Tag: California Living

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 2, 20239:49 pm

Finally, a Good Use For Cloth COVID Masks

Talk about a day-making moment and wonderful way to kick off first day of the new month. As my wife and I walked down the alley separating North and Campus, in our San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, she stopped and excitedly exclaimed about seeing cantaloupes growing in a community garden.

I saw the masks, smiled, and pointed them out. The Featured Image is for context. The companion is the money shot, so to speak. I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to capture both, yesterday. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/1200 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 11:48 a.m. PDT. The second: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/340 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:48 a.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 1, 20239:53 pm

A Solitary Sign

This is different and, honestly, refreshing. In my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, We Believe signs are almost always some variation of rainbow color text on black background professing sentiments like “love is love”; “black lives matter”; and “science is real”—among others.

Today, along Shirley Ann Place, my wife and I passed a placard seemingly meant as an antidote to the others. Given the community’s liberal leanings, and the plethora of the other signs, I must admit surprise seeing one so blatantly contrary. We live where views dissident to progressive feelings-based beliefs and values simply are not tolerated.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 28, 202311:15 pm

Good Luck Finding a Place for Your Vehicle

While a fervent fan of local news reporting, nevertheless I don’t subscribe to the San Diego Union-Tribune. For folks like me—and maybe you—who can’t get behind the paywall to read stories, OB Rag uses a recent UT story as starting point for its own version. Paul Krueger, who is a “longtime San Diego journalist and a resident of Talmadge”, writes the story: “The Failed ‘Car-Free’ Apartment Project in North Park“.

The city’s zoning approach, which regulations relieve developers from providing parking for apartment buildings or condominiums, is running aground. Proximity to public transportation is the justification and part of a broader strategy of reducing so-called carbon emissions by shifting people from cars to bikes, buses, and trolleys. Good luck with that, because car culture is a California way of life. Residents drive everywhere.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 24, 20238:54 pm

Cop Copter

I could count dozens of ways Southern California is oddly different from anywhere else I have lived, or traveled. With respect to the USA, I have been to every state—and Puerto Rico—but one: Hawaii. Among the oddities: Around San Diego, and presumably Los Angeles, helicopters frequently fly over with loudspeaker blaring some warning or notice.

“Suspect six-foot-ten black male wearing black hat, black hoodie, black jeans, and black backpack. Last seen scaling the fence at the 4500 block of Cleveland Avenue. Stay inside and lock your doors. Call 911 if you see suspect six-foot…” You know, repeats.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 22, 202310:12 pm

The Winslow at Night

University Heights’ biggest, newest apartment complex—with 379 units—is anything but affordable housing. Rentals at the Winslow start at $2,400 for a 484-square-foot studio and go up to $5,945 for 1300-sq-ft apartment with two bedrooms and baths. San Diego officials propagate the myth that building more residences will decrease housing costs and therefore increase availability across lower income brackets.

But the opposite is reality: As newer complexes open, higher rents go with them, lifting the so-called “market rate” that other landlords watch as measure for what they charge their tenants. More is more, meaning rents rise with the new builds raised.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 19, 20239:15 pm

Skyline Seating

Early iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max buyers are just days away from receiving their preorders. Good luck with that. My Galaxy S23 Ultra is a more versatile, worthy shooter. I’ve seen some of the professional reviews, where photos aren’t as impressive as what I enjoy daily. This is no fanboy talk. Go online and look for yourself.

In addition to the default 12-megapixels, photos can be captured at 50MP or 200MP; the Featured Image is the former, and, whoa, look at that detail. Both exceed Apple’s device, which zoom capability tops out at 5x. The Samsung offers 10x, which is 230mm film equivalent. Pro mode puts you in control, and the separate Expert RAW app delivers exactly what the name indicates.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 18, 202311:04 pm

Oriental Garden

The Featured Image has undergone numerous edits—none of which satisfies me. How about you? Problem is busyness and there being no obvious thing upon which eyes can focus. That said, I kind of like the clutter, for there is plenty to explore if you take the time.

The setup is part of the front entrance and lawn area of a house situated along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Location is the same as dusk captures “Light the Way” and “Night Garden“.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 16, 20239:17 pm

Six Dollar Gas Returns

Yikes! When I walked by my local Valero two days ago, price per gallon held steady at godawful $5.50—as when I filled up on Sept. 10, 2023. The Featured Image tells the story: 50-cent increase to, gasp, six bucks a gallon! This is typically a bargain station, too.

The photo comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 250, 1/30 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 7:57 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 12, 202310:46 pm

Housing’s New Selling High is a Low Blow for San Diego

In July 2017, when we were home shopping, I started to monitor—and occasionally write about—the local housing market. The next month, countywide, median price for a single-family residence reached $610,000, according to San Diego Association of Realtors. Fast-forward six years and $1,025,000 is median, according to SDAR, which released the data yesterday.

By my quick math, that’s a 68-percent increase, which makes homeownership an outstanding investment for anyone owning before SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 or increased interest rates this year and last. For anyone else not fairly wealthy, the choices are rent, move, or live on the streets—something of an increasingly common lifestyle.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 11, 202310:34 pm

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I promise: No more photos of the iconic sign on El Cajon Blvd in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. But tonight, returning home with a gallon of organic whole milk (whoa, November 22 sell-by date), from Sprouts market, I came upon the structure from the other side of the street. Surprise! You can get closer to the thing from there. I never would have guessed.

The Featured Image is one of two captured using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This one is straight from the smartphone: Composed as shot and no alterations. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 1250, 1/40 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 8:54 p.m. PDT.

Living by Joe WilcoxSep 5, 202310:08 pm

Scene of the Crime

Last night, while walking to Sprouts market for organic whole milk (yum), I came upon the strangest sight that took some seconds to comprehend. A chalked-like (paint, more likely) outline stretched out from the Stop sign at Florida and Meade into the street.

The graffiti mimics a crime scene, where the cops mark out where the body lays. Here, someone chose the long shadow cast by the traffic sign. I have to wonder if there is intent, meaning, and, ah, metaphor here.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 31, 20239:05 pm

Tennis This Time

San Diego’s three-season summer weather creates all kinds of outdoor activities that would be uncommon elsewhere. Consider public schools: Many are indoor/outdoor, meaning classrooms are enclosed but kids go out to move among them. Costco eateries are on the outside of the warehouses rather than within. The examples abound.

As such, I shouldn’t be so amused, but am, about the older gent watching sports programs out of doors. On Aug. 9, I passed him riveted to a baseball game—all by his lonesome. Tonight, it’s tennis—and he has a friend. “Say, could you pass a can of Modelo Especial?” (Because Bud Light is boycotted, the Mexican beer is now top-seller.)