Category: Tech

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 20186:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Honey

Something like nine months ago, I caught fleeting glimpse of a calico going into an apartment courtyard, up to a second floor landing and being let inside a door. I missed the moment, which returned on Aug. 16, 2018. The shorthair hung outside the building—and not visibly for just the one day that week but several. I seized the first opportunity, as my wife and I carried home groceries, and let alone the kitty on the others.

Earning nickname Honey, the beastie is the twenty-seventh sighted along Alabama Street. As we greeted, and I snapped portraits, No. 11, Cal, looked down from an open window. I shot the Featured Image and the first companion using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 50mm; 9:12 a.m. PDT. The other is same except for 1/250 shutter speed and 9:10 a.m. timestamp.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 3, 201812:46 pm

Flock Together

Bird-branded, Segway-manufactured electric scooters congregate before the Schoolhouse. A year ago, my wife and I were in escrow to buy the Spanish-style home, with plans to permanently settle down in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20188:58 am

The Cats of University Heights: Olive

The first caturday of the month begins with the twenty-sixth feline seen on Alabama. I know, the number seems endless. Out of the 219 profiles to date, 12 percent are from the one street—and you will meet yet another next. During a twilight walk, I spotted a second cat on the same property—between Howard and Polk—chowing supper; no photo was possible with my phone for distance and darkness; expect to read about that beastie someday.

I captured the Featured Image, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, through a gated fence, which presence greatly determined composition of cropping in post-production. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50 mm; 11:33 a.m. PDT, Aug. 14, 2018.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 27, 20182:11 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Night

In the same multi-unit property where live Luci, Maeven, and Peso—all of which get some outdoor time—another feline frequently looks through a screen. I nickname the blackie Night for color and, to be ironic, seeing her (or him) during daylight. Night has the distinction of being the thirtieth window watcher featured since the series started in October 2016.

Rarely a day passes that I don’t see Night when walking by the property. Of the several portraits taken over several weeks, I chose as Featured Image one captured, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, on Aug. 3, 2018 at 6:34 p.m. PDT. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 26, 20186:18 pm

Pixel Putty-Tat

The cat tree stands next to my desk in the office so that our two kitties can look out the expansive window onto the street. While working on my laptop late this afternoon, I saw […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 26, 20183:33 pm

My Last Trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar

Yesterday, the local Apple Store emailed that my wife’s former 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar was ready. We picked up the laptop hours later. If you haven’t heard about specks of debris causing MBP keyboard failure, I can confirm from our experience that such problem occurs. In mid-June 2018, Apple initiated a free repair program, which we used last week with surprisingly positive results.

I purchased the custom-configured MBP in mid-November 2016, and right out of the box the spacebar occasionally skipped. The malfunctioning worsened over time, and, coincidentally (or not), reached crisis a few days after Apple admitted to problems with the Butterfly keyboard. The spacebar became stiff to touch, requiring considerable pressure to push, sometimes working but more often not.

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 19, 201810:55 pm

Quick Update: My Apple to Google Switch

Doubt disturbed my commitment to give up the Apple Way for the Google lifestyle two months ago (yesterday). Preparing to pack up my wife’s 64GB white iPhone X, I was taken aback by how pretty it was. She kept the thing in a case, which protected from damage but also obscured beauty. For fleeting seconds, I wondered why switch. Product design that generates joy is another benefit—and one transcending any, and every, feature.

But the moment passed, and I boxed up Anne’s smartphone along with my 256GB black iPhone X. Google gave great trade-in values, which dispatched the hassle of reselling the devices on Craigslist. Eight weeks later, writing this post on Pixelbook i7, I don’t regret the decision. Confession: The transition isn’t quite complete, but we’re getting there.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 19, 201811:21 am

The Cats of University Heights: Poise

Along New Jersey, where it intersects Meade and Monroe before Arch and parallel to Maryland, I met a fine tabby on June 30, 2017. I dscovered several portraits of the cat nicknamed Poise, like recently-profiled Prim, when archiving data from 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Touchbar. About two months ago, Google Pixelbook replaced the Apple as my primary PC.

I captured the Featured Image at 7:33 p.m. PDT, using Leica Q. Vitals: f/3.2, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 16, 20185:51 pm

Hello, Mini

What a strange place to find a classic: Carport along a nearby alley. So which of my neighbors has been hiding this lovely? With no license plate. Apparently good condition. Cool color. Best of all: Steering wheel on the right side! It’s a British beauty.

Had there been a license plate—out of respect for the owner’s privacy—I wouldn’t have stopped to capture the moment. No identifying information encouraged me to take license (ah, hum, dumb pun) with Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 16, 20182:09 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Nala

As I turned down Massachusetts from Madison going towards Golden Gate, a pretty tabby looked up from the sidewalk, on Aug. 12, 2018. I crouched down with Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, snapping several portraits while slowly approaching. Then she turned towards the adjacent house, but not because of my closing in. Someone came out the front door, through which she squeezed by.

The young man standing on the step was movie star handsome—and I almost said so. But post-#metoo, compliments that could be misconstrued are better left unsaid. If he isn’t an actor or model, Hollywood let getaway a young Robert Redford. Explaining that I had just taken a photo of the cat, I asked her name. “Nala”, he answered—and added not seeing my recognition of the meaning: “Like in the Lion King”. I pretended, by affirming “yeah”, to have understood. Shameless liar I am, but polite doing so.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 13, 201812:11 pm

The Cats of University Heights: LilyTiger

Since seeing Sebastian and Persepolis in March 2018, I have looked for their sister, LilyTiger, who was too rambunctious to photograph back then. She presented herself, quite unexpectedly, on August 10. While walking down Meade Ave., I spotted a kitty reclining on the other side of the street along Mississippi. I had seen Amanda in the exact same spot months earlier and assumed that it must be her. Nope.

LilyTiger moved onto her owners’ charming, lush property, as I approached. But she stayed close enough to the front, on the steps, for portraits. I shot the Featured Image and its companion using Leica Q. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 200, 1/60 sec, 28mm; 7:32 p.m. PDT—four minutes before sunset. I chose the wide aperture for bokeh but narrowed for the other to draw out Sebastian cozied up on the front porch. Vitals for the second: f/5.6, ISO 2000, 1/60 sec, 28mm.

Leica by Joe WilcoxAug 11, 20189:37 pm

Why We Went to Julian

Our family relocated to San Diego in October 2007 with a purpose: Being close to my father-in-law, so that he could continue to live independently, which he did until his passing, at age 95, in January 2017. Eleven years is long enough. The Wilcox clan, or part of it, contemplates exodus, because the area is increasingly less desirable: Cost of-living and recent zoning changes that will increase population density by way of building more multi-unit housing.

My wife and I are considering many different possible locations to move—anywhere from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico or Texas to Delaware, North Carolina, or the Mid-Atlantic region we left to come here. That said, closer-by would be more practical, particularly if we were to buy a home. Earlier today, Annie and I spent several hours in Julian, Calif., where we looked at four houses for sale.