Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #86: Stairs

Wow, it's been a while since I've been able to participate in Carly's photo assignments, its good to be back.

This week Carly wanted some pictures of stairs. I didn't get to find any cool or ornate stairs, but I got something at least.

These were on the side of a bar. It's not too special, but there were some barrels on the wall that were neat. You can find them here.

Originally I wanted to get a picture of the sign, then I realized how many stairs there were. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but it's better than nothing.

Finally, there are these stairs. I liked the vines growing on the side of the wall as well.

That's all for this week. Go to Carly's to check out the other photos.

Weekend Assignment #303: To Tweet or not to tweet

That title seemed more clever in my head.

This week's assignment comes from Carly this week with Karen putting in the extra credit. It was a true team effort.

Weekend Assignment #302: Do you Tweet? Why or why not?

Yes, I do tweet. See over there on the right? You can read all the clever things I have to say right on this very page. Well, you'd have to re-load the page a lot since it only shows the last two. Maybe it would be better to actually follow me, but that is your choice. I'm not as interesting as the great Ashton Kutcher, but if you like to read stupid comments about TV or the occasional 80's reference, come on over.

I started back in 2008 when Florinda convinced me to join Twitter. She had been thinking about it for a while as well. By letting her go first I had a guaranteed follower. I didn't want to talk to myself on the thing. (As a side note, I think that is the first time I've ever spelled 'guaranteed' right on the first try. I always screw it up.)

Now that I've been on Twitter I'm kind of addicted to it. (I can hear Jenn saying, "Kind of!?" in my head right now.) I follow a lot of behind the scenes people from TV shows, some authors, and other blogging-type people I've met through this place.

I know there are a lot of people who think Twitter is stupid or only for self-important people, and they can be right, but it can be useful at times, too. I've learned about several things first through Twitter; earthquakes, plane crashes, etc. Not to mention that J.D Salinger had died. I've never read Catcher in the Rye, but still, it was important. If used right it can be fun and informative and full of spambots, but there isn't much you can do about that.

Extra Credit: If you do use Twitter, how many people follow you? How many do you follow?

I don't follow too many people, about 150, I don't think I could keep track of many more than that. I have about 80 followers, which probably turns out to be 12 real people. Maybe 15.

If you 'll excuse me, I need to see if anyone has posted anything good on Twitter.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #70: My 2009 Gallery

Carly has a great idea for the end of the year, show off your favorite photos from 2009. Now, some of mine aren't necessarily the best I've ever taken, but some I like for other reasons. Some from the dogs, or just because they are goofy. So, here are some of my favorites from 2009.

This year I took a lot of sunsets, sunrises and moon shots. What can I say, I like that kind of thing?

During September we added a new member to the family. I think Cruise is comfortable here.

Of course, we can't forget Quincy.

We also went to Disney World in June. I managed to get my first shot of lightning. Not the best ever, but I was happy.

In February Jenn took me To La Jolla, California to see a golf tournament. It was very cool out there. When we got back we had a surprise in our freezer, which the grandparents thought was a refrigerator.

This year I joined a 365 Flickr group which been a lot of fun. Here's one I like that I took in the fall.

Also in the early fall, I got a shot of some fog in the forest preserve on the way to work.

Okay, that's enough for now. I also created a set on Flickr with some additional pictures, if you want to check them out.

Now go check out the other collections through Carly's site.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #66: Under the Hood

Carly wants some pictures of what keeps our cars running. This is the best I have for you:

Here's a relatively wide shot of the engine compartment:

Here is a close-up. Notice there is no battery here, just a plus terminal to use while jumping. I had to read the owner's manual to find out it was in the trunk. Not today, mind you, but the first time I was looking for it.

That's all I have this week. Not very exciting, I know.

Go over to Carly's site to see what other's have posted.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #57: Weeds

Carly wants photos of weeds for this week's assignment. That shouldn't bee too hard since they grow everywhere.

Take this guy for instance. He found away to grow on the ledge of our building at work. There is no soil there for it, or anything. This is taken with my cellphone, so pardon the quality of the shot. I would have zoomed in a bit if I had my regular camera. You'll have to click on it to get a good view.

I don't know if these clovers are technically weeds, but they grew here without being planted, so I consider them to be weeds. These showed up in a planter at my mom's house and she has decided to water them and keep them. Not bad looking for some wild growth.

That's all I have for you. Fall is approaching, so the weeds aren't as prevalent as they normally are.

Go check out the other photos through the link back to Carly's page.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #53: Trees

For this weeks photo shoot Carly wants some pictures of trees. That shouldn't be too hard.

The other morning, actually the last few mornings, it was a bit foggy and our sickly looking tree looked a bit creepy with the filtered sun. Unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out quite as good as real life, but it was pretty good.

This tree I saw the other day when I was walking Quincy. I didn't great a great shot of it, since Quincy isn't very patient while I take pictures, but try and focus on the trunk of the tree. It comes out of the ground nearly sideways, then curves up like a normal tree. I don't know how the thing stands up at all.

That's all I have for this week. Go check out Carly's site to see the other pictures.