🛠️ Gear

Stationery

My planner is a Jibun Techo Biz A5 slim (JetPens). It is my preferred tool for keeping track of most appointments and activities but some events—particularly online meetings—make it into a digital calendar.

Notes go into a JetPens Kanso Noto (JetPens) that I like because it has dot grid Tomoe River paper. I can type faster than I write, which is why paper is so great for notes: it forces me to distill the ideas from a lecture into what really matters. Paper is also better for thinking through things and short-term quick references. I photograph/scan important notes into Evernote.

My Nomadic pen case is stuffed with the following: an in-use Uniball Signo DX 0.38mm gel pen and a spare, a Pilot V5 (best big box pen IMO), a Pentel P205 0.5mm mechanical pencil and Clic Eraser, Zebra Mildliners, and some fountain pens.

  • Pilot Vanishing Point, F nib, Blue Carbonesque
  • Lamy Safari, EF nib, white
  • Kaweco Sport, F nib, black
  • Kaweco Sport, EF nib, cyan
  • TWSBI ECO, EF nib, clear

Computing

Workstation

  • Self-built Windows 11 desktop with 1TB SSD, 4TB HDD, 32GB RAM, 2 24″ Lenovo monitors
  • Logitech C920s webcam
  • Jabra 930 Pro Mono headset—it has amazing range for walking around the house while on calls
  • Keychron K4 mechanical keyboard
  • Logitech MX Master wireless mouse
  • Flexispot standing desk

Mobile

  • iPhone XS Max—and I’m keeping it until there are no more software updates for it
  • iPad Pro 11″ (2nd gen) with ElevationLab DraftTable v1
  • Lenovo ThinkPad 430s

Software

  • Evernote (website / my posts)—my everything box
  • iA Writer for Windows—content writing workhorse
  • Plex for mostly movies, some TV shows, and an audiobook or two though I’m not really not a good listener.
  • Subscriptions I use: Carrot Weather (Premium Legacy $4/yr), Deliveries ($5/yr), Microsoft 365 Family (half of $100/yr), Google Photos ($36/yr), Evernote (Personal $70/yr), Spotify, Hulu

Audio

In my home office there is a Yamaha RX-V677 hooked up to a pair of Klipsch R-41M and a Sony SA-WM250 100-watt subwoofer. It mostly plays music from Spotify. At the desk I mainly use the Jabra headset but if I’m watching, gaming or studying I’ll switch to a true pair of headphones. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50 have great sound and can be a decent gaming headset with the addition of an AntLion or other microphone; however, I don’t think they’re comfortable for more than an hour or two at a time. Most of the time, I’ll pop on a pair of Bose QC35 II for noise cancellation and decent sound.

On the go, I like the AirPods Pro for their diminutive size, acceptable sound quality, and noise cancellation. They’re also handy for the occasional phone call.

Refreshments

– My coffee setup + Keep Cup
– Sodastream Crystal
– OXO cocktail shaker