Saturday, June 26, 2010

Sapphire in Gold



As 1991 went on I used more unusual colors and textures in my space abstractions. This one features a yellow-orange nebula and textures created by pressing paint-loaded paper towels onto the surface. Then the bright blue star (which may have given off the nebula during a nova explosion) was added on by airbrush and some more brushwork.

I will probably be buying a new computer today. I feel a mixture of sorrow with some happy expectation. I have had "Macarios," my current iMac, for about 3 1/4 years. Macarios has had a number of problems over those years, probably caused by me somehow because with a Mac it's always the user's fault. Macarios got the vapors when asked to do too much work, just the way I do. But with the current OS update forced upon it, and working with the overwrought Adobe/Photoshop CS4, Macarios' performance was just too erratic for me to continue using him as my main computer.

I feel bad about this. Computers are like people, but they grow old far faster than we do. They are our helpers and sometimes our antagonists. I can't help but personify this machine. He has tried his best to do what I asked of him, and now I'm dismissing him from my service. How would you feel if this happened to you? I only hope that I can find another home for him, with a cash-poor student who will be glad to have 2007's best computer for her schoolwork.

"Sapphire in Gold" is the usual, October 1991.

1 comment:

Mike (Altus) said...

You can always use the old system in a different way. For example, a music player in the bedroom, or a system for simple browsing in the kitchen.

If you still have the OS install discs, you could re-format the system to bring it back to life. (This is very simple. Insert the install disc and you'll see an "Install OSX" icon. Click it, and follow the simple prompts)

Good luck with your new purchase. :)