Things I use
What I use to do what I do.
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People love enumerating their favorite gadgets and apps, so here are mine:
What’s on my desk
- 2020 Mac mini (M1, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD): Personal machine
- 2023 MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD): Work machine
- Apple Studio Display
- MX Master Keys and MX Master 3
- AmpliFi Alien Router: Absolute beast of a wireless router
Audio
- Alesis M1Active 520 USB Studio Monitors: I got these for a steal of a price, and they’re so dependable and I love them; sadly, they are discontinued 😭
- Schiit Magni 2: A decent amp for the price that’s powerful enough to drive my Beyerdynamic headphones
- Schiit Modi 3: A decent DAC, I might upgrade to the new Unity Magni with integrated DAC at some point (just to reduce the amount of things on my desk)
- Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro: My favorite headphones, hands down
- Sennheiser HD 6XX: A great pair of headphones for the price
- Apple AirPods Pro (Gen 2)
Apps I use
Coding
- VS Code with the Vesper++ theme
- Zed (testing it out, so far so good)
- GitHub Copilot: Save time writing boilerplate code patterns
- TablePlus: If you work with databases, this is hands-down the best client I’ve used
Productivity
- CleanShot X: Simply the best screenshot tool for macOS
- Raycast: The supercharged macOS Spotlight replacement
Design
- Figma
- Affinity V2 Suite: No thanks, Adobe
Misc
- Keeper Security: Password manager and TOTP generator
- YNAB: Personal finance and budgeting software
- Crouton: The best recipe manager, works on macOS and iOS — I love it
Coffee
- Fellow Ode Brew Grinder (Gen 1 w/ Gen 2 burrs upgrade): A good coffee grinder is one of the best ways to level up your coffee game; the Ode (V2) is a great choice for most people
- Hario V60 Drip Scale: A decent scale for the price, but I will probably replace it soon because it’s not as precise as I’d like
- Chemex (8 cup): Probably my favorite way to brew coffee at the moment
- Bodum French Press (34 oz.): A classic way to brew coffee; I alternate between brewing with the Chemex and this
- AeroPress Go: A great travel coffee maker, and I use it to make faux “espresso”
- Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister: Keeps your coffee fresh longer
- Stagg EKG Electric Kettle: A gooseneck kettle helps you control the flow of water when brewing coffee