Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.
I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.
Development
HTML/CSS
Had to start with backbone of the web, HTML/CSS. When I started my web development carrer it was XHTML and CSS. Nowdays I usually stick with frameworks for CSS, such as TailwindCSS, Bula, and Bootstrap.
JavaScript
Another basic technology for the web! I worked with JS for years before having to dig deeper and understand the language and a fundemental level. I now use JS for both front end development using frameworks such as VueJS and React, but I also use JS for the backend with Node.
PHP
Started with PHP while customizing WordPress sites. I then moved on to using Laravel and that is where my love for software architecture came into play.
Python
I am not a hardcore python dev, but I do use it for making my life easier. Scraping web pages, automating csv file creation, and more.
Digging Deeper
TDD (Test Driven Development)
Not too many things feel better in my day to day work than seeing green after running my test suite with 1,000+ tests and 5,000+ assertions.
Design Patterns
My goal is to write clean code and discovering Design Patterns have definitely helped with that. Breaking apart a 40 line method into 3-4 files each with their specific purpose always makes me smiile.
The Cloud
My cloud of choice is AWS. I’ve been working within AWS for 5+ years now and have setup infrastructers with a VPC, Load Balancer, Private/Public subnets, defined CIDR blocks, and so much more!
APIs
Building APIs has taken my skill set to new level.
Workstation
16" MacBook Pro M2 Pro
I love this thing. It’s the perfect combination of power and portability. I’ve been using the 16” since it came out and I’m still in love with it. I’m not sure what I’ll do when it’s time to upgrade. I’m not sure I can go back to a smaller screen.
27in Dell Monitor (x2)
The only display on the market if you want something HiDPI and bigger than 27”. When you’re working at planetary scale, every pixel you can get counts.
Magic Keyboard
They don’t make keyboards the way they used to. I buy these any time I see them go up for sale and keep them in storage in case I need parts or need to retire my main.
Magic Mouse
Something about all the gestures makes me feel like a wizard with special powers. I really like feeling like a wizard with special powers.
Herman Miller Aeron Chair
If I’m going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in an expensive chair.
Development tools
PHPStorm
I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, Sublime Text is still the best text editor ever made.
VSCode
I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, Sublime Text is still the best text editor ever made.
iTerm2
I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.
TablePlus
Great software for working with databases. Has saved me from building about a thousand admin interfaces for my various projects over the years.
Design
Photoshop
We started using Figma as just a design tool but now it’s become our virtual whiteboard for the entire company. Never would have expected the collaboration features to be the real hook.
Productivity
Alfred
It’s not the newest kid on the block but it’s still the fastest. The Sublime Text of the application launcher world.
Bear
Using a daily notes system instead of trying to keep things organized by topics has been super powerful for me. And with Reflect, it’s still easy for me to keep all of that stuff discoverable by topic even though all of my writing happens in the daily note.
ClickUp
Great tool for scheduling meetings while protecting my calendar and making sure I still have lots of time for deep work during the week.
Focus
Simple tool for blocking distracting websites when I need to just do the work and get some momentum going.