Hang On, Woody!

In what could be a real-life scene from film Toy Story, Sheriff Woody precariously hangs from the back of a Toyota Tacoma spotted along Mission Avenue in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. Where is Buzz Lightyear to the rescue? Take a closer look at either the Featured Image or companion and you will see that the cowboy doll is pad-a-locked in.

Both photos come from iPhone 13 Pro, yesterday. Vitals: f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1698 sec, 26mm; 1:07 p.m. PST. The other: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/319 sec, 77mm; 1:06 p.m. When I showed my wife the second shot, taken first, she observed that it’s not absolutely apparent that Woody hangs off the ground. So I took another.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 11, 20217:49 pm

Goodbye, Nature

The last issue of Nature—Vol. 600, No. 7887—awaits my reading attention. For this renewal cycle, publisher Springer raised my annual subscription price by 36 percent, pushing the cost beyond my budget.

I will miss the magazine but can’t complain. After the company stopped offering an iPad app digital edition four years ago, I phoned seeking alternatives and was presented with a half-off rate. While a discount remains, the new price is too steep when considering other subscriptions and weighing the value of each for the cost.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 10, 20218:12 pm

The Omicron Variant

This post’s title, which also names the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2) strain currently causing a global healthcare scare, would be better for a thriller-genre book or film about viral terrorism.

Cue the movie trailer: Six survivors. Keanu Reeves. Daniel Craig. Angelina Jolie. Regé-Jean Page. Kelly Marie Tran. And the esteemed Charlton Heston (appearing as a 3-D hologram). The Omicron Variant. The premise is so frightening that the screenwriters have each gotten three COVID-19 booster shots. You, too, will never think the same way about vaccines—and who gets them when supplies are lacking and the HAZMAT-suited stack body bags in front of your house. Oh, did we forget to mention that they’re empty and waiting to be filled—when your, ah, quarantine is over. The Omicron Variant. Who will survive viral armageddon?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 9, 202112:01 am

The Cats of University Heights: Scooch

The second of two kittens seen frolicking on Nov. 22, 2021 crouched beneath a car after another vehicle passed loudly by—hence nickname Scooch. I stooped low with iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/314 sec, 77mm; 11:35 a.m. PST.

My wife and I each separately spotted one of the kittens; my eyes followed Springer. We have yet to see them again. But we’re watching!

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 8, 20219:33 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Springer

Where Cliff Street and Panorama Drive meet, my wife and I independently each spotted a kitten on Nov. 22, 2021. Our approach along the sidewalk separated the two frolickers, unintentionally. I barely managed to snag portraits of both, using iPhone 13 Pro. Today we present the first; tomorrow the other.

The tiger tabby earns nickname Springer, for the position of its back legs as seen in the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/234 sec, 77mm; 11:33 a.m. PST.

Living by Joe WilcoxDec 7, 20218:45 pm

For Want of Two Dollars

On Nov. 28, 2021, I pulled into the local gas station to fill up the tank. Because debit card-skimmers are frequent enough concerns around San Diego, I always pay with cash and usually even bills (e.g., tens or twenties). But uncharacteristically, I only had two fives and eight singles—or so I thought.

I counted in the car and then on the way to the Valero’s door. When handing the money to the cashier, I stated the amount and pump number. Outside, filling stopped at $16—and I thought: “How unusual to top off at an even number”. I walked inside for my change, but there was none.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 6, 202110:12 pm

Tiger Moth Caterpillars

While walking along Louisiana today, Annie and I came across two of our neighbors tending their flower garden. Gracie, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, belonged to them before she passed away at age 19. Seeing my camera, the wife turned my attention to three caterpillars munching leaves.

I immediately exclaimed “Woolly Bear caterpillars!”—for their colors and fuzziness. But the resemblance ended there. My memory is a larva with orange band in the middle and black at both ends. If I rightly recall, and please correct me if mistaken, that caterpillar eventually becomes the Isabella tiger moth.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 5, 20216:39 pm

When Warm Hearts Melt

For some, love really is dangerous.

The snow couple are among several Christmas-themed inflatables outside a home nearby the Madison Avenue overlook in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. My wife and I passed by them today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 4, 20217:11 pm

Who Skewered Teddy?

Yesterday, as my wife and I approached the blue-and-white house where flew the American flag at half-mast in September 2021, a tiny teddy came into view—back-to. As we passed, I stopped, pulled out Leica Q2, adjusted the aperture, and snapped the sole shot that is the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/2000 sec, 28mm; 12:51 p.m. PST.

The front-view of the stuff bear looks across Lincoln near the corner at Alabama in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. I want to know why the plushy is so unceremoniously placed. Is it meant to signal something? Was it found on the sidewalk or street and put up where more easily seen?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 3, 20217:45 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Meowy

Day before yesterday, in the alley separating Alabama and Mississippi, not far from cross-street Meade, a black-and-white kitten approached my wife and I—and, oh, what constant meowing; hence the nickname. From apparent age, colorization, and vocalization, I wondered if Squeaky had wandered over from Louisiana. But quick photo comparison unquestionably identifies two different kitties.

Today, we saw the youngster yet again, but on the front-side of the apartment building, facing Mississippi. But unlike the Featured Image and companion, where Meowy wears a collar, there was none today. The cat clearly wanted something; perhaps food, its human caretaker, or both. We couldn’t guess, even after the kitten settled down on a welcome mat outside an apartment door.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 2, 20218:42 pm

Big, Boastful Branding

I smile—and occasionally chuckle—when walking by this camper sticking out into the alley separating Cleveland and Maryland, not far from our old University Heights apartment. My Maine hometown is the same name, which I admit is part of the appeal. Brrr, in Caribou, its 3 degrees Celsius (37 F) and raining as I write from warmer San Diego, where the evening sky is partly overcast and the temperature is 13 C (56 F).

The camper’s vintage is unknown to me, and who could guess from the little visible from the alley? But the thing is loved—looking at the pristine wooden door—and source of the owner’s pride. Otherwise, why let the branded top front boastfully hang out in view?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 1, 20218:28 pm

Tick-Tock

What an unexpectedly appropriate Featured Image. Being the first day of the year’s last month, I am thinking about time and how to meaningfully fill the 31—okay, now thirty—days that remain. Expect my report in early 2022.

My wife and I passed by the wall clock along the alley separating Louisiana and Texas streets behind the liquor store and its parking lot located on Meade Ave. I often see Princess Leia in the vicinity, but not today. She joined my “Cats of University Heights” series in June 2018.