Take 5, D.

Week Notes, 2025-07-20

Weekly Features from July 14th - July 20th:

🏊🏻 I made a note last week about a rash which developed after a swim late Friday 07-11. The rash only appeared on my lower legs, in spite of me having all but my head under water. By Wednesday 07-16, the rash still persisted and OTC hydrocortisone was ineffective at treating it, so I visited a nearby Urgent Care for an examination. I ended up visiting two Urgent Care centers, because the first one thought the rash was...scabies‽‽!‽?? The second center, operated by my employer, although located much further away than the first, provided a more logical diagnosis of an allergic reaction to chemicals in the pool. Thanks to the prescription of a steroid cream, about 80% or so of the rash has faded away as of today. I still have a couple spots on my left leg that itched the worst, so I suspect these spots will still be around next week. Fortunately, there's no more itching.

🎨 Perhaps it was boredom or something else, but this week I spent a few days redesigning the blog, then refining the changes I made. If you're interested, you can read the details in "House(k)eeping."

🖼️ Pixea has been the photo viewer I've used on my Mac ever since I made the switch over from Windows. On that platform, I had been using FastPictureViewer, which scratched a couple important itches for me: first, there was a minimal interface that didn't get in the way of the photos; second, I could use a ratings system that could be imported into my photo editing app as an XMP sidecar. Pixea emulates the minimal interface of FPV, but it doesn't have a ratings system, so I'll repeat a question I asked on Reddit not too long ago: is there a "perfect" photo viewing app on macOS that has both a minimal interface and supports XMP sidecars?

🌄 L. and I have verbally committed to some vacation ideas for the remainder of 2025. We will likely go back to Iowa in October for my college's Homecoming, then go to New Mexico and El Paso, TX in November. I'd like to squeeze in a solo Chicago trip before October, though I'm not sure if that's possible.

💭 A vague comment/observation: Sometimes you encounter a name online that you haven't seen in years, which makes you remember why there was that gap in time. You remember that things didn't end well, as they lashed out at members of your community for an extended length. You remember that hurt people often hurt people, but that doesn't excuse their behavior. You hear that their life has improved, and they have grown and healed from the last time. You are glad for this improvement, but that gladness has a limit. They can have a better life "over there," and that might just be the best thing for you, for them, and for the community you once shared.

Other Things to Note from The Week That Was:

💫 Creating:

🏥 Health:

🎧 Listening:

🗄Organizing:

📖 Reading:

🌾 Socializing:

🧪 Testing:

📺 Watching:

🗃️ Work:

#Documentation #Life #Metablogging #WeeklyNotes