Category: Living

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 14, 20218:44 pm

Is God Inclusive?

This post is sure to stir up trouble. I write sparingly about politics and rarely about religion because the topics are metaphorical loaded automatic assault weapons ready to blast endless emotional rounds of ammunition. Retaliation is swift. You can’t duck fast enough or return fire in the way of meaningful discussion. For too many people, conversation isn’t an option. To them, you are offensive and wrong. So safety is measured in silence before the easily offended.

But I uncharacteristically wonder outloud about faith, sparked by the Featured Image, which I captured on Nov. 20, 2021 using iPhone 13 Pro. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 32, 1/1167 sec, 13mm; 12:45 p.m. PST. The church, located in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood, has long puzzled me because of the six doors and what their combined colors represent. I had thought the canonized Bible—the same book the congregation presumably reads—prohibits behaviors and lifestyles which the institution embraces.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 13, 202110:48 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Tinsel

As my wife and I walked back from Smart and Final on Dec. 9, 2021, we passed by a shorthair along Polk between Alabama and Mississippi. The kitty is the eightieth seen behind door or window. That works out to 18 percent of the total profiles.

I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/231 sec, 77mm; 10:30 a.m. PST. This fine feline earns nickname Tinsel, for the Christmas lights and decorations for the time of year.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 12, 20218:27 pm

Hang On, Woody!

In what could be a real-life scene from film Toy Story, Sheriff Woody precariously hangs from the back of a Toyota Tacoma spotted along Mission Avenue in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. Where is Buzz Lightyear to the rescue? Take a closer look at either the Featured Image or companion and you will see that the cowboy doll is pad-a-locked in.

Both photos come from iPhone 13 Pro, yesterday. Vitals: f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1698 sec, 26mm; 1:07 p.m. PST. The other: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/319 sec, 77mm; 1:06 p.m. When I showed my wife the second shot, taken first, she observed that it’s not absolutely apparent that Woody hangs off the ground. So I took another.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 11, 20217:49 pm

Goodbye, Nature

The last issue of Nature—Vol. 600, No. 7887—awaits my reading attention. For this renewal cycle, publisher Springer raised my annual subscription price by 36 percent, pushing the cost beyond my budget.

I will miss the magazine but can’t complain. After the company stopped offering an iPad app digital edition four years ago, I phoned seeking alternatives and was presented with a half-off rate. While a discount remains, the new price is too steep when considering other subscriptions and weighing the value of each for the cost.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 10, 20218:12 pm

The Omicron Variant

This post’s title, which also names the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2) strain currently causing a global healthcare scare, would be better for a thriller-genre book or film about viral terrorism.

Cue the movie trailer: Six survivors. Keanu Reeves. Daniel Craig. Angelina Jolie. Regé-Jean Page. Kelly Marie Tran. And the esteemed Charlton Heston (appearing as a 3-D hologram). The Omicron Variant. The premise is so frightening that the screenwriters have each gotten three COVID-19 booster shots. You, too, will never think the same way about vaccines—and who gets them when supplies are lacking and the HAZMAT-suited stack body bags in front of your house. Oh, did we forget to mention that they’re empty and waiting to be filled—when your, ah, quarantine is over. The Omicron Variant. Who will survive viral armageddon?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 9, 202112:01 am

The Cats of University Heights: Scooch

The second of two kittens seen frolicking on Nov. 22, 2021 crouched beneath a car after another vehicle passed loudly by—hence nickname Scooch. I stooped low with iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/314 sec, 77mm; 11:35 a.m. PST.

My wife and I each separately spotted one of the kittens; my eyes followed Springer. We have yet to see them again. But we’re watching!

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 8, 20219:33 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Springer

Where Cliff Street and Panorama Drive meet, my wife and I independently each spotted a kitten on Nov. 22, 2021. Our approach along the sidewalk separated the two frolickers, unintentionally. I barely managed to snag portraits of both, using iPhone 13 Pro. Today we present the first; tomorrow the other.

The tiger tabby earns nickname Springer, for the position of its back legs as seen in the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/234 sec, 77mm; 11:33 a.m. PST.

Living by Joe WilcoxDec 7, 20218:45 pm

For Want of Two Dollars

On Nov. 28, 2021, I pulled into the local gas station to fill up the tank. Because debit card-skimmers are frequent enough concerns around San Diego, I always pay with cash and usually even bills (e.g., tens or twenties). But uncharacteristically, I only had two fives and eight singles—or so I thought.

I counted in the car and then on the way to the Valero’s door. When handing the money to the cashier, I stated the amount and pump number. Outside, filling stopped at $16—and I thought: “How unusual to top off at an even number”. I walked inside for my change, but there was none.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 6, 202110:12 pm

Tiger Moth Caterpillars

While walking along Louisiana today, Annie and I came across two of our neighbors tending their flower garden. Gracie, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, belonged to them before she passed away at age 19. Seeing my camera, the wife turned my attention to three caterpillars munching leaves.

I immediately exclaimed “Woolly Bear caterpillars!”—for their colors and fuzziness. But the resemblance ended there. My memory is a larva with orange band in the middle and black at both ends. If I rightly recall, and please correct me if mistaken, that caterpillar eventually becomes the Isabella tiger moth.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 5, 20216:39 pm

When Warm Hearts Melt

For some, love really is dangerous.

The snow couple are among several Christmas-themed inflatables outside a home nearby the Madison Avenue overlook in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. My wife and I passed by them today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 4, 20217:11 pm

Who Skewered Teddy?

Yesterday, as my wife and I approached the blue-and-white house where flew the American flag at half-mast in September 2021, a tiny teddy came into view—back-to. As we passed, I stopped, pulled out Leica Q2, adjusted the aperture, and snapped the sole shot that is the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/2000 sec, 28mm; 12:51 p.m. PST.

The front-view of the stuff bear looks across Lincoln near the corner at Alabama in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. I want to know why the plushy is so unceremoniously placed. Is it meant to signal something? Was it found on the sidewalk or street and put up where more easily seen?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 3, 20217:45 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Meowy

Day before yesterday, in the alley separating Alabama and Mississippi, not far from cross-street Meade, a black-and-white kitten approached my wife and I—and, oh, what constant meowing; hence the nickname. From apparent age, colorization, and vocalization, I wondered if Squeaky had wandered over from Louisiana. But quick photo comparison unquestionably identifies two different kitties.

Today, we saw the youngster yet again, but on the front-side of the apartment building, facing Mississippi. But unlike the Featured Image and companion, where Meowy wears a collar, there was none today. The cat clearly wanted something; perhaps food, its human caretaker, or both. We couldn’t guess, even after the kitten settled down on a welcome mat outside an apartment door.