Published by Deborah on 27 Dec 2005 at 07:53 am
X-Mas at the Woehrs
Strangely enough, I was the first one to wake up on Christmas morning. I’m thinking it was the anticipation of the boys’ reactions to their gifts. This year I got them something special, professional artist’s pencil drawing kits. I started drawing when I was about twelve or thirteen when my mother bought me a Jon Gnagy set, which came with a booklet of lessons. I’d found one kit at the art store but decided to wait until later to get it. Well, it was gone, forcing me to buy what I did. I threw in a couple of “how-to-draw comics” books for good measure.
This gift didn’t receive nearly the wow reaction I’d hoped for. What can possibly compete with the latest Need for Speed video game and the diecast 2005 GTOs that “Santa” brought them? 
My husband couldn’t get the video game to work on their computer, which was par for the course. It turned out that the computer needed more virtual memory, which he fixed yesterday.
The night before, he and I ribbed each other over Macs versus PC’s. I’m a diehard Mac fan and refuse to convert to PCs (short for Pile of Crap). My latest reason comes from the fact that my sons’ PC refuses to upload the pictures I’d taken on Christmas Eve of the reindeer/sleigh light display I told you about earlier. I’d wanted to post them yesterday, but didn’t have the heart to interrupt my son’s fun/frustration with his new game.
My husband surprised me with a brand new digital camera. Typically the people around here keep their decorations up until New Year’s. Let’s hope that’s the case with this neighborhood because I really wanted to show you this setup. Grr!
We ended the day with the movie Scrooged. I enjoy watching Bill Murray movies, and he was great in this one. The Ghost of Christmas Past is hysterical.
How was your Christmas?
pat kirby on 27 Dec 2005 at 10:10 am #
I started drawing when I was really young, the old “since I could hold a crayon” scenario. I dunno if all is lost with your boys, though. Some games might inspire drawing. And most game designers are great artists. Many start out drawing fan-art of favorite games [characters].
(Not that I’m a great artist, but I’m also a gamer.)
I run a PC because that’s what I’ve always had…no loyalty issues. And I think, because PCs are cheaper. Always been curious about Macs though.
Deborah on 27 Dec 2005 at 12:39 pm #
I started tracing pictures when I was around 9. When I turned 16, I became casually involved with D&D moreso to draw the characters in those books. Lately, I’m amazed at the computer graphics in the video games and animated movies.
Before the week is out, I need to sit the boys down and teach them how to use the tools. After that, it’s up to them.
As for Macs, I enjoy the interface and the plug-and-play environment. My only longterm complaints are the limited number of software (compared to the PC) and the price.
Benjamin Solah on 27 Dec 2005 at 5:14 pm #
Sounds like you guys did pretty well. Your sons should enjoy that game. After all, I do!
Deborah on 27 Dec 2005 at 5:47 pm #
Yes, we did.
I’m just waiting for them to start fighting over it, lol. I hope Santa was good to you.
Lee Pletzers on 27 Dec 2005 at 7:17 pm #
The Macs at work always crash (9.2) and setting a server is nearly impossible. We had a pro setting up the mac server and he was there almost 3 weeks, until the wee hours of the morning.
I like PC (Pile of Coolness) and then I instal Linux OS, which I happen to like. Only bummer is, the steep learning curve. I use WinXp on my main Laptop, ’cause all the software I need is on it now and all the other MS stuff is gone. I keep only the OS. Power writer, cute FTP, website builder, ACE HTML etc… plus the speed is awesome and the screen exactly how I like it.
I was going to get a Mac, but after they kept crashing, I lost interest very fast. I would hate to lose a bunch of writing due to some failure. It can happen on PC as well, but I have File Saver Software that may come in handy. The lack of software for Mac is another reason I stay where I am. The lack also exists for linux.
PS: Gimp is great once you get the hang of it.
Deborah on 27 Dec 2005 at 8:32 pm #
OS X is a big improvement over the 9 versions. On occasion, I’ll have a program crash on me (usually Word or one of the Internet browsers I have). Luckily Word always backed up every ten minutes, so I was able to retrieve what I’d been working on. It is a pain, though.
The only Mac I hated was the iMac. My husband liked to call it a Bucket ‘O Shit because the damned thing loved to freeze on us. I’ve had my G4 since 2001 and experienced two freezes due to incompatibility issues. Other than that, it’s been a great computer.
I thought about converting to a PC (because of the software limitations for the Mac) until I experienced Windows XP at my last job. That software is buggier than the primitive Mac systems. Half the time, I couldn’t access the company email.
The good thing I can say about the PC is that you can get under the hood to determine what caused the glitch. You can’t do that with a Mac unless you’re a programmer.
I’ve never tried Linux, except on my websites. Is it similar to Windows?
I’m glad Gimp is working out well for you. I hate how these software companies (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.) gouge their customers on the prices. That’s why I’m hearing of more people turning to Open Source.
Fredcq on 28 Dec 2005 at 10:38 am #
I knew that I liked you for some reason! You are another MAC user, lol. I was a diehard PC user/gamer for 15 years until I got sick of gaming and reloading my PC every 3 months. I have been a happy Mac user for 3 years now. My wife still has a PC which I use once in a while to play games. The last two games that I purchased for her PC did not run at all and I could not return them…GRRRRRR! Another reason to hate PCs!
Deborah on 28 Dec 2005 at 11:39 am #
LOL! Once you use a Mac, you can never go back. My oldest informed me this morning that he had to reinstall his architect program for some reason. Now, he can’t open the drawings he made.
melly on 29 Dec 2005 at 9:01 pm #
Sounds like you had a good one. Good spoils too