Server @Work

Only one unopened @Work Android Collectible remains, after today’s unveiling: Café Worker / Barista / Roaster. The box is nearly empty. What disappointment that is, too. Maybe I can share some other past purchases from Dead Zebra.

In the real world, this fine fella could either be unemployed or object of customer complaint. On April 1. 2024, California raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour, which oddly is four bucks more than the mandate set for everyone else. Cost-cutting layoffs are rampant at burger joints, pizza, places, and the like—as are increased prices (hence, those disgruntled customers).

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 23, 202410:12 pm

Color Me Orange

Chill. Don’t complain about more flowers. Appreciate them—as do I. Walking along an alley today, I passed by clinging-vine Nasturtium that had taken over a backyard gate and fence.

The simple, cheerful scene charmed me enough to pull out Leica Q2 and take a single shot. Vitals for the Featured Image, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm; 3:17 p.m. PDT. I reduced orange saturation during post production.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 22, 202410:22 pm

Father-Son Moment

My father and I weren’t distant, but we weren’t exactly close either—mainly because our characters were markedly different. I wasn’t the son he had wanted, and Dad didn’t get another. I am eldest of four siblings (three sisters).

Stated succinctly: We shared almost no interests in common, and our dispositions were lightyears apart. I am fairly easygoing, while he was one of the most controlling persons I have ever met—oh, gosh, but not in a brutal, cruel way like parents who beat their kids or spouses. He was simply demanding of everyone, but, to reiterate, not violent by any means. That said, mom divorced him when I was 13, and his departure was a relief.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 21, 20249:27 pm

Pretty Poppy

The calendar hanging on our refrigerator correctly designates April 22 as Earth Day. I consider the celebration to be a year-long event. Our celestial home deserves more than 24 hours out of the 8,760 during a typical year.

So, commemorating today before you do tomorrow, I present the Featured Image, taken because of the California Poppy’s color. Unfortunately, breeze blew by just as I clicked the camera’s shutter, so point of focus isn’t exactly where intended but close enough.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 20, 20249:58 pm

This is No Fairy Tale

Third weekend of the month means the book sale room is open at my local San Diego Public Library branch (University Heights). My wife and I stopped briefly by, but we didn’t stay long. The crazies, as I call them, are all over the place on Saturday mornings, loading up massive amounts of books into bags and boxes.

Based on the choices, such as physical condition, the early birds appear to be buying books to resell. (Can you say Amazon?) We checked out with two DVDs for Annie and one Aesop’s Fables for me behind some dude paying more than $90—at standard price of buck-a-book, the number is obvious.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 19, 202411:32 pm

I Want to, But…

The Mac faithful boast about the Apple lifestyle and devices working well together. Samsung sells a compelling ecosystem, too, that is much broader than personal computing devices—everything from TVs to washing machines, and all in-between.

As an owner of smartphone, smartwatch, and tablet from the South Korean manufacturer, I have longed to add a laptop to the mix. Last year’s Galaxy Book3 Ultra checked off most benefits on my list, but no touchscreen and a then recent purchase of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio stopped any irrational purchase. Two months ago, Samsung started selling the Galaxy Book4 Ultra, with touchscreen, and I was intrigued.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 18, 20249:51 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Jux

Last night, I noticed that Microsoft had updated the Windows 11 Photos app, adding some artificial intelligence chops. I used some of these capabilities to modify the Featured Image, which is composed as shot.

Before continuing that discussion, an editorial note: Finally we return to the kitty backlog; Dec. 17, 2023. Okay, resuming the topic: An object to the left would have identified location, so I used Photos’ new Generative Erase to remove the thing; three tries, by the way. I then used the Background Brush Tool to blur the left pane, which juxtaposes the sharp glass reflection to the right that somewhat obscures the cat.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 17, 202410:53 pm

Dad and Daughter

My father’s death yesterday ends one saga and begins another. His grandfather purchased the farm in 1895, and the core property has remained continuously with the Wilcox clan. At one time, the expanse topped 200 acres. But portions were sold off decades upon decades ago, leaving 100 acres—60 of which is for farming and the rest is woodland.

Dad chose not to leave the portion over which he has title—nearly two-thirds, including the buildings—to family. His pastors, a married couple—and not their church—are the inheritors. The arrangement isn’t some surprise; he made clear his intentions years ago.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 16, 20249:43 pm

For Father

My father has passed away—40 days exactly since life-saving treatment suspended and he left the hospital to decline in his home. A few minutes after 9 this morning, my sister Nan telephoned to say that he had taken a sharp turn downward and wasn’t expected the last much longer. She called again, almost exactly four hours later, to let me know he was gone.

Some weeks ago, Nan asked me to write the obituary—a task I resisted. Top reason: In this age of Artificial Intelligence scanning and rampant criminal scamming, I was reluctant to share much family information publicly. For some people, death is an opportunity to take advantage of others in their grief.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 15, 20249:32 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Jot

This isn’t the way to clear up the beastie backlog—sharing a feline find from yesterday. My wife spotted the grey as we walked along the Cleveland Ave. overlook towards Campus. The shorthair is neither Blue nor Blue Too, both of which lived nearby and who joined the series in November 2016.

The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 64, 1/120 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:16 a.m. PDT. Composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 14, 20249:39 pm

Fortnight Lilies

Being bored while our ginger Neko explored the apartment building courtyard late afternoon, I pulled out Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and turned it to some of the fortnight lilies lounging in the center space. The Featured Image and companion are among a total of seven captures.

Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 50, 1/240 sec, 13mm (film equivalent); 4:59 p.m. PDT. The other is same but 1/300 sec, one-minute earlier. Both photos are composed as shot and straight from the smartphone; no edits.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 13, 20249:08 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Guy

What about this one apartment that it attracts owners of ginger/orange putty-tats? Before Guy (real name), August called the place home and Penny before her. The newer resident is the the one-hundred-twenty-eighth feline found behind door or window, since the series‘ start in October 2016.

Unless I miscounted, Guy is the one-hundredth kitty from Alabama Street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. While the number is high compared to anywhere else in the neighborhood, it increases much slower than, say, 12 to 18 months ago. Residential turnover in that part of the neighborhood favors Bay Area and Los Angeles transplants, who tend to be dog owners.