My avatar is actually made up of four distinct shots. The galaxy off in the distance, Einstein in the foreground, and two star fields carefully overlaid.
Originally I wanted to animate the galaxy in rotation, but found that the resulting GIF file was just too big. That was a good six years ago, and the avatar has been with me ever since on 90% of the boards and sites I frequent.
To me it portrays the honest thoughtful mystery than makes up our existence. The seeming contradictions which nevertheless coexist. The two star field photographs which are overlaid [look at the area between Einstein's arms and head] have completely different depth of field and therefore a real photo with the same affect could never have been taken. With the assistance of the computer these contradictions exist in one picture for all to see. The magic is in the minutia. No one else may ever noticed this, but I know it's there. It was fun to put together that way.
One last thing. The avatar comes from the very old dedicated server sitting just behind the bathroom door in a tiny little room. Occasionally throughout the year, you may see a change spontaneously.--I'm a Geek And I Love this Stuff!
At the end of the day, it is your friends and things you have learned that matter.
? You bet, and apparently I needed a bit of that exercise. Sometimes, I feel I'm wandering around in a traffic jam.
yah hear.
riddle me this jack...
...
What a beautiful guy, really. 
