Hardware3 items
MacBook Air
The main machine. Thin, silent, does everything without complaint. Dark mode always, display brightness at 60%.
Daily Driver
Magic Mouse
Clean, minimal, flat. It looks good on the desk and that matters. Not ergonomic but stylish.
Daily
AirPods Max
Noise cancellation for when the city gets loud. Over-ear, premium sound. Required for deep work sessions.
Can't live without
Software5 items
VS Code
Default editor. Dark theme, custom font, all the extensions. It's not glamorous but it works.
Daily
Figma
Design tool of choice. Where everything starts before it becomes code. Auto Layout is a gift.
Favourite
Opera
Browser of choice. Built-in VPN, sidebar, fast. Does what it needs to without getting in the way.
Daily
Raycast
Spotlight but actually good. Calculator, clipboard history, window management — all from one shortcut.
Essential
Notion
Where everything gets organised. Pages, databases, notes — the whole second brain lives here.
Daily
Coding Tools5 items
Vercel
Where everything ships. Git push to deploy. Preview URLs for every branch. Free tier is generous.
Always
GitHub Pro
Version control, issues, actions. The whole pipeline lives here. Pro for private repos and extra features. Commit often, commit descriptively.
Daily
Supabase
Backend when I need one. Postgres, auth, storage — all in one dashboard. Open source too.
Free Tier
Tailwind CSS
Utility classes that compile to nothing unused. Fast to write, easy to read, zero custom CSS needed.
Daily
pnpm
Faster npm. Uses symlinks, saves disk space, installs in half the time. Hard to go back.
Switched
Camera Gear3 items
Nikon D3200
24.2MP APS-C sensor. Got it used, never looked back. Not the newest but it captures exactly what I see.
Main body
55mm f/1.8 Prime
The only lens I need. 55mm on APS-C is close to what your eyes actually see. Prime means you move your feet.
Always on
Lightroom Classic
Post-processing. Minimal adjustments — the goal is to capture it right, not fix it after. But exposure correction is real.
When needed
Desk Setup1 item
Cable Chaos
Zero cable management. Cables go where they want. The desk is a beautiful disaster and that's fine. The code still ships.
Permanent state
Services4 items
thealxlabs.ca
The .ca domain for the lab. Canadian TLD because Toronto is home. All subdomains live here.
Home base
Vercel
Hosting for everything. Git push to deploy. Preview URLs for every branch. The free tier handles it all.
Every project
Spotify
Essential. Lo-fi for focus, drum and bass when the deadline is close. The playlist changes, the headphones don't come off.
Always on
1Password
Password manager. Every password is unique and random. Security hygiene is non-negotiable once you've been burned.
Essential