I switched to KISS Launcher several years back and had been loving it. I like the philosophy of search-based launcher. This way, if I don't actively search for an app, I won't be distracted into opening one
I did this as well when the previous Nova launcher news came out. It took maybe a day to get used to, but I like it much more now - I have nothing to organize, I just access what I want to use instead. It feels natural.
Yep, I was doing a lot of launcher hopping back in the day, but ever since I moved to KISS, I haven't felt the need. It brings a level of intentionality by forcing you to search for the app you want to use. For my most commonly usef apps, binding them to swipe gestures makes using the phone very fast and easy.
But then when I use a launcher like lawnchair with widgets I rarely end up actually using them. Wish there was something like widget drawer that was FOSS tbh
KISS supports widgets though. Tap the right side of the input box in the launcher to open settings, and the third item down on the menu is "add widget".
In terms of similarities, they are both attempts to improve "perceived page speed" that actually decrease page speed or encourgae practices that decrease page speed
For example, injecting ads and tracking into web pages via connections to third party servers. This is not a practice that increases page speed
If I am not mistaken, "web.dev" is operated by an ad services company
As a web user, not a "web developer", I use clients that do not "support" these "features". For me, YMMV, this makes information retrieval from the www much faster and more resource-efficient than if I tried to use clients that do, such as the so-called "modern" browser
There are also privacy and security implications associated with choice of client, however these are not the primary reason I choose clients other than the so-called "modern" browser
I live in a city with well-connected public transport (Singapore) so I don't feel the need to learn. However, this year I travelled to some rural areas in Japan and started to feel the pain of relying solely on public transport which is either extremely sparse, or sometimes non-existent which limits the places I want to visit. That's why I felt like if I obtain this skill, I can explore more places in my travels
Two low-risk and cheap ways to develop relevant driving skills are bumper cars[0] and go-karts[1]. This may appear to be silly at first, but both involve the same hand-eye coordination and decision skills of vehicular driving (though the latter is no where nearly as fun as the others).
The real way is just to ride a bike. You can ride it on the road so you'll learn how the road works as well as how to operate a vehicle. When I got in a car the only things that took time to learn were operating the clutch and manoeuvres in tight spaces (you need to develop spacial awareness that you won't get from cycling). If I had learnt to drive an auto it would have been trivially easy after years of cycling.
The biggest pro of a bike is it teaches you to read the road and traffic ahead for energy conservation (and defensive driving).
On a bike, this mostly reduces pedaling; in a car this can reduce unnecessary braking, safer driving distances, which make you a more predictable driver.
It also gives you a lifelong respect for people so if you do drive you won't treat humans like annoying obstacles that might ruin your paintwork if you hit them.
I believe 100% that nobody should be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle before obtaining cycling proficiency.
Honestly I found it the other way around, learning to drive made me a significantly better and safer cyclist as I realised what drivers are expecting to happen, and actually had to learn the rules of the road. Before I learned to drive I didn't really know what was expected or legal in a lot of situations in the city especially.
It should be taught really, but unfortunately car-centric society means road=car for a lot of people. Cycling is more advanced because road positioning is much more important, plus you have to deal with cars. So it's kinda ridiculous we don't teach it in schools. Apparently they used to back in my parents' day (it was called cycling proficiency).
This is a curious suggestion. Higher end go-karts I can't contest, but I've never found bumper cars to be anything like operating a car. It would probably help, but at some point they're going to need to drive something with more weight and horsepower.
> This is a curious suggestion. Higher end go-karts I can't contest, but I've never found bumper cars to be anything like operating a car.
A unique simulation bumper cars can provide is in collision avoidance and real-time steering/acceleration/braking skills. The value of this is relative and dependent upon a person using time in a bumper car with intent to hone driving skills.
I've been driving for about a year (with my first car too) when I drove a bunch of friends to an out-of-town amusement park. It's some kind of car-warming thing for me. It's about an hour-long drive without traffic.
In the park, I made it a hard point not to ride the bumper cars because I thought it would mess with my muscle-memory as the designated driver. If not for that, I really love bumper cars. However, I've found that responsiveness of bumper cars vary a lot per park; it either depends on the maintenance or the maker of the rides. And IME, none of them are really comparable to even the shittiest cars I've driven (e.g., the ones from the driving school, the assigned car for my license test).
But my bigger concern that day was the fact that the bumper car mindset is not the roadcar driver mindset. For learners, the free-for-all chaotic nature of the track is not even a good simulation! Not even if you're driving somewhere like India or China.
Speaking of simulation, I really want an affordable but legit way to practice dealing with outlier driving scenarios. Like, what if my brake fails in the highway, what if I get a flat while doing 100KPH---stuff even the safest, most defensive drivers can't entirely rule out. Anyone know of games that might fit the bill?
Same here! I lived in big cities all my life and am used to the convenience of good public transport. Want to travel and rent a nice car, just when needed.
I always feel the jump in price from standard to nice rental car is too much to bother with (like a factor of 2.5-5x). So I drive a lot of crappy rentals, but they’re just a way to get from point to point.
Automatic transmissions (for EU where manual is popular - I guess this doesn’t apply in countries where everyone drives automatics already) are generally only available with higher trim levels and yet don’t cost much more to rent, so this might be an option to get a “nicer” rental.
I learned this year at 45 - before that I only had a moped license and used a moped. I am not a "car person" and did not expect I'd like driving. I turned out wrong! I enjoy it and especially enjoy the benefits and freedom a car gives you. You'll most likely not regret it too.
Although I have "known" how to drive for a long time, I didn't get my formal license until much later in life than most people, for similar reasons to yours.
Now that I have it, I kick myself for not doing this earlier, but as they say: the best time was ten years ago, the second-best time is now.
Owing to the city life I often go up to six months without driving anywhere, but when I finally get out on the road again it feels great. Country driving is amazing, in any country where people drive safely. It's even pretty nice where they don't. City driving still stresses me out, but I'm determined to get better at it.
Good luck! If you find yourself having trouble getting the license in Singapore, there are other countries where you could get a license more easily, and with that license you could drive in third countries.
This is a great idea. Countryside driving is lovely in many places in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. Since you are based in Singapore, you can easily go across the border in JB, rent a car and drive into the countryside. There so much beauty in a slow drive through the Malaysian countryside. I use Google Maps (satellite view) to find interesting nature, then try to drive to it.
I plan on learning driving this year too! I think I will still continue using public transit because I enjoy doing research things while on transit (which of course can't be done while driving) but I want to learn driving.
I submitted my travel planning web application [1] few weeks ago as Show HN [2] and it received tons of feedback and ideas that resonates with me. So I'm still working on it :)
I feel like once I list down the places in the map, I sort of can grasp which places should go together or play around with the schedules to make things work. Yes it's more manual work, but I feel that's part of the 'fun' in planning? (some people get stressed, but I love the planning part of the trip too)
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that everyone have their own workflow and this might not suit your prefered workflow. Having a 'idea list' is requested several times and I have started working on implementing it. But I don't think this app supports that 'democracy' collaboration yet, nor ticketing constraints...
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