A Geek Goes Flying

This little $9 case is the perfect thing to throw in a tote bag and keep all the expensive little nick-knacks from wandering off. Mine’s holding: AirPods Pro 2 in their charging case  Apple Pencil (I still have Lightning iPads, so...) USB C to Pencil Adapter Stylus pen and a rOtring disposable USB C to C data + power cable (also useful for, e.g., side loading my Kindle on the go) USB C to Lightning adapter Short USB A to USB C cable USB A to USB C adapter USB C to USB A adapter USB C to micro USB B adapter Watch charger

I have an old (9 years?!) iPad Pro 9.7" that’s still in immaculate condition. It runs a little slowly these days, and the battery life has degraded, but for getting productive stuff done during random intervals during the day, it’s still a contender. I had it equipped with a Zagg keyboard case ‡ , but after about 2 years of light use, the hinge split on the keyboard part, and I figured it was time to try something else. Priced at $149 when it was a current SKU , the Apple Smart Keyboard for this old iPad is now available for $35 “renewed” on Amazon . Attaching to the “Smart Connector,” it doesn’t require a separate battery to be charged, it doesn’t rely on flaky Bluetooth, and like most Apple tech, it ‘just works.’™ The feel takes a  lot  of getting used to (it’s not a typical “chicklet” keyboard, it’s ... weird ...), but once you do it’s quite serviceable. It folds up to prop up the iPad in landscape orientation at a recline, that makes it a decent writing-on-the-go platform,...

The Audeze MM-100 comes with only a “2.5m (8.2ft) Single ended 3.5mm TRS to 1/4" TRS” cable ( seen here ). There are various ways to set it up to run balanced ( detailed in this video ), including, e.g., something like this $113 Fostex ET-RPXLR OFC Balanced Cable for T60RP Studio Headphones, XLR Connector (after apparently partially frying my Magnius amp by disconnecting a 4.4 mm cable from an XLR4 adapter while the amp was powered on ‡ , I’m leery of the multi-part options Zadius Tech links to). But the Hart Audio Cables modular system seems to be the most elegant and flexible, and not too dear. I’ve started with: Hart HC-2 cable and interconnect Multi-Kit with Hard Case HC-2: 3.5mm TRRS Balanced Modular Headphone Cable , a 3.5 mm TRRS connector for the headphones terminating in a Mini XLR 4-pin connector that works with Hart’s interconnects ; and Custom Hybrid Metallic Multi-Kit With Hard Case , which (roughly) includes: IC-2-T Threaded 3.5mm TRS + screw-on 1/4" adapter ...