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.

Workstation

  • Linux PC

    The full parts list is here: PCPartPicker. I also have a 2015 MacBook Pro and a MacBook Pro M3 I use for on-the-go work.

  • Dell S3221QS 32 Inch Curved 4K Screen, 2x2

    Why stop at 1 monitor when you can have 4? I really enjoy these monitors — they are big, clean looking, affordable, and have some nice on-screen controls and shortcuts for changing inputs.

  • Logitech MX Mechanical, brown switches

    I am currently using this keyboard but I am ready to make a change. Top of my list is the MoErgo Glove80. If Keychron ever releases a a Q14 Max, I will probably get one of those too.

  • Keychron M6

    I replaced my Logitech MX Master with this mouse recently after the switches started going bad on the MX. I think the MX Master is more comfortable in the hand, but the M6 is very lightweight and I like the tilting scroll wheel.

Development Tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    I really like Sublime Text, but VS Code has a plugin called Remote Development which in my opinion means every other editor is a non-starter if you are doing development on a machine other than the one in front of you (which I do all the time). It also works great with docker containers.

  • Emacs

    Sometimes I just need a text editor.

Development Frameworks

  • Django (and the Django Rest Framework)

    Python is a great language and my go-to when I start a new project. This makes it a natural choice for my backends. The Django team has put together a feature-packed library that makes it easy to manage my databases and create APIs.

  • Next.js

    Next.js makes managing a complex website a breeze. I especially like the new app directory features.

  • Tailwind

    I am not especially talented at putting together good looking designs. My engineer brain just prefers to make things that work I guess. The Tailwind team give me the tools to make my websites look amazing anyway.

  • Pandas

    It's like a spreadsheet on steroids.