What's in my Bag? 2019 Edition

So I had a post where we talked about what was in my bag last year… let’s see how the workflow/travel setup has changed over the last 12+ months!

Development Setup

I sold my trusty, non-Touch Bar, mid-2014 15” MacBook Pro and upgraded to 2017 15” MacBook Pro w/ the somewhat useful, somewhat dreaded Touch Bar. Core i7 2.9Ghz, somehow, 16GB of still DDR3 RAM, and all the other Retina and other goodies.

However, with all the “let’s put all apps into Electron” happening today, and just how much more processing power the web takes in 2019, in addition to the different dev environments I run, I feel like 16GB is just not enough anymore.

A few Docker containers here, a few IDEs there, Slack, Spotify, the new Dropbox app, Chrome with 15 tabs (although I must say, Firefox feels much better with more tabs, even when low on RAM because I’m running a ton at the same time), and yeah… while the machine still serves me well, I think I might need to move to a laptop and platform that allows me 32GB + mobility… but otherwise, it’s still my trusty daily.

Remote Work

So… I ended up buying the 2018 iPad Pro (USB Type-C version) even though I still have the latest lightning port version. And uh… it’s actually a much better improvement all around. Pen is much more accurate. It’s a lot snappier. Using as a second screen for teaching still works great. With iPadOS on the horizon (funny how we’re back here with separate OSes for mobile devices after Apple merged them years ago… lol), there’s promise and reports that it becomes even more useful as a productivity tool.

However, I do need to get yet another dongle for the USB Type-C port… but if they move to allowing full use of the port (meaning external hard drives and the like), this will be even better as a portable photography assistant.

Tools and Accessories

Tzumi PocketJuice 20,000 mAh Powerbank (non-affiliate link) - with USB-C, USB (2.4 amp AND a 3.0 amp), and a lightning port, and the ability to charge/recharge from any of those ports, this thing has been a lifesaver. I’ve even run my work MacBook Pro from the USB-C port in a few emergency moments. Yes, copied and pasted from the last post, and all still super relevant.

Garmin Vivoactive 3 / Garmin ForeRunner 935 XT I formerly was using a Fitbit Ionic as my smartwatch, but I ended up coming back to Garmin. The Vivoactive 3 is my daily watch for tracking steps, sleep and a few other things, and my 935 is my race and training watch.

Bose QuietComfort 35 II Still the best headphones that I’ve purchased for zoning out when coding and overall avoiding ambient noise (airplanes, loud cafes, etc). Seriously worth the investment. I had the original series and that pair lasted for years, even through gym workouts.

iPhone Xs Max I know I said my iPhone 8+ would be my last iPhone… but, the upgrade was worth it. However, it’s acting really strange lately, so this post is reminding me to take it to the Apple store to get checked out.

Well, there you have it. An update to what I usually travel with in my bag on a given day.