Tag: San Diego

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 3, 20239:17 pm

Big, Possibly Temporary, Win for Single Family Homeowners

Today, San Diego Planning Commission unanimously approved Housing Action Package 2.0, which further eases development and redevelopment of properties to increase population density (real intention versus stated objective of creating more affordable housing).

But, the most controversial portion, which had garnered protests for and against, stalled: California State Bill No. 10, which became law last year. Localities choose whether to adopt the provision, which would essentially enable eradicating portions of single-family neighborhoods for the construction of up to 10-unit residences on as little as a single lot. Location must be in a “transit-rich area”, which is a bit misleading. According to the bill, that “means a parcel within one-half mile of a major transit stop” (e.g., city bus).

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 2, 20239:47 pm

Exit Strategy

For lack of people posts, let’s have one with a big crowd—mass of Comic-Con attendees leaving the San Diego Convention Center at the event’s close on Sunday, July 27, 2014. What luck this year that Hollywood is on strike.

The Featured Image is memorable for camera: Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone. Microsoft may have fumbled the mobile market and let Android and Apple make winning touchdowns, but the shooting hardware was best of class.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 1, 20239:55 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Twilight Twins

For several years, I have sought photos of one or both blacks that stay to the back of a cottage complex on Florida Street. But the shorthairs are always too far away. Then, unexpectedly, on June 10, 2023, while walking along the alley behind, I passed by the open back gate and there they were.

Problem: Timing and equipment. Deep dusk had already set in, with buildings blocking the last rays before official sunset at 7:56 p.m. PDT. The Featured Image is one-minute earlier. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can be prepped for such night shooting but wasn’t—and I needed to be quick on the shutter.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 30, 20239:34 pm

You Looking at Me?

This squirrel took some offense to my pointing Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on July 26, 2023. He (or she) scurried up the telephone pole, then turned around and started back down when the smartphone came […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 20239:00 pm

Hidden Bunch

I occasionally share some of the things people put out in San Diego alleys, like the Apple PowerMac G3 (circa 1999), art gallery, big face clock, family room, profane hat, rustic mirror, rusty typewriter, Seventies stove, snowboarding boots, solid wood dresser, Victorian-style sofa, or Vitamaster Slendercycle—to name but a few.

But humans aren’t alone; nature puts out a few surprising finds, too—as the Featured Image demonstrates. These tempting grapes grow along a fence in an alley whose location I choose to withhold other than to say somewhere in University Heights. Interestingly, some vines have riper ones than others.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 27, 20238:52 pm

Crisis is the Best Measure of Character

One of my direct neighbors—meaning living in the same apartment building—had her SUV stolen four nights ago, while visiting a friend in Mission Valley. We live in University Heights, which overlooks that San Diego community. Also taken: Cell phone, purse, and wallet. To say the least, this is a devastating event.

Rather than rant, or be angry, she nervously laughs about what happened. I understand. There’s an absurd, “this can’t be real” quality that is tragically laughable. She takes charge of the situation and doesn’t whine “Why Me?” or seek sympathy as a victim. She is determined and matter of fact in her resolve to recover life quickly.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 22, 20239:19 pm

Mimosa Moment

While strolling South along Maryland in my neighborhood of University Heights, today, I stopped to regard pink-and-white pom-pom flowers that blossom from Mimosa, which is also known as Persian Silk tree. I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s Portrait mode to shoot the Featured Image. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 10, 1/750 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 11:20 a.m. PDT.

Trader Joe’s was my final destination, but I had ulterior motive. A few days earlier, I discovered that one neighbor’s house is for sale. I worried why. She grew up in UH, played in the canyons nearby, and graduated from San Diego High School. She lives in a generational home—one of just a few remaining here. She wasn’t there, but I got the skinny from someone else living nearby.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 21, 202310:01 pm

Should I Go Back?

The last time I ventured into the University Heights branch of San Diego Public Library, the elderly lady greeting folks and completing their purchases evicted me. She insisted that I wear a face mask; I responded that the county had ended SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 mandates. She demanded. I refused and captured the moral ground. She won the war, because my butt got booted.

The third Saturday and Sunday of the month are this weekend, and the book sale will once again be open. Should I go? Here’s the thing: later that same day, Oct. 15, 2022, I returned with Leica Q2 to take the Featured Image. Not until tonight, when taking time to finally process the photo, did I realize that no one shopping for books wears a mask!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 20, 202310:44 pm

Thinking About Moving?

Anyone not battened down with an exceptionally good-paying job or affordable home ownership should be thinking about fleeing from San Diego. My wife and I talk about doing so every day—not nearly but with certainty every. Rents rocket and home prices are beyond escape velocity.

According to Zillow, the city ranks third nationwide for highest average rents—behind New York and ahead of San Francisco. Yikes! Point2 crunches home prices, and you’ll need binoculars to see how high they are. Among the 30 largest U.S. cities, San Diego ranks fourth for the number of listings above $1 million (58.6 percent). Median home price: $910,000.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 19, 20239:21 pm

What’s More Inclusive Than Welcome?

On July 14, 2023, as the prideful descended upon San Diego for the annual alphabet-letter parade the next day, I stopped with my wife to gawk at the fence, along Adams Ave. in University Heights, that is subject of the Featured Image.

The “Welcome” sign and homage to the “brave”, along with an American flag out of frame, stood starkly—proudly and patriotically—in contrast to the many rainbow flags we encountered nearby along Panorama Drive. (Say, why do these banners have six colors when the real deal in the sky is seven?)

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 18, 20239:57 pm

Soaring Sunflower

In the same spot—seemingly so—as the “September Sunflower“, another rises but turned 180 degrees (e.g., facing the opposite direction). The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, composed as shot using the 50-megapixel option (200MP is another). Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 10, 1/800 sec, 23mm; 4:06 p.m. PDT, July 16, 2023.

The captured detail is absolutely impressive. Zoom in and judge for yourself. I wonder why carry a fancy camera like my Leica Q2 when the smartphone delivers surprisingly high IQ (image quality).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 17, 202310:06 pm

The Unlucky Card

I made two shots of this card; the Featured Image is second. For the first, I knelt on the cement and closed in with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Oh the careless mistakes we make. Almost immediately, a torrent of ants took to my left leg and knee.

What I missed: Massive number of the insects, swarming in multiple lines along the entire stretch of bridge on University Avenue, over SR-163, in San Diego neighborhood Hillcrest. Never have I seen so many ants, easily thousands, frantically—or perhaps fervently—on the move.