Category: Samsung

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 202410:37 pm

The Correct Answer Is…

“I don’t know, let me get back to you on that”. The question: What is causing the unusually rainy (or snowy) weather in SoCal? When drought conditions gripped California, pundits blamed Climate Change. Now that torrential precipitation falls, doomsayers also blame Climate Change. You got to love stupidity. They can’t know!

A smart scientist would give some version of the proposed answer in the previous paragraph. Genius would make a hypothesis and begin collecting data to prove or disprove it. Occam’s Razor suggests starting with weather-influencing factors that are atypical and possibly convergent: El Niño and the approaching Solar Maximum of the typical 11-year Solar Cycle.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20249:07 pm

You Can’t…

Irony is sometimes what you make it—or not. You decide, regarding my explanation about the Featured Image. Yesterday, I walked by the Sun Bum display inside Ralph’s and gaped. Hillcrest is one of San Diego’s homeless hangouts, and the street folk have, ah, sticky fingers. Yes, thievery.

Local street sleepers are blamed. Meaning: The supermarket doesn’t trust the bum, which is why so many items for sale are in locked displays. Buying batteries? Ask a clerk. Personal hygiene products? You will need assistance getting access to some of those, too. I could go on, but you get the point—right?

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 20249:28 pm

A Rosey Outlook

Torrential rains fall this evening across San Diego County. Officials warn of flooding that will rival or exceed last month’s storm surge. When I checked the forecast before bed, last night, showers would start around 3 a.m. and increase throughout the day.

But the low pressure area either slowed or stalled, allowing my wife and I to walk about 4.2 km (2.6 miles) roundtrip to The Hub in Hillcrest for on-sale tuna fish at Ralph’s supermarket. Light drizzle started minutes after we returned to our apartment. Lucky.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 4, 20249:13 pm

Professional (Thief) @Work

Four @Work Series Android Collectibles remain in the box—correction, three after today’s debut: Executive / Lawyer / Investor. I can’t imagine why he dresses in purple, other than perhaps some royal, divine-right-of-kings sense of self-importance. He is better than you (and me, too). Well, I never heard such nutty-sense before. What might these three professions share in common? Ah, thievery perhaps?

I must admit to liking the eyeglasses. Can I have a pair, similarly styled? But the briefcase wouldn’t attached as designed. I tucked the thing under an arm, so precariously that heavy breathing could case it to fall down.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 3, 20249:23 pm

The (Honorary) Cats of University Heights: Rascal

For the first Caturday of the month, we have something special: beyond boundaries of the neighborhood, a kitty spotted on the same property where another was seen (and added to the series) on July 4, 2023.

The Featured Image and companions are also the first set shot using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra‘s new 5x optical zoom and 10x hybrid (telephoto and digital); I am almost disappointed to say that the latter look better than any taken with the S23 Ultra’s true optical 230mm (film equivalent).

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 202410:06 pm

The Lamp’s Shadow

This evening, while standing in our living room, I marveled over the shadow cast by the hanging lamp, which we bought with IKEA’s NIPPRIG collection nine years ago. Handmade from natural fibers, the furniture and accessories are lightweight and durable—and were amazingly affordable. For example, we paid $125 for each of the two sofas (see link above for glimpse).

I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image. In post-production, I cropped 3:2, which removed top of our TV from the frame. Then, in post-production, I pushed dehaze slider, which amped shadows and darkened the overall photo.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 1, 202410:06 pm

California Contraband

Time is way overdue for me to return to a topic started Dec. 23, 2021, when ordering lightbulbs. The Philips LEDs could not be shipped to California by Amazon. Apparently some bulbs are state sanctioned, while others are considered to be hazardous to human health (what isn’t in the Golden State) and thus prohibited.

I eventually found approved Philips LEDs and ordered two variations from separate sellers. Opening the boxes, the 14-watters stated that they were “certified to California Title 20”. As for the others, please take a close look at the Featured Image: “Not for sale in California”. Yikes! I was an unintentional lawbreaker.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 29, 202411:08 pm

Coin Collection

While waiting outside the Smart & Final for my wife, who was grocery shopping (bless her!), I hung out in the parking lot by the wall where, on the other side, homeless folk sometimes hang out. On the ledge, I came upon a small collection of coins.

My question: Did some good Samaritan leave loose change for the unhoused (hate that term) to find, or were the coins perhaps gathered and forgotten? Either, or neither, could be true.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 28, 202410:37 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Peep

Well, turns out Buchi isn’t the last photo from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra after all. You get one more. While we walked after sunset on Jan. 26, 2024, my wife spotted a kitty looking out a second floor window onto an alley somewhere separating Alabama and Mississippi. UPS delivered S24 Ultra earlier that day, but I hadn’t yet time to set up the newer smartphone.

I turned the S23 Ultra skyward and used the 10x optical zoom lens for the Featured Image. My longstanding gripe: focal length undermines the utility of the telephoto in low light, as is so clearly demonstrated here. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 4000, 1/30 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 5:36 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 27, 202410:42 pm

Yikes! Two Galaxy S24 Series Smartphones are in the House

Yesterday, UPS delivered the Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra, which I preordered from Samsung on Jan. 17, 2024. My wife and I each chose one of the three exclusive colors; she moves up from the S22 and I from S23 Ultra. The South Korean manufacturing conglomerate offered generous $450 trade-in value for her phone and $750 for mine. Combined with other discounts and incentives, which includes double storage, my out-of-pocket spend for the new model is less than the older one. For hers, I paid less than the discount given for the trade-in.

Last night, right before going to bed, I finally opened the box for a peak and a shock. Titanium Green wasn’t as strong a color as I expected. Oddly, the Featured Image and companion—even taken with Leica Q2—isn’t representative. The green isn’t as faint or pastel as you see but not really far from it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 25, 202410:08 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Diana

Address undisclosed, I spotted this fine feline, seemingly somewhat forlorn. Perhaps its owner stepped out for awhile. The cat tree is more typically unoccupied whenever I walk by, so finding a resident was quite the treat, today.

The Featured Image could be the last photo taken with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Its successor is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 125, 1/60 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 4:30 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 24, 202410:34 pm

Squirrel’s Supper

In February 2023, I owned the Galaxy S22 Ultra for such short time that upgrading to the S23 Ultra sure seemed stupid. But, for preorders, Samsung offered appealing trade-in value ($500) and other incentives that reduced price so much that the new flagship cost less than what I paid for my wife’s humbler S22 a few months earlier.

The S23 Ultra turned out to be quite a bit better than its predecessor by way of many refinements, particularly performance of the 10x optical zoom camera—the differentiating feature that appealed most to me.