diff --git a/utils/conversions.go b/utils/conversions.go
index f8b1542b..133ddb5d 100644
--- a/utils/conversions.go
+++ b/utils/conversions.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 // MapToStrs takes a map of interfaces and returns a map of strings
 func MapToStrs(aMap map[string]interface{}) map[string]string {
-	results := make(map[string]string)
+	results := make(map[string]string, len(aMap))
 
 	for key, val := range aMap {
 		results[key] = val.(string)
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ func MapToStrs(aMap map[string]interface{}) map[string]string {
 
 // ToInts takes a slice of interfaces and returns a slice of ints
 func ToInts(slice []interface{}) []int {
-	results := []int{}
+	results := make([]int, len(slice))
 
-	for _, val := range slice {
-		results = append(results, val.(int))
+	for i, val := range slice {
+		results[i] = val.(int)
 	}
 
 	return results
@@ -32,14 +32,14 @@ func ToInts(slice []interface{}) []int {
 
 // ToStrs takes a slice of interfaces and returns a slice of strings
 func ToStrs(slice []interface{}) []string {
-	results := []string{}
+	results := make([]string, len(slice))
 
-	for _, val := range slice {
-		switch val.(type) {
+	for i, val := range slice {
+		switch t := val.(type) {
 		case int:
-			results = append(results, strconv.Itoa(val.(int)))
+			results[i] = strconv.Itoa(t)
 		case string:
-			results = append(results, val.(string))
+			results[i] = t
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/utils/email_addresses.go b/utils/email_addresses.go
index e6273f63..e1ca846f 100644
--- a/utils/email_addresses.go
+++ b/utils/email_addresses.go
@@ -25,10 +25,10 @@ func NameFromEmail(email string) string {
 //    > []string{"Test_user", "Other_user"}
 //
 func NamesFromEmails(emails []string) []string {
-	names := []string{}
+	names := make([]string, len(emails))
 
-	for _, email := range emails {
-		names = append(names, NameFromEmail(email))
+	for i, email := range emails {
+		names[i] = NameFromEmail(email)
 	}
 
 	return names
diff --git a/utils/homedir.go b/utils/homedir.go
index 9a67a7b0..5a5d0fd2 100644
--- a/utils/homedir.go
+++ b/utils/homedir.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ package utils
 
 import (
 	"errors"
-	"os/user"
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 )
 
@@ -37,14 +37,5 @@ func ExpandHomeDir(path string) (string, error) {
 // Home returns the home directory for the executing user.
 // An error is returned if a home directory cannot be detected.
 func Home() (string, error) {
-	currentUser, err := user.Current()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-
-	if currentUser.HomeDir == "" {
-		return "", errors.New("cannot find user-specific home dir")
-	}
-
-	return currentUser.HomeDir, nil
+	return os.UserHomeDir()
 }
diff --git a/utils/utils.go b/utils/utils.go
index d5bf07a9..50983e86 100644
--- a/utils/utils.go
+++ b/utils/utils.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package utils
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os/exec"
@@ -48,26 +47,14 @@ func ExecuteCommand(cmd *exec.Cmd) string {
 		return ""
 	}
 
-	stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%v\n", err)
+	buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+	cmd.Stdout = buf
+
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		return err.Error()
 	}
 
-	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%v\n", err)
-	}
-
-	var str string
-	if b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(stdout); err == nil {
-		str += string(b)
-	}
-
-	err = cmd.Wait()
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%v\n", err)
-	}
-
-	return str
+	return buf.String()
 }
 
 // FindMatch takes a regex pattern and a string of data and returns back all the matches
@@ -130,21 +117,8 @@ func ReadFileBytes(filePath string) ([]byte, error) {
 
 // ParseJson is a standard JSON reader from text
 func ParseJson(obj interface{}, text io.Reader) error {
-	jsonStream, err := ioutil.ReadAll(text)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	decoder := json.NewDecoder(bytes.NewReader(jsonStream))
-
-	for {
-		if err := decoder.Decode(obj); err == io.EOF {
-			break
-		} else if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	return nil
+	d := json.NewDecoder(text)
+	return d.Decode(obj)
 }
 
 // CalculateDimensions reads the module dimensions from the module and global config. The border is already substracted.