I no longer live in the EU, but one of the habits that I've taken with me is canning. Pickles, tomatoes, green beans, etc. It just requires salt, vinegar, the veggies, and some jars (and space, obviously). Solid addition to any meal.
More on this, I grew potatoes recently in my garden and stocked them in my garage. A tote of potatoes can last a couple people for months. It requires potatoes, some sand and a cool, dark place to keep it all.
Agreed. If you give out take-home tests, they shouldn't take longer than an hour.
Unless, you pay them for the time. A few companies I applied to 6-7 months ago offered this. However, if you're on unemployment benefits, this may count as income.
I've been following a number of folks who also moved to Portugal with the intent of buying an old plot of land and refurbishing it into a working farm for themselves [0]. As much as it is fun to imagine living this lifestyle, it is very hard work. I'd reiterate the water issue in Portugal; it can rain for a month, but it can also be dry for many more months. A water well or cistern is recommended.
Compaction doesn't stop the moment we loosen the soil. I'd say that it needs a liberal application of compost after your explosion, to let the critters and fungus penetrate deep.
Due to the pandemic, the amount of gardeners has increased substantially. So, this type of info is making a resurgence on YouTube in the form of instructional videos and elsewhere as blogs.
Consider canning and fermenting some of your food. Also, grow things that can last throughout winter, such as potatoes, carrots, beets, etc. They can last in a cool dark place for months. Broccoli and Okra can be blanched and flash-frozen. Cucumbers can make pickles.
There are tons of good ideas out there about preserving your own food. But, I agree, that a small garden won't take a big bite out of your food needs. You're not trying to become self-sufficient, you're trying to lower your reliance on store-bought food.
I was looking for work in November and even thought I have 15 years in software and cybersecurity, I still got ghosted by multiple recruiters. Two of which were at Google, and another at Apple. After talking to a friend at Google, she made it seem that their recruiting department was having issues (which I inferred to be staffing issues). For non-FAANG companies, I had no issues going through their interviews. Their recruiters and hiring staff were all very well prepared and the processes were smooth.
I recently found myself looking for info on gardening potatoes. Each time I used google, I'd get the equivalent of "Top 10 things to plant this spring". It's AI generated drivel, void of any substance. Like reading book's table of contents, nothing else.
I added "site:reddit.com" and I had my answer on the first hit. This is sad.