I created AS Notes (https://www.asnotes.io) (an extension for VS Code, Antigravity etc) partly because of this use case. It works like Obsidian, being markdown based, with wikilinks, mermaid rendering and task management. In VS Code, we have access to really good Agent harnesses and can navigate our notes and documents in a file system like manner. Further, using AGENTS.md, idea files etc we can instruct the agent how to interact, add to our notes etc. I've found working with my notes like this really useful, and provided I trim anything generated by an AI that's not going to be useful, provides an investment in the information I've gathered as the information is retained in markdown rather than getting lost in multiple chatbot UI s.
I don't understand it from the app developers point of view. Having to pay app store cuts over basic card processing fees. I understand the appeal of access to a market, like selling on eBay gets you eyeballs. But once you have a customer using their app, what does the app give you that a PWA doesn't unless you need access to specific sensors / file system access patterns etc?
As an app developer it comes down to the full access to phone APIs and the smoothest app experience. The more biased opinion is rooted in preference for the native language over web languages. And I recognize this is an opinion that is self-preservation in nature but it is what it is.
But I'll also say some apps don't really need to be apps (like ordering food from one specific store) but I won't complain about having those apps if it is a convenience.
The vast majority of apps come from companies where the app developer has little to no say in how things work. Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, Uber, Ebay, Shein, etc are certainly not paying Apple 30% for purchases made inside the app. They also operate at a scale where they get bulk rates from MC/Visa on processing fees.
For years, Apple has muffled PWAs under a pillow. No one knows that you can add them to your homescreen or how that unlocks the possibility of getting push notifications. You also lose any stored data when you go from Safari to an homescreen web app.
How do you add them? I am using https://actualbudget.org as a Safari page, and it works surprisingly well when "off network" - but a button on the home screen would be nicer.
Like this apparently - in 6 steps. I have a PWA app planned, I was hoping I could write some easy instructions for each platform. There's likely to be some drop of with iOS though if the user has to navigate through all of this: https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1nlwu0m/it_now_take...
I recently switched for m the developer mindset of build websites for everything to make apps if I can. My logic is that an app never needs to go back and forth with me, it's something the user can have without me managing hosting and constantly having a relationship with the user.
I've released a free extension for VS Code that implements a kanban board in visual studio with a GitOps friendly markdown storage format that helps with a 'human in the loop' agent flow I've been working with to a high degree of success:
Agent Kanban has 4 main features:
GitOps & team friendly kanban board integration inside VS Code
Structured plan / todo / implement via @kanban commands
Leverages your existing agent harness rather than trying to bundle a built in one
.md task format provides a permanent (editable) source of truth including considerations, decisions and actions, that is resistant to context rot
Hey, saw this while looking under new and wanted to try and help. I think the answer is to be places. Life needs randomness and interactions and that doesn't happen at home. Try to be in "3rd places" - the gym / work in a shared working space / pick up a couple of hobbies (I say a couple as just one is risky if say it's sports based an you injure yourself - something you can do outdoors, something you can do indoors). Trust that it will take time, but it will happen.
I've tried a number of things over the years. Sailing, climbing, running, board game meet ups, drinking meetups, golf, crossfit, curling, probably some others I'm not thinking of. Just pick something and see if it sounds interesting to you and give it a go. My big advice is to avoid shelling out on gear. Rent or just get some beginner stuff. Most of these things didn't stick, but I'm a runner and a climber and oddly I've had some great platonic connections through crossfit as well.
Hey, so, I live in a city but visit my parents in the suburbs once or twice a year and at it did take some work, but there are certainly third spaces. After trying a few, I found some very comfy cafes to work out of, I prefer it since my parents can be a bit distracting. Also one cafe I really like is in a 'town center' which does also have a gym. So while you may not be in a city, see if there might be any pockets of walkability you can park at and enjoy the day on your feet.
Try out a lot of different things and see what sticks. You will hate some things and love others. Computer gaming is fun, but is more of what you are already doing, because you are on a computer alone. Meeting in person is very important.
I've surprised myself by finding that I really enjoy knitting for example. I don't fit the usual profile at all. But I tried it and enjoyed it. It may not be for you, but something else might be. Some people love hanging off rocks on ropes, and some love D&D — neither of these are my things but it gives you an idea of the range of things out there.
In my opinion if you're searching for a hobby it's best to be a bit more methodical about it. Usually the way to get into hobbies is that a friend or acquaintance pulls you into it (either by talking about the hobby energetically or directly showcasing it) and going at it from the other end isn't really easy per se in my experience.
But yeah, it's more than doable. First things first take a piece of paper (or do it digitally) and divide it into 2 halves, indoor and outdoor, then further divide those 2 halves into solo and group. At this point it doesn't make sense to take financial constraints into account, that's up to it at the end as a determining factor if you want to start a hobby from your "short list".
So after you've done the above take a week to fill the paper with stuff like "Tabletop RPGs" which goes into indoor/group, or "nature photography" which goes into outdoor/solo and I hope you get the jist. I'm sure you know where to file embroidery for example.
You can continue to add hobbies as a hobby too for a little bit, call it hobby watching and searching, it's still a pastime. Now here's another important part, you have to decide your motivation for start a hobby (not a specific hobby but a new hobby). Some people try and do hobbies because they feel they're forced to if they want to appear interesting to their peers, sometimes you just want to fill a hole or fill time so you can't stop and think about that hole. In emotionally adjusted individuals supposedly you can pick a hobby for the fun of it and that's enough. Basically do a bit of soul searching so that you can decide if you gravitate towards a outdoor hobby with a group of people (because the hobby itself doesn't matter that much but you crave connection which is completely fine and that's why some old people go to church).
I could go on but thanks for reading my TED talk and I really hope you find what you are looking for, either a hobby or something else.
EDIT: I completely forgot! You might also try finding a charity in your area or volunteer organization and volunteer your time. Maybe you need a higher calling or a mission to keep you going instead of a hobby. Food for thought. Though do be careful if you take that route because some NGOs tend to attract people who are energy vampires to say the least. Try your local library too if you have one and see if they run some programs you can participate in or help with.
Can you move to a city? This is what most people I know in this situation do. Though I had a great time getting a car and taking myself out for hikes, sauna / spa days, activities and parties in the east bay near SF. Great place for practicing being alone. I had to think about it like dating myself - where would I have taken a date for fun? Try a bunch of things and see what sticks and remember you can appreciate moments by yourself with this mindset and it's like 80% as good.
Ironically I find cities more isolating than the countryside. At least in the countryside you have the beauty of nature. In many modern cities, there is less and less social connection and community. Sometimes I suppose it is finding the right groups... And sometimes you have to take the initiative and create in person groups.
Depends on the suburb and HOA. Mine has groups for books, card games, mahjongg, cycling, ladies lunch, men's lunch, happy hours, pickle ball, etc... Some are in our community center, some are hosted in people's homes. There are also occasional block parties, although they tend to revolve around kids.
While building AS Notes (A wikilink-based knowledge management VS Code extension - https://github.com/appsoftwareltd/as-notes) - I ran into a subtle and genuinely interesting bug involving WebAssembly linear memory.
TLDR: sql.js loads SQLite into a WASM module with a single linear memory buffer. After indexing 18,000+ files that memory is large and fragmented. Reconstructing a Database() object on that same heap fails with "memory access out of bounds". The fix is a build-time esbuild plugin that injects a resetCache() function into the sql.js bundle, allowing the WASM module to be fully discarded and reloaded from scratch on rebuild.
The agent-flow repository serves as a template for a flow I've recently been using for agent-assisted coding - with impressive results.
Even with the best models, agent-assisted coding can be hit and miss. A good AGENTS.md that covers most of the mistakes you find agents making can go a long way, but this flow has been producing outsized results over the last couple of weeks.
It takes a little more discipline than hacking away in the chat window until you get what you want, but this process makes a "one shot" success more likely, and really pays off when things get complicated and the agent needs more of a steer.
If you already live in VS Code, maybe you like to manage your notes there too?
AS Notes brings Obsidian/Logseq-style knowledge management directly into VS Code - wikilinks, backlinks, page aliases, daily journal, and a task panel - without leaving your editor or touching a separate app.
The motivation was simple: most developers already take notes, but the friction of switching to another app means those notes slowly drift into neglect. AS Notes keeps everything in plain .md files + wikilinks, in a folder you control. There's no cloud sync, no accounts, no telemetry. The index is a local SQLite database powered by WASM (no native dependencies), so it works everywhere VS Code does. Because your notes are just markdown files, they get the same Git workflow as your code.
The feature I'm most pleased with is nested wikilink handling - `[[Project [[Alpha]] Notes]]` creates multiple navigable targets from a single link, which mirrors how Logseq-style linking naturally composes. There's also rename tracking: rename a file and AS Notes offers to update every reference across your workspace.
Install from the VS Code Marketplace or clone the demo notes repo to kick the tyres. Happy to answer questions about the architecture - particularly the WASM SQLite indexing approach.
?? I'm using my own remote MCP server with openclaw now. I do understand the use case for CLI. In his Lex Friedman interview the creator highlights some of the advantages of CLI, such as being able to grep over responses. But there are situations where remote MCP works really well, such as where OAuth is used for authentication - you can hit an endpoint on the MCP server, get redirected to authenticate and authorise scopes etc and the auth server then responds to the MCP server.
On my current project, we've settled on a system that reads environment variables from Hashicorp Vault, interpolates the variables into placeholders in config files, and then loads the processed config files in the app in memory. It works really well, is convenient to manage secrets for multiple environments and keeps the secrets off of the disk everywhere.
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