On the afternoon of June 25, 2016, as I walked by the local elementary school located at Campus Ave. and Meade, a friendly feline popped out of the bushes demanding attention. Frisky is my name […]
Category: Living
Our Virtual Reality Future is Bigger Than We Think
A a general rule I never connect to public WiFi networks, which is fine except when attending an event at a hotel ballroom where T-Mobile cellular is like an apparition dancing around a Halloween grave. So as Wendell Brooks, CEO of Intel Capital, begins his speech, I sit typing narrative offline rather than tweeting live. There’s irony, I suppose, reporting old style, about investments in new innovations.
Welcome to the trials and travails of the Intel Capital Global Summit, which kicks off today and goes through October 26 here in San Diego. Looking at the lineup, I expect to hear about newfangled tech that would make news reporting so much easier if available—although 4G cellular data would be good enough right now.
The Cats of University Heights: Chipper
With some furballs there are second chances. I first spotted Chipper on Sept. 24, 2016 along the canyon-side of Campus Ave. where it meets Madison. But the three photos taken around 7:03 p.m. PDT disappointed—in part […]
The Cats of University Heights: White
As explained yesterday, for weeks I walked down North Ave., looking to get a good shot of The Colonel. On Sept. 25, 2016, at 7:48 a.m., in his yard I spotted a stranger, whom I […]
The Cats of University Heights: The Colonel
Easily the handsomest street roamer in my neighborhood is The Colonel—and, yes, that’s his name. I spotted the furball six weeks or so ago, meeting his husband-and-wife owners at the same time. East Coasters, like me. Even better: New Yorkers. That NYC attitude and frankness is so refreshing! Love it! They’re also renters, but a house with their first lawn ever.
Back East, The Colonel was an indoor pet, who spends more time outdoors now that he is a Californian. (Year is long enough to establish residency, right?) The cat doesn’t roam too far from home but moves about enough to have lost weight.
The Cats of University Heights: Biscuit
Felines are territorial beasts, so I am surprised whenever seeing two traversing the same space. Yesterday, we met Skull, and comparing photos you will see Biscuit (my made-up name) stands on the same ledge in […]
The Cats of University Heights: Skull
This summer I started a daily walking ritual—typically in the morning before beginning to meet the day’s demands. Recently, I often will see a black cat in the yard next to the Butterfly House, which […]
The Cats of University Heights: Woo
Woo, who resides among apartments off Park Blvd. near Meade, is a fixture. I’ve seen her, and a littermate, around the same courtyard for years. Not nearly as long as I have lived in University Heights but definitely for a good half-decade. But this summer into autumn, though, she is alone—and I wonder about the other. (I later learned that Woo’s sister was mauled by a dog, leading to her death.)
Google’s Android auto-upload photo feature saved these captures; I can find no digital hard copies anywhere. For about 28 days in autumn 2013, I owned the Moto X Developer Edition before returning for refund. I praised the camera for shooting what the eye sees, which wasn’t enough to offset huge variances in image quality, depending on lighting. I captured the calico using Moto X on October 15th three years ago. If not for Cloud backup, the pics would be lost.
The Cats of University Heights: Roly Poly
Meet the second feline featured in this limited series. From Scruffy we go to Roly Poly (real name unknown). He and I first crossed paths on July 8, 2016 at 6:20 p.m. PDT a few meters onto Cleveland Ave. where it meets Monroe. He couldn’t stay still for long—moving from rolling around on the sidewalk to pestering a black cat meowing and growling on the other side of a hedge to lying flat. He preoccupied most of the time tormenting the hidden beast that I occasionally could see behind the brush.
I shot Roly’s portrait, the Featured Image, using iPhone 6s Plus. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 32, 1/120 sec, 4.15mm.
The Cats of University Heights: Scruffy
I begin a new series that ends when the photos are all used: The Cats of University Heights. The number of feline sightings in my San Diego neighborhood is quite surprising, and I shoot them […]
Patriot One seeks to ‘Prevent the Growth of Terrorism and Gun Violence’
The cop convention is in town this weekend, and I have never seen so many men in blue-grey suits or uniformed officers strutting sidearms. Quite possibly the safest-feeling place in San Diego through October 18th is the San Diego Convention Center and the areas around it—that is unless you’re a lawbreaker or someone as afraid of men and women in uniform as clowns. What the hell is this clown craze anyway? Yeah, that’s off-topic.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police holds its 123rd annual conference, which I blasted through (poor choice of words, I know) yesterday for a specific, and interesting product launch: Patriot One’s NForce CMR1000; self-described as a “covert primary screening device for the detection of on-body concealed weapons at access points including hallways and doorways of weapons-restricted buildings and facilities”. I met with CEO Martin Cronin and Chief Science Advisor Natalia Nikolova.
On This Day
Nine years ago today, my family relocated from the Washington, D.C. suburb of Kensington, Md to San Diego, Calif. Whoa! There is no record in my website archive. Looks like I did little posting in late 2007, which isn’t surprising with the move and trying to continue working. At the time, I operated the Apple Watch and Microsoft Watch blogs. Unbelievably, Ziff Davis enterprise closed down both after laying me off in April 2009. That’s why I warned two years ago: “Writers, Own Your Content!”
I don’t feel like the same human being, after predominately cutting carbs from my diet starting three years ago. Wearing pajamas, I weighed about 91 kilograms (200 pounds) on Oct. 15, 2007; 57 kg (125 lbs) today. My physical build is more like age 20—as is my remarkable energy. Granted, I look every bit of my 57 years and don’t pretend to be otherwise or cling to some misbegotten attempt at reclaiming youth. I’m merely a happy, healthier middle-ager.