Category: Aspiration

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 20, 202610:20 pm

Goodbye, Good Friend

Ten years ago, I happily purchased the desk seen in the Featured Image. All wood—no particle board—the thing anchored my home office until our daughter moved in with us a few months ago. I turned over the room to her, and she continued to use my desk (and damage the veneer with food stains; I never ate anything in my office).

But for a reason that will be thoroughly explained in a forthcoming post, we needed to make more space in the room. Something had to go, and I chose the desk for which there was no other place in our apartment. So, on Oct. 14, 2026, I put my beloved desk out in the alley for some scavenger to take. One of my neighbors helped carry it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 17, 202610:00 am

The Cats of University Heights: Cutter

Today marks the tenth anniversary of this series, which I hadn’t planned on going beyond 30 days. How many cats could there possibly be in a neighborhood dominated by dogs? Six-hundred-forty-eight profiles later, including this one, partly answers that question.

The project started during a period of eyesight recovery following cataracts surgery in both eyes and ongoing treatment for my retinas, which suffered from Macular Edema. My retinas are long ago healed, and implants replaced my clouded natural lenses. Practice became permanent, and the feline street shooting continued. I sit on substantive backlog of unpublished kitties that need attention.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 20269:54 pm

Star Trek Turns 60

OOn Sept. 8, 1966, Star Trek debuted on the NBC network in living color. The first episode that aired, “The Mantrap”, was the fifth shot. While the story, about a salt vampire, is rarely cited as one of the better episodes, I find it to be quite engaging. I wouldn’t get to watch Star Trek until early 1967 when accidentally stumbling upon “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (the second pilot, which sold the series), airing on the CBC station located in St. Johns, New Brunswick, Canada.

During my youth, local TV station WAGM, in Presque Isle, Maine, had the unique distinction of being three network affiliates: ABC, CBS, and NBC. WAGM was the only American broadcast TV station serving Maine’s largest, but sparsely populated, county, Aroostook, which spans about one-fifth of the state. WAGM didn’t air Star Trek; the program director chose a show from another network.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 20269:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Choppy

On Sept. 4, 2026, I stopped to chat with one of my neighbors as she walked her dog on leash and pushed a mesh carrier carrying a cat. Choppy is his given name.

I used Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/1.4, ISO 25, 1/359 sec, 23mm; 6:47 p.m. PDT,

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 3, 202610:17 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Gingersnap

This cat is where it needs to be: indoors. Two phenomena are playing out across Nextdoor this year: The overwhelming increase in missing cat posts and, similarly, the number of coyote sightings. Interestingly, this cottage […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20269:54 pm

That Girl

The Featured Image is one of my outtakes from San Diego Comic-Con 2026. On the first full day, I left the convention center and strolled over to the adjacent Hyatt Hotel in search of coffee. Back at the main venue, lines snaked seemingly forever at any Starbucks. I found something more manageable next door.

A surprising number of attendees carried portable fans to cool themselves. How odd. Inside temperature sure seemed comfortable enough to me. The young woman waited in line behind me.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 5, 20267:03 pm

Thinking About Mom

This photo of Mom, Linda Devoe, is my favorite of her. The finger, the smile, the wink truly capture her joyful spirit. What was the occasion? Her youngest daughter’s wedding, of course.

I previously shared the portrait about two weeks after she passed away on this date (August 5) in 2017. I used iPhone 7 Plus to make that digital copy of the print. Today: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. I cropped and edited the Featured Image on the smartphone, too.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 2, 202610:45 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day Four, Part Three

The greatest pop culture event concluded one week ago today—and I was there for the second time in four days and for the first Sunday since 2017. I had been perennially unlucky gaining access to buy passes during one of two public registration sessions. After long hiatus, I purchased passes for Thursday and Sunday.

Quick recap: Day One (July 23, 2026); Day Four (July 26) Part One and Part Two. I primarily used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens, supported by Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for my first SDCC expedition. For the other day, I used the camera exclusively with NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE) lens, which proved to be exceptional choice.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 30, 202610:08 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day Four, Part Two

This is the second of three installments from SDCC 2026. The first is dated yesterday. I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE) lens to capture the entire set of photos, and I am overall quite satisfied with them.

I strayed from the more commonplace approach of stopping cosplayers and taking portraits, choosing instead a more documentary style that is more like being there. The Zf produced more contrasty auto-results than I am unaccustomed to—and I like it, so much so that most of the photos are presented straight from the camera (well, after RAW to JPEG conversion).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 202610:52 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day Four, Part One

Sunday, July 26, 2026, may be my last Comic-Con sojourn. I suffered a nine-year gap in attendance for inability to secure passes. Even then, the one-day, ah, golden ticket for 2017 was acquired indirectly. Twenty-sixteen marks my last participation from passes purchased through one of the official registration days. People enter the online purchase queue randomly, and I had been unquestionably unlucky. That is until November 2025 Open Registration, when I luckily secured Thursday and Sunday passes for this year’s SDCC. I can’t be sure to get any again.

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 was a last chance to brandish a camera during the, arguably, greatest pop culture event on Earth. I did okay shooting Day One, using Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens. However, overall, I was dissatisfied with the photos. For Day 4, I attached the NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE) lens, which I had never before used. The simple, and affordable (currently $309.95 direct from Nikon USA), lens delivered. Take that, pricey Leica Summilux!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 24, 202610:33 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day One

For my sojourn to the country’s premiere pop-culture event, I returned following a nine-year hiatus—and not by choice. Every attempt to secure passes failed until finally I had opportunity to buy two—for Thursday and Sunday—during Open Registration, November 2025. SDCC runs for four full days plus the Preview Night. As I write, Day Two wraps up at San Diego Convention Center.

I had considered several options for documenting the event, including video interviews. That was a strategy more workable for full event attendance. I chose instead to keep things simple and shoot photos. My SDCC EDC: Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens; Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 23, 20269:50 pm

Return to Comic-Con

What surprises me about San Diego Comic-Con is how little—and yet how much—has changed since my last attendance for a single day in 2017. Virtually every venue was where I remember: Disability services in area A. Major celebrity panels in Ballroom 20 and Hall H. Layout of the exhibitor floor, with artists at the end nearest Hall H and smaller seller booths and gameplay nearer to area A. Everything in the middle, from big Hollywood studios to booksellers, all where they have been previously.

The same can be said for the upstairs pavilion and meeting rooms. In the Mezzanine, nothing really changed. Board games are in the same meeting rooms, and the Medieval fighters gather and joust where they always have, for example.