Tag: Los Angeles

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 19, 202410:24 pm

I Could Have Saved Nine Dollars

Posting resumes, following an unplanned hiatus. Dad is in a state of physical decline, and concern grows about how long he will be with us. One of my sisters asked me to join her—she from Florida, me from California—for a Presidents’ Day holiday weekend trip home, which is Aroostook County, Maine. I logged 2,950 air miles each way.

My trip started in San Diego and first stopped in Los Angeles, following a 22-minute flight with connection to Newark and onward to final destination Presque Isle. Hungry, I grabbed a burger while at LAX. I shot the Featured Image, using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, while waiting for my $20.25 beef patty.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 202410:37 pm

The Correct Answer Is…

“I don’t know, let me get back to you on that”. The question: What is causing the unusually rainy (or snowy) weather in SoCal? When drought conditions gripped California, pundits blamed Climate Change. Now that torrential precipitation falls, doomsayers also blame Climate Change. You got to love stupidity. They can’t know!

A smart scientist would give some version of the proposed answer in the previous paragraph. Genius would make a hypothesis and begin collecting data to prove or disprove it. Occam’s Razor suggests starting with weather-influencing factors that are atypical and possibly convergent: El Niño and the approaching Solar Maximum of the typical 11-year Solar Cycle.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 14, 202210:07 pm

Does Anyone Care Enough to Comply?

While my household has ample supply of masks, including environmental and medical N95s, I have absolutely no plans to cover up should mandates return—and looks like they will; in Los Angeles County, at least, and possibly here in San Diego, too. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention returns both areas to the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 high-risk category, which could lead to resuming face-covering requirements.

As of yesterday, according to official public health data that excludes Long Beach and Pasadena, 1,107 people are hospitalized in LA County—up from 606 about thirty days earlier. One-hundred twenty-nine are in intensive care, or about 11 percent of capacity. Daily Coronavirus deaths: Four, which is down from six on June 14. And that’s a health emergency enough to bring back mask mandates?

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 12, 202110:13 pm

What’s Not Upside Down in California?

While walking along Monroe, approaching Utah, in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, a street sign beckoned my attention. Consider the Featured Image, captured using Leica Q2, as a metaphor for all things unimaginably crackers about the Golden State. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/2, ISO 100, 1/5000 sec, 28mm; 2:54 p.m. PST, Feb. 10, 2021.

We could start with the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns that have devastated California’s economy; compelled tens of thousands of businesses to permanently close; put millions of people out of work and unable to pay either rent or mortgage; prevented landlords and lenders from collecting the aforementioned and prohibited them from evicting tenants and homeowners; forced families or individuals into homelessness; kept kids out of school for 11 months and counting; opened the prisons, releasing potentially dangerous individuals into the population (many of these former inmates become homeless); and—hell, that’s long-enough list of misery.

Food by Joe WilcoxNov 12, 20078:13 pm

Tommy’s Chili Burgers

Yesterday, we drove up to Los Angeles for an exciting peace event, where my daughter sang with the local church choir. Earlier today, my buddy Andy took us to Tommy’s, which he described as “an […]