Uses

Just like everyone else, this was inspired by Wes Bos. These are things I use on a daily basis that make my life better, easier, or opinionated. You probably don’t really care, but I bet I’ve got a trick or two you don’t know about...

Dev Stuff

VS Code

VS Code is the editor where I sling code. I’ve been a pretty big fan since... well, a while now. I liked VS Code before, but I like it so much more after going through Caleb Porzio’s Make VS Code Awesome course.

Cobalt Next Link

Cobalt next is the them I built and use for pretty much everything: VS Code, kitty, Insomnia, and this site.

Kitty

kitty is my go to terminal when I’m not inside of VS Code. Usually, I just use kitty to start up new projects and then pop into VS Code. I love kitty because it's a lot like iTerm in that it's fast, but it has a config file, so set up and control is super easy to maintain and bring to new computers.

Operator Mono

Yes, I spent $200 on a font for coding. I stare at it every day, and as a designer and type nerd I can honestly say it’s been more than worth it.

.dotfiles

Files with dots in front that tell my computer what to do and look like. I stole fair and square from a bunch of different people to make these what I wanted. It’s not perfect, but it works for me, and I’m always tweaking it.

Appy Things

Figma

Figma is my go to tool for UI design. I can’t imagine another tool hitting the marks that this one does. Odds are you use Figma, too. It’s a must have.

Illustrator (Adobe)

Long live Adobe... Still the best tool for branding design and vector work. Period.

Raycast

I used to be a loyal Alfred fanboy. To the extent that when Raycast came out, I didn't even give it a try. That was wrong. Raycast is rad. It feels easier to use and offer what Alfred had plus a few other apps (app launcher, shortcuts, snippets, window management, etc...). Putting snippets in Raycast means I can use them anywhere, like CodePen. It's one of the first things I install on a new machine.

Reminders

Getting Things Done - Mostly. This used to be through Things, but my wife wanted shared lists, and Reminders has gotten a lot better. I used to use so many different ways of tracking work between family, work, and myself. Now it all lives in reminders.

ColorSlurp

Grabbing a color from anywhere on the screen or checking color contrast ratios with a keyboard shortcut. Easy peasy. In my opinion, it's more accurate than Contrast App.

Bartender

Too many menubar apps, so little time. It’s like a Tardis for your menubar. If you understand that, we can be friends. If not, there’s still a chance we can be friends, but you’ve already got one strike.

Kap

Maybe I should try Loom, but I really dig Kap for quickly grabbing screen captures and export to .gif or .mp4.

Notion

All my notes and writing is done here first. If Apple Notes had a would do Markdown, I’d probably use that, but it doesn’t, so I use Notion... for now.

Insomnia

Cute little REST Client for testing API calls.

Desk Setup

Autonomous Frame

Sittings the new smoking, right? I try not to sit all day, and I was looking for a great set of legs. Now, I stand on my great legs at my standing desk with Autonomous legs.

Handmade Red Oak Desktop

To be fair, I used power tools. My hands can't cut and glue wood, but I still made the darn thing. I'll probably make another thicker version soon.

Steelcase Leap V1

When we started working remote at the beginning of Covid, I knew I needed a better chair. This is a better chair. Oh and I swapped out those wheels for roller blade wheels, and I'm never going back. While I love this chair, I dream of the day I can get a Herman Miller Aeron.

Keychron C1

Been in the mechanical keyboard game for a minute now. This is my daily driver. I recently switched to XDA profile keycaps, and I'm never going back. At some point I'll try to upgrade this keyboard, but it has served me well.

Elgato Wave DX

I'm not a gamer or streamer, but I'm on enough meetings that I want to sound good. Sure I could have gotten a mic, an audio interface, a pre-amp, and more, but I love that the elgato system is pretty plug and play. I just wanted a mic I could tuck out of the way when it wasn't in use and would make me sound better than a laptop or webcam mic. This does a great job.

Bonus Crap

AirPods Pro

So I can read ALL the audio books. They are good for meetings, too.

Timbuk2 Bags

These bags are the only bags I'll ever use. I've used them for the past 16 years, and they are the best dang bags. In all those years, only one thing ever took one down – a rogue celebratory New Years Eve gun shot. The bullet hit me in the leg, hit the ground, and then got caught in the bag when I was shot on New Years Eve 2017 shot in an airport parking lot. Ask me about it. It's a pretty great story.