Is That a Threat or a Promise?

As Halloween approaches—and the number of ghoulish yard decorations explode like no other year—we return for more. I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to capture the Featured Image, last night. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 1000, 1/8 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 7:52 p.m. PDT.

The grave stones are quite elaborate, running outside the cement enclosure and facing the sidewalk. I returned about an hour ago, with Leica Q2, for a sharper shot—but illumination is orange and nowhere as striking as the blue. So I passed the opportunity.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 21, 20239:19 pm

Big Book Sale Surprise

My wife asked about going to see the San Diego mural from my Oct. 18, 2023 post, so today we walked to the alley between El Cajon Blvd and Howard Ave. along 30th Street in North Park. She took first photos; I shot some refreshers.

From there we headed West along Howard towards Sprouts market to buy bananas and organic whole milk. The University Heights Public Library book sale room opens into the grocer’s parking lot—and it was open. So we ventured inside for a surprise.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 20, 202310:08 pm

Now That’s Frightening

Welcome to another blast from the past. I captured the Feature Image on this date in 2012, using Galaxy Nexus, which was codeveloped by Google and Samsung and manufactured by the latter company. Vitals: f/2.75, ISO 50, 1/115 sec, 3.43mm; 3:40 p.m. PDT.

Location: Monroe, between Cleveland and Maryland, in University Heights. The property is good measurement of San Diego’s changing housing market. The place sold for $520,000 in June 2011. The family living there moved to a larger home and put this place on the market, where it went for $617,500 in September 2013.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 19, 20239:15 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Aura

We go from Milo, Too on Mississippi to the alley behind the street along the same block. My wife spotted the grey today, and I stopped with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for a shot through the chain-link fence.

Take a close look at the Featured Image. A white glow outlines the kitty—and it’s not some digital artifact produced by the smartphone’s sensor. The late-day sun created the effect for which this fine feline earns nickname Aura. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 250, 1/60 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 5:47 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 18, 202310:51 pm

The Most Unaffordable City

San Diego is too prestigious a place. In July 2023, rents exceeded San Francisco. Yikes! Last month, the median-selling price for residences (houses and more) topped $1 million. The city earns yet another distinction: U.S. News & World Report has crowned San Diego as “#1 in most expensive places to live”. Uh, yeah.

Los Angeles is second; broadly, California cities capture seven spots in the top ten. Oh joy. I marvel at how suddenly—catastrophically—was the transition from, quoting the motto, “America’s finest city” to America’s most unaffordable place to live. Four years ago, food, sundries, and housing cost so much less.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 17, 20239:25 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Milo, Too

This series started seven years ago—Oct. 17, 2016—with a kitty I call Scruffy. Five-hundred-fifty-three profiles later, I continue to discover new kitties—something I couldn’t conceive in a neighborhood with so many dog owners.

My miscalculation: Failing to understand the make-up of San Diego households, of which 52 percent are renters rather than homeowners. As such, tenant turnover is fairly frequent and includes pets; for people living in smaller spaces, feline friends are a popular choice. Foolish me, for not seeing the obvious.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 16, 20239:12 pm

Three of Us

I take the hint—just need to follow-through. Tonight, my cousin Dan emailed another photo, taken by my uncle, circa 1970, with closing “call any time”. I will. I will. We Wilcox men must stick together.

Meanwhile, the Featured Image, later edited by me, is what he sent. I only share with you because everyone benefits from humbling moments of public humiliation. Eleven-year-old me looks like the prince of dweebs. I am aghast, honestly. Someone should have left that little twerp in the woods.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 202310:25 pm

Sixteen Years Ago Today

On Oct. 15, 2007, the Wilcox family arrived in San Diego from the Washington, D.C.-metro area. Within days, I began to understand the character of Communist California Culture and regret relocating. But we came to assist my aged father-in-law, so that he might maintain freedom to live in his apartment, which he did until passing away there at age 95 in January 2017.

My wife and I talked about returning to the East Coast almost immediately after her dad’s death. But our only child (an adult, by then) was attached to Southern California, and she wasn’t ready for us to leave her. We stayed—or shall I say overstayed—our time here. San Diego has changed all too much in terrible ways—almost all brought about by state and/or local mandates.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 14, 202310:18 pm

Hungry Eyes

Who could guess that we would return to the “1917 House” for another look (seriously, no pun intended; maybe) at Halloween peepers just four days later. My previous daylight shot simply misses everything that makes the scene in darkness. I unexpectedly happened by this evening; 8:27 p.m. PDT.

The Featured Image is the last of three and surprising choice from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I had expected to share the 50-megapixel capture, but the 12MP is more detailed and truer to color. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 1250, 1/25 sec, 23mm (film equivalent).

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 13, 20238:54 pm

Boom Button

One week ago tomorrow, Hamas terrorists launched an assault into Israel that slaughtered entire families (yes, children included), grabbed hostages, and raped women. Need I say more? As Israel prepares to invade Gaza Strip, regional tensions rise—perhaps even exceeding the raw emotional reaction among Jews and many other human beings.

My concern: Atrocities were meant to evoke such anger that Israel acts out the script of a plan meant to give Hezbollah an excuse to join Hamas in a counteroffensive that would devastate the Jewish state and lead to global war—as nations like the United States take military action for its longstanding ally and Muslim countries like Iran directly or, by proxy, indirectly intervene for the terrorist groups.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 12, 20239:28 pm

Who Can It Be Now?

What to say? I don’t drink alcoholic anything, but here we are for a third time romping over Bud Light. Perhaps you know the once popular beer that undergoes the mother of all boycotts—after Anheuser-Busch made the marketing mistake of aligning with a transgender TikToker.

Previously, on this torrid topic: “‘Hey, I Thought There was a Boycott!‘” and “Delivering or Removing?” So with the beer’s sales flushing down a toilet, I was surprised to see—on Oct. 8, 2023—a bag of empties tied up nicely for someone like Pat to grab and cash in at the local recycler. The Featured Image was a compulsory capture, if for no other reason than how cleanly the cans were gathered together and neatly sacked.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 11, 202310:25 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Whisper

Meet the third kitty spotted inside a catio since the series‘ start seven years ago. The others: Jester and King. That’s three out of 552 profiles. I spotted this fine feline while walking with my wife on Oct. 1, 2023 along an undisclosed alley.

The Featured Image is made possible by Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s 10x optical zoom. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/390 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:58 a.m. PDT. For nickname, I choose Whisper.