Sunday, June 15, 2025 →

#SilentSunday A silhouette of a small sitting ground squirrel on the left margin of a brightly lit dirt path surrounded by tall grass and shrubs. A second, smaller squirrel watches the first from the path’s right edge. The background features blurred trees and rooftops.

#GroundSquirrel #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

Thursday, June 12, 2025 →

In my backyard, a juvenile scrub jay has been tearing pieces of green tree tape and caching them. Meanwhile an adult jay is foraging nearby. #WesternScrubJay #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoCA Juvenile Western Scrub-Jay, with a grey head and fluffy bottom, standing in profile on dry, textured ground, holding a small green object in its beak.

Switching Network Tips on US Mobile

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Potential best practices for US Mobile subscribers switching their network (e.g., from Dark Star to Warp): upon receiving the eSim QR Code, delete or turn off your old eSims (this is scary but should be fine), delete any APN profiles, then install the new eSim. If needed, install the network specific APN profile. If the new eSim doesn’t activate after 10 minutes, contact support and after double checking some things, they’ll probably send you a new eSim QR Code. If you use iMessage, go to iMessage Settings and ensure your phone number is being used in addition to your Apple Account email. US Mobile’s network switching really great technology but eSims can be finicky.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 →

Day 3 of the Micro.blog June Photo Challenge: Shadow

L-188 Electra, operated by AirSpray, at Chico, CA (KCIC)

#MBJune #Aviation #AvGeek

A medium four propeller fire tanker airplane with a red nose is parked on an airfield under a partly cloudy sky, with the sun shining brightly.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 →

We’ve a bumper crop of volunteer Holy Basil plants and we’re extremely pleased #Yarden Young Holy Basil plants growing in a garden with a drip irrigation system. Orange pin flags are placed at almost each plant. The ground has soil with small rocks and other organic matter.

Monday, June 2, 2025 →

Day 2: Curve

Lufthansa 747-800 (D-ABYH) at SFO, departing for Frankfurt

#MBJune #B748 #DABYH #Aviation #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm #SOoC A 747-8 on a taxiway, holding short of the runway, near water, viewed from behind, with four engines visible under its wings against a clear blue sky.

Friday, May 30, 2025 →

Our lone volunteer backyard sunflower bloomed yesterday #Sunflowers #BloomScrolling #Fujifilm #SOoC A vibrant yellow sunflower in full bloom with green leaves and a blurred background.

Monday, May 26, 2025 →

Today we suspended shade cloth over the avocado trees. The trees will now survive 100°F+ temperatures coming later this week. Heatwaves are on the way to California!

A shade cloth covering a small area of trees. A wheelbarrow is partially visible to the right, and ropes are stretched across to keep the cloth from resting on the small trees. The ground is covered with wood chips and gravel.

Two short avocado trees with a shade cloth suspended overhead and attached by rope to a fence. There is a gravel path along the far fence and close to the camera with wood chips inbetween. A drip hose snakes between the two trees. The sun is already shaded out with the cloth’s shadow projected along the fence.

#Yarden #Gardening #AvocadoTrees #HomeOrchard #California #CaWx

Sunday, May 25, 2025 →

#SilentSunday #Sunset #Fujifilm #SOoC a boat view, but with no boat visible, of a sunset over the Pacific ocean with a 98% clear sky and gentle waves, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere. To the right, an island can be seen on the horizon. It is either Maui, Moloka’i, or Lana’i

Saturday, May 24, 2025 →

Yarden pool season has begun. Rubber ducks (and more elsewhere) serve as life rafts for insects. Most of this water was carried over from last year. Under a canopy, an above-ground pool with clear blue water, a metal ladder, and a towel hanging on the edge. There's a garden in the background with a shed, grapes, elderberry, various trees, and a horrible sunshade nextdoor. Little sun bleached rubber ducks float by.

Saturday, May 24, 2025 →

Black and white photo of a cityscape featuring Coit Tower atop a hill with residential buildings in the foreground. People are walking and standing around a street with a stop sign. A SF Police Department motorcycle witha copy leaning against it and a parked pickup truck are visible. Palm trees and other greenery standout starkly against the bright hard surfaces.

#StreetPhotography #SanFrancisco #BlackAndWhite #Fujifilm #SOoC

Thursday, May 22, 2025 →

October 2023 at Chico Municipal Airport: BAE 146-200s, Reg. C-GRNT and N908AS. Owned by AirSpray. I assume these are to be converted to wildfire tankers

#PlaneSpotting #CGRNT #N908AS #B462 #KCIC #AvGeek #Aviation #Fujifilm #SOoC

Two BAE-146 airplanes parked on an airport tarmac. The plane on the left is white with black and orange accents, while the plane on the right is white with partially scraped off blue accents. Three orange-red CalFire aircraft with numbers painted on their tails are partially visible.

A parked four engine BAE-146 on an airport tarmac with engine covers on. The aircraft with poorly scraped off blue accents has a high-wing design and a distinctive T-tail. Its door is taped off with red tape. The background has a blurred hazy flat landscape with trees.

Two parked BAE-146 on a tarmac, noses facing the photographer obliquely, with protective orange covers over their engines.

A profile view of a parked BAE-146 on an airport tarmac with four engines, distinctive red engine covers, and a T-tail design. The fuselage is white with black and gold accents. A second BAE-146 is behind the first one and is barely visible.

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 →

Iberia A330-2 & ITA A330-9

An Iberia A330 twin engine aircraft is landing over a runway with a blue ITA A330-9 plane positioned in the foreground, lined up and ready for takeoff. The background is a hazy sky. The foreground has calm San Francisco bay waters.

#WidebodyWednesday #PlaneSpotting #Aviation #AvGeek #SFO #ECMLB #A332 #EIHPA #A339

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 →

Alternate angle of today’s surprise Fence lizard.

#FenceLizard #Fujifilm #SOoC A brown striped Fence lizard stares straight at the camera with sharp black eyes. It’s on a cement pad with a bit of moisture in front of it. There’s an out of focus hose crossing the photo frame to the left.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 →

A surprise today when a large Fence lizard took advantage of water under a spigot backflow preventer #FenceLizard #Fujifilm #SOoCA Fence lizard with a distinct striped pattern on its back is resting on a cement surface next to a green outdoor rated extension cord and some dripping water.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 →

Preparing for takeoff May 1, 2025: Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 flying SFO-FRA and United Boeing 777-2 flying SFO-AMS

A Lufthansa Boeing 747 and a United Airlines aircraft taxiing obliquely, tails together, across a fetch of San Francisco Bay water. The Lufthansa tail is blue with an orange circle and a stylized flying stick. The United tail has a dark blue to light blue gradient with a globe of meridians and parallels in its lower right corner.

#TailTuesday #PlaneSpotting #AvGeek #Aviation #D-ABYH #N788UA #B748 #B772 #Fujifilm #SOoC

Sunday, May 18, 2025 →

Family photo of Mount St. Helens (foreground) and Mount Rainier (background). Probably on a flight from KSMF to KSEA, somewhere just north of Portland  #MountStHelens #Aviation #AvGeek

A photo from an airline passenger seat where Mount St. Helens is in the foreground, mostly in shadow, with some ridges poking out by surrounding stratus clouds. Mount Rainier is in the background but only partially covered by clouds. There's some snow on Mount Rainier and the saddle between Point Success and Mt. Rainier peak is easy to see.

Tips for Porting out of T-Mobile (mid-May 2025)

Sunday, May 18, 2025

T-Mobile raised prices on their "uncarrier” plans that, in plain language, originally claimed prices would never increase. So as T-Mobile is now like any other carrier, I transferred our lines to US Mobile.

Rather than tediously explain my decision, I’ll offer some tips to port your lines to US Mobile, and probably any other carrier. The instructions below may seem daunting, but it really is easy provided you can convince T-Mobile’s account website to give you a port out PIN.

I apologize that I can’t give specific page names as T-Mobile disables your account soon as the primary line is ported over. This is why you must first start with a non-primary line (if you have one).

As of 5/17/2025, using eSims:

  1. Update your phones to the latest operating system
  2. Log-in to your primary T-Mobile account however you like
  3. Disable all SIM Protection features for all lines under Line Settings or Security (I forget where exactly). You should be able to toggle both lines off on the same page
  4. ALSO Remove SIM Protection from your line feature add-ons. This is the page where you can buy new add-ons, but instead you’re just removing the add-on. You must do this line by line
  5. Confirm your phones are unlocked. If T-Mobile does not have a status, they are likely unlocked. Call if you’re unsure but don’t let them send you to customer retention. If they ask, just say you’re thinking of selling your phone
  6. Log-out of the T-Mobile account
  7. To request a temporary port out PIN using your Primary account phone:
    1. Turn off wifi. Using Cellular data on your primary account phone, log-in to your T-Mobile account
    2. Using the upper right search box, type in Port Out
    3. Tap on the first result for Port Out PIN. The website should attempt to authenticate that you’re using your primary account device. If it fails authentication, log-out, toggle Airplane mode on and off, turn off wifi, and try logging in again and repeat the above. This was the most frustrating part: their help is out of date or they purposefully removed port out PIN from line settings. Last resort, to save frustration from boiling over, you may need to call them. Just tell them you’re moving to another country and that should prevent customer retention maneuvers. While you’re on the phone, check your device lock statuses
    4. Write down your Port Out PIN. This PIN is for all lines on your account
    5. Write down your T-Mobile account number
  8. Transfer your non-primary line first, then lastly your primary account line:
    1. At US Mobile or your new carrier, check-out and begin activating/porting the secondary or non-primary line. Take note if you’re signing up for Dark Star (AT&T), Warp (Verizon) or Lightspeed (T-Mobile)
      1. If you text with Android people, you’ll want RCS. So choose Dark Star
    2. You’ll need to enter your T-Mobile account number and the port out PIN
    3. Eventually your new carrier will issue an eSim QR code to your email and/or account line settings
    4. Your secondary line must be on Wifi
    5. You should wait until your phone goes into SOS mode or no longer has a signal. That will indicate that T-Mobile as disabled your eSim
    6. Your secondary line will be removed from the T-Mobile account
    7. From the secondary phone line, scan the eSim QR code or, if you have it on your phone, long-press and tap Install eSim
    8. Follow the prompts
    9. It’ll take a minute or two
    10. If your T-Mobile eSim was disabled before you installed the new eSim, then you should be good to go. Now port your primary line as you did the secondary
    11. If your T-Mobile eSim was not disabled before you installed the new eSim, you may need to go into your phone’s Cellular settings and swap your eSim to the new one
    12. If you’re using US Mobile, I suggest that you install their Cellular profile for a better experience. You’ll need to know if you’re using Dark Star, Warp, or Light Speed
    13. Once your primary line is ported from T-Mobile, you’ll no longer be able to log-in to T-Mobile
    14. You can then delete the disabled old eSim under Cellular settings
    15. Be sure to call your own phone number from your phone to set up your voicemail

Saturday, May 17, 2025 →

Bruce Lee Memorial in Chinatown, San Francisco A black and white photo: a group of people stand in front of a mural depicting Bruce Lee’s face and a dragon showing its tongue on a brick wall behind a Chinatown bakery. The mural is partially obscured by the crowd listening to a tour guide. A sign for Commercial Street is visible behind the crowd. The photo is soft.

#BruceLee #StreetArt #ChinaTown #SanFrancisco #StreetPhotography #BlackAndWhite #Fujifilm #SOoC

Thursday, May 15, 2025 →

The Northern Mockingbird pair are mostly absent from their nest. I guess the ambient temperature is warm enough that they don’t feel the need to lay on the eggs?

Three Northern Mockingbird eggs with a rust red speckle on a green shell rests in a cozy nest. The nest is in a grapevine. It is shaded by grape leaves, and sunlight is trying stream through.

#NestWatch #Nest #NorthernMockingbird #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoC