Software, gadgets, and other things I use.

I enjoy a good Uses page on other sites, so I put together a list of my own stuff. This is that list.

Workstation

  • 14” MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 32GB RAM

    I was using an Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. The return of MagSafe, the return of actual useful ports, and the insane performance of the M1 Max chip. What's not to love?

  • 32” LG UltraFine 4K

    I use this as my primary monitor and it's solid. I'm a fan of it acting as a USB hub, so I only need to run one USB-C cable to my laptop for power, keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

  • WASD V3 Keyboard

    I have a custom set of keycaps on a WASD V3 Keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches. It's hard to beat the feel of typing on a solid mechanical keyboard.

  • Elgato Stream Deck

    I'm building a livestream production tool. I've gotta use the industry standard.

Audio

  • Rode Procaster

    Audio quality is pretty important when you're trying to teach complex programming concepts. I'm a big fan of the Rode Procaster. It's a great dynamic microphone.

  • dbx 286s

    The Procaster is great at isolating background noise, but the dbx takes it to another level with the noise gate. The extra control you get over your audio levels and overall quality with a good preamp is huge.

Photo & Video

  • Sony a7C

    I absolutely love this camera. I went for the a7C for the simple fact that it's a full-frame camera in an APS-C body. It's a joy to travel with and the image quality is fantastic.

  • Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8

    I picked the Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8 because it's lightweight and produces great images. I've been very happy with it — especially paired with the 28-70mm f/2.8. I'm not exactly a professional photographer, so I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute best that money can buy (like the 16-35 GM).

  • Elgato Cam Link 4K

    It does what a solid capture device is supposed to do: it works and I don't really have to think about it. Which might be the highest praise I can give a utility device.

Software & Tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    My editor journey has gone through Microsoft FrontPage, Notepad, Notepad++, Text Wrangler, Sublime Text and probably others that I'm now forgetting. Visual Studio Code is by far the best I've used.

  • Monokai After Dark Theme

    I'm a little bit picky about my text editor theme. I've tried literally dozens of them at this point and found something in each of them I didn't love — hoenstly, most just change itself. So I made one.

  • Figma

    Sketching out IA maps in FigJam and then designing out wireframes and prototypes in Figma is one of the more pleasant parts of the product development process for me now. Figma changed the game.