One of the most interesting articles or posts to read is what other people use, for things like traveling and computing.
I’m an impressionable sucker; reading about interesting people’s recommendations will sway me.
Here, be swayed.
Computers
- My custom macOS setup
- My custom Windows setup
Codes
- I have most affection for the front-of-the-front-end. Modern HTML, CSS, and JS. I also use React and PHP. My code is semantic, written for accessibility and performance, and crafted thoughtfully. Read more about what I know and don’t know as a developer
- Frameworks or libraries are useful if default languages don’t provide enough. It’s usually difficult to avoid using React/Vue/Svelte, Astro/11ty, or WordPress if you want to create a custom site. However, I often enjoy the challenge of native web languages without abstraction.
- A modern front-end design layout starts CSS Custom Properties and a grid, such as CSS Grid and Flexbox, with SVGs, and your preferred server-side rendering language with client-side JS.
- I use Visual Studio Code (now a tracking-free version of it called VSCodium) since summer 2017, but initially I could not find the right combination of extensions or shortcuts to beat Sublime Text as a code editor. However, because of momentum, I now usually start with VSCodium.
- I’ll sometimes grab Sublime Text 4 for older projects. Because it’s so fast, it’s an easy one to use for a one off project. These are my settings and packages.
- 2025 became the year I really started my AI integration. In 2024, I installed a VSCode plugin for Codeium which proved valuable. It was helpful for getting the right code pretty quickly. Just before 2025, I gave Cursor a trial, then Windsurf trials in 2025. I’m still on VSCodium, but will continue seeing how this landscape changes into 2026.
- Classic WordPress is my jam.
Roots is my reference WordPress dev environment, and it is one of the inspirations into my homegrown theme called Forage. That’ll probably be the last WordPress theme I ever build or use.
And I’ll get a little down and dirty with WooCommerce. - I learned to write HTML, CSS, and JS on my own since the 90s, assisted by A List Apart, Smashing Magazine, CSS Tricks, Codepen, Wes Bos, javascript.info, ui.dev, and Dmitry Soshnikov among many others
Browsers
Firefox and Brave (with some complications since). I open up Safari as needed. I play with Brave Nightly and Firefox Dev Edition. Tor Browser for privacy. Chrome is dead to me. I also occasionally play with one of many alternative browsers sharing some of the internals.
For the best experience with Firefox, I am a fan of Arkenfox’s user.js recommendations. Specifically, the extensions recommendations.
- Browser add-ons primary (All available for Firefox, many available for Webkit or Chromium browsers)
- uBlock Origin (I set it with Medium Mode)
- Browser add-ons secondary (I use all of these as well but they aren’t essential)
Etcs
- Read privacyguides.org. Ask me questions if anything confuses you.
- Stop using Google as your primary search engine. Use DuckDuckGo. Bang your way to Startpage.com or Google when necessary.
- Speaking of Google, I’ve gone all in on Proton. I have Gmail because it’s pretty much impossible to not have it, but I’m more specific about when I use it. The dream is to permanently delete all my email there, but that’s a long journey.
- Mullvad – Virtual Private Networks are necessary. Mullvad is the best and easiest VPN I’ve used and released as open source software. Payment is in Euro instead of Dollars. I use VPNs on most devices at most times.
- Wireguard is the best VPN client out there, better and lighter than OpenVPN.
- Pi-Hole on a RaspberryPi helps with blocking bad URLs. When set up properly, I route all my network traffic through Pi-Hole and into Mullvad via Wireguard. It’s complicated.
- All media edited with Figma, sometimes Affinity Photo, or rarely Luminar.
- I try to use Open Source Software when possible.
- I’ve been faithful to VLC for more than a decade. It just works.
- LibreOffice is free and open source, covers most things that Office is, but is slower. Still a good back up.
- memeorandum.com and thehill.com for news, left and right
- Less social media, more indieweb.org. It’s time.