Sven Slootweg @joepie91@pixie.town

I've been wondering, where *does* this idea come from that you need to show up with thousands of people for a protest to be 'meaningful' or 'effective'?

You only need a handful of people (like, under 100) to cause unrelenting havoc for a long time and force an organization's hand through direct action.

But to make a significant difference in an election, voting-wise, you need *way more* than a few thousand people, to do it reliably (and it must be reliable, because that's the threat underpinning the protest).

So then what strategy for change does this idea of "thousands of people protesting" serve, exactly?

*Does* it actually serve anyone's strategy?

Getting my 'new' dining table and chairs tomorrow! Solid wood, seems pretty old, and it was listed on the local classifieds for free pickup!

Will be nice to finally have a sturdy table to do stuff at. I expect it'll need a little work to get it back into nice shape, but with solid wood that shouldn't really be an issue.

Definitely will need to replace the seat covers at least, they're quite old and worn out.

People barging into a discussion about preventative community safety/sustainability measures, spending countless posts arguing that we shouldn't be taking preventative measures because the thing we're trying to protect from probably isn't going to happen anyway.

Like, why would you *actively argue against* people doing preventative work? You're not even saving them time - you're *costing* it.

"Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relationship to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke,"

Don't forget to stock up on PPE either! Sometimes your tools will come with such equipment - especially safety glasses are included with some powertools.

If not, find a cheap local source (again, Action is a good one if it exists where you are), and verify that their PPE meets the relevant safety rating. It should say so on the packaging, and specify exactly what it is certified for.

Minimum safety equipment needed:

- Safety glasses. These are basically just polycarbonate glasses. Also sometimes sold as 'fireworks glasses'. Get them with protection on the side if possible, but cheaper ones often don't have this.

- Work gloves. Either nitrile or latex coated. Cheaply available just about everywhere. Note that they will not prevent any serious cuts, and they are *not* machine-washable at a normal program - it will melt the coating and you'll be left with a sticky mess. Make sure you understand what they do or don't protect you from - with some tools, they can make things *more* dangerous rather than less! The tool's manual will tell you this.

- Facemasks, or some other kind of on-your-person air filtering. FFP2/N95 at a minimum. Yes, the FFP2 masks you've been using to protect from infectious diseases are suitable for woodworking too. Discard after use; sawdust will clog them up over time.

- Either a shopvac (that is safe to use with sawdust), or if you cannot afford one, working outside. Don't generate sawdust indoors unless you have a way to collect it - this is how fires start.