If you thought the last kitty, Mochi, was difficult to see behind a security screen, this fine feline is even more obscured. Even so, I couldn’t resist sharing. Location: Alley that separates Louisiana and Texas.
Nickname Marble for coloration and shape of head, this rascal is the one-hundred-sixteenth furball found behind door or window since this series started in October 2016.
Talk about a day-making moment and wonderful way to kick off first day of the new month. As my wife and I walked down the alley separating North and Campus, in our San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, she stopped and excitedly exclaimed about seeing cantaloupes growing in a community garden.
I saw the masks, smiled, and pointed them out. The Featured Image is for context. The companion is the money shot, so to speak. I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to capture both, yesterday. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/1200 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 11:48 a.m. PDT. The second: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/340 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:48 a.m.
This is different and, honestly, refreshing. In my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, We Believe signs are almost always some variation of rainbow color text on black background professing sentiments like “love is love”; “black lives matter”; and “science is real”—among others.
Today, along Shirley Ann Place, my wife and I passed a placard seemingly meant as an antidote to the others. Given the community’s liberal leanings, and the plethora of the other signs, I must admit surprise seeing one so blatantly contrary. We live where views dissident to progressive feelings-based beliefs and values simply are not tolerated.
Clouds dominate the sky on this fine Friday evening. But they briefly parted from the full moon as I walked along Monroe Avenue in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. Out came Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, set to 10x optical zoom for the Featured Image.
Noisy? Yes. Not sharp? Yep. But there is detail enough, considering this was a quick point-and-click shot. What matters more—to me, anyway—is character, meaning mood.
While a fervent fan of local news reporting, nevertheless I don’t subscribe to the San Diego Union-Tribune. For folks like me—and maybe you—who can’t get behind the paywall to read stories, OB Rag uses a recent UT story as starting point for its own version. Paul Krueger, who is a “longtime San Diego journalist and a resident of Talmadge”, writes the story: “The Failed ‘Car-Free’ Apartment Project in North Park“.
The city’s zoning approach, which regulations relieve developers from providing parking for apartment buildings or condominiums, is running aground. Proximity to public transportation is the justification and part of a broader strategy of reducing so-called carbon emissions by shifting people from cars to bikes, buses, and trolleys. Good luck with that, because car culture is a California way of life. Residents drive everywhere.
Why wait for Halloween to show off how San Diegans go nutso decorating all things ghoulish for October 31st? Our attention turns to seemingly innocuous street art (graffiti by any other name) scrawled on a utility box along El Cajon Blvd at 30th Street in North Park.
Perhaps, like me, “spoopy” is unfamiliar to you. Or perhaps you caught the 60-seconds of meme-fame a dozen years ago, when a single Flickr photo purloined and reposted on a Tumblr blog set off a frenzy of trick-or-treat wordplay.
A generational house on Georgia is home to three furballs. Zero qualifies as the normal one—meaning whole. Appearing in this series as Reddy, but renamed Jinx, is a ginger longhair missing tail and one eye. Growing kitten Mochi joins them.
She was found abandoned inside a fabric carrier outside one of the local businesses. Owner of the other two kitties took pity on Mochi and brought her home. Since, the shorthair has been checked by the vet and had her operation (you know, the one to prevent kittens).
I could count dozens of ways Southern California is oddly different from anywhere else I have lived, or traveled. With respect to the USA, I have been to every state—and Puerto Rico—but one: Hawaii. Among the oddities: Around San Diego, and presumably Los Angeles, helicopters frequently fly over with loudspeaker blaring some warning or notice.
“Suspect six-foot-ten black male wearing black hat, black hoodie, black jeans, and black backpack. Last seen scaling the fence at the 4500 block of Cleveland Avenue. Stay inside and lock your doors. Call 911 if you see suspect six-foot…” You know, repeats.
University Heights’ biggest, newest apartment complex—with 379 units—is anything but affordable housing. Rentals at the Winslow start at $2,400 for a 484-square-foot studio and go up to $5,945 for 1300-sq-ft apartment with two bedrooms and baths. San Diego officials propagate the myth that building more residences will decrease housing costs and therefore increase availability across lower income brackets.
But the opposite is reality: As newer complexes open, higher rents go with them, lifting the so-called “market rate” that other landlords watch as measure for what they charge their tenants. More is more, meaning rents rise with the new builds raised.
Could Ralphs supermarket make coffee shopping any more confusing? That’s the question I ask regarding the Featured Image, taken today while trying to choose from the selection of on-sale house brands.
Notice that all are “medium roast” but somehow distinct. Supreme Blend is rich and pure, which supposedly differs from Premium that is rich and balanced. Well, both are rich but is balanced therefore not as pure?
San Diego is a city of renters—about 52 percent of households, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. One reason this series continues nearly seven years later is the high turnover of tenants; pets with them. Today’s kitty is the third photographed at the same house, all with different owners.
Sophie joined in August 2017 and Vivienne in June 2018. Those are real names for both animals; I must assign one for the newcomer. The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on Sept. 7, 2023. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/120 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:27 a.m. PDT.
Early iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max buyers are just days away from receiving their preorders. Good luck with that. My Galaxy S23 Ultra is a more versatile, worthy shooter. I’ve seen some of the professional reviews, where photos aren’t as impressive as what I enjoy daily. This is no fanboy talk. Go online and look for yourself.
In addition to the default 12-megapixels, photos can be captured at 50MP or 200MP; the Featured Image is the former, and, whoa, look at that detail. Both exceed Apple’s device, which zoom capability tops out at 5x. The Samsung offers 10x, which is 230mm film equivalent. Pro mode puts you in control, and the separate Expert RAW app delivers exactly what the name indicates.