Tag: Google Pixel 2 XL

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 21, 20183:16 pm

The Cats of University Heights: SID

For six months, I have looked in the area of the Point for ginger tabby SID. Today, we briefly regarded one another after he trotted across Madison near Rhode Island. He posed for three quick portraits, captured with Google Pixel 2 XL. Vitals for the Featured Image: f/1.8, ISO 50, 1/1114 sec, 4.459mm; 9:30 a.m. SID is sister to STAR, who this series profiled in mid-April 2018 a few days before she vanished. She is missing still, so I understand.

BTW, the series passed its 2-year milestone on August 17. Perplexing family matters distracted me from posting to celebrate 4 days ago. This is two-hundred twenty-fifth profile so far. Tip: New photos are rarely added to existing posts, but I do regularly refresh the companion Flickr album with new pics of the kitties. Please take a peek.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 9, 201812:42 pm

James

For as long as we have been in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood—11 years next week—a homeless man lived near the top of Texas Street before it passes the Valero gas station at Madison. James was a fixture, seen day or night, every day, regardless of weather. If absent from his chair for any length of time, there would be chatter across social networks—in recent years NextDoor—asking where he was. Sickness or even police harassment were the more likely reasons for his absences.

Near the end of September, James vanished again, raising roarous concerns on NextDoor, until someone stated—and later was confirmed—that this homeless man had passed away. I didn’t know James, but some of my neighbors engaged him. “Friendly” and “kind” are two words used to describe him among many NextDoor posts and comments. I just took James for granted. He was as much a part of the scenery as the palm trees. As I would drive up Texas, or walk across the Adams Ave. bridge, he was an expected sight—and refreshing one, too. Something about his presence, and neighbors embracing his homelessness, was a triumph of humanity and dignity.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 3, 20188:39 am

The Cats of University Heights: Clarity

While walking to the library yesterday, I spotted the series‘ twenty-eighth Alabama Street putty-tat, and thirty-second looking out from a window. Blacks are the trickiest subjects shot through mesh screen, and in this instance diminishing daylight. I captured the Featured Image at 5:39 p.m., about 50 minutes before sunset.

Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 85, 1/5848 sec, 4.459mm. I used Pixel 2 XL to capture the moment, near Howard Avenue, and edited in Google Photos. The portrait is close-cropped and auto-enhanced. From the distance, and focal length, the smartphone can’t match either of my Leica cameras for clarity. Oddly then, the nickname explained.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 28, 20187:07 pm

Safe and Slow

Yesterday, while petting Willow, I spotted a snail climbing a wall. Lucky for the critter that the Snowshoe cat wanted my attention and that the snail slogged too slowly to catch her interest. While patting […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 28, 20186:55 pm

Bird in a Tree

Four days ago, as my wife and I walked up Meade just beyond Texas Street approaching Arizona, what should we see? Scooters are everywhere in our neighborhood and nearby Normal Heights and North Park. I […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 17, 201810:20 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Sugar

On July Fourth 2018, as my wife and I walked down Florida between Madison and Monroe, I saw a kitty on apartment steps and its owners nearby preparing to barbecue. I snapped a quick portrait with Google Pixel 2 XL and asked the name. How sweet. Sugar. I haven’t seen the shorthair since. Vitals for the Featured Image: f/1.8, ISO 55, 1/4673 sec, 4.459mm; 6:57 p.m. PDT.

I started this series 23 months ago and likely will end it on the two-year anniversary (October 16). Look for an explanation why in about two weeks.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 20186:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Honey

Something like nine months ago, I caught fleeting glimpse of a calico going into an apartment courtyard, up to a second floor landing and being let inside a door. I missed the moment, which returned on Aug. 16, 2018. The shorthair hung outside the building—and not visibly for just the one day that week but several. I seized the first opportunity, as my wife and I carried home groceries, and let alone the kitty on the others.

Earning nickname Honey, the beastie is the twenty-seventh sighted along Alabama Street. As we greeted, and I snapped portraits, No. 11, Cal, looked down from an open window. I shot the Featured Image and the first companion using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 50mm; 9:12 a.m. PDT. The other is same except for 1/250 shutter speed and 9:10 a.m. timestamp.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20188:58 am

The Cats of University Heights: Olive

The first caturday of the month begins with the twenty-sixth feline seen on Alabama. I know, the number seems endless. Out of the 219 profiles to date, 12 percent are from the one street—and you will meet yet another next. During a twilight walk, I spotted a second cat on the same property—between Howard and Polk—chowing supper; no photo was possible with my phone for distance and darkness; expect to read about that beastie someday.

I captured the Featured Image, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, through a gated fence, which presence greatly determined composition of cropping in post-production. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 50 mm; 11:33 a.m. PDT, Aug. 14, 2018.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 26, 20186:18 pm

Pixel Putty-Tat

The cat tree stands next to my desk in the office so that our two kitties can look out the expansive window onto the street. While working on my laptop late this afternoon, I saw […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 19, 201810:55 pm

Quick Update: My Apple to Google Switch

Doubt disturbed my commitment to give up the Apple Way for the Google lifestyle two months ago (yesterday). Preparing to pack up my wife’s 64GB white iPhone X, I was taken aback by how pretty it was. She kept the thing in a case, which protected from damage but also obscured beauty. For fleeting seconds, I wondered why switch. Product design that generates joy is another benefit—and one transcending any, and every, feature.

But the moment passed, and I boxed up Anne’s smartphone along with my 256GB black iPhone X. Google gave great trade-in values, which dispatched the hassle of reselling the devices on Craigslist. Eight weeks later, writing this post on Pixelbook i7, I don’t regret the decision. Confession: The transition isn’t quite complete, but we’re getting there.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 17, 20188:24 pm

Finally! A Good Use for the Shopping Mall’s Vacant Anchor Store

Today’s Westfield Mission Valley visit offered up something even more surprising than seeing our first FlixBus. My wife suggested walking around the perimeter of the empty store where once was Macy’s—so we could be more in shade than sun. But turning from the parking lot side back towards the mall proper, we encountered police tape blocking off the area in shadows. Then we came upon the sign that is the Featured Image.

Think of all that empty square-footage an anchor department store leaves behind for SWAT to do God knows what—and he ain’t telling me—to prepare for incidents involving terrorists, Twitter rumormongers, or Trump-haters (of which there are too many in San Diego). Perhaps the police practiced hostage negotiation and rescue tactics. But all seemed quiet when Anne and I meandered by.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 17, 20187:09 pm

‘On the Bus, That’s Where We’re Ridin’

I feel the generational gap, after spotting my first FlixBus this afternoon. Half-decade ago, I would have written about the company’s start and followed its progress—like so many other wannabe tech and social-behavior disruptors seeking to win over Millennial minds and money.

Bright, bold green and orange buses, mobile app to schedule or pay, on-board Wi-Fi, and budget-friendly pricing scream cool, cost-consciousness for the connected generation—among which car ownership is more Scarlet Letter than merit badge of adulthood.