Add Miriam's interview and portrait

posts/miriam.suzanne.markdown

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+---
+title: Miriam Suzanne
+summary: Artist, author, web developer
+date: 2024-09-21
+categories:
+- artist
+- developer
+- mac
+- writer
+---
+
+### Who are you, and what do you do?
+
+I'm [Miriam Suzanne](https://www.miriamsuzanne.com/ "Miriam's website."), and I make (mostly collaborative) things. I like working with creative teams. Around these (online) parts, I'm mostly making things with HTML and CSS. 20 years ago my theater needed a website, so I learned to make websites. Then another for my band, and it snowballed to become [OddBird](https://www.oddbird.net/ "Miriam's web ageny.") – a small web agency that's been doing some pretty big client and open-source projects.
+
+That's a fun team to build with, but I still have my arts career running in parallel – a theater company called [Grapefruit Lab](https://grapefruitlab.com/ "Miriam's theatre company."), a band called [Teacup Gorilla](https://www.teacupgorilla.com/ "Miriam's band."), a novel called [_Riding SideSaddle_](https://read.ridingsidesaddle.com/ "Miriam's novel."), and a new album coming soon. I've been fortunate to build a life around my curiosity for different media, tinkering, and story telling.
+
+### What hardware do you use?
+
+I just got a Reverend Wattplower short-scale bass, which I'm enjoying. I play that through a GK amp most of the time.
+
+All my writing and coding happens on a [16" MacBook Pro][macbook-pro]. At home, I run that through a [CalDigit TS3 Plus dock][ts3-plus] into two external monitors (I couldn't tell you what brands, whatever was reasonably priced and recommended). To help my old wrists, I got a [ZSA Moonlander keyboard][moonlander] and switch between a [Logitech MX Master 3][mx-master-3] and [MX Vertical mouse][mx-vertical]. I stand at my desk. Anything that's the right height and has enough space – I have no loyalty to the surface.
+
+When I'm recording videos or running workshops, I sometimes add an [Elgato Prompter][prompter], [Logitech Brio webcam][brio] (meh), [Audio-Technica AT4040 condenser microphone][at4040] through a [Scarlett Solo interface][scarlett-solo], and a couple [FotodioX FlapJack soft LED lights][flapjack]. Why are the power cables so short on these lights? On the road, I use the [Anker 727 Charging Station][727-charging-station], a [Roost laptop stand][roost], and the [Logitech Spotlight][spotlight.3] for presenting. Basically everything there comes from other people's recommendations. I don't know how they compare to alternatives. 
+
+All told, it's more than I need. But each tool came at a particular time, for a specific job, and the pile has slowly built up over the years.
+
+### And what software?
+
+Mostly [VS Code][visual-studio-code] and [iTerm2][] for coding. I've started using [Vivaldi][] as my primary browser, because I like to customize everything – and I didn't like where [Arc][arc.2] was headed. But I spend a lot of time in the Mozilla dev tools. How are they still the only ones with good flexbox and webfont inspectors? I've been using [the Alfred launcher][alfred] for years. I know there are more popular options now, but I haven't seen any reason to switch. [1Password][], [Bartender][], probably a few other utilities.
+
+I use Notion Calendar (née Cron) but I'm skeptical. I want something with a year view. I recently switched to [Obsidian][] for organizing my personal life, and that's working well. We use [Slack][] at OddBird, and [Coda][] for Grapefruit Lab. Files are all on [Dropbox][]. When I do graphic design, I'm most familiar with [the Adobe suite][creative-suite] – but I'm learning my way around [Figma][]. This paragraph gives me anxiety. Obsidian is the only tool I'm not renting. The rest can be ripped away from me, or destroyed by VCs, and I have to start from scratch. I hate modern software.
+
+I run a [Mastodon][] server, using [Masto.host][]. At OddBird, the tool stack depends on the project. But most of my personal sites are built with [Eleventy][], because it's flexible and doesn't generate any output that I didn't ask for. I use [Sass][] for the same reasons. I don't like when my build tools generate code that I don't understand. I'm on my third or fourth iteration of self-built web-based presentation software – now using web components! HTML and CSS do what I need in a way that [PowerPoint][] & [Keynote][] will never understand. The web is pretty cool.
+
+I don't like any of the writing apps I've tried (most of them). Word processors are too much, [Scrivener][] is even more, and code editors are too little. Everything specialized is too nerdy when I'm collaborating on a script. [iA Writer][ia-writer] is pretty, but I can't teach every new collaborator how to use [Markdown][]. When it comes to collaboration, the choice is between real-time editing (awful) or sending files back and forth (worse). There should be better options.
+
+To create a light plot, I recently discovered [Drafty][]. That worked pretty well for me. I've been doing a lot of CAD in [Fusion 360][fusion-360] – designing a mechanical clock from scratch. That's also required [LightBurn][] and [PrusaSlicer][]. I joined the local maker space for access to tools.
+
+### What would be your dream setup?
+
+1. A real good collaborative text editor for non-technical/creative writing.
+2. A full maker space within walking distance (I can walk to the pottery studio, so that's a good start)
+3. Let's go all in: good public transit, and a walkable city.
+4. Can I walk to the theater too?
+5. A universal basic income, so we're not all wasting our labor on one capitalist hype cycle after another.
+
+That ought to cover it. I don't need more hardware.
+
+[1password]: https://1password.com "Password management software for Mac OS X."
+[727-charging-station]: https://www.anker.com/products/a9126 "A 6-port power strip."
+[alfred]: https://www.alfredapp.com/ "A launcher app for the Mac."
+[arc.2]: https://arc.net/ "A web browser."
+[at4040]: https://www.audio-technica.com/world_map/cms/wired_mics/9b6aac05c5aca887/ "A condenser microphone."
+[bartender]: https://www.macbartender.com/ "A Mac tool for organising menu bar apps."
+[brio]: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/brio.html "A webcam."
+[coda]: https://panic.com/coda/ "A single-window HTML/web tool for the Mac."
+[creative-suite]: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html "A collection of design tools."
+[drafty]: https://drafty-app.com/ "CAD software."
+[dropbox]: https://www.dropbox.com/ "Online syncing and storage."
+[eleventy]: https://www.11ty.dev/ "A static site generator."
+[figma]: https://www.figma.com/ "A collaborative design prototype service."
+[flapjack]: https://fotodioxpro.com/products/fj-c700rsv "An LED light."
+[fusion-360]: http://web.archive.org/web/20221224070522/https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview "Cloud-based CAD/CAM software."
+[ia-writer]: https://ia.net/topics/ia-writer-for-mac "A full-screen writing tool for the Mac."
+[iterm2]: https://iterm2.com/ "An alternative terminal application for Mac OS X."
+[keynote]: https://www.apple.com/keynote/ "Presentation software for the Mac."
+[lightburn]: https://lightburnsoftware.com/ "Laser cutter software."
+[macbook-pro]: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/ "A laptop."
+[markdown]: https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/ "An email-like format for marking up text."
+[masto.host]: https://masto.host/ "Managed Mastodon hosting."
+[mastodon]: https://mastodon.social/about "A decentralised social network."
+[moonlander]: https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ "An ergonomic mechanical keyboard."
+[mx-master-3]: http://web.archive.org/web/20200818170656/https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/mx-master-3.910-005620.html "A wireless mouse."
+[mx-vertical]: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/mx-vertical-ergonomic-mouse.html "A vertical mouse."
+[obsidian]: https://obsidian.md/ "Note-taking software."
+[powerpoint]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/powerpoint "Presentation software."
+[prompter]: https://www.elgato.com/ww/en/p/prompter "A teleprompter device."
+[prusaslicer]: https://www.prusa3d.com/slic3r-prusa-edition/ "3D slicing softwre for 3D printers."
+[roost]: https://www.therooststand.com/ "A foldable laptop stand."
+[sass]: https://sass-lang.com/ "A syntax wrapper for CSS."
+[scarlett-solo]: http://web.archive.org/web/20230703171239/https://focusrite.com/en/audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-solo "A USB audio interface."
+[scrivener]: http://web.archive.org/web/20190626125457/http://www.literatureandlatte.com:80/scrivener.php? "A Mac text editor aimed at writers."
+[slack]: https://slack.com/intl/ja-jp/ "A collaboration service."
+[spotlight.3]: https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/products/presenters/spotlight-presentation-remote.910-004861.html "A presentation remote."
+[ts3-plus]: https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ "A Thunderbolt dock."
+[visual-studio-code]: https://code.visualstudio.com/ "A development IDE."
+[vivaldi]: https://vivaldi.com/ "A web browser."