On Nov. 5, 2016, my wife Anne and I walked down Adams Ave. and back to Monroe by way of Arizona, where we spotted a kitty who receives my nickname Chill. We had crossed Texas […]
Author: Joe Wilcox
The Cats of University Heights: Bell
One month ago, I began this series depicting furballs roaming around my neighborhood. The postings will continue but at slower pace than one-a-day. Hell, how many domestic cats can there be here? I don’t expect […]
The Cats of University Heights: Stalker
Where are all these kitties coming from? For years, I hardly spotted any in the neighborhood, and now they appear quite unexpectedly—as did Stalker (my name for him) on Nov. 12, 2016. My wife and […]
New MacBook Pro is ‘Wow’
A few hours after setting up 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, I can tell you who it’s for. Surely you wondered, and maybe you even considered this pricey portable to be an insane release. Mea culpa, for thinking something similar. But no longer. The laptop lives up to my early expectations—and more.
I ordered new MBP, after serious deliberation, the day Apple announced it; Oct. 27, 2016. Better to get into the front of queue before backorders begin and cancel later should there be second thoughts. Or third. Or fourth. I had them. Often. But in the end took the risk. Apple Store indicated my order would arrive sometime between November 17 and 24. However, after shipping on the 13th, delivery date revised to the 16th but the beauty arrived today. Oh La La.
The Cats of University Heights: Black and White
I am amazed to discover new neighborhood cats, nearly a month into posting this series—particularly along regular walk routes. I spotted today’s feline, Nov. 11, 2016, on Cleveland down from Meade. The Featured Image is […]
The Cats of University Heights: Betty
Some furballs lap up the attention, which I’m happy to give. But their need can really muck up the portraiture, which is the case with Betty (her real name), whom I visited on Nov. 11, 2016 in the alley behind North Avenue up from Madison.
Among the 10 photos shot with Fujifilm X-T1 and Fujinon XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens, this is the only truly usable one; it’s marginal, but I want Betty to participate in the series. Featured Image vitals: f/4.5, ISO 6400, 1/58 sec, 21.4mm. I cropped and auto-tuned White Balance in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The JPEG is converted from RAW. I captured the moment at 5:01 p.m. PST, about 12 minutes after sunset.
Not Their President
While walking back from the hospital, where my father-in-law will spend the night, I met a group of “dump Trump” protesters rallying down University Ave. where it crosses highway 163; in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood. […]
The Cats of University Heights: Mini
We begin the first of three cat portraits shot on Veteran’s Day (November 11) afternoon. Look closely and you will see this kitty is missing one front leg. Mini (real name) gets around surprisingly fast, and […]
Facebook, Mainstream Media, Confirmation Bias, and the Trump Trauma
Lots of Americans, like those out here in liberal-leaning, Hillary Clinton-supporting California, are suffering what I call the “Trump Trauma”. They were sure she would win, easily, and are shocked at the unexpected outcome. It’s all disbelief, like someone suddenly died without warning. They were unprepared and now mourn the death of the Clinton candidacy. How could this come to be?
During our pre-election Frak That! podcast, on Nov. 7, 2016, cohost Randall Kennedy and I discussed the social media election. He expressed surprise at the “speed with which information travels”. I interrupted: “The speed with which disinformation travels now”, later describing social media interaction as something like “Borg sentience”, in context of phenomenon “confirmation bias“. The group mind—perpetuated by Facebook, news media reports, and political polls over-weighted to fit the narrative booming from the Echo Chamber—led many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to misguided expectations about whom would be President-elect.
The Cats of University Heights: Skit
Yesterday’s kitty must be related to Skit (not her real name but chosen for skittish behavior). Perhaps they’re littermates, or today’s furball is the kitten; she’s not exactly the biggest beast on the block. Their […]
The Cats of University Heights: Lurks
Sometimes the best cat pic isn’t the one you want but what you can get. Yesterday afternoon, I walked through a new part of the neighborhood, around Arch and Meade streets, looking for furballs to […]
The Cats of University Heights: Scout
On a March 22, 2016 Campus and North Avenues Cat Walk, I spotted Scout—well, my nickname for him. I’ve looked for, but not seen, the furball since. I shot both photos at 6:12 p.m. PDT using the Fujifilm X-T1 and Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens. Another capture was botched, despite best composition of the three, because the focal point fell on the grass instead of the animal.
My guess, looking at the colorization of the images, I used the camera’s Classic Chrome Film Simulation mode, which is a delight. If I rightly recall, Fuji introduced the filter first for the X100T, which I owned before buying the X-T1 in July 2015.