Category: Living

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 1, 20219:27 pm

Neko in the Blades

We let outside one of our two cats for romps in the apartment building courtyard. Neko is older, slower, and too big to fit under the front gate. Cali is younger, quicker, and skinny enough to squeeze through in pursuit of birds or squirrels. He asks to go outdoors, she doesn’t (thankfully). Today, Neko played hide-and-seek, so to speak, among the center area greenery. I happened to be carrying Leica Q2, because we (Annie and me) had prepped for a neighborhood walk before letting the fluffball walkabout; supervised, as usual.

The Featured Image is nearly a 100-percent crop. Yep, the camera captures loads of detail—and I can trust the autofocus, even shooting through foliage. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 1:43 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 30, 20218:52 pm

What is That Bug?

Late afternoon, on June 27, 2021, as my wife and I walked along Madison, from Georgia towards Florida, an odd-looking insect made me stop and wonder. I am something of an amateur entomologist, or used […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 29, 20219:02 pm

Fill `Er Up

Maybe you heard how high are gas prices in California compared to most other states. The Featured Image attests to the gouging that we experience at the pumps. In a nice twist, and keeping with the Cal progressive push for equity, all grades cost the same. Well, if you’ve got to pay more, all the same is a small, but not meaningless, consolation.

Alas, the equity price hike didn’t last long. Hours later, regular grade sold for $4.06 a gallon. Now there’s a tactic for making you feel good about the high cost of gasoline. Four bucks six cents seems so reasonable when you could pay $4.83 more. (Wink. Wink.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 28, 20219:17 pm

‘Not Politically Correct’

Yesterday, as my wife and I walked along the alley separating Louisiana and Mississippi, between Meade and Monroe, she stopped, then said: it’s “not politically correct”, referring to a framed poster that I hadn’t seen. People put out giveaways all the time, and art ranks low on my interest meter; hence my blind disregard for an object worth inspection. Not only is her statement accurate, it could explain why someone discarded the thing. With all the hubbub about systemic racism, the caricatures could offend someone. Perhaps raised awareness led the owner to let go the wall hanging. Click through to the Featured Image, and you tell me.

I used Leica Q2 to make the moment, choosing to leave the framed poster leaning as we found it, rather than repositioning for the shot. Composition intentionally reveals some of the alley, for context. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4.5, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm; 9:29 a.m PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 27, 20219:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Sweetie

On the same block where live (self-relocated) Reddy and his (self-adopted) mate Zero, my wife and I spied a striking Tortoiseshell today. The kitty unsuccessfully tried to come over a wooden gate for pats, which would have allowed me to read her name tag, as well. The tortie returned to a door step, where I got an acceptable portrait by peeking around a fence from an adjacent apartment building parking lot.

I used iPhone XS to capture the Featured Image, which is nearly a 100-percent crop. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/156 sec, 52mm (film equivalent); 4:16 p.m. PDT. While seemingly a contrite choice, this beauty earns nickname Sweetie for colors that remind me of a chocolate-covered peanut butter cup (e.g. Reese’s).

Living by Joe WilcoxJun 26, 20219:13 pm

The Bicycle

My wife typically goes to bed and rises earlier than do I. When getting up to feed the cats, Cali and Neko, Annie saw bicycle handlebars sticking up behind a parked car; about 3:30 a.m. PDT. She assumed that one of the apartment building’s other tenants had a visitor who left the bike locked on the sidewalk. But daylight revealed a wayward fixed-speed roadster, apparently abandoned and unlocked. We both wondered where it came from and how in a neighborhood rife with bicycle thieves no one had ridden off with the thing.

Someone stole two of our then three bikes from a locked garage, in February 2010. Annie sees frequent posts on Nextdoor about bikes taken from behind locked fences or about neighbors reporting random two-wheeler chop shops. We wondered where the women’s rider came from. Perhaps someone, ah-hum, borrowed—then abandoned—it?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 22, 20218:57 pm

Vintage 1970s, Do You Think?

While walking along the alley separating Cleveland and Maryland in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, my wife and I came upon an abandoned gas stove that oh-so reminded me of one my parents used during my middle school years. You might think that someone put out this thing for trash pick up. Oh no, some scavenger surely will snag the range—for repurposing or perhaps dismantling for parts. Little left in the alleys, outside of the actual garbage bins, is wasted. The appliance is a lucky rummager’s treasure.

Annie and I both stopped for photos. The companion closeup is mine, but she did better for the full-on shot. My composition of the entire stove looks straight on and is dull. Hers, the Featured Image, is more dimensional. Vitals, for the first: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/789 sec, 26mm (film equivalent); 9:50 a.m. PDT. For the other, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 9:50 a.m. She used iPhone XS and I used Leica Q2.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 20, 20219:04 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Carrot

As my wife and I walked along Georgia yesterday, two kitties presented from different buildings looking out at birds. I could only get a portrait of the second, somewhere between Howard and either Polk or Lincoln—not sure which. As usual, I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, at 9:29 a.m. PDT. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm.

This fine feline earns nickname Carrot for the orange patches—particularly on the head. His (or her) portrait is a compromised crop, for: the poorly-placed palm trees grudgingly used to frame the photo; the management company sign removed by recomposition. Carrot is the series‘ seventy-first cat seen behind door or window.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 19, 20218:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Georgy

Last night, approaching El Cajon from Georgia—on my way to shoot The Boulevard sign—I passed by a ginger lounging upon grass. The fluffer came out to visit, during which time I unsuccessfully tried to capture several good portraits; sun set 15 minutes earlier, and I needed more ambient light, or narrower aperture, for less noise and wider depth of field.

Only after the kitty got his fill of pats and returned to the property from whence it came could I get something usable. The angle makes the cat look unflatteringly flabby, when it is furry and fit; big paws reveal a naturally husky boy; hence, the nickname. I manually focused Leica Q2 to take the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture and shutter speed manually set: f/1.7, ISO 6400, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 8:14 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 17, 20219:18 pm

He Wants You to Celebrate Freedom

The Wilcox family lived nearly 10 years in our old apartment, located in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. Except briefly for one or two bad rain storms, the small window by the front door stayed […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20218:18 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Plush

I strongly debated whether or not to include this kitty, who looked onto the alley separating Louisiana and Mississippi between El Cajon and Meade. But lighting was optimal on the grey’s perch and unlikely to ever be better; the Featured Image is about as good as I’ll ever get. And the face is so damn cute, this sweetie could be a stuffed animal. Hence, nickname Plush. You will want to click through and enlarge the photo; sometimes not-so-good portraiture is good enough because the subject is so becoming.

Plush is the series‘ seventieth cat sitting behind door or window. The cropped, and aggressively edited, portrait comes from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm, 9:27 a.m. PDT, June 14, 2021.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 15, 20219:31 pm

California Reopens

But explain to school kids what’s different, because they have to wonder. While establishments of all types are open at full capacity, the classroom routine is little changed: Students must continue to wear masks—a requirement that baffles the frak out of me. Is it possible reason that most of them have not been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19? For adults, the mask-mandate is only lifted for those people who have had the shot(s). Children are extremely unlikely to be infected, manifest the disease, become seriously sick, or die. So why muzzle them?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children ages 0-4 account for 2.1 percent of U.S. COVID cases; 10.4 percent for 5-17 year-olds. Deaths: Zero percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Citizens ages 18-49 account for 4.7 percent of total deaths, so teachers are probably pretty safe—especially if vaccinated. So, again, I ask: Why muzzle the kids? This morning, my wife and I passed by Birney Elementary as students arrived; they all wore masks, and parents, too!