Category: Storytelling

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 7, 202610:19 pm

Google Store, San Diego

I remember when Fashion Valley Mall had three tech branded boutique stores—Apple, Microsoft, and Sony. In my analysis, these digital lifestyle shops were the future of tech retail. But I was wrong. Microsoft Store opened in late June 2010 on the same day as Apple’s massive iPhone 4 launch. Microsoft shuttered all 83 stores 10 years later. Sony exited branded retail earlier, in 2014.

Fast-forward to the renewed future of digital lifestyle branded boutique stores. Tomorrow, Google joins thriving Apple Store as a Fashion Valley tech retailer. San Diego marks the 10th location, and it is well-placed, too—upper level across from the food court and in the same quadrant as Anthropologie, Banana Republic, and Oliver Peoples. That’s a high-traffic corridor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 5, 20269:57 pm

How We Named Her

Two days ago, I asked on Facebook: Why Did You Choose Your Child’s Name? An aunt, niece, and two sisters responded. For example, Nanette answered about another niece: “Lynnae’s name was chosen as part of my middle name and adding the ‘ae’ to make it unique”.

My wife and I considered several names before settling on Molly for no reason that I can recall. Coincidentally, my then 94-year-old great-grandmother started a health decline during the late stage of Annie’s pregnancy—and she was way overdue! I told Annie that the baby wasn’t coming out until Gram passed. She died on August 1st, Molly was born the next morning, 18 days late. I would later learn that Molly is a nickname for Mary—Gram’s name. Serendipity?

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 30, 20269:18 pm

When AI Makes You Somebody Else

Earlier today, as a memory, Microsoft OneDrive presented photos taken on this date in 2022—when the village of University Heights celebrated 25 years of its iconic sign. I had captured the majority of pics using Leica Q2 Monochrom, which was beyond my meager amateur skills. I sold the camera to a doctor in December 2024.

Looking over the selection, I chose one random street shot for artificial intelligence embellishment. I clicked the “Restyle with AI” button and typed “colorize”, which took surprising amount of time to do. The app, running on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, presented three options. I saved them all for your review, because the AI did more than add color; it made some surprising changes to the content that you must see.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 27, 20268:05 pm

The Cactus and Its Creator

I am fond of University Heights neighbors who are San Diego natives and/or raised families here. This gentleman, who for privacy purposes isn’t named, often sits with his wife on the swing. He rocked back and forth as Annie and I visited him today.

The 89-year-old bought the house 56 years ago. Many of the generational homeowners inherited properties from parents or grandparents. In this case, he is the original owner, parent, and grandparent. He has living children who own homes elsewhere in the city.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 25, 20268:22 pm

Bike Brigade

While walking to a friend’s house to feed her cats, I came upon a bunch of bikers that appeared to be mounting up after a food/beverage break at Mystic Mocha, which is located in the San Diego neighborhood of University Heights.

The coffee and food shop sits at Alabama and Mission. But bike lanes are located on the adjacent left and right streets—Madison and Meade—that go East or West.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 24, 20269:51 pm

The Dude and the Lady

I surprisingly get good value from NX Studio, which is a much superior workflow companion than Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for editing photos taken using Nikon Zf. Big difference: I am rediscovering photos that are much better potential keepers than previously evaluated.

The Featured Image is the littlest example. This was initially a large crowd shot that I cropped closely. I hemmed and hawed, as the saying goes, about whether to close-crop to emphasize the gentleman turned left.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 18, 20269:26 pm

I Don’t Believe in Coincidence

Something quite unexpected—remarkable, honestly—occurred while we were at the veterinarian office with Neko, yesterday. While he was in the back to have his wound cleaned, I sat in the waiting room vocabulary practicing in the How to Study Korean app. Someone at the front desk spoke to somebody on the phone about a dog. The animal didn’t have a microchip and would need to be picked up.

I mentally added context (correctly): Somebody dropped off the animal, hoping to locate its owner, which wasn’t possible without the microchip. The office couldn’t keep the dog. The rescuer would need to retrieve the lost pet, whose next destination likely would be the San Diego animal shelter.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20269:38 pm

Low Flyer

I am surprised that anyone would want to fly a kite at Old Trolley Barn Park. Trees abound, making high the likelihood of entanglement. But as you can see from the Featured Image, someone attempted to get a kite meaningfully airborne on April 5, 2026. He didn’t succeed while I watched.

Nikon Zf and attached NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens captured the moment. Vitals: f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/500 sec, 145mm; 3:20 p.m.

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 20269:13 pm

Meet Malloy

I should have known. San Diego Zoo names its animals. But I wouldn’t expect identifying tags. As you can see from the Featured Image, this Penguin is Malloy. In a less-than-clear, unpublished photo, one of his companions is Mac. I wonder: Do they all these birds have “M” names, or is it a coincidence?

I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens for this one, which is close-cropped. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 110, 1/500 sec, 200mm; 10:20 a.m. PDT. I chose the Zf for many reasons, and effective resolution is one of them: 24.5 megapixels, which is the sweet spot, in my humble opinion. File sizes aren’t overly large and burdensome, while the sharp 6048 x 4032 photos can be cropped to effectively enlarge the subject.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 26, 20268:47 pm

Queen for a Lifetime

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “Queen for a day”. This afternoon, I met a woman known up and down Adams Avenue, where Normal Heights and North Park meet, simply as Queen. She and her husband sold their home, after raising a family there, and rented an apartment in one of the newer buildings erected during the past few years. Children gone away, the house was too roomy.

I made Queen’s acquaintance when walking to the auto shop, where our Honda Fit had been dropped off to repair the strangest problem: Something had dislodged the splash shield under the engine, and it frequently scraped the ground.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 22, 20267:55 pm

In Defense of Reading Books

Another book sale weekend at the local library (University Heights)—as designated by the third Saturday of the month (today is fourth Sunday)—is but memory. Our good friend Kerry, whom we hadn’t seen for more than three years, visited yesterday—so, I missed the better of the two days.

But I hauled my butt the 0.8-kilometer (half-mile) walk and looked for books for the women; I brought back a Moosewood cooking follow-up for my wife and two tomes on herbs for our daughter. I saw little that interested me.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 21, 20269:04 pm

Wedding Bells or Something Else?

While walking home from San Diego Zoo on Sept. 27, 2025, I passed by some kind of gathering or event at the Greek Orthodox Church on Park Blvd in Hillcrest. Being Thursday, I doubted a religious service was underway or ending. But what??

I initially assumed wedding, but on closer consideration funeral appeared to be another reasonable possibility. The people looked cheerer than somber, more befitting a wedding, dedication of child, or something similar.