Commuting - Why that avatar?

Because of the annonymity that these forums allow (a condition that I enjoy) I assume we all try to get some sort of idea about whom we are communicating with through the avatar we all choose or not choose. Why do you/did you choose the avatar that you have now? How does it relate to your choice to be a commuter? I chose mine because Albert Einstein is one of my favorite people from history but I also wonder if you all think I look like that or I am some sort of a bicycling liberal zionist theroetical physics poseur ( actually some of those adjectives apply :o )

I have pretty thick skin so I won't mind if you feel the need to give me ***** about this thread. I was just curious.

I chose mine to see if anyone would understand it and the tagline that goes above it (spec-ops 27). So far no one has commented. It says something about my literary tastes and sense of humor. My screen name is a famous person in my spiritual tradition who I had just been reading when I signed up.

I'll be interested to read other folk's responses.

Uh..

Emerson, Its a Dodo, right?

Emerson, Its a Dodo, right?

It is indeed a dodo bird. A dodo is a character in a favorite book of mine. I want to see if anyone knows the book. If no one gets it, I will post the name.

I'm actually interested in Slvoid's. Creeps me out.

actually, I may not be interested in the story behind (so to speak) Slvoid's. I fear it may fall into the "I wish you hadn't told me that" category :eek:

It is indeed a dodo bird. A dodo is a character in a favorite book of mine. I want to see if anyone knows the book. If no one gets it, I will post the name.
The dodo was a character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, right? If I remember correctly, the character represented Lewis Carol.

The dodo does feature in Alice, a book I am indeed fond of, but I am thinking of another, more recent, book.

I fear I may have inadvertantly hijacked this thread with my mystery bird. I am enjoying people guessing, but tell us your stories as well.

The dodo does feature in Alice, a book I am indeed fond of, but I am thinking of another, more recent, book.

doolittle?

Ralph Waldo Emerson has been writing lately?

Did I miss something? I'm not posting to a little cartoon einstein?

My avatar is all me, searching for that perfect 'caveman' facial expression....

doolittle?


I don't recall a dodo in Doolittle, or do I? :D Nope, not Doolittle.

I don't recall a dodo in Doolittle, or do I? :D Nope, not Doolittle.
doh... brain fart... now the SpecOps-27 thing makes sense.

Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next books. I've only read one of them - Something Rotten - and it was a long time ago!

<-- favorite cartoon ever, The Far Side.

Hey, the prize goes to Stubacca. Pickwick the dodo is the pet of Thursday Next, an oddly named Litera-tec (literary detective) in Jasper Fforde's wonderful series. For some odd reason, the dodo character really amused me.

Well done. Now tell us the story behind the funky looking kid.

Back to the question... no real reason for the avatar. I'm actually kinda jealous of the little guy... he's got more hair on his head than me!

literary detective serialist, you mean like Sue Grafton? Bleaugh. That's not lit.

Brautigan's "Dreaming of Babylon" now, that's a literary detective story, although i'm quite fond of the "Black Mask" serialists, the hard boiled Chandlers.....

John McLaughlin is my favorite grouch and it's a great picture of him doing his thing.

I don't recall a dodo in Doolittle, or do I? :D

yeah, now i come to think of it, neither do i . . . :o nevermind. just ignore me.


<-- favorite cartoon ever, The Far Side.

my kid woke me up once laughing at far side cartoons in his sleep. #4 on the list of things that reassure me i must have done a good job.

Pretty self-explanatory, if you've seen the toon.

If not: http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor/

-Trevor

Pretty self-explanatory, if you've seen the toon.

If not: http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor/

-Trevor
I don't see an avatar for you... is it just me who can't?

literary detective serialist, you mean like Sue Grafton? Bleaugh. That's not lit.

No, the Thursday Next series is more like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchet. A weird blend of sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, etc. There are lots of subtle references to various bits of literature, word-play, and general strangeness in Fforde's vaguely parallel universe where her uncle is named Mycroft (a Heinlein reference) and people own genetically reconstructed pets like dodo birds.

Literary detective is Thursday's job. She investigates crimes involving literature. In her world, the general populace love literature far more than most of us do--there are streetfights about who actually wrote Shakepeare's plays, protests against Expressionist art, etc. If you like mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, and classic literature then you may well like these books. They are quite well-written and are pleasantly self-referential like the Simpsons.

I don't see an avatar for you... is it just me who can't?

No, it's not just you.

I realized after I'd replied that I never did upload an avatar here.

So I just now uploaded it.

I use that avatar in other forums, and somehow never noticed that it wasn't attached to my posts here.


-Trevor

Pretty self-explanatory, if you've seen the toon.

If not: http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor/

-Trevor

great. thanks. got that song in my head now. just what i needed right before bedtime, thank you.

:D :D :D

IRNI or YHVH, the lion or serpent.
Whatever.

Bike stuff.
http://www.bikecult.com/works/chainwheel.html

It's the federal flag of the Republic of Austria. The civil flag doesn't have the black eagle. Everyone on my mother's side lives in Vienna. It's just a place I love.

slvoid's avatar makes me laugh every time I see it. Reminds me of this goof-ball I used to work with. He never made it in an office environment...

I like the one with the coke bottle glasses, too. :D

I chose an empty space for my avatar to prove that nothing is the only thing that does not exist.

Trevorinsocal - 3 cheers for Magical Trevor! I'm also a big fan of Weebl and Bob and their fantastic website.

My avatar is just a picture of a sprocket, with some chain links wrapped inside - I simply wanted something bike related that was simple and obvious.

Ed

Mine is both what I am and where I commute to each morning. Seven miles each way and I get to dry my sweaty clothes on back issues of Bicycling Magazine. (They gotta be good for something, right?)

PS Thanks Emerson, I just ILLed one of Fforde’s books.

Pretty straightforward here...that is me doing my first triathlon last year.

PS Thanks Emerson, I just ILLed one of Fforde’s books.

Cool, let me know how you like it. I notice you're from "Joisey." So am I originally--grew up near Asbury Park. Hope you enjoy the book. :)

<<< race-day gear for my single-speed mountain bike; a 16T White Industries ENO freewheel. Don't you love well-machined bicycle parts that arrive in a jewelry box?

My avatar is a famous mild-mannered reporter from an old, old comic book. When I get home from a ride, I feel--well, SUPER. So this avatar fits me particularly well.

I think my motivation is clear.

I wanted a cartoon style avatar because of the pixel limit. I basically searched for free clip-art that I liked. Stopped looking when I found a free one that appealed to me. I didn't want to think about copyright issues. The avatar itself doesn't say anything about me except for race, gender, and maybe approximate age. Well, maybe I'm a little older than the guy in the avatar.

...slvoid's avatar makes me laugh every time I see it...

I'm guessing you're not a male over the age of 40. I do't want to talk about slvoid's avatar. It's good to know I don't have prostate cancer, but that's little consolation. Excuse me while I go think about something else now.

I'm actually interested in Slvoid's. Creeps me out.

Kinda turns me on. I'm funny that way.

Should be pretty obvious from both my avatar and sig that I'm not into anonymity.

I have avatars turned off for better on-the-sly viewing at work.

Am I missing a lot?

I have avatars turned off for better on-the-sly viewing at work.

Am I missing a lot?

No, not really. They just make it quick and easy to recognize who posted without having to read the name. It doesn't always work, however, because some people have the same avatar.

Also, some avatars are distracting. I'm talking about the ones with animations.

My profile explains the avatar. My favorite thing on BF is analysing people's problems and synthesizing solutions; preferable with at least one humorous alternative.

Texas Born, Texas Bred, when I'am gone, I'll be Texas dead. :D

I don't think my avatar needs an explanation.

Me. Near Pearson's Silo on the Katy Trail. By that time I was almost 900 miles and a bit over 2 weeks into a solo tour of the eastern part of the Lewis and Clark Trail. It was hot, I was homesick, tired of eating out of foil packages and sick of my own company. It was probably the most miserable day of my life. 'sigh' Wish I was back there :o

The star in my avatar is to let everyone know which part of the state I'm from. People still ask, which pretty much negates the thing for some.

Mine is actually something I designed for a client. Right at the last minute, he decided that the flying, red horse was just too obscure a reference to Dallas. I liked the way it came out, but he didn't want it. So, I gave him a different logo and used this one for my avatar.

My avatar is the same across all the forums I participate in. It's actually an icon I stole from a really nice webpage about 6 years ago. It has nothing to do with cycling at all. Neither does my "handle" which is the same across all forums.

Mine is actually something I designed for a client. Right at the last minute, he decided that the flying, red horse was just too obscure a reference to Dallas. I liked the way it came out, but he didn't want it. So, I gave him a different logo and used this one for my avatar.Not obscure to someone born in Dallas, though I can understand the clients feeling if trying to appeal to non Dallas natives. I love your avatar.

My avatar is a pic of my 1yr old daughter. Only good thing I've done with my life in 31yrs. Other than marrying her mother, of course. (We troll each others forums.)

I stole mine from some emoticons I found in an email sent to me... At the time I could not create one because the computer I had did not have the programs to make an appropriate file, and the ready made avatars were not to my liking.

Rainbows have varied meanings for me... hope being one of them, personal preferences being another.