Sometimes I see an avatar or read a signature and wonder what is the story behind it.

To get this moving, I'll start. The avatars I have been using are of Fleda Claes Johansson, more commonly known as Claes, from Gunslinger Girl. I am not a big fan of the series but I love the character. The signature I have been using is one of her pearls of wisdom.

Jeanette Isabelle

I worked on BUFFs - Big Ugly Fat F$#^&*%S - during my first few years (out of almost 26) in the Air Force. I have loved them to this day. My signature is something I made up.

My avatar is my dog Fergie. He's a Schutzhund German Shepherd. BTW Izzy, I find your avatar disturbing. Dog looks like its unhappy and struggling to get those fake teeth out of it's mouth. Not cool.

You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Izzy?! We need the big-eyed, shocked looking smiley face.

<---Blast, coming home from lasik surgery.

Ah, that's what that is. I had been dying to ask but didn't want to intrude.

My avatar is me. I'm on a backpack from last September in the San Gorgonio Wilderness in Southern California.

HJ

This is why I wanted to start this thread.

Jeanette Isabelle

A kinda pudgy fireworks with a slightly manic grin and an armful of fireworks... yeah, no, that doesn't describe me at all. *laughs*

As for the signature, it's from Ruroni Kenshin, and it describes (a) a large part of my perspective as a prepper, and (b) what I expect from others who I'd consider my peers. Like the people here.

The avatar is a pic of me. Right now it's one from a winter camping trip last year.

My signature is something that my grandmother (Gertrude Lillie a.k.a. Gertie) used to always say. It was her way of saying "Be prepared." She was a religious woman but also a practical one. She was a nurse and a good old fashioned prepper. She knitted, grew a subsistance garden, fished, hunted, snowshoed, canoed, camped, canned, fixed stuff, etc. She believed that "The good Lord will help us but he also gave us the good sense to be able to help ourselves and he expects us to do just that."

Somehow, I've never managed to get an avatar. I probably will one of these days. But first I need to get a round tuit.

My signature is inspired by Alaska, which has always seemed like a very different place to me. But somehow I seem to fit in here. I like quotes, here is another of my favorites:
"Alaska is a foreign country significantly populated with Americans. Its languages extend to English. It's nature is its own." - John McPhee (from 'Coming Into The Country'.)

a picture of me doing Mt Whitney w/ my dad about 8 years ago.

I liked Blast's original avatar,with the herman munster hairdo & Buddy holly glasses,Holding a little black gourd (he probably was going to use as a catalyst,for something Explosive)That look on his face said"I'm gonna' blow somethin'up,& the neighbors'll spill coffee in their laps,lol!"

my red PFD with the ditch kit filling out the pockets sums up my survival issues.

My avatar is a picture by Sam Brown called "I'll Be Back In Three Days". I love Brown's art. He has a minimalist way of cutting to the heart of an idea, and I really like that.

Check him out at ExplodingDog!

Im so Cool I dont need a avatar and when asked for a siggy I just say Nope.....


or I could just be lazy.......Im lazy....

mine is of casey, our girl-dog. best friend and partner. spent her life working cattle, then went blind a couple years ago (genetic), so now just hangs at home by the fire. still loves to go on hikes or follow along on a horseback ride. she can even sometimes catch a frisbie in flight - she listens for it as it passes overhead. casey is a poster child for overcoming disabilities. she takes everything in stride. has no self pity and enjoys every moment. we can all take a lesson from her. she knows how to happily adapt to anything.



photo of casey back in '05. her bend ear occurred after my avatar photo was taken. it was due to a run-in with a bottom strand of bob-wire, an everyday hazard for working cattle dogs...

My avatar is my favorite airplane by my favorite engineer. The SR-71 designed by "Kelly" Johnson. His "Skunkworks" team was amazingly focused on practical innovation (problem solving) and working as a team to exceed anyones expectations.

My signature is my approach to problem solving and probably life, General Patton said it very well.

-Eric

I flew BUFFs (see second post) for 12 years (of 28 in the AF). Loved it! Was my choice coming out of flight training.

This thread has convinced me to create an avatar. It's the elemental symbol of chaos with a magnet in it.

perfect chaosmagnet, its so you.

Mine is some primitive art of a native bow hunter. I like Jeanetteisabelle's avatar, cute gal makes me smile :-)

Thanks. Fleda is a beautiful character, inside and out. She plays the role of the female geek often found in animated programs which I chose for my avatar since I fit that trope.

Jeanette Isabelle

Jeanetteisabelle, at first I thought your avatar was the girl from Read or Die Gunslinger Girl was good too though, just need to get season 2 .

My avatar is me, probably 48 years ago, and given the flipflops and trees in the background, not too far from Ft. Lauderdale.
The quotation was something nonsensical from a TV show I saw, recovering from surgery.

My avatar is me getting a thorough sinus irrigation while kayaking the South Fork Payette River in Idaho. I believe the photo was taken Summer 2011. During the summer I probably spend as much time on the Payette River System as I spend sleeping, so the avatar fits!

My name here is related to hobby number one: Amateur Astronomy; hence the avatar is the emission nebula IC 1396, which is found in Cepheus, the king one of the circumpolar constellations. The bright red star (barely visible) in the lower left is the Garnet Star. My birthday is in January and the birthstone of January is the garnet. So, yes January has a birth star as well, but I do not believe in astrology.

You can find the garnet star "naked eye" in fairly dark skies by locating Cepheus. To locate Cepheus use the guide stars to the north star (Polaris) trace a line from these stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s bowl, past Polaris, and you'll arrive at the top of Cepheus. The constellation Cepheus takes the form of a simple house (a triangle on top of a square) and the star that you have just found is the top of the house. The Garnet Star is almost straight through and would make the porch of the house. Sitting just next to (east of) King Cepheus is his wife, Queen Cassiopeia. Most often, Cassiopeia is identified by her “W” or “M” shape.

The Garnet Star is also know as Herschel's Garnet Star and the alternative name is Erakis. Possibly the source of the name Arrakis, the spice planet in the Sci-Fi book Dune.

Also Idaho's gemstone is the garnet and I live in Idaho.

Take care,

Stargazer

NightHiker,

You are correct, i reviewed what I wrote after you had posted and realized my goof Thanks for the correction.

Stargazer

Um ... I'll bring a laser if we ever meet and you can point it out. You lost me at Big Dipper. I'm just happy I can name 4 constellations. It makes me feel that my Boy Scout merit badge wasn't a total waste!

Avatar = Picture of me in my happy place; Tunica Hills (Clark Creek Natural Area in Mississippi)

Signature = Peace (what I wish for everyone, myself included).

Avatar is huck, a deeply introspective and spiritually advanced chinese shar pei; kids in er's have been called me nursemike for decades and I grew to like it; laws of thermodynamics control all survival projects-and I think its a heinlein quote, whose tunnel in the sky and farnham's freehold were early influences.

I have been contimplating changing my avatar. Here is my current avatar, Fleda Claes Johansson as she appears in the series:



Here are depictions of her as a young adult created by the artist and fan fiction author Kiskaloo:



I want your opinion. Do I continue with my current avatar, one of the depictions by Kiskaloo or another image of Fleda.

Jeanette Isabelle

All these images are good. I particularly like last one -- haughtily, absorbedly reading.

You should choose an avatar you like. I'm not sure you'll be able to find too many fans of anime on a prep forum. Maybe I should change my avatar...

Fleda is anime character but I picked her because I believe she best fits this forum.

Jeanette Isabelle

OK, how do you like my avatar?

Edit: I'm not really an assassin in real life. I do cry, though.

I don’t recognize your avatar. What anime is he from? The choice of avatar should depend on the image you want to present.


Nor am I a cyborg child-soldier.

Jeanette Isabelle

Crying Freeman. Guess it's a bit on the old side. There is some resemblance between the image and my actual self.

JeanetteIsabelle, I would go with the one on the left.

I had to look it up.


There is resemblance between myself and my avatar; only because I fit the trope of the female geek with glasses.

Jeanette Isabelle

This post reminded me I didn't have one...now I do. This shot is from my travels in Utah...a ten day trip down the Green River. This was taken on the trail to Delicate Arch.

I have one vote for the first picture. One vote for the second picture. I need a tiebreaker.

Jeanette Isabelle

I'll help! I vote for the second picture!

You already voted.

Jeanette Isabelle

My avatar is the view through a retroreflective mesh signal mirror aimer showing the "fireball" the aimer produces in the direction of the reflected column of light.

(That bright white spot in the avatar is not the sun itself - the sun is "offscreen" to the right. The bright spot is the aimer "fireball").

I chose this avatar image to:

• represent my "Equipped to Survive" main interest - signal mirrors.
• show folks who haven't used a real retroreflective mesh aimer (perhaps they have only used the look-alikes that Doug Ritter calls "Phony Glass Signal Mirrors") what they should see through the aimer.

My signature is a disclaimer to temper my usual "signal mirror enthusiast" message by pointing out that PLBs are usually much more effective than a signal mirror.

Of course, there is only so much message you can squeeze into an avatar - here's a photo with more detail and description:

Jeanette_Isabelle
I vote for the avatar on the right.

My avatar is a hunter symbol from some southwest rock art by native Americans.

My signature refers to the Man vs. Wild character who stays in hotels rather than the created shelters during his "survival" shows.

J Picket is the tiebreaker.

Jeanette Isabelle

This is embarrassing. There has been a big misunderstanding. Fan fiction author Kiskaloo has been using images of Fumi Manjoume from Aoi Hana for his depiction of Fleda as an adult.

I did not read the small print where he says: Character graphics are Fumi Manjoume from the anime Aoi Hana.

I will be switching back to my previous avatar for the time being. I apologize for the drama.

Jeanette Isabelle

It's OK. Just repent by watching classic Osamu Tezuka anime.

Sounds like penance to me. I’m not Catholic.

Jeanette Isabelle

Ever consider any of the Daria characters?They should show well at avatar sizes.

Thank you for your suggestion. I need an avatar that best represents me for this type of forum.

Though I prefer an adult female character, Fleda best fits my criteria. She is a female geek, like I am, and she has skills common to members of this forum: fishing, gardening and using a firearm.

Jeanette Isabelle

I am not fond of signatures and avatars in general . I have seen some people spending lots of thinking times about these when they should think of what they write in their posts.

However, if I was to choose a signature,
.... I do not watch much TV, and I am not fond of most of the media
So, the signature I would choose is :

( Media, the weapon of mass distr-A-ction )

It's not my invention, I heard it somewhere and liked it very much

I like Avatars. It makes it really handy to have a visual representation of people; it's similar to dividing long posts up into paragraphs. It helps me keep track of who's saying what. Sig lines aren't terribly important but they're neat to help personalize the forums or include important links.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I loved the book. I have always tried to laugh at myself and the book if full of a peculiar humor that doesn't try for seriousness. And my name is Jim so that makes my life easier.

This thread made me realize that after seven years on the board, I still hadn't picked an avatar.

The story behind the name goes way back. When I was growing up in Arizona in the 60a and 70s I would read stories in the newspaper about the Desert Fox. It was the nickname given to a former Marine Corps survival instructor who ended up in prison. Some say he beat his girlfriend, the daughter of a politically connected fellow. Others say he was set up because daddy didn't like the relationship.

Either way, the guy would regularly escape from the prison in Florence, which then was out in the middle of the desert. He would manage to elude pursuit by helicopter, mounted patrols etc. for days. Without gear, food or water. In the desert.

Thought it was appropriate for a survival forum.

Continuing with the cliche of the female geek with dark hair and glasses, I'm using this cute image of Margo from the Despicable Me franchise. She is one tough twelve-year-old.

Jeanette Isabelle

This thread made me think - I've been hanging around here for a few years now, maybe I ought to post up an avatar? Yeah, took me a while to finally get around to it. The one I chose is "The Flatirons" a few miles west of my house. They look like huge slabs of rock leaning up against the foothills just outside Boulder Colorado.

I updated my signature with a Floridian proverb that our Torah teacher taught us.

Jeanette Isabelle

My current signature is a quote from my favorite engineer.

Jeanette Isabelle

I picked the Sheltie as we had a Shetland Sheep Dog (George) and he was a valued member of the family and a likeable loyal dog. I've also worked in several 'criminal justice' / public service jobs and the wife has joked since she met me that I'm always prepared and ready for what ever may come up - the Minute Man from the Revolutionary war is what she claimed I was, being ready to respond within a minute. That was our Sheltie always ready - the whole 'sheepdog' analogy, which I don't fully agree with but it can fit, also comes into play. Thus the little dog avatar.

I've never used a standard signature line but always liked the line from the Terminator movie series: "Come with me if you want to live" - it makes me smile.

Paul -

A few times I've used a funny quote for my signature.

Jeanette Isabelle

The adorable geek featured as my current avatar is Mei-Ling Zhou, a climatologist from the video game Overwatch.

Jeanette Isabelle

Any time someone changes their avatar it throws me off til I figure out who they are again!

If you see an adorable female geek with glasses, that would be me.

Jeanette Isabelle

I noticed the trend!

My latest signature is from a light novel series I'm currently reading. As for the meaning, it takes a person cut from the same cloth to help you not lose focus of the objective.

Jeanette Isabelle

My current avatar is Mirabel Madrigal from Disney's latest animated feature, Encanto.

Jeanette Isabelle

I haven't seen that movie yet! But the avatar is neat.

The beautiful redhead is Meilin "Mei" Lee, the protagonist of Turning Red.

Jeanette Isabelle

The current avatar is not a photograph but an artistic rendering. I can't help but notice how much this reminds me of myself as a child.

Jeanette Isabelle

To begin, someone I had known since childhood sent me the image. And I admit the resemblance was reminiscent. However, wondering why some details would be so off, such as one lens is bigger than the other, I went to the web address listed in the corner of the image. An AI artist created the image.

It may be a computer-generated image, but I'm still impressed. I don't know if I want to keep this as my avatar or go back to what I was doing.

Jeanette Isabelle

The avatar displayed is a computer-generated image of Margo Gru, one of the main characters from the popular animated movie series, Despicable Me. Margo Gru is depicted as a smart, independent, and responsible young girl who is always looking out for her younger sisters.

The quote provided is a line spoken by Wednesday Addams, a fictional character from the 2022 American television series, Wednesday. Wednesday Addams is known for her witty and sarcastic remarks, as well as her macabre sense of humor.

Jeanette Isabelle

Well actually she is originally from the 1964´s sitcom The Addams family. I watched in the 70´s and it was hilarious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_(1964_TV_series)

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3jnymeJof4[/video]

The quote I mentioned earlier was taken from the most recent rendition of The Addams Family. However, it's worth noting that the origins of this iconic family can be traced back to their debut as a comic strip in 1938, created by cartoonist Charles Addams. The Addams Family quickly gained popularity due to its dark humor and macabre themes, and eventually led to multiple adaptations, including the 1964 sitcom. This rich history shows how The Addams Family has become a beloved cultural phenomenon that has stood the test of time.

Jeanette Isabelle

Mine is a very old comic from a website called "Exploding Dog". The site has been gone for many years, but I've had this same avatar for ages, over a decade I think.

I've been reading webcomics for over two decades, but I don't remember the title.

Jeanette Isabelle

IIRC the creator was Sam Brown and the site was "Exploding Dog". He had an odd, whimsical artistic style. The site is gone but I think he's still working, just on somewhat different endeavors.

I have verified that the website is currently accessible and functioning properly.

http://www.explodingdog.com/

Jeanette Isabelle

I guess I explained it wrong, the site isn't gone but no new art has been added in almost a decade. But I'm glad it's still there to read!