I am *so* there with you. Being able to "do for yourself" pretty much tops my list. Our "practice" garden this year (too late a start and too much going on to really focus on it) still netted quite a bit of food (including a recent harvest of sunflower seeds YUM!) and after a visit to the Snug Harbor vegetable garden, I am SO into expanding next year! I am with you on the reasons for self-sustaining things, but also because I am egotistical LOL - I figure "well, *they* did it, so I must be able to as well! (This applies to anything, from pattern drafting to carpentry to whatever I can think of next.) I also am fascinated with the tools that people have created for use in third world countries - for instance, the laptop that recharges with a hand crank, the water wheel so you can pull and not carry it, making water retrieval much easier, the pot in pot refrigeration system, etc. (And if you have learning resources for these types of things, count me as interested...)

Side note: With all the bedbugs and dental emergencies, we have not yet gotten 'dul to the doctor(!) which, seeing your comment totally reminded me of. I shall call tomorrow...