Rule of Thirds

What is your go-to design principle?  Mine just happens to be the rule of thirds.  I don't think I would call it habit...because it seems to have become more than that. It would seem that I naturally arrange the composition of my images with this principle.

The Rule of Thirds is the design principle where you break your image down into thirds, with either an imaginary or actual grid on the screen of your camera.  Most (if not, all) DSLR cameras should have an option for implementing the grid in live-view mode. (I will be using a grid-view image from Wikipedia.  I would like to note that they are NOT a credible source of information, and in no way would I ever use them for anything other than an image. :) 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds   (I am only putting this link in place to give credit for the source of the image.)

Now as you can see, the image to the left is centered, and well, boring. The image to the right is using the Rule of Thirds.  You can see that the center of the object is placed where the first vertical line, and the bottom horizontal line intersect.  That is the basics of the Rule. The center of the object is placed where two of the lines intersect.  You would do this with any one of the intersection points within the frame.  I tend to gravitate towards the bottom left, like in the image above. Bellow, are a couple of my images which follow the rule:

The image to the left (the buck) you will notice, is a bit higher than it should be, the buck's face falling perhaps between the two horizontal lines.  His eyes should perhaps fall on the line, but if I was to lower the camera, I could possibly have lost or unintentionally cropped off his rack. I believe the way to go would have been up,  lowering his eyes into the bottom horizontal line.

The image to the right is my dearly beloved at a very much frozen-over Spooner Lake here in Nevada.  Now, a change I would have made to this image would be moving him over a bit to the right.  With an environmental shot like this, it is important to not put the horizon line in the center of the photo. It is boring, and doesn't draw the viewer's eyes around. You can see how the shot is far more interesting than if I had just shot him straight-on. 

It is attributed to Picasso that he said something like, "Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist".  I have not been able to locate a credible source for the quote, however, no matter who said it, I like it, and believe there is truth to it. If I was to "break the rule", so to speak, this is what it would look like:

I have received a lot of really good reviews for this image which I submitted for my homework assignment last night, so I think it is safe to say that though it "breaks the rule", it is still a strong image.

 I am going to include some good sources for further reading (and watching) on the Rule of Thirds:

http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

http://learnprophotography.com/rule-of-thirds

Photographer John Woodward on Composition (YouTube)

These outside links are not a substitution for the links your professor(s) may/will provide during your courses.  These are simply further reading.

My challenge to you, the reader, is this: What do you think?  What is your opinion on the Rule of Thirds?  What do you think about "breaking" it?  Do you think the image above actually DOES break the rule?  I value your opinion, so please, by all means, share it!  :)  I can't wait to hear from you guys and gals.  Talk to you soon! :)