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Avatars & wallpapers [message #607047] Sat, 01 February 2014 13:58 Go to next message
Littlefoot
Messages: 21806
Registered: June 2005
Location: Croatia, Europe
Senior Member
Account Moderator
John said, here:
Quote:

ps - like the avatar, BS

This is it:

/forum/fa/11653/0/

I'm not sure I know what it is. A black bird (not really a swan, eh?) standing on Santa Claus' foot?

These avatars are just too tiny and sometimes it is difficult to guess what they represent.

Today I saw one I found hilarious: avatar of an avatar:

/forum/fa/11654/0/

For you who don't use avatars: why don't you? I didn't have one for ages, and now - if I'd want to change it periodically - I don't because it disturbs my account settings (so I have to ask Frank to set them back, and that's not something I'd like to do frequently).

As of wallpapers (on PCs or mobile phones): do you use default ones (such as the one with XP Windows logo), or do you browse the Internet, searching for something prettier? I prefer abstract or funny ones, such as

/forum/fa/11655/0/

I went to the cinema to watch Gravity. Then, I thought I'd download a wallpaper. Googling for "gravity wallpaper" returned numerous results, but I didn't like any of them much, until I saw the one attached above.
  • Attachment: BlackSwan.jpg
    (Size: 8.83KB, Downloaded 2013 times)
  • Attachment: MrBean.jpg
    (Size: 2.03KB, Downloaded 2017 times)
  • Attachment: Gravity.jpg
    (Size: 30.04KB, Downloaded 2663 times)
Re: Avatars & wallpapers [message #607048 is a reply to message #607047] Sat, 01 February 2014 14:00 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Littlefoot
Messages: 21806
Registered: June 2005
Location: Croatia, Europe
Senior Member
Account Moderator
Right! BlackSwan had just answered my question! BS

The hummingbird feeder is less than 10 feet from my laptop & gets regular visits throughout the day.
Re: Avatars & wallpapers [message #607050 is a reply to message #607048] Sat, 01 February 2014 14:19 Go to previous messageGo to next message
BlackSwan
Messages: 26766
Registered: January 2009
Location: SoCal
Senior Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird

even though there is a perch where they can land; some choose to hoover while they feed.
It is fascinating to watch one hoover & feed; at least for me.
One is so used to me being on the other side of the window; he continues to drink away even as I walk less than 2 feet from the feeder.

bees & hummingbirds don't like each other; most hummingbirds won't contest when any bee is feeding on the feeder.
Re: Avatars & wallpapers [message #607057 is a reply to message #607050] Sun, 02 February 2014 01:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
John Watson
Messages: 8922
Registered: January 2010
Location: Global Village
Senior Member
We had some sunbirds in our garden (garden? It was hectare) outside Johannesburg in SA:
sunbirdThey are larger than hummingbirds, too big to hum, but they do they same hovering while feeding. And they have the same colour flashes when the sun catches them. I have seen hummingbirds, on holiday in Arizona many years ago. We spent two days at this place, http://www.desertmuseum.org/ well worth the time.
Re: Avatars & wallpapers [message #607081 is a reply to message #607050] Sun, 02 February 2014 10:11 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Barbara Boehmer
Messages: 9077
Registered: November 2002
Location: California, USA
Senior Member
There are a few hummingbirds that hang around my yard. I have occasionally seen some of them make nests in my trees. I generally try to prune my trees in the fall or early winter, even though it may not be the best time for the trees, so that I don't risk disturbing any bird nests in the spring. In southern California, we frequently get spring-like weather in February, so all the birds and plants and such start doing what they would do if it were spring. This winter has been very strange so far, with some very warm weather, causing my deciduous trees to start growing new leaves already. Now that it is suddenly a bit chilly, I don't know how the trees and birds and such will react. I try to keep things as natural as possible. I have heard that, although hummingbirds like hummingbird feeders, the colored sugar water may not provide complete nutrition and natural flower nectar is better for them. So, I try to provide things that bloom at various times of year instead.

My desk is not near a window, but I like it where it is for other reasons. I know there are some websites that have web cams set up for bird watching. I recall that Oracle once had a large bird, an eagle or condor or something like that, nesting on the roof of one of their buildings and set up a webcam so that everyone could view it on the internet. I have seen electronic devices that you can hang on your wall, that look like a flat television screen or framed picture, that will rotate through displaying various pictures that you load, at whatever speed you select, so you can set it to automatically change pictures every few seconds or daily or anything inbetween. It would be nice to have a screen set up to rotate between live bird-watching sites, like looking out of a window, but better.


Re: Avatars & wallpapers [message #607082 is a reply to message #607047] Sun, 02 February 2014 10:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Barbara Boehmer
Messages: 9077
Registered: November 2002
Location: California, USA
Senior Member
As to avatars, I picked the one I have been using a long time ago and have stuck with it, using the same one on various forums. Oracle's OTN forums just recently made it so that I could use it there, although it is not animated there. I know I get used to glancing at avatars and recognizing who is posting from that, instead of reading the names. When people change avatars, then I end up reading the names. I have watched BlackSwan use different avatars, one of which looked like a black swan.

As to wallpaper, I like soothing outdoor scenes, such as a trail through a forest or a waterfall. There is usually something like that among those that come with the latest version of Windows, so I usually use one of those.

Hummingbirds [message #615679 is a reply to message #607081] Fri, 06 June 2014 16:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
John Watson
Messages: 8922
Registered: January 2010
Location: Global Village
Senior Member
I saw a few earlier today! In Rhode Island. For some reason, I had always thought of Hummingbirds as being West Coast people, usually found in hot desert-y places. But here, it is all lush greenery. Tiny little things, I think they were these guys, http://beautyofbirds.com/rubythroatedhummingbirds.html
There is nothing like them (as far as I know) anywhere in Europe. Which is where I'll be in about eight hours time.
Re: Hummingbirds [message #615701 is a reply to message #615679] Sat, 07 June 2014 09:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
BlackSwan
Messages: 26766
Registered: January 2009
Location: SoCal
Senior Member
http://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration.htm
Re: Hummingbirds [message #615709 is a reply to message #615701] Sat, 07 June 2014 12:48 Go to previous message
Lalit Kumar B
Messages: 3174
Registered: May 2013
Location: World Wide on the Web
Senior Member
I like Barbara's animated avatar. Didn't notice whether in OTN she has updated the same or not. As recently OTN has made it available, and there would be too many approval requests initially. But its still easy to recognize her in OTN with the ACE legend. Once I tried to put an animated one here, I kept trying but never saw any animation after uploading.

Blackswan's avatar made me think it to be a crow, now I see the whole discussion about hummingbird. Same avatar in OTN too. Easy to recognize.

Recently I was curious about Littlefoot's avatar, and my curiosity made me ask him what it means.

I think its easy to recognize people quickly having an avatar. As Barbara said, else we need to look at their handle. Very few people have their own photograph, I am one of them(couldn't find a good suitable avatar for myself).
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