challenge family projects thought fodder tips

Being on Camera

Being on camera is not natural for most people, particularly those of us who grew up without constantly being attached to a phone camera. When I was a kid, film was expensive to process and most rolls came with only 24 shots, so you didn’t want to waste them on goofy or unimportant subjects, like pictures of food or a cat playing with a toy. Also, parents weren’t likely to let their kids “play” with…

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observations pragmatic historian preservation tips

The Places We Rarely Clean

We have needed a new kitchen faucet for a few years now. We got some fancy-dancy spray faucet the last time and eventually lost water pressure because the aerator was blocked. We tried cleaning it with vinegar and were unsuccessful. We also attempted to remove the aerator so we could replace it without replacing the entire faucet. We didn’t want to have to throw the faucet in a landfill. Unfortunately, the aerator was not removable…

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history museums pragmatic historian preservation

The Museum of Loaned Artifacts – For Reals!

After publishing last week’s post about a thought experiment regarding setting up a history museum that has no collection but uses short-term loans, I got some feedback on LinkedIn. David Grabitske (yes, him again!) said he knew of someone who was part of such a museum. The museum of loaned artifacts – for reals! –  is the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas. Tom Wancho, exhibit planner for the museum, said in our…

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