Post by mrgare5050 on Jul 20, 2022 3:12:41 GMT -7
As part of the hail mary public education effort (great name who thinks up this stuff lol) heres my two cents, you can move it if you want.
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I always thought 'lurkers' had a bit of a sinister overtone, so I prefer 'visitors' who might be stopping by out of curiosity or even out of shear surfing the web. I certainly don't mean to ignore those of you who already have home planetariums, or professional ties (present or retired), but if I could just take a moment of outreach, of public education if you will, that would be good.
There IS a niche of people, very small and yet very welcoming, called Home Planetarians. For this reason, I call it both the niche with no name (like the mysterious cowboy), and a niche with TOO MANY names, for it has its hand in a seemingly unlimited number of pursuits. Recent years have emphasized perhaps that old adage, if you seek happiness, it comes in many forms, but always look in your own backyard first. I tell my wife a version of this - always shop in the barn first, I can show you 8 vintage couches that might just make it back to the house here! That usually doesn't work, but it's worth a try.
So I approach 'public education' not as a qualified teacher, or an expert in anything really. And I learn as much as I hopefully teach, but a few words of welcome are always, well, welcome wherever we may roam. Most visitors will probably just pass through here and on to the next adventure, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's probably in fact the normal these days. But if you have taken even a moment of your admittedly precious time to even find out there is such a THING as a home planetarium, well mission accomplished. We're glad you were here. And of course, you are ALWAYS welcome to come back, or hang out. You have NOT seen 'everything' just yet!
Gary Likert
Founder of This and That
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I always thought 'lurkers' had a bit of a sinister overtone, so I prefer 'visitors' who might be stopping by out of curiosity or even out of shear surfing the web. I certainly don't mean to ignore those of you who already have home planetariums, or professional ties (present or retired), but if I could just take a moment of outreach, of public education if you will, that would be good.
There IS a niche of people, very small and yet very welcoming, called Home Planetarians. For this reason, I call it both the niche with no name (like the mysterious cowboy), and a niche with TOO MANY names, for it has its hand in a seemingly unlimited number of pursuits. Recent years have emphasized perhaps that old adage, if you seek happiness, it comes in many forms, but always look in your own backyard first. I tell my wife a version of this - always shop in the barn first, I can show you 8 vintage couches that might just make it back to the house here! That usually doesn't work, but it's worth a try.
So I approach 'public education' not as a qualified teacher, or an expert in anything really. And I learn as much as I hopefully teach, but a few words of welcome are always, well, welcome wherever we may roam. Most visitors will probably just pass through here and on to the next adventure, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's probably in fact the normal these days. But if you have taken even a moment of your admittedly precious time to even find out there is such a THING as a home planetarium, well mission accomplished. We're glad you were here. And of course, you are ALWAYS welcome to come back, or hang out. You have NOT seen 'everything' just yet!
Gary Likert
Founder of This and That
