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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3502 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 17, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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How is the Canadian forest fire smoke affecting you?

I feel like I'm in my own personal version of silent hill right now. The sun is almost fully obscured.

We were going to drive up to the UP yesterday and it has canceled that trip.

I’m in Mi. for a wedding and it’s a real bummer, since it’s normally gorgeous this time of year!

It was and we ended up having it outside. Fortunately it cleared up a little bit and we had a good time!

Mi.

A daring synthesis. (The traditional abbreviation is "Mich.", while the newfangled postal abbreviation is "MI".)

Indoors it just looks like it's overcast outside. Outdoors, it's almost unbearable, with your lungs burning with every breath.

I lived in Montana for a few years, smoke doesn't affect me until you reach the point where the smoke is thick enough that the sun is no longer a disc.

There's some smoke in the air near DC but the whole thing seems like the typical weather overreaction that's common here.

Sun? What sun?

Where I am, the sun is no longer a disk. It's pretty wild to see if you're not used to it.

Dodged it, I live in northern Virginia. But currently finishing up a week at the beach down in the Carolinas.

The local pool board I'm on had a discussion about closing, they ultimately decided to close for guard and patron safety.

I've never seen it this bad where I am. Usually its just a haze that knocks 10-20٪ off my solar panel efficiency. Today it smells like burnt rubber and the smog reminds me of my visit to Beijing. And this is down in the far exurbs of the DC metro area.

What do you do to keep your airways safe?

Costco.com, Winix C909 air purifier. It comes with a 2-year supply of replacement filters, which is a better deal than can be found at Amazon. Depending on the size of your home, get multiple.

I bought 2 and some jackasses stole the extra filters and returned it to Costco, then Costco shipped it to me. Had to return it and get a replacement. It was easy to rebox though.

I wasn't asking for my own sake. I don't live in a wildfire area (so far).

But the answer seems to be: plenty of air purifiers in the home, because the air outside seeps in and becomes the air inside. And high quality masks when going outside.

Yeah. I looked briefly into DIY CR Box air purifiers, and while they can be quieter, more efficient and/or cheaper I don't have the time or skill to craft them. Easier to spend $200 at Costco and get a ready made purifier, and snag sone KN95 masks off Amazon for when you need to be outside.

You still have N-95s in your closet leftover from COVID right?

First time?

Buy an air filter, if you still can. Otherwise, DIY one. You might need one for every occupied room depending on your house size and how well air mixes in your house. If you don't have filtration, indoor air quality will eventually equilibrate with the outdoors.

At this point we'd probably need to anex Canada and genocide the "natives".

I'm staying the hell inside.

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