Tag: San Diego

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 WilcoxFeb 5, 20249:28 pm

A Rosey Outlook

Torrential rains fall this evening across San Diego County. Officials warn of flooding that will rival or exceed last month’s storm surge. When I checked the forecast before bed, last night, showers would start around 3 a.m. and increase throughout the day.

But the low pressure area either slowed or stalled, allowing my wife and I to walk about 4.2 km (2.6 miles) roundtrip to The Hub in Hillcrest for on-sale tuna fish at Ralph’s supermarket. Light drizzle started minutes after we returned to our apartment. Lucky.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 3, 20249:23 pm

The (Honorary) Cats of University Heights: Rascal

For the first Caturday of the month, we have something special: beyond boundaries of the neighborhood, a kitty spotted on the same property where another was seen (and added to the series) on July 4, 2023.

The Featured Image and companions are also the first set shot using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra‘s new 5x optical zoom and 10x hybrid (telephoto and digital); I am almost disappointed to say that the latter look better than any taken with the S23 Ultra’s true optical 230mm (film equivalent).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 31, 202410:14 pm

Suspended Spider

I love spiders. What can I say? No one can ever accuse me of killing one, unless by accident—and my rescues of nearly drowned or crushed spiders is legendary in the arachnid community. These eight-leggers know who is their human friend.

So I am surprised to discover the Featured Image, languishing unpublished. Yeah, yeah, the awards-givers won’t be banging on my door, holding trophies immortalizing this shot. But, hey, the thing looks suspended in air, and the photo is excellent smartphone showcase of past capabilities:;10 years ago (almost)—Oct. 11, 2014, using iPhone 6.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 30, 20249:39 pm

What a Croc!

I don’t much love San Diego neighborhood Hillcrest, so much that if need demands going there, I typically carry Leica Q2 Monochrom—because the dinge, grime, and rainbow flags are better in black and white.

An errand compelled a walk through, ah, Hellcrest on Jan. 24, 2024. Along the way, I passed a discarded Croc shoe lying on University Ave. You would think that with the large number of shoeless homeless, somebody would claim the footwear and its companion, too—not that I saw it nearby.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 29, 202411:08 pm

Coin Collection

While waiting outside the Smart & Final for my wife, who was grocery shopping (bless her!), I hung out in the parking lot by the wall where, on the other side, homeless folk sometimes hang out. On the ledge, I came upon a small collection of coins.

My question: Did some good Samaritan leave loose change for the unhoused (hate that term) to find, or were the coins perhaps gathered and forgotten? Either, or neither, could be true.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 28, 202410:37 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Peep

Well, turns out Buchi isn’t the last photo from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra after all. You get one more. While we walked after sunset on Jan. 26, 2024, my wife spotted a kitty looking out a second floor window onto an alley somewhere separating Alabama and Mississippi. UPS delivered S24 Ultra earlier that day, but I hadn’t yet time to set up the newer smartphone.

I turned the S23 Ultra skyward and used the 10x optical zoom lens for the Featured Image. My longstanding gripe: focal length undermines the utility of the telephoto in low light, as is so clearly demonstrated here. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 4000, 1/30 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 5:36 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 25, 202410:08 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Diana

Address undisclosed, I spotted this fine feline, seemingly somewhat forlorn. Perhaps its owner stepped out for awhile. The cat tree is more typically unoccupied whenever I walk by, so finding a resident was quite the treat, today.

The Featured Image could be the last photo taken with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Its successor is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 125, 1/60 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 4:30 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 23, 20249:25 pm

Distant Rainbow

I shot the Featured Image on this date seven years ago, using iPhone 7 Plus. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 20, 1/1250 sec, 28mm (film equivalent); 3:37 p.m. PST, Jan. 23, 2017. Composed as captured. Presumably, I sought the faint rainbow in the distance.

The view—looking East towards Cleveland Ave. along Monroe in University Heights—could easily be current. Heavy rains pelted San Diego County, yesterday. In response to widespread, destructive flooding, today, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 22, 20249:59 pm

Rain Day!

Storm showers pelted San Diego on this mid-month Monday. My unofficial estimate here in University Heights is 7.6 cm (3 inches). Elsewhere, according to the National Weather Service through 3 p.m. PST: Point Loma, 11.04 cm (4.49 inches); Airport, 8.36 cm (3.29 inches); Fashion Valley, 7.32 cm (2.88 inches); Montgomery Field, 6.6 cm (2.58 inches).

In the Mountain View neighborhood, Interstate I-15 flooded out at 32nd Street. TV news footage showed city crews wadding through waste-deep water, trying to free up drains and release the unexpected river crossing the highway. Similarly, rising waters closed businesses along the main thoroughfare through Mission Beach.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 21, 20249:04 pm

Seriously Spiked

Nothing about the Featured Image really works. Depth of field is too shallow. Overall quality is too noisy. Composition is cluttered. Light and shadows contrast too much.

But busyness also shows off Southern California climate and diversity: The funny spiked thing, maple leaves, palm trees, sunny skies and wide street—on Dec. 17, 2023. The photo also reminds that even a premiere full-frame camera, Leica Q2, will produce a shot someone might presume comes from a smartphone’s small sensor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 20249:10 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Puff

We have a winner—or would if there was a contest for the neighborhood’s most gorgeous kitty. My wife and I walk along Mississippi less than other streets, which explains why we hadn’t seen this beauty—unless she is a newcomer, which is possible. For fluffy fur, Puff is our nickname.

The Featured Image marks the first sighting, on Nov. 19, 2023. All the portraits come from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 64, 1/60 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 9:55 a.m. PDT.