Tag: Galaxy S24 Ultra

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 10, 20259:26 pm

Hey, Birdie

One of my neighbors puts out food for just about every kind of critter that lives in University Heights—the exception being coyotes. As such, she has possums, racoons, and skunks strutting into her yard at night. The day belongs to birds, butterflies, cats, and dogs, among others.

While we visited on Nov. 27, 2024, a white-crowned sparrow dropped by for a bite of breakfast. I easily captured the Featured Image, using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/125 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 9:51 a.m. PST. Composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 8, 20259:16 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Tip and Tap

We break from the back of the queue to nearly the front. My wife and I passed this apparent bonded pair while walking home from Pizza Hut, Dec. 23, 2024. We fetched our Christmas pie a day earlier than we typically do. You want holiday ham? Fine. We’re Super Supreme lovers, without the black olives.

These two live just inside the neighborhood boundary (North Park starts on the next block). I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 50, 1/120 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 12:49 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 5, 20259:24 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Blush

I warned you. A deluge of furballs is arriving, as we clear out the massive backlog of unpublished putty-tats. This frightened ginger is frequently seen in the same yard as Topcat. I don’t know if they’re residents or community cats who are fed and loved.

Similarly, I held back the feline, hoping to see the owner and ask for the real name. Well, that hasn’t happened, and the time for waiting longer ends today. I choose nickname Blush, for demeanor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 4, 20258:59 pm

Afternoon Delight

San Diego’s three-summer season means squirrels, and lots of other wildlife, are active year-long. Why hibernate when foodstuffs continually grow, and the days are warm and lovely? The sounds of crows, and the occasional parrots, almost drown out the constant cacophony of residential construction (new builds are everywhere).

I spotted the subject of the Featured Image, clutching an afternoon snack, on Dec. 18, 2024. The portrait comes from Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/60 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 2:37 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 2, 20259:37 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Creamsicle

As promised, the parade of pussyfoots begins, with one encountered just a few months ago. You will later meet others that have languished in the queue since at least 2023.

This orange and white carries the distinction of being the one-hundred-fifth feline seen along Alabama Street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln, since the series‘ start in October 2016. That’s out of 596 profiles, including this one.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 31, 20249:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Kitten

We close 2024 with what you will see too much of during January and February: Cats! The backlog of unpublished kitties is massive, so time is long past to dispatch them all. The first of the bunch jumps to the front of queue.

I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image on December 2 at 10:03 a.m. PST. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 200, 1/120 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom). Nickname: Kitten. Location: Somewhere along Georgia Street.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 29, 20244:36 pm

Use Artificial Intelligence to Make Journalists Journalists Again

Among the major problems with today’s news reporting is sourcing. Writers generate stories from Instagrams or TikToks. They take Reddit posts and treat them as gospel (praise, Jesus!). They second- or third-source from blogs, X-posts, or other news sites. Instead, reporters should source firsthand.

If you don’t directly engage someone, you don’t know what’s true. Hearsay isn’t admissible in court and surely shouldn’t be permissible in journalism. I understand that time is a problem when employers impose quotas in an attempt to pay homage to the Great Google God of search. But that’s no excuse for poor sourcing.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 26, 202410:22 am

Sorry, Santa

File this in the categories of good intentions gone wrong and meddling where you shouldn’t. Leading up to Christmas, unidentified flying objects—presumably drones, some the size of SUVs—flew about New Jersey close to its coastline. UFOs later appeared elsewhere, which includes San Diego County. Some locals talked about shooting one down.

Finally, some solid citizen pulled out some surplus military missile thing and pointed it to the sky. Boom! He got one! But his excitement turned to horror when a spotter reported hitting a different, and quite unintended, target.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 25, 20249:58 pm

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas Day is nearly over, but every day should be a celebration of giving. Live for the sake others—give and forget. That’s the spirit of the season, which is instead awash with wanton materialism, rather than celebrating Jesus—or the birth of any child, for that matter.

Around San Diego neighborhood University Heights, the atmosphere was spiritless today. During a morning walk, my wife and I passed numerous residents—many of them walking dogs. I greeted everyone with “Good Morning” and “Merry Christmas”. No one, and I mean no one, returned the greeting or acknowledged our presence. I know that we are old now, but so were some of the non-responders.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 24, 20249:35 pm

Plaza Bonita’s Christmas Eve Surprise

Heavy morning fog giving way to drab drizzle defined Christmas Eve. My wife and I broke with our normal neighborhood walking protocol and headed off to one of San Diego’s few enclosed malls: Westfield Plaza Bonita. I wanted someplace for warming walking, and we hadn’t gone retail shopping anywhere really this season.

The shoppers were characteristically different from the locals where we live (University Heights). According to U.S. Census data, National City residents are about 66 percent Hispanic, 19.7 percent Asian, 8 percent White, and 4 percent Black. Around ultra-white UH, Hillcrest, and North Park, the population is older and more likely single or childless couples (straight and not). By contrast, Plaza Bonita bustled with families and teenagers. I swear that the average of people dropped 10 or 15 years. I love it! Hello, National City!

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 22, 20249:45 pm

We Found a Rat Rod

This morning, my wife and I walked through Lafayette Hotel, here in University Heights, to see if it was as bustling busy as last Sunday when we looked in to see the holiday decorations. The place was livelier seven days ago.

I had wanted to stroll in with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to capture video of the zillion Christmas trees (some hanging from the ceiling) and raucous crowd (some of whom were hanging from the ceiling—or might as well been). Perhaps Christmas Eve, or better, New Years Eve will bring the right ambiance.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 19, 20249:47 pm

Meet Nikon Zf

UPS delivered the Nikon Zf camera kit, with bundled f/4 40mm lens, and separately two others, on December 16, 2024. But, being busy bustling about other responsibilities, I didn’t break out the camera until last night. I want to share some quick first impressions.

The Zf is hefty in the hand, and the small hand grip makes for questionable balance—and I won’t assess that characteristic until spending more time with the thing in the field (I was supposed to also receive, for free, the Zf-GR1 Extension Grip, but it’s backordered). For that reason, I initially mounted the smallish kit lens—Zf 40mm (SE).