15 Comments
Mar 21Liked by Vince Beiser

Hey Vince! That initial load of Power Metal was ridiculously compelling! Well written, just the right length (ok...I skipped chunks), and well stuffed with humour. Enjoyed!

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Thanks Don! No worries, that's why I use headlines, so you can skip the chunks you're not interested in.

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Thanks Peter! I'm asking $100 US for a founding membership. Link is here: https://powermetal.substack.com/subscribe. Don't feel obligated, happy to have you as a reader regardless!

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Mar 27·edited Mar 27

Hi Vince, really interesting. I watched the trailer to Scrapper. Wow. Amazing how you find this stuff. What a crazy world it’s becoming. I am so grateful to be on Gabriola away from most of the madness. I see your place is up for sale again. Good luck. And thanks for the wood pieces. Being put to good use by me and a friend. Container bed ends for gardens and other stuff. Best regards to you and your family. Keep up the good fight. Hugs, Renée

PS. I am still holding out…still no smart phone for me, haha. Laptop, iPad mini, landline with answering machine, flip top cell for off island is still enough for me.

I sure hope the repairing instead of buying again laws go through. It’s what I do. Also buying good used. For me it’s not about the money, but about less garbage.😊

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Thanks Renee! And bravo for walking the walk. Keep in touch!

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This is the best newsletter I've ever read

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Very kind of you to say! Coming from such a discerning reader as yourself, this really means a lot.

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Enjoyed this first edition, thank you!

Interested to see how the right to repair movement unfolds -- I'm especially hopeful to see forms of consumer technology that are more human-centered in design. Particularly with cell phones, I hope that our near future involves more of a Nintendo approach:

https://medium.com/@adamagb/nintendo-s-little-known-product-philosophy-lateral-thinking-with-withered-technology-bac7257d8f4

Issue with this approach is always viability of sales model, so it's hard to see a product vision without a recurring payment model to attach to the use of hardware if the hardware is meant to last longer.

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Thanks Jonah. I didn't know that about Nintendo's philosophy- very interesting. For my money, manufacturers could just charge a little more up front for products that are easier to repair. That might dent sales a bit, but it seems to have worked for the car industry.

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Excellent! Don't change a thing. Good variety of topics, understandable even to my novice ears.

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Thanks! That's exactly what I'm going for.

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Vince: Nice newsletter. Again you are a pioneer in a topic few appreciate, like your examination of sand. So, what is a Founding Membership cost? Peter

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Thanks Peter! I'm asking $100 US for a founding membership. Link is here: https://powermetal.substack.com/subscribe. Don't feel obligated, happy to have you as a reader regardless!

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I recently sat down with Helen Czerski, physicist and author of ‘the Blue Machine’ to talk about the ocean engine and in regard to deep sea mining she posed the question: “can we leave it alone?” The book is eye opening for the potential impacts it could have on the ocean engine and how it drives climate.

Adding Scrapper to my weekend watching. Loved the format and feel like I’d be happy with a mix of original reporting and news links as they feel relevant to your work. Length was perfect.

Definitely think that the tension between right to repair and planned obsolescence deserves the spotlight. Looking forward to more of these!

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Thanks Kate! I'll check out that book.

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