Uses
Hardware, software, and tools that power my work and projects — with opinions attached. Last Updated:
Inspired by uses.tech. This is a list of what I use and what I actually think about it.
Hardware
MacBook Pro M4 Pro (14-inch, 24GB) — my right hand man. Moving to the M-series chips was life changing after six years with the 2020 Intel Macbook Pro.
2020 Intel MacBook Pro — aforementioned older laptop. Repurposed as a home server running Ubuntu, mostly for my experimental AI workloads until I get something with more umph.
Unifi Networking Stack — in-progress… currently, I only have the UDM Special Edition as router/firewall. I have aspirations to fill out my stack with a Pro Max 24 PoE for the core lab and a Lite 8 PoE for the entertainment system. I’ve drank the Unifi Kool-aid and love having a cohesive stack and aesthetic.
UNAS Pro 4 (NAS) — with 4x 12TB WD Red Plus in RAID 10. Overkill for where I am now; right-sized for where I’m going.
- The hardest hardware decision I’ve made. I went back and forth between Synology (all-in-one, easy, compromised) and a pure storage device. Ultimately, even the fact that Synology was thinking about hard drive compatibility restrictions pushed me to the UNAS.
Editor / IDE
Claude Code — still figuring out all my workflows with Claude. currently using it with iTerm2 for a bit more customization.
Cursor — my go-to IDE.
Software
Obsidian — probably my single favorite piece of software. Philosophically, I love the privacy, ownership, and customizability it offers. Obsidian is my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) hub, writing environment, second brain, and now the CMS for this site.
Amazing Marvin — I’m a new user as of 2026, but I really like it so far. I subscribe to the time blocking approach for time management. It works well for someone who has a mix of short tasks and a need for focused work time. Of the 10+ task management apps I reviewed, AM provides the best features for this way of working.
Libby — free library ebooks and audiobooks.
Some paid apps I’d love to replace with open source, self-hosted alternatives eventually:
YNAB — simple, yet detailed. A budgeting app that gives me a good view of the bottom line: money in, money out.
Cronometer — Nutrition tracking
Paprika — recipes and grocery lists
Home Lab — “Marvin”
My Home Assistant instance is named Marvin, after the Paranoid Android from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Appropriately, he does everything I ask, slightly reluctantly, and occasionally has opinions about it.
Home Assistant — The hub for all smart devices.
Z-Wave (Zooz 800 Series USB Stick) — For critical devices: locks, garage door, etc. Z-Wave’s mesh reliability justifies the premium over Zigbee for these cases.
Zigbee (Sonoff USB Dongle) — For everything else: lights, sensors, smaller devices. Zigbee hardware is significantly cheaper and the protocol is reliable enough for non-critical automations.
Proxmox — Hypervisor on the home server.
Docker — Everything that isn’t Home Assistant runs in a container.