Dialog with the Past

Heather and I went to Elliott's house today. Heather, to help Lisa with some work, and I to work on some tunage with Elliott. I think I got the better deal. ;) In their kitchen/breakfast-nook area there's an intercom for corresponding with visitors at the door. Apparently it doesn't function any more, and maybe it's no wonder: It looks like it's been there since the house was built.

Slashed Concrete

Some sidewalk concrete with hairline cracks, shot through the slats on the back of a chair. I like the way this one turned out. :D

eleFANt

I thought it might be interesting to get a closeup view of the blades of this fan. When I got the front screen off and inspected it, I saw this little elephant design behind the blades. Is it a Honeywell logo or what?

A Different Perspective on Shopping

This a view down the sidewalk along some stores in the Encinitas Ranch shopping center.

Snail Rush

I've wanted to take a long-exposure shot of a snail for a long time. This was my first attempt, and it came out so-so. I think I should try it later in the evening, though. I'd like to get just a blur of snaily fury across the entire frame. ;)

Remedial Physics

I was really proud of myself for doing this today. I saw a good photo opportunity at school, what with framing and color contrast and all that. The hitch? It involved a person.*

A girl.

A cute girl.

But I managed to go up and ask her if I could take it, and she obliged. After snapping a couple I asked if I could post the result on Flickr and handed her one of my nifty little contact cards from MOO. Then we had a quick little chat about our majors and I was on my way. Unprecedented socialization!

The one bad part about the experience was that I squandered said opportunity by not properly framing or exposing the shot (learning to use the Force, aka manual mode). It didn't turn out anything like I had envisioned it. But I guess that's what practice is for... It sucks, though, because she'll probably stop by and witness the crappy-ness. Although hopefully she'll also browse and see the good work that I do.

*A small bit of background for any readers (are there even any readers?) who don't know me. I have pretty bad social anxiety, which prevents me from making much, if any, conversation with people. It's especially bad when dealing with women. I've been hard at work pushing my boundaries, though. Looks like it's starting to pay off. :)

Time Machine

One of Mom's old clocks. You can tell it's old because it says "Made in the U.S.A." on it. ;-)

I'm trying to get a photo good enough to enter into the Amateur Macros "time" competition. Still not quite there yet.

Hazard

I attempted to take a bunch more GTI photos today, but it was so damn hot I couldn't bear sitting in the car. So I only got this one and one other. I like the angle.

Light Spice

Some lamps at Starbucks. They look like little chile peppers to me. Not a good fit with coffee, but oh well.

Don't Let Me Slam

This photo was technically taken tomorrow, not today, but with a few exceptions one day at the coffee shop is the same as any other. This door has some self-control issues, and asks openers for their help in not slamming, as it's apparently prone to doing.

CCCP

I took this after class at school today, sitting under the trees at the Jacobs School. This is a closeup of my belt with a Red Army pin. I like the reflection of the sun on the star; it adds that much more pizazz to an already rather dramatic pin. What idealistic youngster doesn't go through a socialist phase, at least? Although I'm not convinced it's just a phase in my case.

As an aside, I don't, currently, advocate communism. And if you think the two are equivalent, the ruling class has you well trained, and you should do your own research on the subject. ;-)

Water

This is a cover to a water panel of some variety. I don't recognize the logo as belonging to a brand or company, but it's pretty cool. :)

Urban Accessories

I went exploring the "bear garden" outside the CSE building at school for a bit today. I thought this drainage grate might make a cool picture, and what do you know? It did!

Treadbare

I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific with a friend today. It was awesome; I love that place! :) The Grand Prix of Long Beach is next week, so the downtown area is being converted into a racing circuit, complete with bleachers and tire buffers. It's a good flight of fantasy to drive through!

I really seem to be on a square-cropping kick lately, don't I?

Short Ouroboros

Some inconsiderate customer left this straw wrapper on the table for us. Or maybe they were being considerate; I probably wouldn't have thought to take a photo like this if it hadn't already been there!

Status

Heather and I went to the bank today. It's in a shopping center whose parking spaces are angled in one direction, so you have to go around the back to get out if you want to go the other way. Among other sights along this route are the back end of a Vons, the loading bay of which is the subject of today's photo.

The Grey Mile

I had to go to the pharmacy at school today. I've been thinking of getting a good perspective shot of Library Walk for some time now, but it's taken until today for me to actually do it.
And I still missed the "good" part of the phrase. I'll have to do it right next week.

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

Went down the street this evening to take photos of some road stuff, but the road in question was already overtaken by the shadow of the hill. So I cruised around a bit and ended up in San Elijo Hills, where I spotted a couple of opportunities. This is the only one that I personally feel came out good, but you can be the judge of that, I suppose.

If there was any doubt, this is a traffic camera perched atop a streetlight. I know (think?) these are only used for monitoring traffic flow, but don't you think they're a little creepy? Their ubiquity poses some concern to the paranoid.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

Morning Wood

Catchy title, huh? ;) This is a chair outside - you guessed it! - Starbucks. The DoF isn't as shallow as I would have liked, but it still turned out pretty good.

SRSLY.

In line with April Fools' Day, here's something a bit light-hearted. Obviously I didn't the photo, but I did add the caption.


I'm counting the seconds until Obama replaces this douche.