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Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

People ask about my setup fairly often, so I put together a list. These are the tools, hardware, and software I actually use on a regular basis.

Workstation

  • 14" MacBook Pro M4

    I run data analysis, video editing, and batch photo processing on this machine. The M4 handles all of it without the fans spinning up.

  • Apple Pro Display XDR

    6K gives me enough room to have code, terminal, and documentation all visible at once. The color accuracy matters for photo editing too.

  • Surface Laptop 6

    I keep this around for Windows-specific tools and testing. Good keyboard, solid build.

  • Herman Miller Aeron Chair

    I had back pain for years from bad chairs. This fixed it. I can sit for hours now with no issues.

  • Uplift Standing Desk

    The commercial 4-leg version. No wobble at any height. I switch between sitting and standing throughout the day and it helps more than I expected.

Development tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    This is where I spend most of my time. It handles every language I work with, integrates well with Azure, and the extension ecosystem covers anything I need.

  • Claude Code

    I use this for larger refactors and working across whole codebases. It understands context well enough to make changes that would take me much longer to do manually.

  • GitHub Copilot

    Inline code completion in VS Code. It also reviews pull requests, which catches things I'd miss on my own.

  • Xcode

    Required for iOS development. The SwiftUI previews are genuinely useful for seeing changes without rebuilding.

  • Miniforge

    Minimal conda install for managing Python environments. Keeps versions and dependencies isolated without the overhead of full Anaconda.

  • Excalidraw

    I use this for quick architecture diagrams and flow sketches. The hand-drawn style keeps the focus on the idea rather than making things look polished.

  • GitHub

    All my code lives here. GitHub Actions handles deployments, so pushing to main is all I need to do.

Photography

  • Canon R5 Mark II

    My main camera for any serious work or professional shoots. Canon's RF lens lineup is what keeps me in their ecosystem.

  • Canon RF 28-105mm

    This stays on the R5 most of the time. Wide enough for landscapes, long enough for portraits. It covers the range I need without swapping lenses.

  • Sony A7CR

    My travel camera. Small body with a full-frame sensor. The A7C line's G lenses are light enough to pack a full kit without noticing the weight.

  • Sony 40mm G

    Lives on the A7CR. Small, sharp, and a good focal length for walking around.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud

    Lightroom for organizing and basic edits, Photoshop when I need more control. I've been in the Adobe ecosystem long enough that switching would cost more time than it saves.

Productivity

  • Microsoft 365

    Email and calendar. Everything connects to everything else, which is the main reason I stick with it.

  • Obsidian

    Where all my notes, meeting notes, and writing drafts live. Everything is just local Markdown files so there's no lock-in. It syncs across my devices and search is fast.

  • Todoist

    I type natural language like “email Bob tomorrow at 2pm” and it parses it correctly. Syncs across all my devices.

  • Quicken Classic

    The desktop version still does what I need for personal finances without pushing me toward a subscription.

  • Parallels

    Runs Windows on my Mac when I need it. The integration between the two environments is seamless enough that I forget I'm in a VM.

Smart Home

  • UniFi

    Enterprise networking gear running my home network at 10Gbps. I get full visibility into what's happening on the network, and their Protect cameras plug right in for security.

  • OPNsense

    Open-source firewall that can keep up with my network speeds. I have full control over traffic filtering and network segmentation.

  • Home Assistant

    This runs my entire smart home. It integrates with everything I own and keeps it all local, no cloud dependency. I surface the important controls up into Apple Home so my family has a simple interface.

  • Apple Home

    What my family actually interacts with day to day. Home Assistant handles the automation and logic behind the scenes, but Apple Home is the clean interface everyone uses.

  • Lutron RadioRA3

    Reliable lighting control. Once it's configured, it just works. Lutron's ClearConnect protocol means it doesn't compete with other wireless traffic.

  • Z-Wave

    Runs on its own frequency band, separate from WiFi and Zigbee. I use it for locks and sensors. Batteries last a long time and the mesh network is reliable.

  • Zigbee

    I run this through Home Assistant with a dedicated coordinator. Good for smaller sensors and buttons where Z-Wave would be more than I need.

  • Tempest Weather Flow

    Personal weather station in the backyard. Feeds data into Home Assistant so automations can react to actual conditions instead of forecast approximations.