#plastic is bad

[x3lasin]

Just a quick reminder that literal tons of plastic will go into the oceans this holiday season!

~ Happy Holidays ❤

[maeganbobaegan]

Unexpected. Sometimes going home to make coffee doesn't exactly save money

[eyeofthedrgn]

#TeamSeas

[igotlost]

Back to the Basics: Clothing

"Lost," you ask in confusion, "why are we starting here? At the basics? I know all these things."

"Because," I say as I rummage through notes and throw post-its onto the wall, "you think you know the basics. And if you do know the basics, then this will be a nice review!"

NATURAL MATERIALS ONLY (Cotton, Denim, Leathers)

Surprisingly, there is a reason for this! For all my crafters and cos-players, have you ever seen a poly-cotton or other blended materials, catch on fire?

For those of you who haven't, man made materials such as polyester, are basically plastic. There's more to it then that of course, but for now, that comparison works rather well. Anyone who has ever kept a plastic bag next to a stove, lighter, bbq, or open flame, can say with confidence that plastic melts. And in this case, when you are welding, grinding, plasma cutting, or gouging, you WILL have sparks fly back at you.

And trust me, there are not many painless ways to peel plastic off of skin, especially if it has melted into you.

Cotton

As the lightest of the three materials suggested above, cotton will burn. However, cotton will burn and flake away from your skin, provided it is not being pushed down by an outside force. What this means is the chances of catching on fire and staying on fire (this is an important distinction, trust me,) are much smaller. Best use for cotton is as a shirt under your gear.

There are, of course, heavier cottons that are woven to create work pants. The problem with this, is that you can often only find them in the men's section. For those who can wear men's clothing without a problem, this is a perfect solution, but some of us cannot. (Often, ladies, in the men's section of a clothing store, you will find that their pants are not as wide in the hips, nor do they settle nicely around the thigh. This of course, can change depending on brand and size, but realistically, these are not always the cheapest option either, which is a bit of a disappointment.

Note: For those of you who would like to protect your head and hair but cannot afford to pick up a welding cap, I highly suggest you get a 100% cotton bandanna and use that to cover your head. Most of the time, they are only a dollar or two at your local Dollar Store. As a bonus, you can even get them in pretty colours! (I have a rad one that looks like flames. My cousin has one that is in pink.)

Denim. We all probably own one pair of jeans somewhere in our closets, but in this case, you want the pair that isn't held together by a few strings. Denim, like cotton, will burn, but it takes a hell of a lot more to make that sucker burst into flames. And, unlike cotton, it will stop most sparks and a fair amount of slag from reaching your skin.

While, ideally, we want absolutely NO RIPS OR TEARS in your pants, or even your jacket, a general way to gauge it for working at home is this: if you can see skin through the hole, so can a spark.

Choose your pants wisely, young welders. Choose wisely.

Leathers.

Leather is a nice material to have. At some point, your gear will probably have a nice set of leather gloves at the very least. But, since we are talking about general clothing in this post, we'll leave that topic for another day. Leather is a natural fire resistant material. As long as you treat the material right (and don't deliberately stick it under intense heat just to see what will happen,) a good leather jacket could last you years. This is providing, of course, that you keep the leather hydrated, catch age cracks right off the bat, and ensure there are no rips and tears in the material.

If, for some reason, you do not want to (or cannot) invest in a jacket, there are other options such as; aprons (always check to make sure these are graded for welding or intense heat), arm guards, long gloves, coveralls, and fireproof gear. All fireproof gear will have a symbol displayed that looks like a triangle with the letters FR written inside.

Overall, be aware of what you are wearing. Remember, if you can see skin, so can a spark. Long sleeves are best and when in doubt, layer up.

[feelings4felines]

just a little reminder that surgical steel isn't suitable jewelry for piercings because of its high nickel content and the only metal jewelry you should have in piercings are implant grade titanium, niobium, and gold!!!

[lagoonagator]

Today at work I fed peacocks and helped retrieve a woman's plastic cup from the shark tank.  She was bewildered by the fact that we insisted on retrieving said cup. "But in Jaws they cut the shark open and he had tons of plastic stuff inside...he was fine..". 

What a glamorous day.