Category: Living

Culture by Joe WilcoxSep 23, 20043:03 pm

Law and Disorder

Good thing I was interested in live TV last night rather than using the DVR. Disappointing would have been the recording. I turned off the TV about half way through the first of two “Law and Order” episodes, disgusted how one-sidedly political the show has become. Naively, I had hoped for respite with the cast change. No such luck.

Episode one sought to put alleged Iraqi prisoner abuses on trial. The timing and context had to be deliberate given the election year. As if we hadn’t watched or read enough already about the prisoners’ treatment for it to be repackaged as entertainment. Geez. I tuned into episode two during the last 20 minutes, which made nonsense out of people devastated by the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers.

Critters by Joe WilcoxSep 23, 20049:35 am

Pets Rule

I am not looking to bore with vacation photos but show off the benefits of a digital SLR camera. I snapped little piggy here from about 150 feet away, using the Nikon D70 and 70-300mm lens, during a Sea World program called “Pets Rule”. The animals moved quickly, so focus and shutter had to be responsive.

Living by Joe WilcoxSep 23, 20048:31 am

More Fun than It Looks

Vacation last month in San Diego took the family to Sea World. Where else? My wife Annie can be seen here on one of the water rides. She’s not perfectly focused, but that doesn’t diminish […]

Critters by Joe WilcoxJun 14, 20046:14 pm

Porch Light Stays Off Tonight

I am so work-stuff busy today I have no free time. But something happened in the backyard that warranted my taking a camera break and later a posting break. My daughter brought out her sled […]

Politics by Joe WilcoxJun 12, 200410:05 am

For the Gipper

Washington mourned the death of Ronald Reagan this week. While sentimental and opportunity for people to pay last respects, the mourning struck me, as it always does, somewhat misplaced. Why show so much respect for the dead when the living could use it more?

I understand that Alzheimer’s gripped the former president and that maybe he couldn’t appreciate friends or fellowship the way he used to. What about the family? Particularly considering the seriousness of his illness?

Politics by Joe WilcoxMay 26, 20045:59 am

I Must Be Living Under a Rock

Living in the Washington, D.C. area—hey, right off Connecticut Ave., baby—and tracking high-tech and the Internet for work, you’d think I’d know about what’s going on. Apparently, I have too much in common with Patrick the starfish from SpongeBob Squarepants. There’s a reason he lives under a rock, folks.

This morning, while checking the couple hundred or so RSS feeds I monitor, I stumbled onto this tantalizing headline, “Sex Scandal Rocks US Congress,” from Express India. So exactly how far around the world do I have to go to get local news: “Washington loves nothing as much as a summer sex scandal, and the season is off to an early start this year, as a Congressional aide was sacked after posting her lovemaking exploits on the internet”, according to the story, with a dateline of today.

Critters by Joe WilcoxMay 17, 20044:24 pm

Cicada Nation

Washington, D.C., is now capital of the Cicada invasion. These bugs are everywhere, looking every bit the survivors of some prehistoric meteor that wiped out all other ancient species. Saturday, while driving through an impending […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 18, 200412:15 pm

The Rebel’s Love Birds

Yesterday, my daughter’s school held a yard sale for the PTA. I snapped these love birds using the Canon EOS Digital Rebel.

Critters by Joe WilcoxApr 8, 20047:18 am

Bun Bun

My daughter’s in-door bunny got her first romp around the backyard yesterday. I used the occasion to try out my new Canon Digital Rebel camera.

Living by Joe WilcoxMar 8, 20043:27 pm

The Odds on God’s Existence

A story in today’s Guardian says the odds favor God’s existence. The three writers cite work by Dr. Stephen Unwin, who used a 200-year-old formula used to “work out the likelihood of events” to determine with […]

Living by Joe WilcoxJan 25, 20046:25 pm

Washington Winter Wonderland

Snow is pelting Washington this evening. Forecast for the D.C. metro region is 10-20 cm of snow. I’d say there’s 1 cm on the ground in the first half hour of snowfall. Lots of losers […]

Health by Joe WilcoxJan 24, 20046:45 am

Man on the Train

Wednesday afternoon, while on the D.C. metro, I saw a homeless man working the train for change. Lots of loafers beg for money around Washington; they’re professional beggars whose job is collecting handouts, sometimes pretty aggressively.

But this guy looked truly down on his luck. I’m not tall, about 1.6 meters, and this guy, sporting a well-weathered sleeping bag, was shorter than me. He shuffled politely through the subway car, asking people for money. What surprised me was just how many folks gave him money. Unlike the professional beggars, which more typically use disposal cups, this guy took cash by hand. Like the others, I gave him some change; I wanted to give more but hadn’t hit the bank machine before going on a trip to New York. He literally got all that I had to give.