Libraries as Amazon Associates

Amazon.com has a program (AmazonSmile) which allows you to designate a charity which can receive a percentage of the total of your purchase.  It has another program (amazon Associates) which allows people to promote products through their websites, social media, YouTube etc and receive a percentage of those purchases.

While this appears all well and good, AmazonSmile contributes.5% (yes that's 1/2%) to your designated charity, while the associates program pays roughly 5% of the purchase price (10 times what the Smile program pays).

Who is a greater promoter of books, movies, music and magazines than libraries?.  Why shouldn't they be given the opportunity to be treated like the promoter they are rather than a charity?    The idea is to ties user's library accounts and turn it into a purchasing platform and earning them up to 10% on some products.

The Idea

Library patrons can log into their library account and search for a book.   If the book is in the library's collection, they can request it and/or buy it. If it is not in the library they can purchase it.   Users can also go into their lending record and retrieve titles they've borrowed so that hey could purchase those as well.  For every sale made, the library gets a percentage.
Patron's credit card and address are on file and products are shipped (free) directly to the customer.   Free shipping incentivises people to purchase their media through the library rather than externally.

This would give libraries another (much needed) stream of income and blend a natural place for discovery of books and media to a way for people to own that media.  How many times have you taken out a book and thought that you'd like to own it or that it would be a great gift.  This would give you a way to easily buy it and benefit your local library.

Introducing MakerFreak

I've been interested in carving out my making in a more structured way for a while.  MakerFreak is that way.

I've started a new YouTube channel and will be posting things under the Maker Freak label. Projects will also be posted here on the MakerFreak page of joshuahowe.com.

Why Maker Freak
My making doesn't really have a single focus.  While I do woodwork, I also cook, sew, home repair, electronics and general exploration and making.  The other part of making for me isn't just the technique, its the mindset and the process.

The mindset of a maker is bigger than just creating.  When I read or think about the skills which leaders need and what the future will require, the maker embodies these.  Makers are curious, willing to try new things, willing to learn, willing to fail.  Makers are explorers and artists.   They use critical thinking to understand how something works and create something new.  What they don't know, they learn by reading, researching, talking to others or experimenting.

The process of making is about being observant of the world around us.   Makers question.  The Maker Freak channel will be a reflection of that mindset.

Subscribe to the MakerFreak You Tube channel

Cribbage Board Build

I’ve wanted to do something for the last 10 years with scraps of mahogany I’d salvaged from our house.   It was wainscoting from the dining room, though didn’t appear to be original from the house, so I didn’t feel too bad about not returning it to the dining room once the room was redone.   So, instead, it’s been sitting in my basement.  I’ve used small scraps over the years, but haven’t made a substantial dent in it.  You’ll see a little of the disassembly in the video.  Even after all of these years, those rails and stiles were very tight and I ended up using a circular saw to separate some of them because I couldn’t get the bond to break.
So, when I’d decided I wanted to make a couple cribbage boards as Christmas gifts, the magohany seemed like a good option.   I coupled it with some scraps of oak left over from redoing the stairs in the old house and used some old nails I’ve recovered from flooring removed from the house as well.   I painted the tips of the nails to differentiate the players, and gave them three colored sets and one natural. 
This was my first try at finger joints.  After getting the basics from YouTube, I’d decided I didn’t want to make a complex jig (one for adjustability and reuse), I needed only to get the job at hand done.   So, I built a small finger joint jig.  My first pass at the joints left them too tight to assemble and the second a little loose, but nothing which glue couldn’t fix. 
I’d thought about using a wood burner to draw the lines and other markings on the boards.   My past experience (as a kid) using  a wood burner  weren’t great.  I remember it being hard to achieve a consistent line thickness as well as a straight line.  I decided that keeping a clean board without the lines and without the risk was the best way to go.  (I did get a new wood burning tool for Christmas, so plan on replacing those old memories with some new skills.)
All and all, I’m pleased with the project.  It took far more time than I’d anticipated (when doesn’t it), but that’s fine as they were gifts.   I am glad to know a bit of our home is in their homes.

Cribbage Board closed

Cribbage Board open