Jamie Lawrence

/uses

@ work

  • Computer: MacBook Pro M3 (in Black). Amazing upgrade from a very good 2020 MBP just for the battery life alone.
  • Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp U3219Q. After screwing up my neck for about 18mths using 3 screens, I’m a firm believer in one big-ish screen.
  • Dock: TwelveSouth BookArc. I only use a single screen so I like to have the laptop in clamshell mode and not where the cats can knock a drink on it.
  • Keyboard: Dygma Raise 2. A smaller keyboard than the Kinesis but extremely pretty and customisable. We’re still learning about each other. Previously: Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB. Split keyboards are a huge ergonomic upgrade and the Kinesis is a simple transition (no complex layout/ortho to adapt to)
  • Trackball: Logitech MX Ergo S. I’ve been Team Trackball for more than two decades and have only encountered wrist problems when I was forced to use mice.
  • Headphones: Bose 700. They’re fine though I think I prefer the sound of Sony headphones and will probably go back to Sony next time
  • Microphone: Rode Videomic NTG. If I’m on a video call, I want a personal connection and nothing to get between us: that means using a shotgun mic.
  • Lights: Elgato Keylight Airs. I tend to work late in the evening, from a dark office, so these stop my looking like I’m in witness protection (though they’re bright enough to look like I’m under interrogation if I don’t turn them down)
  • Desk: Fully Jarvis standing desk with bamboo surface. I also have a side desk from them. Now owned by Herman Miller and not sure if I would have bought it but at the time they had a good deal and viable shipping to Europe
  • Chair: Herman Miller Aeron. I had one in 2001 at Media Lab Europe and finally capitulated when I found a good secondhand price to replace my (loved) Humanscale Liberty.
  • Notepad: Rhodia dotpad. Smooooth with a subtle dot pattern.
  • Boring pens: Zebra Sarasa Grand (gel), LAMY AL-Star (ballpoint)
  • Fancy pens TWSBI Diamond 580ALR fountain pen sits on my desk and has the advantage over the LAMY AL-Star foundain pen as it doesn’t dry out. Lovely to write with (using a fine nib as I’m left-handed) and easy to clean/refill due to the piston system.
  • Git client: Tower. Arcane cmd-line incantations do not spark joy
  • Editor: VS Code. I have unfortunately joined the masses but still miss the sublime Sublime
  • Terminal: Warp because Andrew Mason told me so
  • Theme: Dracula for everything. The thing I value the most is not having to make a decision about a theme with a new tool. I just choose Dracula.
  • Font: Monolisa. It’s paid but I really prefer it and I gotta have those ligatures.

Apps

  • Meta-app: SetApp. I found I was already using/paying for many of the individual apps so SetApp made sense
  • Monitoring: iStat Menus. It’s always on of the first app I installed on a Mac so I can monitor what the CPUs are doing. Also great for checking timezone, weather, etc.
  • Menu bar organiser: Bartender. Tidies away all the menubar apps
  • Window manager: Amethyst. I don’t want to move windows around, I want a window manager to automatically lay them out on the screen
  • Screenshots: Cleanshot. This app is the closest thing to perfection. I use it at least 10 times/day
  • Drag and Drop: Yoink (Mac). Make staging files by drag & drop easier but also fixes many apps that only understand dragging files from the filesystem and not from other apps.
  • Calendar: Fantastical (Mac and iOS). If your calendar app doesn’t merge the same events from multiple calendars into the same visual block, then it’s inferior to Fantastical.
  • Tasks: Todoist (Mac and iOS). I need a place to put personal and work tasks, sometimes share lists etc.
  • Daily planning: Sunsuma (Mac and iOS). A recent addition to make planning my week much more intentional by combining tasks from todoist, Linear, GitHub, calendars etc.
  • Writing: Bear (Mac and iOS). Everything I write is drafted here first, including this post.
  • Mobile photo editing: PicTapGo (iOS). Used this for years as it enables fast edited but really good B&W results
  • Email: Spark (Mac and iOS). I like the new version which takes a lot of inspiration from Hey
  • Mastodon: Ivory (Mac and iOS). I’m mostly off Twitter and found my home on ruby.social
  • Trip planning: Tripsy (Mac and iOS). I have to travel 2-3 times a year and having all that information in one place is really important. I wish TripIt wasn’t so neglected though.
  • Read it later: Reader. I save articles here and occasionally remember to read them; also functions as an RSS reader.
  • Recipes: Crouton replaced Paprika for me. I prefer the household sharing system, the importer is more accurate when using the camera, and the UX is a huge improvement. There’s also little touches like a way to navigate recipe steps by winking (no touch!) and start multiple timers.
  • Home automation: HomeControl (Mac). A useful menu bar app for HomeKit.

Swimming

  • Trunks: Speedo jammers (various)
  • Googles: Magic5 custom goggles clear blue for the pool and mirrored for swimming abroad. I’m still not 100% convinced by them but I’ve been using them for 6 months. My backup pairs are Zoggs Podium Titanium in the pool or Zone3 Venator-X in the sea. Previously used Speedo Speedsockets. I really don’t like large goggles as they tend to leak on my face.
  • Watch: Garmin Swim 2. An unbeatable watch for the open-water or pool swimmer; one of the very few that actually records heart rate whilst swimming and accurate length readings and GPS tracks.
  • Training plans: SwimSmooth Guru. I’ve been following Paul @ Swimsmooth for over 10 years now!
  • Swim buoy: Orca safety buoy with pocket
  • Pull buoy: Orca.
  • Paddles: Finis Freestyle.
  • Bag: Amphibia Evo. I think they went out of business though.
  • Towel: Amphibia microfibre towel.

Everyday Carry

  • Phone: iPhone 14 Pro.
  • Wallet: Paperwallet. So light I don’t know it’s there and I just replace every few years when it gets too ratty.
  • Laptop bag: Fjallraven Greenland Shoulder bag (small)—a neat bag for being out & about, especially when I’m on-call

Home

  • eReader (fiction): Kindle Paperwhite. Reading is the only thing that can turn my brain off at night and oddly the Kindle != iPhone.
  • eReader (non-fiction): Boox Note Max. A 13” screen allows me to read technical papers and books in PDF format at an A4 size. It’s also an full Android tablet so I can install the O’Reilly app to read any of their books, and the Reader app to read any of my saved articles. It’s too large and thin for travel though and no backlight for nighttime reading.
  • Bird feeder: Bird Buddy. A pandemic Kickstarter purchase which is an absolute extravagance (who needs a bird feeder camera?!) but brings me a lot of joy.
  • Knives: I have other knives but I love the Spyderco opening mechanism and the Spyderco Tenacious is my workhorse. I also have a left-handed Spyderco Para 2 which is a such a joy just for the sheer novelty of having a tool built specifically for left-handers.
  • Labelling: Brother PT-P710BT Cube. Labelling boxes, drawers, and cables has been a huge improvement in my life.

Travel

  • Photo/Laptop Bag: Peak Design Everyday Backpack (20L, v1). Backed as a Kickstarter but it’s really stood the test of the years.
  • Travel bag: Tom Bihn Synik 30 is a less structured bag for travel so it can easily squash under a seat. It’s adaptable enough as hand luggage for longer trips, or as an all-in-one for a weekend trip with packing cubes, or even as a pool bag.
  • Sleeping mask: Manta Sleep Pro. I don’t know why it’s “Pro” but it’s designed for side-sleepers and invaluable on planes or in hotels with bright city lights. Looks ridiculous though.
  • Headphones: Bose QuietComfort Ultra replaced my Airpod Pros. Much more reliable and the tips fit my ears. I also have a pair of Anker Liberty 4NC for the gym.
  • Tablet: iPad Mini. The perfect size for watching movies on a plane or taking notes. I’ve even written blog posts on it
  • Keyboard: NuPhy Air 60 v2. I love this keyboard with carry case for writing on the iPad Mini and wish they made a split version for my office.