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Tools

It always bugs me when a piece of media is presented without reference to the tools which created it. Why typesetters would pass up the chance to brag about artisanship or indulge in roundels and upside-down pyramids is beyond me.

Web

This site is hosted by Vultr somewhere in New Jersey on el cheapo VPS. Nginx serves the pages. I use Hugo as a static site generator, which I realize is like using an atomic bomb to deal with a mole in your lawn. Theme is my own design (crazy, I know).

Personal Computer

Intel i9-14900k, Nvidia RTX 4070ti, 32GB fast RAM (memory controller can’t handle four sticks). Corsair 5000D Airflow full-tower case.

65" LG C4 4K TV, which works pretty well as both monitor and home theater.

NB Most real work can be done on a computer from 1995. If you’re in need of more processing power, SSH into a VPS. Don’t be a mindless consumer. When I turn on my PC, the inrush current makes the ceiling light sag. I feel a little bad about it, but it’s more waste to downgrade than it is to keep what I have. Also, not all of my work is real work.

Software

I use Arch, btw. But seriously, it’s the rolling release distro with the best ecosystem, including user-submitted buildscripts for ~100k additional packages, which is the killer feature. Takes the headache out of installing less-popular utilities and heavy binary-release applications.

I don’t always use the most minimal application for the job, because I don’t have to. See Personal Computer.

NAS

6 x 12TB Z2 array (48TB usable) in my old gaming PC case, TrueNAS Scale OS.

Phone

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Display in grayscale mode to decrease addictiveness.

I’d like to break out my smartphone into a dumbphone, compact camera, and digital audio player, but I love Google Maps and the battery is still going strong. Maybe some day.

Update 2026: I’ve gone further into the hole of smartphone lock-in. I use my S26 Ultra’s stylus to handwrite input into Kanji study for vocab lookup while playing video games or reading print media.

Photography

Nikon Z9 with 50mm f/1.8 S, 24-70mm f/2.8 S, macro 105mm f/2.8 S, 20mm f/1.8 G with FTZ II adapter.

I shoot RAW+BASIC. I use darktable for downselect and development. I aim for about 1% yield on “Yeah, I would print that”.

Phone in a pinch. I have a D200, Coolpix, and even the old man’s Sony Cyber-Shot S75 in reserve, but I’m not that much of a hipster.

Stationery

Radio

See QRZ page.