This summer I started a daily walking ritual—typically in the morning before beginning to meet the day’s demands. Recently, I often will see a black cat in the yard next to the Butterfly House, which […]
A Smartphone Sales Story
I sold my sister’s T-Mobile HTC One M9 today. Nan lives in Vermont, where Verizon delivers consistently better coverage and where the market for a used smartphone is much smaller than here in San Diego. The buyer had previously owned the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which she really enjoyed. While waiting until late November or early December for her matte black iPhone 7 Plus order, the woman has a Samsung Galaxy J7 loaner and hates it. She is familiar with the M9 because her mom owns one.
This lady is the fifth person I’ve met in just a few days who had bought Note 7. They’re everywhere—and a sorry lot of disappointment, too. Every one switched to an iPhone. What? Has no one read reviews claiming Google’s Pixel handsets are the Android iPhones everyone waited for?
The Cats of University Heights: Woo
Woo, who resides among apartments off Park Blvd. near Meade, is a fixture. I’ve seen her, and a littermate, around the same courtyard for years. Not nearly as long as I have lived in University Heights but definitely for a good half-decade. But this summer into autumn, though, she is alone—and I wonder about the other. (I later learned that Woo’s sister was mauled by a dog, leading to her death.)
Google’s Android auto-upload photo feature saved these captures; I can find no digital hard copies anywhere. For about 28 days in autumn 2013, I owned the Moto X Developer Edition before returning for refund. I praised the camera for shooting what the eye sees, which wasn’t enough to offset huge variances in image quality, depending on lighting. I captured the calico using Moto X on October 15th three years ago. If not for Cloud backup, the pics would be lost.
The Cats of University Heights: Roly Poly
Meet the second feline featured in this limited series. From Scruffy we go to Roly Poly (real name unknown). He and I first crossed paths on July 8, 2016 at 6:20 p.m. PDT a few meters onto Cleveland Ave. where it meets Monroe. He couldn’t stay still for long—moving from rolling around on the sidewalk to pestering a black cat meowing and growling on the other side of a hedge to lying flat. He preoccupied most of the time tormenting the hidden beast that I occasionally could see behind the brush.
I shot Roly’s portrait, the Featured Image, using iPhone 6s Plus. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 32, 1/120 sec, 4.15mm.
The Cats of University Heights: Scruffy
I begin a new series that ends when the photos are all used: The Cats of University Heights. The number of feline sightings in my San Diego neighborhood is quite surprising, and I shoot them […]
Patriot One seeks to ‘Prevent the Growth of Terrorism and Gun Violence’
The cop convention is in town this weekend, and I have never seen so many men in blue-grey suits or uniformed officers strutting sidearms. Quite possibly the safest-feeling place in San Diego through October 18th is the San Diego Convention Center and the areas around it—that is unless you’re a lawbreaker or someone as afraid of men and women in uniform as clowns. What the hell is this clown craze anyway? Yeah, that’s off-topic.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police holds its 123rd annual conference, which I blasted through (poor choice of words, I know) yesterday for a specific, and interesting product launch: Patriot One’s NForce CMR1000; self-described as a “covert primary screening device for the detection of on-body concealed weapons at access points including hallways and doorways of weapons-restricted buildings and facilities”. I met with CEO Martin Cronin and Chief Science Advisor Natalia Nikolova.
On This Day
Nine years ago today, my family relocated from the Washington, D.C. suburb of Kensington, Md to San Diego, Calif. Whoa! There is no record in my website archive. Looks like I did little posting in late 2007, which isn’t surprising with the move and trying to continue working. At the time, I operated the Apple Watch and Microsoft Watch blogs. Unbelievably, Ziff Davis enterprise closed down both after laying me off in April 2009. That’s why I warned two years ago: “Writers, Own Your Content!”
I don’t feel like the same human being, after predominately cutting carbs from my diet starting three years ago. Wearing pajamas, I weighed about 91 kilograms (200 pounds) on Oct. 15, 2007; 57 kg (125 lbs) today. My physical build is more like age 20—as is my remarkable energy. Granted, I look every bit of my 57 years and don’t pretend to be otherwise or cling to some misbegotten attempt at reclaiming youth. I’m merely a happy, healthier middle-ager.
Halloween Cat
I sighted the same cat sitting in the same place two nights in a row—second time with enough light to capture meaningful pics with iPhone 7 Plus. The candid presented opportunity to use the dual-camera’s zoom feature. Image on right is standard, and the other is 2X. The collage editor cropped, so for reference I provide the originals separately.
The captures are from Oct. 12, 2016, at 5:36 p.m. PDT. Vitals for the first: f/1.8, ISO 20, 1/399 sec, 3.99mm. The second: f/2.8, ISO 20, 1/129 sec, 6.6mm. I shot the pics quick, fully auto. Activating the optical zoom was one-touch easy.
You Don’t Need Overdraft Protection
I knew it! Today’s Wall Street Journal story “Wells Fargo Managers Pushed Overdraft Services” exactly recounts my experience as the bank’s customer. Few years back, during a routine phone call, a banker offered to add overdraft protection to my account. She pitched it as an important benefit. I paused and replied that the account never overdraws. But she pressed, encouraging me to take the service—and did so four more times.
See, we had an exchange, where I pushed back hard. “If I overdraw the account, you don’t pay, right?”—being well aware of the 2010 Federal Reserve regulation regarding overdrafts. If customers don’t opt in, the bank doesn’t pay the bill and there is no fee. “You can charge only for overdrafts if I sign up, right?” She sidestepped, at first, avoiding the answer and touting the benefits to me.
iPhone 7 Plus First Photo
My daughter’s cat Cali sleeps on the desk from where I type this post. I couldn’t resist giving iPhone 7 Plus a quick, point-and-click camera test. She is too cute. Except for the slightest straightening, […]
Can You Say Cat Contact Lenses?
On October 15th, we will be living in the same San Diego apartment for nine years—and not since the first with a lease. But as of the 1st, we must abandon month-to-month living or pay […]
I’m Mad! Some Dude is using My Gmail to open Dating and Deal Site Accounts!
Question: “When is stupidity fraud?” I ask because someone is using my gmail address to sign up for a humungous number of newsletters and websites. At first, I presumed someone trolled me. But that no longer appears to be the case. This guy, presumably living in North Carolina, either uses my address randomly to hide his identity, or he mistypes one that is similar. Given many of the services are for an unidentified widower looking for love, I assume the latter.
Behind my question are real concerns about identity and privacy that do not just apply to me. The email address gives me the ability to change the passwords and even cancel accounts—both of which I have done, treating his misuse of my email address as identity theft and violations of my privacy; after years of careful cultivation that reduced spam, crap is on the rise as this misuse spreads my gmail identity across dating and discount sites and sex webcams. Who knows on what mailing lists it will appear next. But over the past 24 hours, the amount of spam offers, like being paid to take surveys, exploded. The email address may be permanently ruined for personal and professional purposes.