I realised something the other day, or rather, I finally found myself able to articulate it.
Men intrigue me - women don't, well, not in quite the same way. I like women, I understand them and I'm comfortable with that understanding, but men? They're like exotic, unfamiliar labratory animals, I have an almost clinical interest in poking them, wanting to see what they do. Their reactions to stimuli are fascinating.
Heh, but then fascinating or not they're like some types of fine art, really interesting to look at but not necessarily something I'd want in my house .. :)

I've decided that if/when I publish any of my work I won't be using my 'real' surname, my family name. Neither will I use my married name. This aversion to utilising these perfectly adequate names was something else that took me ages to pin down. Put simply (or about as simply as I can manage) what is write is very personal, it's mine and I want to publish it under a name that I've chosen, not a name that's been passed on to me from a male.
I've chosen the surname I want to use, it's still a family name but has come down through the maternal line. I like it, it resonates nicely...

Wouldn't a barcode make a triffic tattoo? But a barcode for what product? Favourite book/DVD? Something tacky, iconoclastic? <evil smirk> Japanese 'love-doll', perhaps, or a Hello Kitty vibrator?

(Rereading what I've written: okay, this is getting a little odd. I'm obviously tired, the barrier between what I think and what I'm actually saying is more porous than usual...)

Thank you, Penny, for rescuing the cubs and I this evening! (Dead car battery, don't panic. :)