Things I Like This Week - Volume 2
Here are a couple of the things I've been enjoying this week.
Osprey Momentum 30 Backpack
For work, I have a laptop. A 7.8 pound laptop. I used a messenger bag for years[^1], but it had started getting very uncomfortable for my walk in and out of the office. So I started searching for a bag that would not only be good for carrying my laptop, but also would be good for travel, biking (if I only had time to do it), hiking, and anything else I threw at it.
After several recommendations, looking at $200–300 bags, I finally looked into a recommendation from a colleague of mine: the Osprey Momentum 30. As the name implies, there’s 30L of storage in this thing. It’s big enough to hold my work laptop (at nearly one inch thick), a 13" MacBook Pro in a sleeve, my lunch tote, a water bottle, and a ton of gear. I’ve only been using it for a short while, but it works perfectly for what I need.
I can’t wait to use it more outdoors and while biking, assuming the weather improves. But even if it’s raining, the backpack comes with a rain cover that is stowed on the bottom of the bag to keep your pack and belongings dry. I picked mine up at REI with a 20% member discount, but it is also available on Amazon and other places.[^2]
PCalc
I’m very, very late to this party. PCalc has been around a long time. It’s not just the best calculator: it has conversions, formulas, a plethora of options, and — my favorite — customizable layouts.
The option to customize layouts is amazing. You can start with a given layout, but you can also rearrange the buttons as you need; you can also add your own buttons to include frequently used conversions, constants, or functions. This can also extend to the 2nd function, and you can have 2 buttons occupy the same space. I’ve just started playing around with it, and I’m already coming up with a default layout that is all my own.
I’ve had this app for a day. My only regret with this app is that I didn’t purchase it sooner. This is worth every penny.