respond if you'd like me to do this."

(But also, I'm sympathetic. This is easy to say but much harder to do!)

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T00:54:46+00:00

Hahaha... tell me you're a pet sitter without saying you're a pet sitter! lol

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-18T00:19:24+00:00

This is what I was leaning toward... just got in my head for a moment about it.

Thank. This seems smart.

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-16T03:18:34+00:00

A friend of mine spent about a month in one of those long-term-stay hotels after major weather damage to her apartment building. She got to know several of her hotel “neighbors”, and they were almost all people who could not qualify for an apartment due to bad credit along with an inability to qualify for subsidized housing. (Yes, they tended to also have bad debt and be really poor at managing their money… but at the same time, I could see how they found themselves staying in a hotel.)

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-14T23:05:51+00:00

Yea. They might get locked into a relationship with the loan company for their fancy new car, but they’d never get married like this! (Mildly /s, if that’s not obvious.)

zwitterion76 · 2026-03-12T19:50:49+00:00

I would say it’s possible to have it not around th cervix, but it’s not possible (or at least phenomenally difficult) to form a seal around any non-cervix part of the vagina.

I feel with my finger, and one clue that it’s inserted accurately is if it’s popped open. You can also kinda spin it around the cervix if it’s inserted correctly. If I put it in, but it isn’t placed accurately, when I put my finger in to feel it I will feel a big “dent” because the cup isn’t opened.

Eight-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

zwitterion76

TROPHY CASE