Around the village of University Heights, one can see logos, murals, paintings, signs, and statues all depicting ostriches. At the turn of the last century, Bentley Ostrich Farm relocated to the neighborhood—and it brought visitors from across Southern California.
But the place closed in 1929. The feathers were less in demand as a luxury, and economic crisis began its grip on the nation. Many, but not all, of the birds were relocated to San Diego Zoo.
A strange, dystopian drama of greed and malice plays out in San Diego—as the mayor and city council seemingly punish citizens for failing to approve a ballot measure last November that would have raised the local sales tax. The taste of recently reaped parking revenues, from a new ordinance, has the city chasing cash like sharks drawn to blood in the water.
On Jan. 1, 2025, but not fully enforced for another two months, a new statewide daylighting law went into effect that technically prohibits parking vehicles any closer than 20 feet from a crosswalk. But practically, any intersection where someone can cross applies. Initially, San Diego meter men and women handed out $77.50 tickets—more than 4,000 in less than the first 60 days. The, ah, program was so successful that the city quickly raised the fine to $117.50.
The things you are simply shocked to see in retail. Today, I drove my daughter to San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall, which is increasingly becoming a pricey, high-end destination in the likeness of some Los Angeles shopping meccas.
She had ordered contacts and eyeglasses from Warby Parker; the former needed to be checked and fitted because of astigmatic correction limitations. What did I see used for point of sale? Google Pixelbook Go. Yeah, a Chromebook! One that released in 2019!
How unexpected. According to Google Circle to Search, the vehicle in the Featured Image is a 1929 Ford Model A. My wife and I passed it today while walking West on Madison Avenue in our San Diego neighborhood of University Heights.
I used Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for this one. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 64, 1/1250 sec, 115mm (film equivalent); 11:59 a.m. PDT. The camera continues to satisfy, which is one of three benefits keeping me from taking advantage of massive trade-in discounts for Galaxy Z Fold7. For example, this shot is 5x zoom; the Fold tops out at 3x.
I believe, but have yet to confirm, that this fine feline is the oldest in the current backlog. The Featured Image and companion come from Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra on March 13, 2024. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/640 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 2:29 p.m. PDT. The other: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/1000 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 2:29 p.m.
Among the 610 profiles (including this one) in this series, only 35 are from outside University Heights: AI, Boo, Buddies, Charmer, Chill, Coal, Comber, Cotton, Envy, Esther, Fancy, Floofy, Guapo, Liberty, Lonesome, Jade, Kello, Mona, Moophie, Mousy, Mystic, Ninja, Oliver, Too, Promise, Queenie, Pussyfoot, Rascal, Raven, Sammy, Shakey, Tag and Tig, Tempest, Timber, Tom and Jerry, and Tula.
This afternoon, I took the NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens out for a field test, attached to Nikon Zf. I trucked over to Old Trolley Barn Park, where I expected to find people who could be photographed discreetly from a distance. That’s my purpose for the zoom: Candid captures that don’t demand closer proximity—something Leica Q2 required all the time, thanks to its (fabulous) fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens.
On such a pleasant day, I expected to see more people hanging out on the grass. My timing was off; choices were few. The Featured Image and companion are close crops of single shots; I gave myself one opportunity for each.
We leap past the backlog to a shorthair seen today along Georgia Street approaching North Park but well within the neighborhood boundary. The ginger scooted across a lawn onto the sidewalk and under a vehicle. I was able to kneel down and capture the Featured Image, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
All week, I toyed with buying Z Fold 7, for which Samsung offers an amazingly generous preorder deal that is absolutely irresistible. The foldable is sleek and appealing. But the Ultra’s bigger battery, reduced-glare screen, and superior cameras are benefits I am reluctant to give up. I could not have captured this single shot with any of the other phone’s cameras. Well, I still have another day to decide (I think).
Believe it, or not, the Featured Image is from one of the alleys in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens to capture the moment on May 19, 2025. Vitals: f/11, ISO 200, 1/160 sec, 24mm; 3:05 p.m. PDT.
I typically edit photos from RAW, but this one is a JPEG straight from the camera—unaltered and composed as shot. I like the simplicity and oddity of the tire planters set against bamboo stalks. The things people put, or in this case keep, in one of the alleys.
Unquestionably, this balcony catio is the best that I have seen in the neighborhood—well, so far. I nearly missed the Calico, as my wife and I walked by on May 18, 2025. Location withheld.
The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 40, 1/125 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:17 a.m. PDT. For nickname: Plump, which I hope offends no one—least of all the owner. Our Neko is a bit rotund, too, so I understand putty-tats with big appetites.
Nothing exciting happens in the quiet village of University Heights—until it does. Today is Wednesday. On Sunday, early evening, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his San Diego County-native wife Usha Vance dined at the Soichi sushi restaurant on Adams Ave. between Alabama and Mississippi. He and the Second Lady had come to the area for an awards ceremony.
Call me Mr. Oblivious. I had no idea. But had I heard the chanting protestors many blocks away, me and my camera would have rushed out the door. Best I can do is the Featured Image, taken yesterday, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 32, 1/400 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 11:07 a.m. PDT. Composed as shot.
I hope you really like cats. The backlog is enormous, and this is the first addition since March 2025. Yikes! So feline frenzy will overwhelm this website for a little while, starting with Spaz—and that’s a real name!
Spaz and owner lived on Alabama when I took the Featured Image on May 31; they have since gone elsewhere. The longhair is the one-hundred-sixth kitty seen along the street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln, since the series start in October 2016; that’s out of 607 profiles, including this one.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon news story “When did America’s public libraries become homeless encampments?” from Conservative Blaze Media. I thought: Yeah. Because that has been the situation with the carport at San Diego Public Library University Heights branch for years. I often wondered why homeless men (mostly) and (fewer) women chose the location.
While I link to the story, published on May 31, 2025, you can’t read it without a subscription. C`mon Blaze? You can’t give readers a couple free reads a month? O.W. Root writes: “Across the United States, a tragic number of public libraries have turned into daytime homeless shelters and temporary asylums for the mentally ill, the insane, and generally disturbed”.