Basically, I figure it's time to retire my Takeshi Kitano avatar and replace it with, you know, an actual picture of me.

Ah, but therein lies the problem: having a picture of myself in my desired pose (posted below), I don't have the Photoshop Skillz to make this picture look less like something I took in front of my house (which I did) and more like the kind of photos Linde and Sterling have.

So, my request (whenever I post to my cblog, it seems to ALWAYS include a request) is this: does anyone with a hint of Photoshop knowledge know how to make this photo, uh, better? And if so, could you? Short of replacing my face and body with those of a more attractive man, obviously.

I'm not sure what the picture needs. Get rid of the trees and/or light pole behind me, maybe? Add some shadows to my face? Make it black and white? I dunno. My ignorance in Photoshop is exceeded only by my ignorance in how to take a decent picture in the first place.

Can you, my Dtoid brethren, help? I can't promise much in return save for a shout-out in my next article and my sister's hand in marriage, but I'd be much indebted to you.