Kendra Smith-Howard
@kdsh.bsky.social
Historian who likes finding the extraordinarily weird histories of ordinary life. Appreciates quirky friends and students. Delights in telling groaner puns to her kids.
environment. food. hiking.
environment. food. hiking.
Not a bad day for a field trip aboard the Appollonia on the Hudson
September 20, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Not a bad day for a field trip aboard the Appollonia on the Hudson
I happened upon this traffic stop of an Amazon van and the weinermobile yesterday. Hot dog! I relished the laughter as I became Meyer-ed in pun(ch) likes the rest of the day.
August 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I happened upon this traffic stop of an Amazon van and the weinermobile yesterday. Hot dog! I relished the laughter as I became Meyer-ed in pun(ch) likes the rest of the day.
Lots of news stories to cry over today. But not this one. Because...err.
July 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Lots of news stories to cry over today. But not this one. Because...err.
Tmw, your kid goes on a juneteenth hike and keeps texting you four letter bird codes all day. And this is the less obsessive of my two birder kids!
June 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Tmw, your kid goes on a juneteenth hike and keeps texting you four letter bird codes all day. And this is the less obsessive of my two birder kids!
The story about passenger pigeons was the laugh I needed today.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Flap on Delta flight as pigeons prevent aircraft from taking wing
Minneapolis-to-Madison flight was fowled by two feathered stowaways that were eventually captured and deplaned
www.theguardian.com
May 30, 2025 at 1:22 AM
The story about passenger pigeons was the laugh I needed today.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tmw you procrastinate rehearsing the horn parts for Easter Sunday and realize the anthem is sustained exposed stuff at the top of your range. Gonna be a (w)holly moly week of finding time to practice.
April 13, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Tmw you procrastinate rehearsing the horn parts for Easter Sunday and realize the anthem is sustained exposed stuff at the top of your range. Gonna be a (w)holly moly week of finding time to practice.
TFW the city sends a tree crew while your super avid birder kid is at school and they trim the branch that is reliably where hawks perch and woodpeckers feast. I think they can feel the glare from my attic office.
March 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
TFW the city sends a tree crew while your super avid birder kid is at school and they trim the branch that is reliably where hawks perch and woodpeckers feast. I think they can feel the glare from my attic office.
Reposted by Kendra Smith-Howard
If you have a federal grant, I *highly* recommend going to this Friday's webinar on responding to grant terminations.
Lisa Brown, former general counsel at Dept of Ed, will present along with other lawyers.
Friday, March 21, 2-3 pm. More info & register here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/regist...
Lisa Brown, former general counsel at Dept of Ed, will present along with other lawyers.
Friday, March 21, 2-3 pm. More info & register here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/regist...
March 18, 2025 at 4:37 PM
If you have a federal grant, I *highly* recommend going to this Friday's webinar on responding to grant terminations.
Lisa Brown, former general counsel at Dept of Ed, will present along with other lawyers.
Friday, March 21, 2-3 pm. More info & register here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/regist...
Lisa Brown, former general counsel at Dept of Ed, will present along with other lawyers.
Friday, March 21, 2-3 pm. More info & register here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/regist...
So this week in Hist of Childhood, we talked about how much infant mortality dropped 1880-1930 with milk pasteurization, diphtheria innoculation. This, in a week with a raw milk, antivax nominee for health sec.
November 16, 2024 at 12:11 AM
So this week in Hist of Childhood, we talked about how much infant mortality dropped 1880-1930 with milk pasteurization, diphtheria innoculation. This, in a week with a raw milk, antivax nominee for health sec.
How fun is it to watch my kids run? So fun that today their gym teacher--seeing that their mile times made the school leaderboard, called the younger kid out of class so that the Howard bros could race head-to-head. Bets were taken. Older kid, also a foot taller, prevailed.
November 9, 2024 at 1:56 AM
How fun is it to watch my kids run? So fun that today their gym teacher--seeing that their mile times made the school leaderboard, called the younger kid out of class so that the Howard bros could race head-to-head. Bets were taken. Older kid, also a foot taller, prevailed.
GA has lots of counties, doesn't it.
November 6, 2024 at 12:49 AM
GA has lots of counties, doesn't it.
Brought a few classic toys to my hist of childhood class today. Like jacks, which, shockingly, none of my students knew how to play.
TMW you casually throw up a bouncy ball, gather all 10 jacks, and catch the ball with one hand **with a room of students watching.**🔥🔥🔥
TMW you casually throw up a bouncy ball, gather all 10 jacks, and catch the ball with one hand **with a room of students watching.**🔥🔥🔥
September 20, 2024 at 10:49 PM
Brought a few classic toys to my hist of childhood class today. Like jacks, which, shockingly, none of my students knew how to play.
TMW you casually throw up a bouncy ball, gather all 10 jacks, and catch the ball with one hand **with a room of students watching.**🔥🔥🔥
TMW you casually throw up a bouncy ball, gather all 10 jacks, and catch the ball with one hand **with a room of students watching.**🔥🔥🔥
Tmw your kid's birding obsession spills over into your teaching and you find yourself posting images of every bird mentioned the in the Hamlin Garland excerpt you assigned.
August 31, 2024 at 12:25 AM
Tmw your kid's birding obsession spills over into your teaching and you find yourself posting images of every bird mentioned the in the Hamlin Garland excerpt you assigned.
Teacher people: if you once used the recently departed flipgrid for students to post videos and comment on classmates' work, what are you turning to now?
August 27, 2024 at 12:19 AM
Teacher people: if you once used the recently departed flipgrid for students to post videos and comment on classmates' work, what are you turning to now?
How confident is my 84-year old dad in UPS and the superiority of his homegrown Midwestern tomatoes? Confident enough to send >2 dozen across the nation. (1 of 2).
August 21, 2024 at 11:05 PM
How confident is my 84-year old dad in UPS and the superiority of his homegrown Midwestern tomatoes? Confident enough to send >2 dozen across the nation. (1 of 2).
A character in the novel I'm reading is about to take a tragic turn, based on foreshadowing. I am now afraid to to flip another page as it somehow brings the bad thing into being... I'm so close to meeting the @albanypubliclibrary summer reading challenge, but not sure if I can bear to go on.
August 17, 2024 at 1:23 AM
A character in the novel I'm reading is about to take a tragic turn, based on foreshadowing. I am now afraid to to flip another page as it somehow brings the bad thing into being... I'm so close to meeting the @albanypubliclibrary summer reading challenge, but not sure if I can bear to go on.
elementary kid used his mp3 player to bootleg bird calls from Merlin this morning so he could quiz his friend at lunch.
All kinds of winning.🐦🤓
All kinds of winning.🐦🤓
January 4, 2024 at 9:01 PM
elementary kid used his mp3 player to bootleg bird calls from Merlin this morning so he could quiz his friend at lunch.
All kinds of winning.🐦🤓
All kinds of winning.🐦🤓
anybody able to lead me to good histories about the origins of life-cycle assessment? Thanks!
January 2, 2024 at 9:27 PM
anybody able to lead me to good histories about the origins of life-cycle assessment? Thanks!
new paragraph describes superabsorbent polymer manufacture pollution with the same words often used to discuss diapering: loaded, blowout, soak, spray, saturate. Too gross? IDK.
November 29, 2023 at 10:21 PM
new paragraph describes superabsorbent polymer manufacture pollution with the same words often used to discuss diapering: loaded, blowout, soak, spray, saturate. Too gross? IDK.
Turkey, roasted. Cranberries, pickled. Birthday cake, baked. Rec letter, submitted. Still have a cake to frost, pie to make, and paragraph to write, but progress.
November 22, 2023 at 9:16 PM
Turkey, roasted. Cranberries, pickled. Birthday cake, baked. Rec letter, submitted. Still have a cake to frost, pie to make, and paragraph to write, but progress.
Not enough fanfare on this: DOE grants to stoke heat pump manufacturing dropped this week. Albany friends, did you know Energy Catalyst got $10M this week to retrofit a building in Watervliet, train youth, and hire 50 people? Lower emissions, more affordable energy, local jobs? Yes please!
Working on public policy is the most exciting thing I've ever done. There are days when you know you've helped reshape systems that are so much bigger than you. Yesterday's announcement of 15 new heat pump manufacturing facilities was one of those moments. www.energy.gov/mesc/defense...
Defense Production Act Heat Pump Program Selections
The Defense Production Act Heat Pump Program Selections is accelerating domestic electric heat pump manufacturing.
www.energy.gov
November 22, 2023 at 1:21 AM
Not enough fanfare on this: DOE grants to stoke heat pump manufacturing dropped this week. Albany friends, did you know Energy Catalyst got $10M this week to retrofit a building in Watervliet, train youth, and hire 50 people? Lower emissions, more affordable energy, local jobs? Yes please!
this chapter is becoming a monster. I know it will be sliced and diced, but I can't dismember until I decide which pieces are vital, which means assembling it all first. Sigh.
November 3, 2023 at 7:58 PM
this chapter is becoming a monster. I know it will be sliced and diced, but I can't dismember until I decide which pieces are vital, which means assembling it all first. Sigh.
In a rehearsal with >90 musicians at the moment. Quite certain it's been about 20 years since I played in such a big gig: choir, strings, winds.
November 2, 2023 at 11:11 PM
In a rehearsal with >90 musicians at the moment. Quite certain it's been about 20 years since I played in such a big gig: choir, strings, winds.
tmw you load up a folder in a database with about 100+ different references and send it to your e-mail thinking the list will come in a single, aggregated note, but instead, you get one e-mail per reference. 😬
October 30, 2023 at 7:44 PM
tmw you load up a folder in a database with about 100+ different references and send it to your e-mail thinking the list will come in a single, aggregated note, but instead, you get one e-mail per reference. 😬
is there a database to track RCRA violations for the period 1986-1990? EPA's ECHO seems to pick up only after the early 1990s (or enforcement was lax -totally possible).
October 23, 2023 at 6:45 PM
is there a database to track RCRA violations for the period 1986-1990? EPA's ECHO seems to pick up only after the early 1990s (or enforcement was lax -totally possible).