Books, gadgets, and other stuff I recommend.

This page was inspired by my favorite podcast, Acquired.fm. At the end of every episode they share their “carve outs” - essentially recommendations for stuff they've found cool lately. As a big nerd with high standards for what I buy, I have more than a few carve outs of my own. Here's a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10), Intel i7 Processor, 16GB RAM

    I've been a die-hard Windows user for years. That may be a controversial opinion in this line of work, but I stand by it. I love the (slightly-more) open ecosystem, and I love using the same OS for both work and personal projects. Plus, my parents both run Windows and they always seem to need technical support.

    Windows aside, I actually wouldn't recommend this particular laptop. It's noisy and the battery life is bad. My old ThinkPad didn't have these issues, nor does my work machine (the enterprise workhorse T-14).

  • LG UltraFine 32 Inch 4K Monitor

    I freaking love this monitor. It's simple and high resolution. I tried many other monitors before eventually landing on this one. I've had the dual monitor setup, and there are advantages to that, but with two computers connected via a KVM switch, there were just too many cables and it made my workspace feel cluttered.

    I also tried a massive 45 inch curved LG OLED. It was a sweet monitor, the perfect size. The only problem was the pixel density. It was QHD but there was so much screen space that the resolution was actually worse than on my old FHD 24 inch monitors. Someday, when 4K or even 8K becomes the norm in these massive curved monitors, I'll get one. But for right now, the LG I have is perfect.

  • Logitech K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard

    After getting tired of constantly recharging my old keyboard, I bought this solar-powered one. I've had it for over a year and haven't had to charge it once. I like the laptop-like feel better, like on the MX Master, but it's worth it not to constantly be plugging it in.

  • FlexiSpot Standing Desk - 60 Inch

    As someone with horrible posture, this was a game changer. When I feel myself slouching, I'll make myself stand for punishment.

Books

  • The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

    A novel set along the coast of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, where I'm from, it follows a young baseball player through college. Beautifully written and you fall in love with the characters. If you don't like baseball, I still think you'd enjoy this book. If you do like baseball, check it out from the library today.

  • The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Neffeneger

    One of my favorite books of all time. It follows two protagonists, Henry and Clare. Henry is (no surprise) a time traveller. Not only is the prose and character development great, but the author's take on time travel is really interesting.

    I've both read this book and listened to the audiobook. I recommend both, and if you like audiobooks, this is one of the best. The narrators split the parts of Henry and Clare, and both have awesome voices. I imagine if Henry and Clare were real, these would be their voices.

  • The Mistborn Saga

    I'm a huge fantasy nerd and this trilogy is my favorite. Sanderson is all about world-building. He crafts clever characters and even-cleverer plots. I've read it twice and devoured it both times.

Apps

  • Flighty (iOS)

    I've been using this app for a couple of years now, and it's fantastic. It tracks upcoming flights, keeps a record of past flights for fun end-of-year data on how many times you've flown around the globe, and it's got a beautiful UI. Flighty will usually notify me of flight changes before my airline. They do put a fair number of features behind a pay wall, but I've been happy with what's included for free.

  • Beli (iOS and Android)

    This is my favorite app as of late. It's great for keeping track of bars, restaurants, and cafes that you've been to or want to go to. It uses an algorithm to rank places you've been to and then uses those rankings to recommend new places. I've found it has all the restaurants in my area and shows them on a map color coded by my rating or expected rating. The design is clean and intuitive. I highly recommend it if you like checking new restaurants off your list.