Category: Society

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 5, 20268:43 pm

Night Sight Street Test

I don’t showcase Google Pixel 10 Pro XL often enough. That demands remedy. So, tonight, I took the smartphone out onto one of the streets here in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights for a quick go: Four shots of various compositions, and the first is the Featured Image. One capture could have been enough.

Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 34, 1/13 sec, 24mm (film equivalent); 8:01 p.m. PST. I had to hold the phone high over my head (look at the shadow), which risked camera shake blur. But the photo—automatically captured in Night Sight mode—is sharp enough.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 4, 20269:03 pm

For the King of the Throne

Oddly, we are not done with cats. Unexpectedly, once again, the topic turns to fancy litter boxes on sale at Costco. In October 2025, the product was a robotic pooper scooper on sale for 599.99 (one-hundred bucks off).

By comparison, the new offering is a bargain.: $389.99. The Featured Image is clear: Your cat can be king (or queen) of the throne, and you can monitor the animal’s health progress based on its, ah, business. Ah, okay. For our cat family, no thanks.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 28, 20269:53 pm

We as in You and Me?

T Village of University Heights is undoubtedly a liberal haven—or at least for those who demand to be heard. For all I know (and don’t), Republicans might outnumber Democrats, but you’d never know from the cacophony the liberals make. Their numbers matter less than who makes more demands. They’re a noisy group for sure.

Several overly-liberal areas stand out from others in the neighborhood. Shirley Ann is one street. Panorama Drive is another. Slogan signage tends to be loudest there. Take the Featured Image as an example. (Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 50, 1/200 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 9:27 a.m. PST, today; Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 25, 20268:11 pm

And You’re Proud of This?

What exactly does the kid study? “Possessions 101?” “Exorcism Survival?” “Advanced Haunting?” “Geometry of Poltergeists?” “Multiplication of Spiritual Influences?” “Intermediate Demonology?” Does Honor Roll mean the student must be bad to be good? I can understand parents being proud of their do-gooders in Heaven. But Hell? Breakout your goth gear and tattoos.

Today, I happened upon the bumper sticker while walking along Louisiana Street in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. The Featured Image comes from Galaxy S25 Ultra, hours after Samsung announced successor S26 Ultra. Preorders can be placed now for the official launch on March 11, 2025.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 24, 20268:57 pm

Two Signs, Two Political Perspectives

Signs like the one in the Featured Image are sporadically appearing on lawns across my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. “Don’t poke the bear” at one time applied to Soviet Russia, which if provoked too aggressively could respond by unleashing nuclear weapons.

There’s an appropriateness to its use to describe Communist California. Governor Gavin Newsom, who has aspirations about being the Democrats’ 2028 Presidential candidate, has gone wild with his response to policies advocated by the Donald Trump White House.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 20, 20268:56 pm

Adventures in Girl Scouting

You choose. Is it the law of unintended consequences or some adult’s backhanded commentary? Take a long, hard look at the Featured Image—enlarge it! That is a skeleton selling Girl Scout Cookies.

One purposeful or unintended interpretation: The Girl Scouts are dead. Several scandals have tarnished the image, as have accusations against the cookies. For sure, someone could argue that Girl Scouts is dead to what it was.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 19, 20268:26 pm

When Trouble Rains, It Pours

San Diego County is wet again as would be typical for this time of year. The unseasonably dry, pleasant weather disappeared this week. As recently as February 9, the high temperature in my neighborhood of University Heights reached 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit). Today: 14 C (58 F). Some sun early day surrendered to torrential rainfall by mid-afternoon.

The turnaround caused hardship for one of my neighbors, who rang the doorbell around 3:30 p.m. PST. He asked for a ride to his car, which spun out of control on the slick asphalt into a ditch. He expected a tow truck in about 45 minutes (yeah AAA). What perplexed me: Why wasn’t he with the vehicle? Meaning: How did he get home?

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 14, 20269:09 pm

My Parents, for Valentine’s Day

I resumed looking through my father’s stash of photo slides, today. The number of bad shots is astonishing, and the Featured Image is one of them. I share it nevertheless, for what it captures of the 1970s and because the couple are my parents.

Photographer is unknown, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is none. My father easily could have used a self-timer and tripod to capture a self-portrait. There is no date on the slide, but I would guess winter of ’72 or ’73. My father’s father died in June of Seventy-two. My mother pushed for divorce not long later. They look happy enough here, so I assume this is before the marriage disintegrated. If true, each would be 30 years old.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 20269:16 pm

The Head

The Featured Image is an opportunity to shake up the flow of posts with something odd, if not disturbing. The head hangs over a fence along Mission Avenue in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. The photo is from Aug. 10, 2025, but the thing is still there—leering down on people who happen to look up as they walk by,

During any other Winter season, the thang might have been compromised by constant, heavy rains. But this part of California is experiencing unseasonably pleasant weather of warm days with low humidity. Today’s high, for example, was 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit) and breezy.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 20269:21 pm

Mystery Pup

The process of reviewing the vast quantity of slides left behind by father continues. My guess is that the majority are from the 1970s, when my father was an amateur photographic fiend. He shot with a Kowa—likely the seT R2—preferring slides to film for their shareability and presumed better longevity.

The Kowa appealed to him for interchangeable lenses with leaf shutters—an innovative design that made the camera nearly silent, which made scaring off wildlife less likely. An avid hunter, later in the decade he put aside the rifle and only shot animals with the camera.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 4, 202610:12 pm

Nana Banana

Oh the moments 21st-Century Kids are deprived of. There is something oh-so nostalgic about Jell-O made with overripe bananas and a cup or two of real cane sugar. That’s what Nana prepares in the Featured Image, which my father would have taken. Date is unknown, but sometime in 1972 or `73 is my guess.

We sure ate a lot of Jell-O growing up in the 1970s. Eater book review “‘Joys of Jell-O,’ There’s Nothing You Can’t Do with Colored Gelatin” claims that at the height of the jiggly dessert’s popularity, 1968, the average American household consumed 16 boxes a year. You should also read: “How the class history of Jell-O came full circle“—Marketplace”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 29, 20269:04 pm

Getting Good Graffiti

Last Summer, I started seeing sophisticated graffiti splash upon utility boxes across University Heights. My mistake. The San Diego village commissioned local artists to dress up the boxes, and so they did to about 51 of them.

The Featured Image and first companion catch artists at work on a box located near the intersection of Florida Street and El Cajon Blvd. Both photos come from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, on Aug. 17, 2025. Vitals, first: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/500 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 3:02 p.m. PDT.