Because this is our first issue, we don’t have
any feedback from readers yet. However, lots
of people have written us in anticipation of the
debut issue. Here’s our favorite: a story from
Jeffrey Haemer, a MAKE newsletter subscriber.
Where makers offer praise,
brickbats, and swell ideas.
Thinking about MAKE brings warm memories After thinking about the problem, he jury-rigged a
of an old friend, BA, the initials not being for step-plate just inside the cat door, then hooked it to
anonymity but because that’s what he goes by. a big capacitor and a buzzer.
BA cut the legs off his sofa so he wouldn’t have to His own cat would come right through the door.
sweep under it. It’s where he spent a lot of his time. She lived there. Strange cats, however, would come
One day, I was over at his house, visiting, when a halfway through and stand there looking around to
loud buzzer went off. see if the coast was clear. This meant they’d stand
“What’s that?” on the touch plate for long enough to discharge the
“Aw, that’s my cat-burglar alarm.” capacitor and set off the buzzer.
BA had put a cat door in an eye-level window The alarm was still sounding, so BA reached down
for his cat, with a ramp up to it on the outside of next to the couch, picked up a plastic squirt gun,
the house. It entered into the utility room, so she then leaned back over the arm of the couch, looked
could jump down onto the washer, and from there down the hall into the utility room, took aim, and shot
to the floor. Going out was easy, too. No reason a the intruder, who quickly pulled back out the door
cat needs a ground-level entrance, and it keeps out and ran off.
small dogs. I guess I’d better go hunt up his address and give
The part about keeping out dogs worked, but him a gift subscription for Christmas, eh?
he’d begun seeing strange cats in his house.
They’d discover the door and come in to eat his
cat’s food and escape the cold Colorado winter.
Talk to us about the first issue, story and project ideas, or
other things you think the readers of MAKE should know
about, at
makezine.com/talk.
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sheetmetal, turn a bowl,
build a boat, hit a target.
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