Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.
Below you'll find what I use on a daily basis to do what I do.
Workstation
27” iMac, 4 GHz Intel i7, 32GB RAM (2014, eek)
This thing is gettin kinda old, but still works great for my needs.
SHW 55” Electric Height Adjustable Standing Desk
Sitting down for 8+ hours a day isn't good for you. This electric height adjustable desk is super affordable and was extremely easy to put together. I liked it so much I bought another one for my gaming station.
Education
Laracasts
Being in software development means you'll be learning until the day you retire. If you're a web developer, or wanting to be one, go sign up for Laracasts immediately. It will be the best investment you've ever made to further your education.
Tech stack
Laravel
As a PHP developer there is simply no better framework than Laravel.
Livewire
As I'm writing this (Oct 2023) I just recently switched over from using Vue to using Livewire. I'm loving it.
Alpine.js
If you're using Livewire, you might as well use Alpine (because Livewire does).
Tailwind CSS
Other than discovering Laravel I don't think I've ever been more in love with a web-development framework than Tailwind.
Backend
As a full stack developer I work in the backend as well - I mostly work with MySQL databases.
Development tools
Sublime Text 4
I'm missing out on some pretty fancy IDE features but I've been using Sublime for so long I can't bring myself to change at this point.
Github
Where else would I store my code? My Github profile is pretty boring, most of my repo's are private since they are not open-source.
iTerm2
I heard I should use this over the macOS Terminal, so I do.
TablePlus
Great software for working with databases.
BBQ
Offset Smoker - Old Country Brazos
This smoker is great for a beginner, it gets the job done for a reasonable price. If you continue to love smoking you'll eventually want something bigger, but that means more money.
Inkbird Instant Read Meat Thermometer (IHT-1P)
Not as nice as a Thermapen, but also not as expensive...it gets the job done.
Inkbird WiFi Grill Thermometer (IBBQ-4T)
They say "if you're lookin, you ain't cookin". I use this thermometer to monitor the temperatures of the meat inside the smoker so I don't have to open the lid. It has a nice phone app to monitor temps from anywhere in your home and allows you to set alarms when your meats have reached certain temperatures.
Wood
I like Hickory, but I've also used Pecan, Oak and Cherry. I find the differences to be very subtle, your average person isn't going to be able to tell the difference. Use what you have easy access to.
Crying
Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues
As a Washington Commanders fan these come in handy.