I started writing a technical blog to help me remember the many things I explore. One day, I realized I’ve got a real life too. Here’s a place I can remember the many things I explore IRL (In real Life)

Copied from my GitHub techdiary

• Physical Health
  • Personal Trainer
  • Calf Health
  • Knee Health
  • Booger Health
  • Skin Health
  • Wrist Health
  • Books on injury prevention
  • Standing Desks
  • Gym Stuff
  • Under Desk Exercise Equipment
• Emotional Health
  • Meditation
  • Therapist
• Cognitive Health
  • Blogging
  • Weekly goals
• Identity Health
  • Eulogy Writing
• Personal Carry
  • Fanny Pack
  • Gym Bag
  • Work Bag
  • Selfie Sticks
• Biking
• Car Tech
  • Tony
  • Tech (Old)
• Tech
  • How to add a poison pill to the addictive iPhone
  • Computers
  • Monitors
  • Keyboards
• Camera
• Virtual Reality - Oculus
• Backyard
  • Inflatable Hot tub
  • Propane Fire Pit
  • Canopies

Physical Health

My post for others at physical health

Personal Trainer

At 42 I got a personal trainer. Should have done it years ago. Several benefits:

1. Externalized Motivation
2. Externalized research.
3. Can turn off brain, and PT tells you what to do so you don’t even have to think about exercises or count.

Calf Health

When I crossed 40 I went from easily running 4 miles hard and 20-mile bike rides to have my calves lock up after 20 minutes of biking. I’ve tried various calf things here’s my current list:

• Calf rocker - I have the single and double, best, simple stretch
• Neoprene Calf Sleeves - I’ve tried socks but they are a pain to get on, and not adjustable. These things wrap on, keep you warm, and are wonderful. Highly recommend.

Knee Health

Lots of sleeves out there, I recommend the most flexible one that provides the pain relief. For me that:

• Knee brace Softest
• Knee brace more support

Booger Health

For much of my 30’s I had a brutal hacking cough. At 41, those coughs were causing me to pull out my shoulder muscles so I decided to take Flonase (I knew it was postnasal drip). I started taking Flonase, and I’m blown away by not coughing up a hairball.

Skin Health

I suffer from Eczema, which I normally ignore. I took some of my son’s topical steroids, and I kid you not, it cleared up in 2 days.

I also have dry skin, so use O’Keeffe’s which is awesome.

Wrist Health

Several braces for different times

• Full Immobilization Sleeping
• Heavy support during the day
• Light support during the day
• Tight Warm Fingerless Gloves

Books on injury prevention

Get ‘em both

Standing Desks

Gym Stuff

With age comes the need for more accouterments

• Headphones
• Dry bag for iPad
• Eye Drop (Blink)
• Shaving Kit
• Netflix downloaded shows

Under Desk Exercise Equipment

I don’t use this, but it’s under my desk. The day I got it and used it, I decided it was a good idea and I should use it more often.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KMNVXCT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Emotional Health

Meditation

OLD

I used to have a complex meditation routine, which was very “focused”, but had too much complexity. I skipped it and now use headspace, and do it slouching in a chair. Huge improvement.

I meditate kneeling (Seiza) and have two benches. Meditation benches are overpriced, but if it improves my emotional health (and it’s supposed to) it’s worth it.

Even though this is folding, this is my permanent bench:

https://www.bluecony.com/collections/ikuko-meditation-bench

This is my portable bench, it’s smaller, but less stable, but it does the job:

https://www.simplysitting.com/

Therapist

I’ve been seeing a therapist weekly since my early 30’s. It provides me several benefits.

• A chance to introspect, and reflect on what’s on my mind.
• A chance to get some analytic analysis over my emotions.
• A cathartic release
• Access to a less distorted (it’s still subject to my inputs) view of my reality.
• An early reminder for when my worldview is getting both too positive, and too negative.
• Coaching on relationship-based discussion
• A constant reminder of the importance of my emotional health
• A historical reminder of previous states

Cognitive Health

Blogging

Weekly goals

Identity Health

Eulogy Writing

My own eulogy

Personal Carry

Fanny Pack

Don’t get me started on the perfect fanny pack. My current favorite is below. It’s very tactical-looking - but have to start somewhere.

Gym Bag

I often stuff the gym bag in a larger bag so small matters - I use:

Work Bag

It’s taken me several tries, but I’ve concluded I like the smallest bag possible. I use a 13” MacBook Pro laptop and an iPad Pro 10” and this is the perfect bag for me:

There’s also the horizontal version - which is slightly bigger but also nice:

Selfie Sticks

It’s great to have a selfie stick for every occasion

• Smallest
• Small w/stand
• Big w/stand

Biking

I love not driving. Biking is an awesome form of transit. It took a while but I concluded I have several use cases so need several bikes. In fact,

Car Tech

Tony

Right, now a days it’s all about Tony

Tech (Old)

I’ve gotten 3 cheap pieces of aftermarket tech that transformed my car to awesomeness:

• Remote car starter - ~ 200$ and you can start your car from the house so that it’s warm and toasty when you get in.
• Wireless CarPlay. OMG - having CarPlay (especially on iOS 13) without plugging in your phone - wow!
• Back up Camera ~ 30$. OMG - Hard to believe I went years without one.

Tech

• iPhone Pro
• iPad Pro
• Apple Pencil
• AirPod Pros
• Bose QC35 - They’re great, but when using a mac the Airpod Pros are so much better
• Bose 900 - I don’t like these. They can’t swap through devices.
• Foam Tips for AirPod Pros - highly recommend if you’re used to foam tips.
• iPad stand.

How to add a poison pill to the addictive iPhone

• Remind myself to uninstall TikTok
• Put phone in black and white (Accessibility -> Color Filter -> Black and White)
• Set Screen Time to 1-hour limit

Computers

• Huawei Matebook X (Essentially Windows MacBook clone)
• MacBook Pro (usually at work)
• Ancient Desktop (upgrade coming)
• MacBook Pro M1 - Fantastic device, super light, long-lasting battery.

Monitors

Interactive Monitor Explorer - Want to understand monitor dimensions, aspect ratios, and the confusing “p” vs “K” terminology? I built a visual tool that explains all this marketing gobbledygook. Includes Mac display management tools. (GitHub repo)

My setup:

• At work: 32” 4K (3840×2160, 16:9) - Standard 4K monitor, excellent all-around
• At home: 43” 4K (3840×2160, 16:9) - Same resolution as the 32”, just bigger. Loved it! (discontinued)
• At home ultrawide: 40” Samsung Odyssey G7 (Upgraded from 34” ultrawide) - 5120×2160, 21:9, 180Hz, DisplayHDR 600. Think of it as a 32” 4K monitor stretched 32% wider. Excellent for productivity with vertical space of 4K but extra width for side-by-side windows.

Previous:

• 34” ultrawide (3440×1440, 21:9) - Not a huge fan. Good for widescreen movies, but Netflix/YouTube rarely use this aspect ratio

Essential accessory:

Beefy Monitor Stand - If you’re getting a good monitor, make sure it floats with a pneumatic monitor stand.

Keyboards

If you just want a good ergo keyboard:

Logitech Ergo K860 - If you liked the classic MS Sculpt or Surface Sculpt keyboard, this is the modern version. Bluetooth, comfortable split design, good palm rest. This is what I’d recommend for most people with wrist issues.

My specialized setups (for extreme shoulder issues):

I need keyboards 3+ feet apart due to shoulder mobility problems. Most people don’t need this level of split:

Home setup:

RK ROYAL KLUDGE Ergonomic Mechanical - Full-featured mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable switches (meaning you can replace individual keys without soldering). This is my daily driver at home.

Coffee shop setup:

Two folding Bluetooth keyboards synced via Karabiner Elements. I position them 3+ feet apart to allow proper shoulder rotation. Portable and flexible.

I’ve bought 9 of these iClever folding keyboards - they’re compact, reliable, and let me position my hands exactly where my shoulders need them.

Why the wide split matters:

My wrist issues aren’t about wrists - they’re about shoulders. I can’t externally rotate my shoulders, which means I need keyboards that can sit 3+ feet apart. This isn’t preference, it’s medical necessity. Using a laptop or straight keyboard causes pain within hours.

The backstory (if you’re interested):

• 1996: High school - played countless hours of Street Fighter II. The damage was done early.
• 2010-2021: Decade of flare-ups. Wrists would hurt for a week or so, I’d wear a brace, and they’d be fine again. Repeat.
• 2022: Complete wrist failure after 24 hours of magic practice. Took months to recover. Miserable - couldn’t do magic, which was extra painful since I was already in a COVID funk.
• Discovery: Zero shoulder external rotation, grip strength at 15 lbs
• Solution: Year of physical therapy focused on shoulders
• Result: Grip strength now 135 lbs, wrists functional with proper keyboard setup
• Key insight: The split isn’t just comfort - it’s necessary for my shoulder mechanics

Other keyboards I tried:

• MS Sculpt - The classic ergo keyboard. Bought 6 spares before they discontinued it. Great keyboard, but they stopped making it.
• Kinesis Freestyle (Quiet) - First true wide-split keyboard. Adjustable width, Cherry Red linear switches (quiet, smooth). Wired connection between halves, USB-A only. Note: I tried the Kinesis Advantage but dislike ortholinear layouts.

On mechanical keyboards:

I deliberately avoided mechanical keyboards for years. The Kinesis Freestyle forced my hand - it only comes in mechanical. Turns out linear keys (Cherry Red) are much better than clicky for me. Eventually I gave up resisting and embraced them - hence the RK ROYAL KLUDGE at home.

Simple switch guide (if you’re trying to figure it out):

• Want clickity? Get brown switches
• Want quiet (linear, no click)? Get red switches
• Otherwise, prepare to go down a very long rabbit hole

Camera

I ended up getting an m200 because a time of purchase it was the only cheap cannon with clean HDMI output. I’d have preferred the m50, but it didn’t have clean HDMI output which was a deal-breaker. My use case is mostly video recording or webcamming on a tripod, but I’ll take it out of the house occasionally.

Canon m200 - Not ideal, but the only m-series with clean HDMI out. Biggest gaps - 1) No MF button 2) 4K sucks 3) A bit too small for SLR lenses

HDMI to USB - Be glad I found this, I took several tries to find one that was good.

Fake Battery Weird, it’s like it’s the early 2000s

Very good lens - F2.0/22mm - Pancake lens for the win. A bit too wide for a webcam that’s behind your monitor

Awesome Lens - F1.4/30mm - Super expensive, but awesome bokeh with a reasonable zoom works great at 2 feet.

Wrist Strap - Wrist straps much better than neck strap.

Stream Deck - Sounds silly but awesome for controlling OBS. Probably worth its own post.

Bags - who knows!

Virtual Reality - Oculus

I’m a big fan of my Oculus Quest, it’s my favorite home workout tool for boxing.

Games I like:

• Thrill of the Fight (TOTF) - Great boxing game, just focused on boxing dynamics
• Creed - Boxing game that looks more like a game, but not as good of a working

Experiences worth trying:

• The line: A really nice VR Story.

Games that are OK:

• Climb 2 - Try rock climbing, easy to get into.
• Jupyter - Swing like Spider-Man
• Gorn - Super silly, bloody, gladiator game
• Robo Recall - Really fun shooter, and rip the limbs of robots and beat them with it.

Hardware Accessories:

• Better Head Strap - Oculus one breaks, I got this one.
• VR glasses - Put glasses on the Oculus lenses, works awesome
• Facial Interface - Very nice, blocks external light, and comfortable

Backyard

The best part of coronavirus is the isolation made me feel good about getting temporary things for the backyard - for example.

Inflatable Hot tub

I’ve wanted a hot tub for 20 years, but it was so hard. Turns out you can buy an inflatable one on Amazon. Trivial to use and works great. Just plug it into 110v power, fill with water, and wait for it to heat up. 2 days later it’s ready to go, and from that point forward it stays hot.

You also need bromine to keep the nasties out and pH up to keep the bromine working.

I also got these chairs which Amelia likes, but are not too useful for a grown-up

And don’t forget pool lights - I’m still figuring that out.

For draining the pool you need a pump, and for rapid heating a propane water heater. I like this:

Some good links:

1. Run a winter setup with a propane water heater
2. Documentation for the tub

Propane Fire Pit

Who doesn’t like fire, just plug in the propane, turn the dial, and you’ve got a fire ready to go for enjoyment or some s’mores

Add the fire pit glass and cover and you’re good to go.

Canopies

A simple pop-up canopy, up in 10 minutes, and provides rain protection. Not the sturdiest in a wind storm, but such is life.