Category: Living

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 13, 20188:33 pm

Apple’s Top-Tier iPhone Price is a Rainy Day

Trendsetter Apple has done it again! Just when you thought there was no innovation left in the smartphone market, CEO Tim Cook delivers the wildly price-disruptive iPhone XS Max 512GB for heart-stopping $1,449. Smartphones simply don’t cost this much. What other company would stoop so low by reaching so high? This thing is a monster with its 6.5-inch (nearly) edge-to-edge display; 2688 x 1242 resolution at 458 pixels per inch (less than Google Pixel 2 XL at 2880 x 1440 and 538 ppi); and dual-SIM support (so telemarketers can ring more often on two numbers).

For anyone whose hands aren’t too small to hold the new thang, iPhone XS Max is sure to draw maximum attention, letting all the little people know just how big deal you are. Praise be Mr. Cook. Only the privileged can afford this beautiful, beastly slab, short of taking out a second mortgage or cashing in their 401K.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 201810:28 am

The Cats of University Heights: Shine

On Aug. 26, 2018, while walking home from the grocery store, my wife and I passed by what is the series‘ thirty-first window watcher looking out on Tyler Street. While I shot several portraits using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, Annie urged me to move along. Someone working behind a backyard closed fence on the property poked out several times—and unhappily, she said. Rudely, I held fast until capturing the moment.

Vitals for the Featured Image: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 50mm; 9:50 a.m. PDT. I nickname the pretty putty Shine for no particular reason other than it feels appropriate.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 20186:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Honey

Something like nine months ago, I caught fleeting glimpse of a calico going into an apartment courtyard, up to a second floor landing and being let inside a door. I missed the moment, which returned on Aug. 16, 2018. The shorthair hung outside the building—and not visibly for just the one day that week but several. I seized the first opportunity, as my wife and I carried home groceries, and let alone the kitty on the others.

Earning nickname Honey, the beastie is the twenty-seventh sighted along Alabama Street. As we greeted, and I snapped portraits, No. 11, Cal, looked down from an open window. I shot the Featured Image and the first companion using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 50mm; 9:12 a.m. PDT. The other is same except for 1/250 shutter speed and 9:10 a.m. timestamp.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20188:58 am

The Cats of University Heights: Olive

The first caturday of the month begins with the twenty-sixth feline seen on Alabama. I know, the number seems endless. Out of the 219 profiles to date, 12 percent are from the one street—and you will meet yet another next. During a twilight walk, I spotted a second cat on the same property—between Howard and Polk—chowing supper; no photo was possible with my phone for distance and darkness; expect to read about that beastie someday.

I captured the Featured Image, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, through a gated fence, which presence greatly determined composition of cropping in post-production. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50 mm; 11:33 a.m. PDT, Aug. 14, 2018.

Critters by Joe WilcoxAug 31, 20182:30 pm

My Cat Wants to Know: What’s All This Buzz About Pixel 3/XL?

Like unwanted mushrooms popping up after rain, Pixel 3/XL rumors are everywhere. Google gets gravy from all the free fan- and blog-post hype. Am I imagining, or is there even more buzz than for the next iPhone(s), which presumably comes soon (Apple sent out invites yesterday for a September 12 product event).

Buzz is the measure of interest—and while iPhone has commanding market share, Pixel’s mindshare is formidable. Someone tell me: Is Google’s new device really going to be that good? The leaked photos aren’t that inspiring with respect to design (little is different). Or perhaps expectations about iPhone X (and its companions) are low—and maybe for good reason.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 27, 20182:11 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Night

In the same multi-unit property where live Luci, Maeven, and Peso—all of which get some outdoor time—another feline frequently looks through a screen. I nickname the blackie Night for color and, to be ironic, seeing her (or him) during daylight. Night has the distinction of being the thirtieth window watcher featured since the series started in October 2016.

Rarely a day passes that I don’t see Night when walking by the property. Of the several portraits taken over several weeks, I chose as Featured Image one captured, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, on Aug. 3, 2018 at 6:34 p.m. PDT. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 26, 20186:18 pm

Pixel Putty-Tat

The cat tree stands next to my desk in the office so that our two kitties can look out the expansive window onto the street. While working on my laptop late this afternoon, I saw […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 22, 201812:26 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Amazon

What is it with kitties and boxes, whether within or on top? I must ask after seeing a Tuxedo sleeping on a cardboard carrier early evening, yesterday, along Louisiana between El Cajon and Meade. If you recognize the logo, the nickname for the shorthair is obvious—or should I have chosen Prime instead, playing off location and retailer? For the first three portraits, which I haven’t processed, Amazon slept. But for the fourth, the cat turned up his (or her) head after the shutter clicked.

I spent an unusually long time editing the Featured Image, captured at 6:55 p.m. PDT using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. The setting sun shone on the wall above and shadows cast on Amazon below. In post-production, I drew out the highlights and whites, while desaturating color— changes fitting for setting mood (given time of day) and location. I chose not to boost exposure but preserve natural light of dusk. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/125 sec, 50mm (EXIF wrongly states f/3.4). Crop is about 100 percent.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 19, 201811:21 am

The Cats of University Heights: Poise

Along New Jersey, where it intersects Meade and Monroe before Arch and parallel to Maryland, I met a fine tabby on June 30, 2017. I dscovered several portraits of the cat nicknamed Poise, like recently-profiled Prim, when archiving data from 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Touchbar. About two months ago, Google Pixelbook replaced the Apple as my primary PC.

I captured the Featured Image at 7:33 p.m. PDT, using Leica Q. Vitals: f/3.2, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 17, 20188:24 pm

Finally! A Good Use for the Shopping Mall’s Vacant Anchor Store

Today’s Westfield Mission Valley visit offered up something even more surprising than seeing our first FlixBus. My wife suggested walking around the perimeter of the empty store where once was Macy’s—so we could be more in shade than sun. But turning from the parking lot side back towards the mall proper, we encountered police tape blocking off the area in shadows. Then we came upon the sign that is the Featured Image.

Think of all that empty square-footage an anchor department store leaves behind for SWAT to do God knows what—and he ain’t telling me—to prepare for incidents involving terrorists, Twitter rumormongers, or Trump-haters (of which there are too many in San Diego). Perhaps the police practiced hostage negotiation and rescue tactics. But all seemed quiet when Anne and I meandered by.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 17, 20187:09 pm

‘On the Bus, That’s Where We’re Ridin’

I feel the generational gap, after spotting my first FlixBus this afternoon. Half-decade ago, I would have written about the company’s start and followed its progress—like so many other wannabe tech and social-behavior disruptors seeking to win over Millennial minds and money.

Bright, bold green and orange buses, mobile app to schedule or pay, on-board Wi-Fi, and budget-friendly pricing scream cool, cost-consciousness for the connected generation—among which car ownership is more Scarlet Letter than merit badge of adulthood.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 16, 20182:09 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Nala

As I turned down Massachusetts from Madison going towards Golden Gate, a pretty tabby looked up from the sidewalk, on Aug. 12, 2018. I crouched down with Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, snapping several portraits while slowly approaching. Then she turned towards the adjacent house, but not because of my closing in. Someone came out the front door, through which she squeezed by.

The young man standing on the step was movie star handsome—and I almost said so. But post-#metoo, compliments that could be misconstrued are better left unsaid. If he isn’t an actor or model, Hollywood let getaway a young Robert Redford. Explaining that I had just taken a photo of the cat, I asked her name. “Nala”, he answered—and added not seeing my recognition of the meaning: “Like in the Lion King”. I pretended, by affirming “yeah”, to have understood. Shameless liar I am, but polite doing so.