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  The pros and cons of mass-produced food Nothing gets a society better at food in big batches which travel well and have a long shelf life than a war. The twist is when factory food becomes the norm, not the wartime exception. This can lead to better sanitation standards... but can also devalue those same standards. https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/mass-produced-food

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  I biked to the grocery store tonight and stocked up on cereal. Fun fact: broadly speaking, 1970s or earlier cereal is diabetic friendly, while 1980s and later cereal is not. Life Brand has twice as many carbs as Honeycombs. I can't eat a serving of Life Brand. Even some of the "bad" sweet cereal from the 70s is better than Life Brand. No wonder Mikey liked it.

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  @aeveltstra@mastodon.social Bonus demerit points of the clickable part moves because of a hover animation.

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  Sometimes the best “make” is automation Why it's worth taking the time to set up your commonly used software applications so they are customized to how you work. https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/sometimes-the-best-make-is-automation

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  Making has its non-niche moments. Handmade socks and sweaters, or mass produced socks and sweaters trying to imitate their handmade relatives, are still easy to find. It's also an easy make to get into: portable, lots of free patterns, loads of instructions on techniques online, and tools and materials which are relatively easy to obtain. It's a great introduction to slow fashion — plus you get to learn about where a lot of software coding logic comes from! https://makevbuy.substack.com...

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  Make vs Buy: Save money, keep old clothes out of landfill, and make yourself a blanket or quilt! https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/blankets-and-quilts

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  The hobby effect: consumerism dressed up as DIY You get interested in one, buy the tools, buy the materials, find something to make. Eventually, you finish the item. So now what? What can you do with this thing that you made for your hobby? Some hobby things wind up adorning a wall. Some get draped over the back of the sofa. Some get worn. But a lot of hobby items aren’t actually for anything. They’re just something cute that sits on top of your desk or an end table. Nothing wrong with making...

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  After several practice runs, I set up my projector against my self-healing cutting mat, and traced out my favourite t-shirt pattern into paper. Why didn't I keep my old version? Well, I did, but I'm two sizes smaller now (because I was seriously ill two years ago -- no, I'm not dieting or on drugs, it's just a side effect of recovery). I'm glad I worked through all the setup frustration when I didn't need to trace out any patterns immediately. I've got two other pa...

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  The conventional wisdom is that it’s easier, faster, and definitely more fashionable to buy clothing than to make them. Making clothes is a lonely, expensive activity, that takes lots of time and requires a specific, hard-won skill set. This article explores some truths which question that conventional wisdom. https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/diy-fashion

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  Oh, this hits. https://designthinkingcomic.substack.com/p/seven-day-sprint-adventists?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=329403&post_id=194672328&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ap4tf&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email #design #agile

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  I gave eight AIs the same web development task of creating a simple one-page website, using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Was it worth it? Back when I was creating volunteer websites on evenings and weekends, it would take me a couple of weeks to finish a web page. Having a trustworthy AI tool available would cut that down to maybe a week, week and a half. Unfortunately, AI cannot help you get needed information from a volunteer coordinator with too many things to remember, so it can only he...

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  Is it actually better to make it yourself, or is the convenience of buying worth the cost? 🛠️📦 I'm excited to start Series 2 of my Substack, Make vs Buy. This time, I'm moving beyond websites to look at the pillars of domestic life: meals, clothing, and furniture. I'll also be looking at how emerging tech like 3D printing is reshaping the calculus for modern makers. Read more here: https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/the-make-vs-buy-dilemma #MakeVsBuy #Makers #Substack #DIY...

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  Food and eating. It’s so central to culture, to enjoying life. If you are lucky enough to live in a place where food culture is celebrated, cherish it. We keep getting told. Get a meal-oriented grocery service so you don’t have to go to the supermarket. Or take things a step further and get a meal service with all everything already made and ready for the microwave. Surely that’s more convenient, and convenience is everything. But is it? https://makevbuy.substack.com/p/chef-or-consumer