MollyMayhem's Profile

Losing part of the copper out of a wire is indeed reducing it's rating. Standard lamp cord is usually 14 gauge. Depending on the type of insulation, the wire can carry up to 15 amps* in free air**. This translates to 1500 watts. I defy you to find a light bulb that is going to pull more than 15 amps. You'd melt/catch fire your lamp shade before that. So while losing a strand or two when stripping your ends isn't ideal, it isn't the end of the world.

Much much much much more important is making sure all your connections are absolutely tight. Loose connections spark and that creates heat, which can cause fire. Also, if your connections slip and short out to the lamp body, lamp cord doesn't have a ground wire, so the potential to shock yourself is there.

The above information is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and research. If you use the above information and hurt or kill yourself or others, it's totally not my fault.

*I use what is referred to as paper amps. The actual ampacity is higher, but I work in theater electrics, and we use paper amps both for ease/speed of math and to build in a safety factor. I do not know if "real" electricians use paper amps, but it's standard in my industry.

**Not under a rug or in conduit. Means just what it sounds like.

Bi-Rite in SF has these.

Rit Dyeing tips, from a former costume shop dye bitch:

Rit works 1000x better in hot water.

Use a bigger pot. I don't care how big the pot you're using is, use a bigger one. You want the fabric to move freely and easily in the pot.

Use more dye than the package indicates. In a 5 gallon dye batch, I'd use 5 packets of dye. If you plan to do a lot of dyeing, you can get Rit dyes in bulk. We had 5 pound tubs.

If it's not dark enough yet, keep cooking. You can always add more dye to your dye bath, but take what you're dyeing out before you add more dye.

When you rinse the item, it will get lighter. As it drys, it will get lighter still. Keep this in mind as you're watching your item change color.

Beets in the farmer's markets here in Northern CA.

I'm super busy, and I don't have the time to eat at home a lot. But I'm trying to eat at least one meal at home every day.

Using a rubber band as electrical insulation seems like a horrifically bad idea. Electrical tape is cheap, and designed for the task.

I don't know that my closet is that great a model for my decorating taste. I love bright colors and bold decorating choices, but my wardrobe is stagehand/goth, black black black.

I have my dad's dishes from college, which included the blender that my grandparents had when he was a kid.

I also have my step dad's dutch oven.

Hand me down kitchenware is awesome.

My home has looked like the picture above pretty much since I moved in, but with less visible floor space. I'd become somewhat inured to it, until I had a friend over last week for dinner. He tried to hide his horror at the state of my house, but totally failed. I never have people over, so it really brought home how broken the way I live is.

Ugh. It's still a huge mess, but since then, I've made progress in the direction of a clean and welcoming house every day. If I move towards it every day, I'll get there eventually.

Bookmarking this post for a kick in the pants when I need it.

My favorite cup is the Edna from http://www.ezmedesigns.com/index.shtml

The one I have was part of a run she did with a weird batch of clay, so instead of staying bright white, the unglazed city has turned this wonderful brown. The sky remains bright white, and the contrast is lovely.