My first desktop was prebuilt, and while it did what it was supposed to do, I feel like I could have gotten better hardware for the same price. The second time around, I selected my parts on my own, had them shipped to my house, and built my computer myself. I was really happy with the easiness of the assembly, as well as the performance at a slightly cheaper price.
There are cases where a prebuilt can actually be cheaper than building yourself (Windows licensing discounts, volume discounts, etc), but I like being able to select high quality components that fit my needs, rather than relying on a hope that the company knows what they are doing. I've heard of them skimping out in a couple places that make upgrading harder down the line, which I don't like. Also, I know exactly what's in my computer, because I chose it. It gives me that feeling of "I made this. This is mine," which is really rewarding.
Unfortunately, you can't custom build laptops. If I could, I would.
Meals. Cooking can be fun and as IridescentOak said about wine/mead, you make it exactly to your tastes. There is also the advantage of being cheaper than going to a restaurant.
And cheaper than buying some premade shove-it-in-the-oven package deal. Not to mention it'll have that added taste of satisfaction added to it from the knowledge you made it yourself.
I was about to say food, but to give more specific answers :
- Pizza is both super easy to do (I actually find it simpler than ordering, but maybe that's just me) and the quality is leagues over almost anything I've found in America, when done right (the key, as in most Italian cuisine, is simplicity and quality ingredients). I do buy my dough already made (frozen, I let it rise a few hours and mold it myself) because I haven't found a recipe that satisfies me yet. But just add ground tomatoes, salt and pepper, then cheese (ideally real Italian mozzarella, even mozzarella di bufala if you can get your hands on it, I know it's expensive, but it is worth every penny), whatever ingredient you want on top (none is also good), then add dried oregano and extra virgin olive oil and put it in the oven at 230 °C for about 15 minutes.
- Crepes, pancakes, French toasts : there are like 2 to 4 ingredients in the base recipe, and ones everyone has in their kitchen at any given moment : eggs, flour, milk, salt. If you want to get fancy, add some sugar, olive oil, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla extract, etc. In my mind, pre-made crepe/pancake preparation is an abomination that should never have been invented.
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Computers.
My first desktop was prebuilt, and while it did what it was supposed to do, I feel like I could have gotten better hardware for the same price. The second time around, I selected my parts on my own, had them shipped to my house, and built my computer myself. I was really happy with the easiness of the assembly, as well as the performance at a slightly cheaper price.
There are cases where a prebuilt can actually be cheaper than building yourself (Windows licensing discounts, volume discounts, etc), but I like being able to select high quality components that fit my needs, rather than relying on a hope that the company knows what they are doing. I've heard of them skimping out in a couple places that make upgrading harder down the line, which I don't like. Also, I know exactly what's in my computer, because I chose it. It gives me that feeling of "I made this. This is mine," which is really rewarding.
Unfortunately, you can't custom build laptops. If I could, I would.
Meals. Cooking can be fun and as IridescentOak said about wine/mead, you make it exactly to your tastes. There is also the advantage of being cheaper than going to a restaurant.
And cheaper than buying some premade shove-it-in-the-oven package deal. Not to mention it'll have that added taste of satisfaction added to it from the knowledge you made it yourself.
Wine/mead. Not only is it fun, but you can also make it exactly to your tastes. Just requires a bit of patience!
Salsa.
I was about to say food, but to give more specific answers :
- Pizza is both super easy to do (I actually find it simpler than ordering, but maybe that's just me) and the quality is leagues over almost anything I've found in America, when done right (the key, as in most Italian cuisine, is simplicity and quality ingredients). I do buy my dough already made (frozen, I let it rise a few hours and mold it myself) because I haven't found a recipe that satisfies me yet. But just add ground tomatoes, salt and pepper, then cheese (ideally real Italian mozzarella, even mozzarella di bufala if you can get your hands on it, I know it's expensive, but it is worth every penny), whatever ingredient you want on top (none is also good), then add dried oregano and extra virgin olive oil and put it in the oven at 230 °C for about 15 minutes.
- Crepes, pancakes, French toasts : there are like 2 to 4 ingredients in the base recipe, and ones everyone has in their kitchen at any given moment : eggs, flour, milk, salt. If you want to get fancy, add some sugar, olive oil, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla extract, etc. In my mind, pre-made crepe/pancake preparation is an abomination that should never have been invented.
coffee
Yep, coffee big time. I love my french press.
Beef Jerky. Store bought can be good but nothing beats home made.
On a similar note, smoked salmon. I got a really nice wood pellet smoker as a gift and use it as much as I can.
Tea,hot or iced!
Babies
I don't think you can "buy" babies. Not legally anyway.
Cooking my own food,tea, coffee,yogurt and kefir.
Bonsai