nerdy bio

Who are you, and what do you do?

Hello!! I'm Cher, and I'm a software engineer at Apple. I work in Global Security. I currently work remotely from just south of Saint Louis, MO, but I'm going to be moving back home soon to the Pacific Northwest to the suburbs of the Seattle, WA area. Personally, I'd like to live on an island in the San Juan islands.

I'm a single mom, and I also write, take photos, and make hot sauce in my spare time.

What hardware(tools) and software do you use?

I have been developing on a [MacBook Pro][macbook-pro] for the last 10 years, though I still do some side projects on my Windows PC and I have a a box that runs a Linux distribution when I get antsy for some extra fun. I also test on an [iPad Pro][ipad-pro], an [iPhone 11 Pro][iphone-11-pro], and an [Apple TV][apple-tv].

I have a dual-monitor setup, both of which are [BenQ ZOWIE XL2740 27" 240Hz monitors][zowie-xl2740], and support swapping between my Windows PC and my MacBook Pro seamlessly. The mouse I'm currently using is [Logitech G Pro][g-pro-mouse] x Superlight, and, though I have many keyboards, the one I'm using right now is a [Drop CTRL High-Profile tenkeyless][ctrl-high-profile] with [C3Equalz x The Key Dot Company Tangerine switches][c3equalz-x-tkc-tangerine] and [HyperX Pudding Keycaps][pudding-keycaps]. I just put together a new one and I absolutely love it - it's a [KBDfans DZ60RGB][dz60rgb] with a copper plate, Everglide + Durock frankenstabilizers, [Everglide Aqua King linear switches][everglide-aqua-king] and low-profile acrylic-coated ABS keycaps.

The cameras I use are a [Canon EOS Rebel SL3][eos-rebel-sl3] and a [Canon EOS M200][eos-m200]. I use a [Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens][ef-40mm-f2.8-stm], a [Canon EF-M 22m f/2][ef-m-22mm-f2-stm], and the 18-55mm lenses that come with both models. My microphone is an [Audio-Technica AT2020][at2020]. For lighting, I use a pair of Philips Hue Play lights flanking my monitors.

For writing I use a web-based tool called [Novlr][], and for photo editing I use [Adobe Lightroom][lightroom]. For design work, I use [Adobe Photoshop][photoshop].

For software development, I use [Terminal][] in [macOS][], along with an [oh-my-zsh][] theme called Yoncé (by Mina Markham). I use [GitHub][] to manage code repositories, and [VS Code][visual-studio-code] to write the majority of my code. As one might expect, I also use [Xcode][] to write in [Swift][] and [Objective C][objective-c]. I use [Postico][] to peek at my databases locally, and [Docker][] to host containers for local development. For the web-based software I work on, I write in [PHP][] in a framework called [Symfony][], and a [JavaScript][] framework called [ember.js][ember]. I use [Safari][] to test web-based software, but I debug in [Google Chrome][chrome] using ember.js' Chrome extension.

The most important tool I use, though, is a reminder app called [In Your Face][in-your-face], that fills the screen with my calendar notifications so I don't miss them.

What would be your dream/dream setup?

My dream setup is definitely a high-end PC, water-cooled, and 1-press swapping all peripherals between Windows and Mac, and a beautiful standing desk. Other than that, I think I've probably got a dream setup as it is! I guess the only thing that could make my current setup a little better would be to own it outright! Most of my stuff is company-issued!