Week In Review 2026-08-29
This update covers Friday 08-21-26 through Saturday 08-29-26 (icon Glossary, if needed).
LIFE
- 🈁 A lot of messes cleaned themselves up, so this week was less stressful than the one before.
- 📕 A.’s health still isn’t great, but his situation is less dire than what many of us had initially heard. It's still not great, though.
- 📜 Last week’s work dramas mitigated themselves, both for myself and for L. In my case, I actually wasn’t on-call last weekend! My work calendar had the correct schedule even though my personal calendar didn't, and I was likely too frazzled to coordinate the two. I just assumed the personal calendar had the correct schedule, since I view it more than my work calendar. As for L.’s situation, there is potentially a way out from the messes created by others then dumped upon her. It's possible this way out could lead to further developments down the line, but there is little sense in thinking too far ahead here. She has to reach the way-out point first before anything else can come from it.
- ❤️🩹 Only two 7-minute workouts this week, again. Neighborhood walk on Monday 08-24. Walked around our complex on Friday 08-28.
EXPLORE
- 🎨 This was a catch-up week, both physically and emotionally. I had little energy for creative endeavors, so this update will suffice.
- 🔬 Updated to Developer Beta 7 of iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate on Monday 08-24. Uninstalled Unforgetful (iOS) on Tuesday 08-25, after playing with it for a bit, then realizing it was a duplicate of Reminders that added little to that preinstalled app's features.
- 🪟 Made the drive to Iowa City late Friday 08-21. Saw A. for a few hours on Saturday 08-22, then ate lunch in downtown Iowa City in the midst of a student pub crawl. Drove to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, and wandered about for a couple hours. Met two college friends for dinner in downtown Iowa City, now with hundreds of students crawling around the pubs. Left downtown and went towards a more mature group of people away from the young students, which included more college friends who also arrived in Iowa City to visit A. Stayed up until midnight with these folks, then went back to our hotel. Drove back to STL on Sunday 08-23. Spent most of the week recovering from the trip, with limited excursions here and there.
MEDIA
- 📰 ‘Surreal’: Illinois’ only International Dark Sky Place attracts tourists worldwide, Capitol News Illinois. The land east of I-57 in Illinois is often a mystery to me, as I have had few reasons to explore this part of my original home state. Roughly located between Rantoul and Paxton lies the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, which has the distinction of holding this state’s only International Dark Sky Park. Illinois is one up on Missouri, which has no parks with this designation. Additionally, the Illinois park has the advantage of being relatively easy to reach by car. Perhaps a road trip is in my future…?
- 📰 I No Longer Care, Happily Imperfect. As my 55th birthday rapidly approaches, I feel this article deep within my aging bones. Gordon reflects more upon how he can care more about fewer things, versus having the feeling of spreading yourself too thin to care for things that can never reciprocate. There’s also the confidence gained with wisdom that helps you winnow down the things you care for, and what feels worthwhile for your life. Shortcuts to obtain this wisdom won’t work here; instead, only lives that are lived and experiences that are gained will count.
- 📰 Monument honouring steadfast Republican Moss Twomey to be unveiled in Cork, EchoLive.ie. Thanks to my father’s marriage in 1981, I can claim some family linkage to the man being commemorated in Cork. Moss Twomey is the uncle and namesake of my (step)grandfather, who himself wasn’t my longest-lived grandfather, but instead was the grandfather whose love and support mattered the most in my life. I include the (step) part to be completely accurate, but that part of his identity is as silent as the E in “breathe.” He’s my grandfather; therefore, the man being recognized is his uncle and my great-granduncle.
- 🎬 I Found the Creepiest Train Station Entry in Tokyo like a Ghost House | Kokudō Station, travelgeek. A train station from before WW2, which survived the Allied bombings and has been unmanned since 1971, is featured in this video. The train line serving this station also stops by various plants along Yokohama Bay, including one branch whose terminus ends at a Toshiba plant for the sole use of its employees. It’s not a glamorous train line, but it serves a crucial purpose for workers needing transportation to and from their jobs.
- 🎬 RA.1052 The Bug, Resident Advisor. The brown note may or may not exist, but if it does, I can easily imagine it being produced by The Bug either by himself or in a DJ set. Luxuriate in the depths of bass that may be felt in the Mariana Trench.
- 🎬 When SpaceX Does Trains | Trainsatlantic 5, Trainsatlantic. Justin Rozniak from Well There’s Your Problem reaches his final(?) form with a train-centric podcast featuring frequent WTYP and Trashfuture guest Gareth Dennis. Discussions of railroad history on either side of the Atlantic, examinations of specific train stations, and current rail-related news can be found here. In a shock you may not have seen coming, these podcasts are quite short and run less than ONE hour!
WORK
- 🏥 I felt embarrassed for not getting my on-call dates right, as well as whipping up my co-workers to cover my tracks while in transit. Apologies were offered early and often on Monday 08-24, though that was the lowlight of my work week. I attended some BCA and UCC meetings, worked on more of the usual round of tickets, and prepared myself for actually being on-call starting at 5 PM on Thursday 08-27. My new work computer was tied up all day on Thursday 08-27 with installations to match my old computer, so I alternated my first night on-call between two laptops. I made plans to drop off my old laptop next week, then settled in for a weekend of being on-call.
OTHER
- 🗣️ While we were in Iowa City, the catalytic converter on L.’s car was stolen! Her mid-2010s Toyota Prius is a popular model for converter theft, and it appears that over last weekend, thieves targeted our apartment complex. She will be driving a loaner EV while her car finishes its repairs sometime next week.
NEXT
- 🔮 Medical study is over, and I now have around $500 for my efforts. Time to buy a 35mm film SLR, as if it were the 80s and 90s all over again!
PICTURE
- 📸 Last month was the 25th anniversary of a family trip to Ireland. I had overlooked this occasion due to all the activities around my mother’s burial, but with that family commemoration happening next month, I figured it was time to revisit my photos from July 2001. The Castle at Kylemore Abbey can be found in Connemara, County Galway in the far west of Ireland, where you’ll hear much more Irish Gaelic spoken than English.
