hii there.a bout gif.its a format that use 256 color so its light and make your site fast.you can use it a lot for headline or or pictures with few colors or logo.to optimaiz images the best is firework from macromedia.com(30 day demo)or just serch for"JPEG optimizing"in serch engine. your menu headlins pictures is biger then they look on the page,make them small and sve as gif. about the backround with a little trick you can make it 2k ,i dont know what software you are using so send me e-mail so i can send it to you. take a look at my page to see how gif works and make your sit fast. - and guys new texture made with bryce deep texture(yes!!real!!!) very very soon http://members.xoom.com/justabryce/ justabryce@xoommail.com