these are magnificent.

Ah very nice! S/he was a patient subject!

ROTFLMAO

Wellll, if they are not his, they should be. They look good on him.

Jeff I don't know about having the last word on voting policies, and anyway it is nothing I can rule on without discussing it with the old man (Alpha)--that policy is clear anyway. In terms of the banner contest ONLY, I would say that people should vote for the best banner even if it is their own design because: a. it is not possible to "stuff the ballot box"; b. the stakes are low, and there is no reason not to resubmit an entry for the NEXT banner contest (well, no formal reason); c. if you don't vote for the one you like best, or don't vote at all, then we (your mods) only know what some of you think--we don't get as a good a sample of the population, statistically speaking; d. and finally, because it is possible that, sampling schmampling, we get the same result, if you follow me?

Jeff, well, you triggered it, and I think that is something to be proud of. I haven't been here long myself, certainly don't know everything I need to know (including apparently how to count LOL), and also, philosophically my stance is that everyone is better off if the cards are laid on the table. In an unfair world, it is the best you can do. And look at all the interesting points that came up. Like Jordy I also wondered if the form of the voting made a difference. In other words, when you vote by e-mail you really can vote only once (always assuming 1 screen name per carbon-unit LOL), but the other way, you could (I guess?) vote repeatedly for yourself to make sure you won. I've never tried voting more than once, so I'm not sure that there are electronic safeguards against such. It would be really dumb to force a meaningless win that way but certainly not outside the realm of possibility for some. None of our regulars I think would wish to win that way, but we are not a closed group. And if our regulars aren't voting in the contests they enter, then they are being deprived of their voice, and so are the rest of us, seems to me. They might honestly think their own is best, and they might honestly think someone else's is best. Just the fact that they are willing compete makes me interested in their opinion, you know? And, I see images I prefer to my own (because they are clearly better) every damn day of my life--it's the agony and the ecstasy of making images, if you ask me... Sooooooo what's the right thing, what's the best thing? The easiest thing is to leave it that the honorable thing to do is not to vote for yourself. But does it follow that you shouldn't even vote at all in that contest? By the way I think we have thirteen votes in for the Banner Contest. I have not voted, Alpha has not voted, and 3 of the 4 contestants have not. Just to emphasize my point, the contestant who DID vote, did NOT vote for their own image. Sue

Ten votes in so far, and I have not yet voted. Thanks very much Slynky and Punkclown for finding all the entries and posting the links.

LOL Misha. Whatever you are having I hope you brought enough to share.

Great shots!!!! They are damselflies, by the way. When the wing are swept up, as opposed to out sideways, they are damsels.

Gotta get to England, gotta get to England, gotta get to England. It looks so beautiful.

Thanks Slynky!

Mmmm that first one--seems to have hidden or runic significance. Love it. The whole thing makes me want to take the dog to the beach, but then there's that whole BATHING SUIT issue (dog does not know how lucky she is), so I think I'll go chase birds around the swamp and get mauled by mosquitoes instead. What fun.

So, it messed with your head, and you dedided to pass along the favor, eh? cripes, I need a drink... Seriously though--excellent eye, and good execution! Sue

Stunning!

NOTE THE MISTAKE in the original post above: the third contest entry was submitted by Misha, not Punkclown.