[Looking for some unusual gifs? Maybe on golfing? Or perhaps you are looking for a major sports logo? Maybe an animated jukebox or Coca Cola? Or spinning banners? Hmmm, or just looking for the basic tutorial on an e-mail sig or webpage? Well, Couchpapa has it all and more.--ck]

Meet Bruce Clarke, (aka Couchpapa), who is a 62 year old retired auto mechanic. Since he had to retire early for medical reasons, he spends a vast amount of time playing with his WebTV. He has one daughter, three grandchildren, a boy 20 years old and two girls, 17 and 6 years old. Oh, he also has a one year old great granddaughter to boot!

He purchased his first Classic WebTV at Sears in November of 1997 just to gain some Internet experience and acquired most of his learning on the unit. By early 1999, he became very involved with site building and decided to upgrade to a Plus unit, also purchased from Sears.

He said that they started with WebTV mostly from a cost standpoint but were pleased it was so user friendly. Like many users, when he first came online in November of 1997, he used the web mostly for e-mail and chat. He said, "It wasn't long before I became interested in HTML, first in e-mail, and then started thinking about websites. The first attempt was a NASCAR site on GeoCities and that was where I discovered that graphics weren't easy to find, so the gif site became a reality. The site, couchpapa, has grown considerably since I started it in early 1998. My main goal was to have stuff that was compatible with WebTV and easily used. The site has moved twice because of servers blocking linking to some graphics and music but currently uses about 30mb of space on easyspace.com."

He stated that the original site (about 25mb) was all done on WebTV. "I have moved up to a computer but my wife still faithfully uses the WebTV and I still try and keep my site primarily for WebTV users. The computer simply allows me to make it bigger and better. At least I hope so. Needless to say, the original portion of the site took lots of time and many uses of the transloaders. The HTML was mostly self taught using tutorials all over the web starting with Draac's.

I was curious how he learned how to make his webpage. "I started figuring out HTML from Dr. Draac's tutorial and as many other sites as I could find. From there, it was more or less trial and error. But more errors than I care to mention. Eventually, it became easier and the site, as it is now, started to develop over a period of about three years and hopefully, it is still growing. With the advent of my computer, I can now create some original graphics and backgrounds that will work and load well for WebTV and widen the current choices." He said that he will also consider requests for banners and graphics from individuals wanting something unique for a site or e-mail.

When you visit his site, you will find a wide variety of graphics, backgrounds and music for the WebTV community. Be sure to check out his gifs carefully. Some are quite hidden, but you will find some on Angels, cars, buttons, colors, flowers and gardens, jukeboxes, guitars, and spinning banners to name a few. He has tutorials on e-mail sigs and basic webpage building. If you like golfing, his Golf Gifs are varied and some are animated. If you want a major sports team logo, check out his Logo page. "And, if what you're looking for isn't there, just ask and I'll attempt to find what you need. I try and keep the choices family friendly and in good taste, but there are a few things there that show a questionable sense of humor!"

He has plans in the future for his site. "As for the future, I plan to add some specialty graphics such as the sports logo section recently developed, as well more general gifs and backgrounds. Music will also be added as space and time permit. My wife and I really enjoy our WebTV for its user-friendly format and because it was our first access to the Internet experience. My wife still uses our Plus unit on a daily basis, as she's scared of the computer, and I use it myself to make sure the graphics and music I add to the site are compatible."

He does help others with their webpages, also. "I also have become involved with building websites for others and use the WebTV as a standard that makes the sites I build like Home Grown Music/Radio available to everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the site even though it took on a life of its own at some point and I intend it to grow on a regular basis!"

[Community Editor's Notes: We loved your colors and buttons. The gifs are so varied and there is much to choose from. We got a kick out of the golfers gifs! The tutorials were wonderful. Keep up the great work!--ck]