Rocketturtle,
Please, don't take my comment about your avie personally. We have all had avatars that make other people cringe. Dunc's old avatar scared the shit out of me at first. It was two eyes staring at you. Then I stopped to think "Hey, wait a minute - I DO that to people MYSELF sometimes" in real life. I can take it.
Anytime I want to cringe, now, I look at McJagger's avie. It looks like a ferret is biting him on the willy. No!