Skip to main content

Tools of the Trade

What I use.

The hardware, software, and habits behind the work. Inspired by the /uses pages around the web — everything here earns its place.

Workstation

  • MacBook Pro 16" (Apple Silicon)

    Daily driver for everything from design systems to Laravel.

  • Studio Display

    One big, color-accurate canvas beats two mediocre ones.

  • Mechanical keyboard

    Tactile switches. The clack is a feature, not a bug.

Editor & Terminal

  • VS Code

    Tuned with a minimal theme, ligature-friendly mono font, and strict TypeScript everywhere.

  • zsh + git CLI

    Aliases for everything done more than twice a day.

  • Claude Code

    Agentic engineering as a first-class part of the workflow — with the same review discipline as any other code.

Stack of Choice

  • TypeScript + React + Next.js

    The front-of-house default. This site is the proof.

  • Node.js + GraphQL on AWS

    APIs and microservices — Lambda when it's bursty, containers when it's not.

  • Laravel + Pest

    The side-project stack. Draft Slot runs on it with seasonal scaling on Vapor.

Quality Bar

  • Jest + visual regression

    If it isn't tested, it's a rumor.

  • Lighthouse CI

    Performance budgets enforced by robots, not vibes.

  • WCAG 2.2 AA

    Accessibility is the baseline, not the stretch goal.

Away From Keyboard

  • Home renovation tools

    The tinkering instinct doesn't stop at the keyboard.

  • A camera

    Mostly pointed at two English Bulldogs.

  • Puzzles

    Jigsaw on the table, logic puzzles on the phone, systems in between.