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As told to YouCanToo
What is your name/username?
Pat Lawrence/Pat
How old are you?
66
Are you married, single?
I got lucky and married a man who can can fix or build almost anything. He built acoustic guitars for years (and a two story home), has repaired, rewired and plastered much of our historic 1875 house and has been building computers, writing code and supporting free operating systems for decades.
Do you have pets, what is your favorite?
We generally prefer animals to people and currently have two cats, Alice and Otis, and a loving and loved shih-tsu, Penny. They are in many ways the center of our lives. We have no favorites, as each of them brings a different kind of joy into our lives. My husband prefers them to people.
Are you retired, still working and if working, what do you do?
I'm a retired editor and journalist and former nurse who also spent 13 years in construction sales and five years as an art center director. I was editor of a woman oriented publication in West Virginia for several years, and in 2006 I was awarded Region III Journalist of the Year designation by the SBA. I was privileged to profile more than a hundred extraordinary women over the years, from a race car driver to the astronaut Sally Ride. Each of them was an inspiration in some way and I was fortunate enough to allow my readers to meet them personally and professionally. I have always been a writer, in some way, and most recently completed and published (via Amazon) two biographies by request. I still do articles occasionally and enjoy doing research just to satisfy my curiosity.
Where do you call home?
We live in Hillsboro, Ohio, but my husband still calls West Virginia home and I think I will always be a Texan in my heart. My dad was in the Air Force, and our family moved over 30 times. I went to eight schools before graduating from high school in Houston.
Where did you go to school and what is your education level?
I have a BS in Nursing, with a minor in political science, though it took three colleges and about ten years to gather the degree. My super-smart spouse has Master's degrees in English Literature and Biochemistry. We are really good at crossword puzzles.
What kind of things do you like doing?
We love going to movies and plays, antique shopping (he likes the fine old furniture, I like the fine old silver) and watching British mysteries with our pets. Plus, we do lots of crossword puzzle, especially NY Times Sunday puzzles.
Why and when did you start using Linux?
I started using Linux in 2006. I was a reporter and editor, working from home, and very reliant on my computer, as any wordsmith tends to be. I was also completely dependent on my husband for technical support since my expertise in this area began and ended with the power button. After four years or so of fighting (and cursing) with Windows, he simply insisted that I switch to Linux. I worried, of course, about compatibility with the layout guys, sharing files with other staff, and so on, but that never became an issue. He did have to write a macro or two for what was then OpenOffice so I could have certain functions that I was accustomed to using in Microsoft Word (document word count, an essential, was missing at the time), but other than that, the transition was pretty straightforward. I actually became almost proficient with the GIMP, a necessity since I took and edited the photographs for my newspaper articles. The second book was written and laid out using PCLinuxOS, which made it infinitely easier to prepare for publication.
I used OpenSuSe for several years, switched briefly to Mint in 2010, and finally to PCLinuxOS in 2012. It was very pleasant - no more fighting with upgrades, no worrying about video viewing, and no worry about hardware support. This will be our fifth year with PCLinuxOS. We have changed the hard drive once in that time (I say "we" as an interested, coffee-fetching bystander), and the transition was as simple as copying the home directory.
What specific equipment do you currently use with PCLinuxOS?
I use an HP Pavilion 2.4 G Duo core computer with 4G memory, 1T WD hard drive, Nvidia graphics card, and 24" ASUS monitor. We also have an HP laptop with PCLinuxOS, and my husband has a desktop as well. Additional accessories generally include a kitten on the keyboard and a dog in the lap.
What would you like to see happen within PCLinuxOS that would make it a better place. What are your feelings?
Life is so much better with PCLinuxOS! Everything runs smoothly, it's safe and always up to date. It would be nice to know a little more about the development team. We know Tex by reputation, but it would be good to know who does what around the house, you know. I feel confident that my husband won't be caught up in the usual hell of upgrading with PCLinuxOS, and that is worth a hug in any language.
PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight is an exclusive, monthly column by YouCanToo, featuring a PCLinuxOS forum member. This column will allow "the rest of us" to get to know our forum family members better, and will give those featured an opportunity to share their PCLinuxOS story with the rest of the world.
If you would like to be featured in PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight, please send a private message to youcantoo, parnote or Meemaw in the PCLinuxOS forum expressing your interest.
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