Computer Hardware
My home office is packed around a standing desk with the Mac I spend most of my time on, and a Windows machine for games and taxes. These share a monitor, and gleeful cable management limits the spaghetti effect.
My desktop machine is a Mac Studio M1 Ultra with an LG 34BK95U ultra-wide monitor. My hands are busy between an Apple Magic Keyboard with its sweet Touch ID key, and a Logitech MX Master 3 that’s worn with age but still comfortable to use. The keyboard and mouse sit on a Cordura Pulsar Paraspeed XXL gaming mat that’s a more practical work and gaming surface than the leather desk pad it replaced. (A Sharpie permanent laundry marker toned down the white print.) My webcam is a Canon M200 with a $5 HDMI-to-USB dongle, perched atop Elgato Multi Mount + Flex Arm, with an ancient Blue Yeti on a Blue Compass boom.
I use AirPods Pro 2 for calls and browsing, and pull out the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones for music and deeper work with noise cancelling.
My office is fairly dark, so an Elgato Key Light, a Godox SZ150R, and a Yongnuo YN360 III brighten things up. I have a Falcon Eyes RX-18T flexible LED panel kit I trot out for some videos and photography. As I write this, I’m realizing I should be making more photos or videos so it doesn’t look like a streamer let me borrow their desk.
To avoid accumulating paper clutter, I scan documents and receipts with the trusty Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i I’ve had since 2013.
I sometimes print shipping labels on an HP LaserJet P1006 I’ve had since the dawn of time. It clings to life with such tenacity I can’t bear to part with it.
Every now and then I leave my desk and work on an M1 MacBook Air. I’ll draw and scrawl notes, most often for 3D printing, on a reMarkable 2 tablet and read news and feeds on a 4th-gen iPad Air. I read most books on a 10th-gen Kindle Paperwhite.
I take photos of my dog and pretend to do other things with an iPhone 14 Pro.
Tucked into a shelf next to my desk, sharing the same monitor, is my COVID gaming PC, Thunder Nugget. It’s a Ryzen 5 hodgepodge I built and upgraded to an ASUS AP201 case to fit an RTX 4080 Founders Edition GPU. Its keyboard is a Keychron K1, and after a series of mice the latest is a Lamzu Thorn. I’ve been pretty happy with a wired HyperX Cloud Alpha headset.
I went overboard with a pair of Gladiator NXT EVO (omni throttle + “Space Combat”) sticks that make space and flight sims more fun. Creating a control layout for them in Star Citizen was one of my great technical achievements.
Underneath that is a 2-bay Synology DS214 we use mostly for photos and cold storage.
A Prusa MINI+ 3D printer lives in the garage, now managed wirelessly with a Raspberry Pi 4 running OctoPrint.
Camera + AV
I occasionally record and play with video using a Panasonic GH5 and a Deity V-Mic D3 Pro. I’ll either use a handle grip rig, sometimes with an Andycine A6 Plus monitor, or a DJI Ronin-SC gimbal that takes me a while to set up and remember how to use.
I have a Tascam DR-05X for recording conversations or dog sounds with surprisingly great quality.
Narrowly fitting into the “AV” category is the M-Audio Hammer 88 that sits in front of a makeshift window nook. It has a little laptop stand so I can plug in and play with GarageBand.
Not-Computer Hardware
The most important equipment in my home is a Stone Grey Moccamaster KBG drip brewer and a KM5 Burr Grinder. When I have the patience for it, I grind espresso with a 1Zpresso JX-Pro S manual grinder and pull shots from a La Pavoni Europiccola. I can pour a decent latté with Rorschach art only. In the summer, cold brew happens with a handmade Japanese Oji WD-150, and a Royal Brew nitro kit. I’ve been getting 5lb. bags of Middle Fork’s Back Pedal Brew since 2018 because it’s a forgiving and flexible roast that I can use for all three brew types.
If we’ve been on a call, you’ve probably seen the geometric acoustic tiles behind me, which are a “Shaded Mountain” Felt Right kit.
I work on an 60" UPLIFT v2 standing desk and an Aeron chair I bought in 2009.
My current wallet is an Outlier Alienskin Billfold, which is a weird and durable break from the super-thin Allett ones I’ve carried for many years.
I recently traded in my much-loved manual 2010 Volkswagen Jetta for a 2022 Jeep Gladiator that’s way better in the snow, more helpful with house projects, and fun to get out onto trails.
Software
This page seems long enough just for hardware, so I’ll do us both a favor and link to my 2023 list of default apps.