I would hazard to say you're paying more attention to it than he is... JMHO.
It's not uncommon at all for people to use their mug as their avatar... You didn't pick on me, FP, or Valk; I guess you don't have to fight being attracted to us?
I keed, I keeed.
But, seriously. I've never raised the first eyebrow towards Alex's avatar, and he's a stand-up guy.
It's more identifiable than the usual front 1/4 shot of a car that only comes in four colors... LOL