/Uses

The idea of a /Uses page is to tell you about the stuff I use to either distract myself or bring more efficiency to my life. I swiped this idea from Wes Bos.

Development

  • VS Code is my main text editor for development. I have tried nearly all of the new LLM-powered code editors, but in the end they are all just forks of VS Code and I find them to be bloated without adding significant value.
  • Claude Code fits perfectly into my style of development and it has super-charged my productivity. I have always approached programming as a sculptor rather than as an architect, and this tool has reinvigorated my love for making stuff.
  • Fork is a powerful and free Git client that makes version control pretty easy. Usually I just use the command line for Git, but when I need to do something a little more complex, Fork is my go-to.
  • Ghostty is a wonderfully minimal terminal that works great and isn't as bloated as its competitors. I highly recommend it.
  • oh-my-zsh is the framework that I use to manage my zsh configuration. It allows me to easily install and manage the plugins that I use, which are: plugins=(git zsh-vi-mode zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh-autosuggestions)
  • Starship is the shell theme that I use, which replaced powerlevel10k — an incredible zsh theme that is in maintenance mode these days. Starship is fast, highly customizable, and is pretty. What more could you want?
  • Neovim Kickstart is a great way to get started with Neovim, which is my text editor of choice when I'm not feeling a UI. It's a pre-configured setup that includes a lot of useful plugins and settings out of the box.
  • Royal TSX is my remote management suite of choice for SSH and RDP connections. It's powerful, flexible, and has a great UI.

Desktop + Productivity

  • 1Password is the greatest password manager of all time. Everything just feels like they care a lot about not only security, but also user experience. The SSH agent integration was all I had to see to know there were real engineers on the team.
  • DaisyDisk is a little $10 app that analyzes your disk so that you can find and delete large files that you have forgotten about.
  • Parsec is a great app to act as a virtual monitor from another device, and it works well enough to stream games from a gaming PC to a Mac. That's exactly what I use it for.
  • WeatherWise is a realtime super resolution weather radar app that runs really well in a browser. I think that it's the best app available for amateur weather nerds who are looking for advanced info on severe weather events in a digestible form.
  • Libation is the open source and free tool that I use to back up my Audible and Kindle collections to disk.
  • Karabiner-Elements is an incredible open source keyboard customizer for macOS. It single-handedly replaced Alfred, HyperKey, and Logi+ Options for me.
  • RayCast is a great productivity app that I use for a lot of things. Mainly, I use it for its app launcher, but its snippet (text expansion) tool is also very good. If you're a Windows user and need text expansion, I highly recommend Beeftext.
  • TickTick is the best to-do list app I've found. It has a great balance of features and simplicity, and it syncs across my devices. I require it to function as an adult.
  • BetterMouse is a must have for anyone who uses a Mac with something other than the magic mouse. It's most useful feature is its granular control over smooth scrolling, but it has a lot of other customizations as well. It works well with my Logitech MX Master 4 and most importantly, it allowed me to yeet Logitech's own buggy software into the sun where it belongs.
  • Shutter Encoder is a great media converter. I like it more than Handbrake, which is actually saying a lot because Handbrake is awesome. This is just a better experience in my opinion. If you just want to clip something out, it's amazing for that too, because it's got a little integrated video editor.
  • Cryptomator is an amazing and free tool for encrypting sensitive files that you keep synced via cloud backup. I like the approach of individually encrypting files vs. syncing an entire virtual disk every time I make a minor change.
  • Cleanshot is a great tool for taking screenshots and annotating them. It's free, and it's got a lot of features.
  • Screenflick is what I use to record my screen when I'm doing how-to videos or something of that nature. It's very good but not free unfortunately.
  • Beyond Compare 4 is a great diff tool for Windows, Mac, or Linux. There is a better one for Mac called Kaleidoscope but I'm not going to pay a subscription fee for a diff tool.

Multimedia + Home Theater

  • Beelink SEi12 powers my media server running Ubuntu Server.
  • Beelink SER8 powers my home lab running Proxmox.
  • Apple TV 4K is the choice I made for my streaming device. It's simple, powerful, and works well with my iPhone. Also, it can turn my TV on and off without me setting anything up, and I'm a simple man.
  • Apple Homepod is the smart speaker that I use for my home theater setup. It sounds good, I can use it as a speaker for everything going through my TV (eARC HDMI), and it works well with my other Apple stuff.

Writing

  • Obsidian is my second brain and I use it for everything. I have separate vaults for work stuff, peronal notes, writing projects, and more.
  • PureRef is for those of us who absolutely hate Pinterest. It's a great mood board app that is super easy to use and very minimal. I use it to inspire my writing by building boards of images from other media that fits the vibe I'm going for.
  • Plottr is a great tool for outlining stories, and comes equipped with a lot of useful templates that are fun to play with. I use it primarily when I'm feeling stuck with an idea.
  • (beat) is a minimalist dream of a screenwriting app with the ability to write your own plugins. The developer and the community they have built around it is awesome. It allowed me to fire Final Draft into the sun where it belongs.

Audio Production + Recording

  • FL Studio Pro has been my go-to DAW for over two decades now. I've tried Ableton, Logic Pro, Bitwig, and Studio One, but I always end up back with FL Studio. I can identity improvements in the other DAWs over FL Studio, but familiarity is hard to let go of.
  • FabFilter makes several VST plugins that I can't really live without. Their stuff breathes life into my tracks.
  • Cableguys also have great plugins, such as ShaperBox, Snapback, and HalfTime. They are all very useful and make their way into many of my songs.
  • Rode RODECaster Pro II is the audio interface that I use. It's technically built for podcasting, but it's got great preamps for vocals, I don't really ever record instruments, and it also doubles as a MIDI controller. It's kind of everything that I need in a single device and Rode has great support.
  • Akai Professional MPK Mini IV is the 25 key MIDI controller that I'm using for now. The only reason I replaced my previous controller, the Arturia MiniLab 3, was for wheels to control modulation and pitch instead of touch sensors. To get the wheels, however, you lose 4 faders. With these mini MIDI controllers, there is always an annoying tradeoff. I'm waiting for one of these companies to figure out that people want pads, knobs, faders, and wheels.
  • M-BRIO MIDI CC Controller an awesome MIDI controller with 2 100mm faders 8 backlit click-and-turn encoders. I wrote the FL Studio integration script for this device.
  • MIDI Fighter Spectra is a great little MIDI controller that I use for finger drumming and triggering samples. It looks like it would just be a gimmicky thing but it's actually a very solid and well built device with versatile software. It's killer when combined with a FL Studio script. I love it.
  • Sitala is a drum sampler stand-alone/VST that is incredibly intuitive and powerful. I use it in conjunction with the MIDI Fighter Spectra to finger drum and trigger samples. It adds another layer to FL Studio, too. It's $20 and well worth it.
  • Shure SM7B is my microphone of choice for the moment. It's kind of a lot of people's microphone of choice, for good reason. It's just a great sounding microphone, all around, especially if your space isn't acoustically perfect.
  • Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro open-back studio reference headphones are my go-to for producing and mixing my music and vocals. They are the best headphones I've ever owned. Just perfect.

Accessories

  • HyperX Cloud III Wireless Gaming Headset is a very solid choice for a wireless headset that relies on a USB dongle instead of bluetooth, which is my personal preference.
  • Apple Magic Keyboard was a purchase I was skeptical about at first, but I think it's actually kind of perfect. No notes.
  • Logitech MX Master 4 is the best mouse in the world, in my opinion. Feels great, works great, and the thumb button is unmatched. Going further over the top with features, it has a great scroll wheel, battery life, and a little spinner for volume control that I have reconfigured to zoom in and out.