Recently, I’ve been enjoying a new friendship with Jay Miller, a podcaster, developer, and all-around nice guy that I’m looking forward to meeting in person when all of this is over. In the meantime, Jay agreed to share his setup with us. So Jay, show us your setup.

Some Words about What I Do

I’m a podcaster, producer, and developer advocate. Most of my day is writing code, engaging with folks online, and planning and collaborating. I also spend a few hours recording podcasts and live-streaming on Twitch.

My Office Space

I share my office with my wife, who also works from home; we each take up about half the room.

My desk base is a hand-me-down from a friend who was closing up shop and needed to get rid of some furniture.

I bought a riser to allow for standing. It was cheap (for a riser), which was a good and bad thing. The cost of it gave me the comfort in being able to add little things like a hole for a hook to hang my headphones.

I have a SONGMICS standing desk chair and a Topo comfort mat by Ergodriven.

To help with livestreaming, video creation, and to introduce privacy for Zoom calls, I have a ceiling-mounted green screen.

Coffee-ing Setup

I mention this only because I do make coffee from my desk. Much like my desk setup, my coffee setup focuses on getting the most for my money.

I am rocking a manual burr grinder, a VICOODA gooseneck water kettle, and a Chemex four-cup coffee system.

Computing Devices

My main computer is a maxed out 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019). When at my desk, it’s connected to a 27-inch 5K LG display and sits in a Twelve South vertical dock.

My “server” is a 2018 Mac mini (6 core 3GHz with 8GB RAM). Some of my work is process intensive, and it’s nice to offload services to that machine. I also use it to run a Pi-hole as my DNS server to block ads and trackers.

I also have a Raspberry Pi 4 that I use as a backup Pi-hole or Linux dev server.

iOS/iPadOS

I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max. I’m thinking about swapping it for a 12 to make using my phone as a camera even easier thanks to this mount coming soon. I use my iPad as a DO NO WORK device. You can do real work from an iPad (don’t trip). I’m more comfortable on macOS and have many configurations to make it easier for me. My iPad has no apps or tools installed to allow me to work from it (by choice).

My Home Screen on my phone is pretty utility focused.

I have a rotating list of times for checking with some of my international co-workers. I have an AQI widget I made with WidgetPack. I’m in Southern California and air quality can suffer from fires. Other than that, I have some buttons to toggle lights in the house and a little note to make time for me.

Podcast Recording Setup

Mic — Blue microphone Bluebird SL with a Kaotica Eyeball

I did a shootout between this mic and a Shure SM7B. The Blue mic looks funny but is pretty clean and has great tonal balance. I didn’t like the heavy bottom of the SM7B, so in the end I went with this one.

Audio Interface — Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB

The big decision for this device was supporting either USB-C or Thunderbolt. I couldn’t justify paying for the Thunderbolt, but there were a few USB-C options, so NO DONGLES!

Podcast/Video Recording and Editing

I record audio with Audio Hijack. For video, I use a combination of these tools:

QuickTime (my face)
CleanShot (screen capture)
Reflector (iPad and iOS)
OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) (live-streaming)

For editing, I use Logic Pro X and Final Cut. Both are overkill, but that means I know that I don’t need anything else.

I process audio with iZotope RX 8 standard plugins. I optimize and level the audio balance in Levelator.

Productivity-ing Setup

I’m off the digital task and project management train. I’ve embraced the pen and pad, and I bullet journal daily in my Endless Recorder with my LAMY 2000 fountain pen.

Thanks Jay!