Category: Samsung

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Love is Consequential

For Valentine’s Day, I share a card that my wife made me for Feb. 14, 2017. I keep it in the desk drawer on top of my computer, which in 2023 is Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. The sentiment means much to me, and you can see some wear and tear from being moved about when my notebook is removed or replaced. Love is consequential, after all.

Annie adores this plush Yeti, which to me seems perfect way to show off her card craft. I also use the moment to give glimpse of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra‘s 108-megapixel camera. The Featured Image is straight from the smartphone—composed as shot and unaltered. Color is spot-on accurate and dynamic range satisfies. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 250, 1/40 sec, 23mm (film Equivalent); 8:05 p.m. PST, today.

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The Sunbather

Two days ago, our cats Cali and Neko were beside themselves with excitement, as they sat transfixed—and chirping—looking at something outside in our apartment courtyard. I peeked through the window numerous times trying to see what, which typically would be a squirrel. I looked low when my eyes should have turned high.

A pigeon, or is it a dove, perched on the upper balcony railing directly across the way. My camera was in the office, so I used Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 64, 1/120 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 4:53 p.m. PST; composed as shot. The bird basked in the last rays of the setting sun.

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Ash is Alone Now

Sometime soon I will write post “The Departed”, remembering kitties who appeared in my “Cats of University Heights” series that no longer live in the neighborhood. Many are gone because their owners moved elsewhere. Others are missing or confirmed deceased; coyotes are major suspected, or confirmed, cause.

This fine feline is very much alive, or he was when I captured the Featured Image two days ago. Ash is alone now. In November 2017, his yard mate Booger was hit by a car on the SR-163 entrance ramp, which is down an embankment close to his former home. Ash’s other cat companion, Sebastian, vanished in late October 2022.

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Because It’s Garbage Day

I am not as wowed with the photos coming from Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra as anticipated. Inconsistency best describes my overall gripe. I have possessed the smartphone since Dec. 15, 2022. The pics are a bit too artificial, even by small-sensor mobile standards, and color could be more accurate or as the eyes see. That said, if unique look is standard of measure, then the sometimes somewhat smudgy shots are impressionistic-painting worthy.

The Featured Image is one of the better (cropped) captures, which underwent a fair amount of post-production tweaking—or as much as can be expected when working with a JPEG original. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 12, 1/220 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 2:26 p.m. PST.

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Grand House

Due to a necessary visit by the plumber in the afternoon and late Zoom meeting in the evening, I share something quick—being behind schedule. San Diego location is unknown, but Banker’s Hill is one possibility. Architecture appeals to me. You?

The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket‘s 8-megapixel rear camera. If I rightly recall, the Android smartphone was an early 4G LTE for AT&T, which would have been my carrier 11 years ago.

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The Cats of University Heights: Sunny

Happy Caturday. We celebrate with a portrait that I couldn’t capture if still using iPhone 13 Pro. But Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra‘s 10x zoom lens delivers better than my expectation. Granted, pixel-peeping reveals mushy details—but, hey, I would have nothing otherwise.

I captured the Featured Image late morning, along an undisclosed street East of and parallel to Park Blvd. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 40, 1/850 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 10:13 a.m. PST. The ginger is our one-hundred-seventh feline found looking out window or door.

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Pooky the Aldi Shopper

Samsung kicked off the new month by unpacking smartphones that are available to preorder today for expected delivery on February 17. Even though the Galaxy S22 Ultra has been in my possession only since mid-December, I opted for successor S23 Ultra. Samsung launch discounts, combined with trade-in and freebees, achieve purchase parity with the one from last year. Bonus storage upgrade—same as the S22 Ultra—made the choice all the easier. Why would anyone buy iPhone for two to three times more—remembering that Apple is a rare and stingy discounter. The company operates by the “pay more principle”.

My main interest is the new camera system—contending I haven’t yet taken full advantage of the S22 Ultra capabilities, which ravage the iPhone 13 Pro that my daughter inherited from me or the 14 Pro I chose not to buy. All that said, should smartphone reviewers readily recommend that current model owners stay put, then I will cancel the flagship S23 Ultra order. Camera comparisons will mean much.

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A Rose by any Other Name…is Wet

Rains returned to San Diego but broken by sunshine long enough for my wife and I to take a morning walk. After going along Panorama Drive, we crossed Adams Avenue to where Alabama Street starts. Few houses along, Annie stopped and regarded a pink rose poking through the open slats of a fence.

I turned Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to that one, and another, which is the Featured Image—but from when I returned about 30 minutes later for a more deliberate composition. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 12, 1/250 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 9:48 a.m. PST.

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The Strand

As my wife and I walked on Jan. 12, 2023, she stopped to look at a bracelet that either had been discarded or lost. We both wanted photos—me for no particularly reason, but she because it’s her thing; Annie works with beads.

The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 50, 1/400 sec, 13mm (film equivalent); 1:12 p.m. Look carefully, and you will see an ant, far-left approaching the beaded portion of the stand.

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Don’t Be Humpty Dumpty

How rude is that? In the midst of a massive shortage, one of my neighbors flaunts that he has a source of eggs. Just kidding, of course. You could raise chickens, too. If someone can keep them in San Diego, where houses pack tightly together with limited outdoor space, you could do as much with a little ingenuity. Then when online and TV commentators rail about bird flu cracking the egg supply chain, you won’t be Humpty Dumpty all broken up because store shelves are empty.

Returning to the topic of my neighbor’s chickens, if they were mine, I would watch them carefully when pecking about the lawn. Because of the so-called egg apocalypse, some passerby might decide to pluck one of the birds. What’s worse than a porch pirate purloining your Amazon delivery? Someone stealing your birds. Don’t expect them to escape the chase or cluck for help. They are an emotional and financial investment that you don’t want to risk losing.

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Do I have Egg On My Face?

Two days ago, I smugly boasted about finding plenty of egg-dozens—and same price as the previous week—at my local Trader Joe’s. Happening by the store this afternoon, I passed the cooler where eggs are supposed to be and—as you can see from the Featured Image—there were none. Goodness me.

“Decrease in chicken population” is a great excuse that fits with all the bird flu hysteria. I don’t doubt that supplies are somewhat constrained right now. But I also recognize that fear of shortages drives people to panic purchase, leading to the predicted predicament. That TJ’s receives “deliveries every morning” means the supply chain flows fluidly enough that not only are eggs available but prices stay stable.

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The Cats of University Heights: Aristocat

After an unexpected hiatus, we return to Alabama Street, from which has come the largest number of kitties to appear in the series since its start in October 2016. Our newcomer is ninety-fourth among the 529 total profiles.

On Dec. 30, 2022, my wife and I passed this cutie, who has the privilege of being the one-hundred-fifth feline found looking out window or door. I used Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra‘s 10x optical zoom for the Featured Image. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 40, 1/120 sec, 230mm; 10 am PST.