Edited Friday, February 28th, 2025

# Work

## Software

For personal work, depending on the task, I use one of two primary code editors

• Webstorm for project work.
• Nova for lightweight text editing.

I use the Catppuccin theme. Light mode during the day, dark at night.

At work we use Visual Studio Code for everything.

Editor plugins come and go often but currently:

• Vim bindings enabled everywhere.
• Github Copilot.

A few years ago I fell in love with and bought the Operator Mono font, my use of which has been apparently controversial amongst friends. I don’t care, I love it.

I haven’t ever had the need for a different Terminal on Mac and use the default.

I use iA Writer for writing anything more than a paragraph or two.

All of my chats (except iMessage) go through Beeper.

I use Safari for browsing the web.

## Hardware

My Macbook Pro M1 Max 14” is my primary machine for writing code. It is maybe the best Mac I have owned (though the 2011 15” still holds a dear, dear place in my heart) and though Apple keeps releasing new models, I feel zero need to upgrade.

On the “Play” side of things. I have a gaming PC which I’ve maintained as a sort of Ship of Theseus over the past ten years. The current iteration, however, is mostly current-gen due to a power surge destroying some components (an RTX 3070!) during our home renovation. Specs are as follows:

• Asus ProArt Z790 Creator WIFI
• Intel Core i7 13700k
• NVidia Geforce RTX 4080
• Corsair Vengeance DDR5, 32GB
• Some NZXT AIO cooler
• Fractal Design North Case

Despite putting quite a bit of effort into the aesthetic of the machine, it sits in a closet at the back of my office and I run optical USB and DisplayPort cables to my desk.

I currently use an Alienware 34” OLED monitor which I swap inputs for work/off-hours.

Until I get a KVM I’m using two keyboards and two mice, one for each computer. For work I use a HHKB Bluetooth and Apple Magic Mouse.

For games I use a Rama Works U80-A and a Logitech G-Pro Superlight.

# Audio & Video

## Music

Most of my music listening today happens locally. I don’t stream that much.

I use Roon to listen to music from my NAS at home. If you have a local music library and have not tried Roon I highly recommend it. The metadata and discovery features bring it on par with modern SaaS options.

At my desk I use Kef LSX II speakers. They are probably the largest single upgrade in sound quality I’ve done, though the firmware can be very fiddly.

I also use ZMF Atrium headphones when it is necessary to keep noise levels down. More often nowadays since my home office is below the nursery.

Outside of the house I use a Sony NW-ZX707 Digital Media Player. I find that the default Walkman app is sufficient for my needs.

This one is the Japanese model, bought on eBay. This brings two advantages. The first being that it is much cheaper than buying new, the second that Sony has an aggressive volume limit on western models that severely harms the unit’s usability.

The Sony is nearly always paired with Campfire Andromeda IEMs.

# Photography & Videography

Although I carry an iPhone I try and avoid using it as my primary camera. I find the experience of slowing down and focusing with a real camera through a viewfinder much more enjoyable.

I use a Leica D-Lux 8 as my primary on-the-go camera. The micro 4/3’s sensor isn’t an issue for my skill level, I won’t be hitting that ceiling any time soon, and I enjoy how adorably small it is.

For more “professional” work I borrow my wife’s Sony A7IV with the added bonus of it usually coming with her assistance.

Occasionally, I will shoot a roll of film with my Asahi Pentax Spotmatic that I also bought from Japanese eBay.

I loathe the menus and buttons and clutter on the A7IV. I’m sure for professional photographers having every option you could imagine at your fingertips is very useful, but as an amateur who just likes shooting on the weekends I feel lost every time I hold it.

I edit my photos in Lightroom like everyone else. I dislike how Lightroom CC removed the library organization features found in Lightroom Classic. As such, I use a mix of both: Lightroom Classic for library organization, and Lightroom CC for photo editing (performance is much more optimized on CC).