Day 101 - Bus of Many Stops - 22 Mar 2011

Ok, you are driving a bus. At the first stop 1 kid gets on. 10 feet later is the next stop where 1 kid gets on. The third stop is a distant 20 feet away, and 1 more kid gets on.

At this point you are leading a caravan of at least 20 cars filled with people who are wondering why can't these kids all walk to one bus stop. The handsome driver right behind you has a camera-phone.

Another 15 feet down the road you stop again and 1 more kid gets on.

Question: How old is the bus driver?

Day 100 - Cat To Water - 21 Mar 2011

I really don't want to keep posting pictures of the cat. The problem is, most days I don't leave the house. That means I must find something around here to shoot. When along comes the cat being cute and doing silly stuff, well, what's a guy to do?

For those of you keeping score - this is only the 6th shot of Mitten. Since this is day 100, that is less than 5% I think. Not too bad, right?

Day 99 - Vernal Equinox 2011 - 20 Mar 2011

Once again, trying to capture the same view on the first day of each season. Aside from a little less snow and perhaps a bit more green to the grass, does not look that different from the first day of winter.

You can see the change of the season shots from this and the last odyssey here

Day 98 - My Three Suns - 19 Mar 2011

So who can tell me what this is? Seriously, someone please tell me. I honestly don't know. Anyone? Anyone?

Day 97 - When I Look Up - 18 Mar 2011

I like to walk places. Unfortunately, there are not that many places nearby worth walking to. Perhaps if there were I would have less pictures of the cat and more pictures of the world beyond my desk. More pictures like this one - which was taken in downtown Adamstown MD when me Charlie were on our way to the best sub shop in town.

Day 96 - Drop of Heather - 17 Mar 2011

Ah, St. Patrick's Day. That day when everyone is fascinated with the color green and all things Irish. I was pretty proud of myself for taking a picture of these green pine needles with some nice Irish Heather in the background. At least until Shelley pointed out that heather is more of Scottish thing than Irish thing and apparently Scotland and Ireland are actually two different countries. Just my luck.

Day 95 - Blue For You - 16 Mar 2011

Yet another shot in the Random Stuff on My Desk series. This is the actual microphone I used to record the hits Comic Book Man and... OK, just Comic Book Man. And "hit" is maybe too strong a word, but it has been played more times than any other song, at least according to my iTunes. But I think it is safe to say that I have equal skills with the microphone as I do with the guitar, at least when it comes to taking pictures of them.

Day 94 - Wild Ride - 15 Mar 2011

When I heard that the Cub Scout meeting would feature an appearance by the Awesome Animals lady, of course I had to bring my camera. Don't judge me because I would rather take a picture of a Common American Toad than of my own son. The toad posed for and cooperated with me in the exact way my son usually won't.

Day 93 - Three Ring Surface - 14 Mar 2011

On a photo-a-day odyssey there are some days that are so full of interesting things it is all you can do to notice and capture one before the next one presents itself.

Other days are like Day 93.

Yes, sometimes you wind up taking a picture just for the sake of taking a picture. Occasionally even these shots turn out special in ways you did not anticipate. But sometimes you just wind up with a shot of some chains.

Day 92 - Spider-Cat - 13 Mar 2011

Spider-Cat.
Spider-Cat
Does whatever a Spider-Cat can

Not only was this the first day of Daylight Savings Time, it was the first day that our friendly neighborhood kitten did not feel like being playful.

I started the day with the idea that the picture I would take would be entitled Spring Forward. No springs or forwards presented themselves during the day, so I got the idea of taking a picture of Ol' Mitten jumping around like a lunatic, which during Standard Time was one of her favorite hobbies. Despite my efforts to lure and cajole her, she remained Earthbound. Finally, I brought out the big gun - the laser pointer - which no cat can resist. Unfortunately, since I could not shine it in mid-air, I had to instead shine it on the wall - and this was the result.

Day 91 - Shadow Stop - 12 Mar 2011

I don't really like the smell of roses. It is a bit too girly/soapy/funereal for my tastes. That said, the message of that old song, Stop and Smell the Roses, is a good one. I think Ferris Bueller said it better though:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

That kindof is the point of doing a Photo-a-Day. It is not to about the photographs so much as it is a way you learn to stop and notice what is around you.

Day 90 - Han Shot First - 11 Mar 2011

There are those who would offer us alternate versions of history in which scruffy faced heroes never did anything too terrible. We will not be fooled. We will remember the truth.

In the meantime, we will keep calm.

Day 89 - UmbrElla Splash - 10 Mar 2011

One cool thing about being a kid is that if it is raining really hard and you feel like putting on a crazy outfit and jumping in puddles, that is exactly what you do. It does matter if you are seven, or if you are four - as this picture clearly shows. Knowing Ella as I do, I bet this won't be the last time she does this, either.

Day 88 - Every Time You Go Away - 9 Mar 2011

The pets do not like it when the kids go away. Each time the kids leave, the cat and the dog pause their usual routine of chasing each other, dropping anvils on each other's heads, and blowing each other up with TnT to instead watch the children walk away.

Day 87 - Fat Tuesday Tire Bite - 8 Mar 2011

Though I have only been there a few times, I love New Orleans. The combination of food, music, and culture is like nowhere else on Earth. Don't tell Florida or Arizona, but I hope to retire there someday.

When Fat Tuesday rolled around, I could not be in NOLA, so I went somewhere closer that I hoped would do - WOW Wingery, which despite the name actually has some fair New Orleans fare. In addition to this tasty Flying Dog (which was brewed less than a mile away), I had some decent gumbo and a shrimp po-boy. There were beads and jazz (recorded), so all-in-all it wasn't too bad.

Day 86 - Riverside Bench - 7 Mar 2011

A riverside park is really nice idea almost all of the time. Not so much after several days of very heavy rain.

Day 85 - On Top of Chiquita - 6 Mar 2011

During its heyday, Zooomr was *the* site for photo sharing. There was a community of top quality photographers who were also great people who made visiting the site rewarding and inspirational in ways that Flickr never could.

This photo is one small example of how I am still impacted by the time I spent on Zooomr. There were a series of photographs of fruit with tiny guys perched on it that made their way up the awesomeness charts. I wish I could remember who they were by (does anyone know?). I thought these shots were so cool that I ordered my own set of tiny guys (model railroad accessories if you are curious).

Sadly these were lost and forgotten about before I ever got around to using them. Recently they were rediscovered, and this is the first of what I expect to be many in a series in homage to my long lost Zooomr friend.

Day 84 - All Your Yesterdays - 5 Mar 2011

I've visited this old abandoned barn several times over the last few years, and each time I do, I expect it will be the last. Somehow though it manages to not get knocked down by either nature or progress. With each visit I think not just of how it will end, but also how it began. There must have been a moment when someone first thought it would be a good idea to build a barn there. Were they excited when it was completed? How was it used through the years, and what caused to be abandoned?

Here is another shot back from Day 107 of the first Roth365.

Day 83 - I Saw the Sign - 4 Mar 2011

I saw this on my way to take a different picture. I wound up not taking that other picture.

Day 82 - Practice - 3 Mar 2011

While growing up, both my brothers were diligent musicians. Because of this I gained the ability to tune out the sounds of a trombone or a drum set. So, when I married Shelley, tuning out the sound of her practicing piano came easily to me. It is unfortunate though, because from what I understand, she is pretty good at it. I also imagine that the sound of a piano solo is much more pleasant than that of a trombone or drum solo.

Day 81 - Nijum - 2 Mar 2011

Much of the rest of our menagerie has been featured here, so it high time our one reptile pet made an appearance. Since he(?) spends 98% of his time hiding under a piece of bark, the photo-opportunities are rare. My patience is stronger than his reclusivity however, and thus here he is.

In case you are wondering about the name - it is not some misspelling of a common British name. No, it is short for Night Jumper. Either my son has too vivid an imagination, or Nijum is doing a lot of jumping under that bark.

Day 80 - Ice Invaders - 1 Mar 2011

When I got the trays to make ice cubes shaped like the aliens from Space Invaders I thought it would allow me to add a bit of retro geekiness to an otherwise sophisticated evening sipping Martinis with our suave and cultured friends. Well, guess what. Turns out evenings like that are few and far between with my crowd. Yes, our friends tend to be more beer and wine type people, and you don't put ice cubes in beer (or in wine either, so I'm told).

Day 79 - Paperless Society - 28 Feb 2011

The fine folks at Session Beer saw fit to dual purpose their caps as game pieces for the classic strategy game of Rock Paper Scissors. Five/sixths of the way through a twelve pack however, I've yet to acquire any Paper. Is this just some statistical possibility, or is some clever scheme my some wily folks in the Cap Dept to get me to buy more of their delicious beer? One way to find out.

Day 78 - Riding Home - 27 Feb 2011

An unseasonably warm Sunday in February provided the perfect opportunity for a family spin. We rode down to the playground at the next neighborhood over. This once was a rite of a passage for my kids on their way to biking independence. Now they the ride is fairly routine and they have outgrown the playground. They did manage to entertain themselves long enough for me to put the setting sun at my back and take this shot.

Day 77 - People Say We Monkey Around - 26 Feb 2011

My son got to reprise his Day 68 role of a Ben Franklin statue that comes to life, only this time he got to do it my favorite Fred City toy store. That left me with some time on my hands to explore the toy store while he talked to strangers about his life as a printer, an inventor, and a patriot. Luckily I also had a camera on my hands, so I did what any good dad would do - took pictures of the toys.

Day 76 - The Frog in Repose - 25 Feb 2011

This little fellow is actually a musical instrument of sorts that we brought back from New Orleans as a souvenir for our son. Not shown is the stick that you can use to make a rhythmic frog like sound. It is actually a pretty neat thing, though in retrospect I wonder what we were thinking by giving him yet another way to make noise.

Day 75 - Concentricity - 24 Feb 2011

And yet another shot from the Random Stuff on My Desk series. These usually happen when the day is passing by and I have yet to find any inspiration, which was the case this day. Not to spoil the magic, but this is a picture of the lights on my external harddrive. I meant for it to be sharp and clear, but screwed up and set the exposure for too long. When I saw the result, I decided to try more long handheld exposures.

Day 74 - Neon Flower - 23 Feb 2011

I think this is first flower shot in the new odyssey. It won't be the last. Once spring arrives there will be many more, believe you me. For now, this is a one-off that came about when I broke my vow and took both kids to Giant together. The flowers were right in the front so they had not yet started to be annoying. So, when Ella suggested we get some flowers for Shelley, I agreed. Twenty really long minutes later she was using the flowers as a weapon to bludgeon her brother. Glad we didn't get roses.

Day 73 - Good Wall - 22 Feb 2011

I've had this picture in my head since this odyssey began, and on this morning the conditions were just right to capture it. Ideally I would have taken the shot a half hour earlier, but instead I shoveled the driveway first. Even so, it was close enough to the magic hour that it worked out OK.

Day 72 - Send in the Ducks - 21 Feb 2011

Some how the family's holiday schedules aligned such that the kids and I had off but Shelley had to work. When such an opportunity presents itself, the three of us head straight for Five Guys Burger and Fries, or as I call The Place With Better Burgers Than In and Out. I meant to take some cool picture inside the restaurant, but got caught up in the rapture and forget. Luckily there were some ducks outside that could be tempted with an empty peanut shell.

Day 71 - No Right Angles - 20 Feb 2011

The fisheye fun continues, this time looking down on the lobby of the hotel where we stayed. I kindof wish I had taken this shot an hour earlier when this lobby was packed full of people trying to get their money's worth from the complimentary breakfast. I was not able to do this however, because I was one of those people.

If you look very closely, you can see that this shot contains many actual fish eyes.