READER INPUT
Tales of hardware stores, wind generators, and pine derby cars.
My son and I were in our local independent hardware store, Jackson’s Hardware in San Rafael, Calif., shopping for parts for the compressed air rocket (which is fantastic!) [Volume 15, page 102, “Compressed Air Rocket”]. There was another father/son combo in the store at the same time buying parts for the rocket. I happened to speak to the store manager and told him that there was another party buying the exact same stuff for their rocket project. He had not heard of MAKE but said, “We should carry that magazine.” I told him that if a project was popular he could even put together a kit of parts to make it easy on us parents and tinkering goobers.
So, my idea is to get your mag into more independent hardware stores, and it will do us all good. Sure, if Home Depot wants it, give it to them, but make sure the indy shops get some love.
Anyhow, just an idea. Thanks for the great mag. I look forward to it more than any other. My son loves the compressed air rocket. It is really fun.
—Alex Giedt San Rafael, Calif.
I have been an avid reader of MAKE since the very beginning, back in 2005, and I would like to thank you for keeping me inspired to continue with my creative ventures. All of my science projects in recent memory have been based on projects you’ve featured in MAKE. For example, last year I compared the efficiency of various wind turbine designs, inspired by the article “Wind Powered Generator” in Volume 05 [page 90].
MAKE is a very useful reference for any kind of project I’m working on. I often find myself reading the online PDF more often than the physical copy; it’s very convenient to have it right there on my computer. Your blog is also great; it keeps me occupied while waiting for the next issue, and it’s updated often enough that I can check on it several times a day without getting bored, unlike most blogs which, at most, update once every day or so. I’m looking forward to future issues, keep up the great work!
—Jacob Simmons Lake City, Fla.
Photograph by David Olsen
Regarding “Interstellar Visions,” Volume 15, page 21: your reporter is too credulous. While concentrated moonlight may have medical value for werewolves, its only effect on humans is to lighten their wallets. The Interstellar Light Applications collector may be technologically impressive and artistically interesting, but scientifically and medically speaking it is indeed in the middle of a desert. You do your readers a disservice to suggest otherwise.
—Eric Johnson Minneapolis, Minn.
I loved the “Model Wind Tunnel” article [Volume 15, page 143]. My dad and I made a wind tunnel for the 5th grade science fair. The nice touch that we (probably he) figured out was to use dry ice and a beer can with holes punched in it in front of the air inlet to make little lines of dry ice fog that showed how different shapes were more turbulent than others. Mine was narrow and only worked for airfoils, not Pinewood Derby cars — though since my dad had the best set of tools, our scout troop’s Pinewood Derby cars were all started in our basement.
—Ben Smith San Francisco, Calif.
