This is what knowing you’re handsome looks like. The Featured Image comes from iPhone 13 Pro on Nov. 4, 2021. Vitals: f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1209 sec, 26mm; 10:07 a.m. PDT.
Category: Apple
Chickenbone Slim and the Biscuits
I came upon a blues band playing outside our auto mechanic’s shop on Oct. 16, 2021, while walking to fetch more Orijen dry food for our cats Cali and Neko. The place is closed on Saturdays (and Sundays, too). I listened for a bit before continuing along Adams Avenue, in San Diego’s Normal Heights neighborhood, to Pet Me Please.
My wife met me with the car to take home the 12-pound (5.4 kg) bag of kibble. I plodded back to the service station, where I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image and companion, iPhone 13 Pro to film the one-minute video clip, and my hands to pay for and grab Chickenbone Slim CD “Sleeper”.
The Cats of University Heights: Damsel
In a neighborhood dominated by renters, residents come and go—and that’s one reason for the apparent number of kitties. Likewise, they leave with their owners and arrive with new tenants. Such is the case with this cute Calico, who appeared in the same window as the black nicknamed Night—profiled in August 2018.
The Featured Image comes from iPhone 13 Pro; captured in ProRAW; cropped and edited in Apple Photos on 16.2-inch MacBook Pro then exported as JPEG. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/424 sec, 77mm; 10:05 a.m. PDT, Oct. 24, 2021. The seventy-eighth feline found behind door or window earns nickname Damsel.
The Maine Coons’ House Sold
A chapter is closed in the saga of the two Maine Coons whose backyard territory was clearcut in early August 2021. Their old residence listed as sold on October 28. Mimi and Sweet Pea occasionally go into their old habitat, but the behavior must stop whenever new construction begins. I expect the owners will demolish the existing house and build an apartment building, based on zoning.
Both kitties appeared in my “Cats of University Heights” series during May 2018. Mimi is mother to the other; both are ferals who lived on the property for about eight years. The woman who fed them has made space in her smaller, fenced outdoor space across the alley—and both go there for food and safety.
16.2-inch MacBook Pro is a Tank
From writing-technology past—yesterday’s post about the discarded L.C. Smith typewriter—we go to the present-future: The 16.2-inch MacBook Pro that replaces my 23-month-old 16-inch MBP. Apple announced the new laptop, and its 14.2-inch sibling, on Oct. 18, 2021 and started taking orders for October 26 availability. I considered a customized configuration for the smaller model but couldn’t decide based on the information available—particularly considering my current computer’s beefy specs: 2.3GHz Core i9 processor; 32GB RAM; 8GB AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics; 1TB SSD. As my indecisiveness increased, so did the ship times for any new MacBook Pro. As they slipped into late November and early December, I abandoned the idea.
But I clung to interest in the new models because of the M1 chip, for which my experience already was quite positive from using 11-inch iPad Pro and buying my wife the newer 13.3-inch MBP. Apple offered generous trade-in for my late-2019 MacBook Pro, while supply chain constraints, rising prices, and burgeoning inflation made case for upgrading earlier than previously planned and future-proofing my investment. So I decided, after long consideration: On the 26th, if local Apple Store stocked the larger laptop, I would make the purchase. If not, I would keep the 16-incher for another year.
Where are the Oscar Mayer Cold Cuts and Nathan’s Franks?
Someone might blame the so-called supply chain crisis for this unnamed (I won’t say) supermarket’s empty packaged, prepared, processed meat section. I’d like to think that to celebrate the World Series and return to big gatherings before the big screen following more than 18 months of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns that a whopper shopper cleared out the Bologna, hotdogs, and other deli delights for the big game.
The temperature gauge is in the red, which could indicate cooling malfunction—that despite stocked goods on either side of the empty section. As I walked by, a store employee wheeled a cart stacked with boxes of deli-fresh replacements. You’re welcome to blame the supply chain, and who doesn’t these days? I won’t.
The Cats of University Heights: Spartacus
Blind kitty Petey shares space with Spartacus—and, yes, both are real names. Their residence is just a few doors down from the Schoolhouse, which my wife and I almost bought in late-summer 2017. Click the link for an education in home buying that unfortunate experience teaches better than anything from the classroom.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image and companion, on Oct. 24, 2021. The original files were RAW imported to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic, cropped, edited, and exported to JPEG. I am dissatisfied with the color profile changes applied during import for the smartphone and will likely use different software in the future. Vitals for both: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/602 sec, 77mm; 10:28 a.m. PDT.
Apple iPod Turns 20
On this date in 2001, Apple unveiled iPod, its fourth major endeavor for that year—at great risk, by entering a new product category for which the company had no prior experience and during a time of financial hardship. Recession gripped the United States; Apple had suffered share price and quarterly revenue setbacks as a result.
Six weeks earlier, terrorists flew highjacked American airliners into the World Trade Center (collapsing the Twin Towers) and the Pentagon. There was grim mood around the country, which created poor receptive marketing atmosphere for launching anything. Then there was the distraction dogging the tech industry: Windows XP’s impending global debut two days later.
We’re Negative!
A few days ago, my wife developed a nasty cough, accompanied by flu-like symptoms that include fever; while subsiding, they persist today. SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 is obvious concern. The Delta variant is highly communicable, whether or not somebody is vaccinated. Think nature’s inoculation: Everyone will catch the Novel Coronavirus now. Being vaxxed often will not prevent infection but reportedly minimizes the worst symptoms of the disease. Regardless, everyone is bound to develop some degree of natural immunity if the B.1.617.2 variant continues to be easily transmitted.
Annie’s cough sounds pretty bad. One of my neighbors is an ICU nurse, who asked about my wife and reassured me that her coughing, while frequent, is strong. That’s good. We own an oximeter, which I use to check her blood oxygenation—and it’s excellent! Still, we had to consider COVID-19, since Delta assures SARS-CoV-2 will infect everyone. With Annie hacking so often, and the possibility of spreading the virus—even masked—we decided against going out for a test, like we did eight month ago.
Stripped Bare
I don’t know what to make of this. Just inside the Vermont Street Bridge, still on the University Heights side, I saw a wayward bicycle frame—early afternoon Oct. 15, 2021. Bike chop shops pop up […]
The Cats of University Heights: Gypsy
On this date five years ago, the series started with a kitty nicknamed Scruffy—seen once and never again. A few months earlier, surgery in both eyes recovered my vision, remarkably also making it better than anytime earlier my life. Adjusting to a new way of seeing and also wanting to improve my photography skills, I chose cats as objects for my camera (and smartphone).
But I expected the project to be short-lived. As stated on Oct. 17, 2016: “I begin a new series that ends when the photos are all used”, thinking something like 30 days at most, given the pics already taken and the few additional to follow—because in a community dominated by dogs surely few cats could be found. Obviously, I was gravely mistaken; happily, if you prefer.
Pumpkin Mountain
The iPhone 13 Pro camera system surprisingly satisfies—more than any other smartphone to bless my grubby fingers. I am loving the ultra-wide (13mm) and telephoto (77mm) lenses, along with RAW capture capabilities. Shots are sharper than I would ever expect from a device with relatively small sensor and which primary function is not photography.
All combined, the 13 Pro is creative fun—and that’s from my only surface skimming the sea of benefits. The Featured Image is example, with distortion from the ultra-wide lens adding character to an otherwise mundane scene. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 50, 1/122 sec, 13mm; 1:01 p.m. PDT, yesterday.