The (Honorary) Cats of University Heights: Oliver, Too

Today, while walking in the neighborhood of Hillcrest, along University Avenue, not far from Eli’s, I came upon a tabby wearing a GPS collar. He moved with assurance, not bothered by my following and unsuccessfully taking a good photo (I got plenty of his back). As he moseyed into a parking lot, someone called “Oliver” to him and said “That’s my cat” to me.

His owner had one of those meshy cat carriers that are often worn on the back. She is former military, from Portland, Ore., and lives here—having once been stationed in San Diego. The thirty-nine-year old was refreshingly friendly, particularly considering current American society’s stereotypes of animosity and division: Woman of color and aging white male are supposed to be enemies of gender and race.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 5, 202310:33 pm

What are These Things?

I don’t know what to make of another odd alley find. Are they games? Toys? Something else? You tell me. My wife and I came across the pair between Mississippi and Louisiana in San Diego […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 4, 202311:25 pm

A Musical Parting

The Korg Concert 4000 that I purchased used in August 2014 is gone. Today, I listed the piano on Nextdoor and had a taker within minutes. A dad with five kids got the musical instrument for his two daughters.

I let the keyboard go as we make room for our daughter to move in to our somewhat cramped apartment. She hasn’t lived with us for more than a couple months since going off to college a decade ago—nothing more than occasional visits for more than five years. But she needs a safe place to stay when released from in-patient rehabilitation and entering an outpatient program. Both facilities specialize in recovery from brain injuries or stroke.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20239:38 pm

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Near and Far

The immense amount of precipitation pummeling California this year makes for uncharacteristically lush landscape—as can be seen from the Cleveland Avenue overlook in San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. During our more than 15 years living here, I have never seen so much green growth.

Some Spring seasons, heavy rains mean crane flies cling to exterior walls of the apartment building outside the laundry room. Our cats, Cali and Neko, love to chase (and eat) them. I really should start looking evenings for the insects, which often are mistaken for mosquitos.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20239:29 pm

My New Backpack

With hours to spare, on the final day, I took advantage of REI’s big member-discount event. I placed the order on March 27, 2023 and received it on the 31st. As our daughter undergoes rehabilitation, more of my time will go to traveling—and, occasionally, hanging out waiting. I hadn’t carried a backpack in years, and time had arrived to start doing so again.

As you can see from the Featured Image and companion, I chose the Urban Assault 21, which manufacturer Mystery Ranch says is “inspired by military assault rucksacks; this versatile daypack is the epitome of clean, functional design. Featuring our three-zip closure, it makes accessing pack contents as easy as one, two, three”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 202310:13 pm

Look for Him!

A little more than a month after acquiring Leica Q, I shot the Featured Image. Zoom in to see the bee, if he doesn’t already jump out at you. I did consider close-cropping but kind of like leaving this one composed as captured.

Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm; 10:03 a.m. PDT, July 2, 2017.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 202310:20 pm

A Little Friend Returns

Our daughter’s recovery companion is a little Japanese chick, likely purchased during Comic-Con 2010. She gave it to her best friend years ago; he returned it when she was still in critical condition. Yesterday, our girl left the hospital about 40 minutes shy of 30 days. She has moved on to facility for rehabilitation, which will be the subject of a future post.

For now, the Featured Image is the topic. You can disbelieve me, but this one comes from Nexus One—composed as shot and in no way edited. Vitals are incomplete, but the date is there: July 23, 2010, 1:22 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 30, 202310:11 pm

A Samsung Sentiment

I only vaguely remember being at the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch event—looks like on June 3, 2011, based on the metadata of the two photos. These tech launches do blend together over time, after attending so many. I do recall being excited about the slate, which I called the “first true Honeycomb tablet”, referring to Android 3.1.

I am not yet a brand junkie, but could soon be, following my return to Samsung, switching from iPhone 13 Pro to Galaxy S22 Ultra in December 2022. Two months later, I traded that one in as part of my purchase of the S23 Ultra. My wife owns the S22, and I bought our daughter the S23 a few days ago. Yikes! The police took the 13 Pro, seeking evidence of a crime against her—and they’re not in any rush to give it back. Well, so much for the Fourth Amendment. Surely there are stranger paths from iOS to Android.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 29, 20239:53 pm

Another Radio Rig

I most likely shot the Featured Image when offering the radio for sale 10 years ago. To my surprise, Craigslist no longer lists my full history of posts, which is a shocking discovery. I see three total—two for 2022 and one for 2020. Where are the rest?

Fortunately, my email exchanges are diligently archived, which confirms the date. I used Fujifilm X-E1 to shoot the Grundig Satellit 750 on Dec. 22, 2013. Someone bought the world band receiver on Jan. 5, 2014. I do miss the radio, but it was large for my office space at the time.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 202310:22 pm

Ray of Light

Sigma DP1 returns for a palm shot to which I jacked up dehaze in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to produce the punchy Featured Image. Vitals: f/7.1, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, 28mm (film equivalent); 11:50 a.m. PDT, April 12, 2008. This one is composed as captured.

Looking at the date stamp, my question: Where did 15 years go? And another: Why do I barely recognize San Diego’s cultural and urban landscapes?

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 27, 202311:05 pm

Our Daughter’s New Smartphone

From my perspective, the police violated our daughter’s Fourth Amendment protections when seizing the iPhone 13 Pro that she inherited from me as a 2022 Christmas present. The story: Parents of the household where she visited handed over the device when asked. But it wasn’t theirs to give, nor the cops to take. Our only child couldn’t, and so didn’t, authorize the seizure. Justification: A sergeant, and later detective, told me they sought evidence of a crime against our daughter, the victim.

Law enforcement’s fishing expedition deprives the device’s owner as she recuperates from a double stroke caused by oxygen deprivation and prepares to go to an acute rehabilitation facility sometime soon. She wants her iPhone, and the detective doesn’t respond to my calls. We even had tentatively scheduled a meeting whereby we would discuss possible passcodes to unlock the device. That was before our girl made massive strides unthinkable the day of the proposed meetup to which he didn’t show.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 26, 20239:24 pm

‘How Does This Neighborhood Exist?’

The title of this post is the question I kept asking myself while walking along the streets nearby the hospital where our daughter recuperates. Charming. Quaint. Throwback. All are appropriate. Many of the houses are older, with bountiful yards teaming with plants, trees, and wildlife (mostly birds and butterflies). The smells and sounds are so idyllic.

I saw nothing but single-family homes, at a time when across San Diego County so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) pop up in backyards faster than and as abundantly as mushrooms after the rain. Buildings are leveled to make way for multi-resident housing. Renovations turn homes with character into caricatures.