Alex Catalano

Cartoon of a man with a backpack sitting on a bench, looking out over a lake and mountains
2025-11-20 [mode: quiet]

Still

Still sick today. Watched old episodes of Unwrapped — the kind of background TV that feels like childhood. The plumbers are finally finished, and the house was quiet for the first time in days. This image matched the feeling: sitting with a view, not moving much, just taking in whatever's in front of me.

[domain: day]

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A home with bright fall colors and warm afternoon light
2025-11-19 [mode: down]

Fall House

Sick day. Went to the clinic and they sent me home to rest. The plumbing project wrapped up, and I watched free TV for most of the day — the commercials felt a little like being a kid again. This fall house caught my eye tonight: calm, steady, simple.

[domain: home]

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A narrow, cozy living room with a small couch, table, and soft window light
2025-11-18 [mode: down]

Small Room

A simple, clean room looked ideal today — sick at home, construction noise in the background.

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2025-11-17 [mode: down]

Sick Day

Plumbing construction at the house on the day I got sick was an awful coincidence. 🤧

[domain: home]

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Lineup of varied arrowheads displayed on a wooden surface
2025-11-16 [mode: alone]

Arrowheads

Carolina left today. I napped beside her before she drove off — then spent the rest of the day wrestling with silence.

I've been prototyping arrowhead shapes in 3D — LEDs, new materials, different uses. This variation lineup designs caught my eye today. Clean geometry, clear intent. A reminder of form evolution.

[domain: tech]

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Outstretched red arm pointing a green laser at Saturn during a stargazing event
2025-11-15 [mode: observation]

Laser Pointer / Saturn

A full day of socializing — UF’s Wildlife Ecology family event by day, and then an open house at Rosemary Hill Observatory.

50 minutes outside Gainesville, it’s one of the darkest places in Florida. We saw Saturn’s rings standing up like a white vertical line. Starlink shimmered red on the horizon. We misidentified the ISS. We saw a white dwarf 2,000 light years away.

The most delicate signal of all: one shooting star.

[domain: place]

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Gummy worms crawling around and eating a skull like snakes.
2025-11-14 [mode: patience]

Gummy Skull

A day of strange digestion — small bits of hurry up and wait. A milestone reached. In-person meetings. Family conversations. The warm drift of a breezy fall Friday on campus.

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Stoplight with flower blooms instead of lights
2025-11-13 [mode: nav]

Signal

A flower-filled traffic light feels like a reminder to pause, breathe, and try again tomorrow.

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Downtown Portland seen through red autumn leaves
2025-11-12 [mode: admiration]

Downtown PDX

🍁 Red leaves, downtown Portland 🏔️

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Black and white image of a girl wearing mock headphones made of sticks, string, and stone.
2025-11-11 [mode: listen]

Sticks and String

Today was Veterans Day. I slept in, cleaned the house a little, and didn’t do much else. This image has nothing to do with that — and still, it stuck with me.

She put some sticks and stones and string together. She’s trying to listen, but the tools are primitive. She’s suspended between play and discomfort. She’s improvising connection.

It’s harder than it looks to make something look this simple. And there’s a very thin line between simple and nothing.

[domain: connection]

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BMO lay exploded from the show Adventure Time: Distant Lands
2025-11-10 [mode: tinker]

Distant Lands

BMO always bounces back 💔 Opened Tinkercad and created a new circuit. I have a physical arduino kit somewhere too. But my house is a little disheveled and doesn't have a dedicated maker space. So for now the Alex Studio is digital.

[domain: tech]

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My brother, mom and niece in Tampa
2025-11-09 [mode: travel]

The Koi Pond

I drove to Tampa to meet my niece for the first time. We lay on the living room floor and watched her wiggle, make faces, breathe. Later, I stepped outside and found the pond my brother built — the koi fish circling calmly in the clear water.

[domain: family]

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UF's Rosemary Hill Observatory under early night sky
2025-11-08 [mode: stargazing]

Rosemary Hill Observatory

Drove to the country for an observatory event. It was canceled. But the drive was nice and the countryside was pretty.

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Writing desk lit by an amber light
2025-11-07 [mode: craft]

Writing Desk

I want a workspace that makes me want to sit down.

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