ePSXe - free Playstation Emulator

I'm going to recommend this for people who like to play their original
Playstation games on not a PS2 but their Windows PC. When you manage to
gather together the pieces you need, it runs rather well, amazingly.
There are specific plugins for various graphics cards, but for ours I
had to use one of the generic plugins. I finally got the right audio
plug in and the Cardcaptor Sakura Tetris game I got some years ago
finally works on something we have. If you wanted to run this on a
regular PSX not from Japan, you needed a chip or other modification,
which I do not yet have. (We have 2 PSXs around here, the 2nd needs a
new spindle motor... Hmm...) Kagero Deception 2 doesn't work right on
our actual PSX but is playable (with the right controller) on the
emulator. I use ePSXe with the GUI front end.

Today in the mail I got my imported Sabre Marionette J Battle Sabers
Playstation game from Japan - and not just the game, but the limited
edition with all the goodies! There's the 3 mini figures to slip onto
the controller cord and the collection of 20 pieces of original art made
for this game. It's an actual pressed copy, people!

That makes me wonder - why don't video games based on anime that comes
out here get brought over and translated? Very few games arrive (DBZ),
but then there's the tons that don't. Magic Knight Rayearth, Ranma 1/2
(we got one but not the really good one), Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyou...
Of course, lots of these games are for older systems, so I can see why
some of these things don't get licensed. At the time these anime were
big in Japan, systems like the Famicom, Super Famicom, and Sega systems
as well as other unusual names like PC Engine and the like, were popular
in Japan. At the same time, we'd have our version of the Super Famicom
and Sega's systems, and not to forget Atari's 64-bit Jaguar... (Why was
Tramiel so down on the Japanese? They could have made killer games for
it, but no, he looked towards Europe, where Atari was big, like in
Germany, but I digress)

Years later here, we'd have Playstation, Nintendo's later systems
(though their Wii should be able to play all these games if someone
would ever take the time to figure it out), and Xbox. Some systems we'd
never see (What was the Japanese equivalent of Turbo Grafx?). The game
we'd want to play are for unsupported systems, and nobody's going to
bother with unsupported systems. We have to go the import route.

Still, there's a lot of Playstation games that Could have come out here
while the licensed anime and manga were initially being produced. Sabre
Marionette J is one of them.

But man, Dreamcast games on Gigabit disks. You need a Dreamcast and
other hardware to copy these things, and a lot a fiddling with them that
the average person will never bother with. I wouldn't even bother
because that'd mean having to buy hardware I don't really care about.
Sony was smart with their game CDs. Heh.

Tip: to play an import Super Famicom game on your SNES, get needle nosed
pliers and break off the tabs in your cartridge slot carefully. That's
about all there is to Region Coding that Nintendo did with that system.
Do Sega games have region coding? I know PSX games do, but there's ways
to work with that. Original Gameboy games don't!! I should look into
import anime-based Gameboy games and put them in my Super Gameboy
accessory for the SNES. Did this come out in Japan?

I wonder how Japanese fans of Mach Go Go Go are feeling about the Speed
Racer movie coming out here.

Someone on the net does understand

While perusing Usenet, I found this post...

"... Asperger's just means you don't instinctively [comprehend] social
protocols the way the rest of humanity does subconsciously. It means you
don't read nonverbal communication in the way that most people do
without being able to explain how."

True.

"It means you tend to overfocus on a handful of interests and relate
everything back to those interests, thereby being a frustrating person
with whom to converse."

OMG. With me, it's also that I can't talk to people unless it's about
anime or one of my interests. I can't get interested in stuff that I
don't care about. It's important to other people, but I can't be made to
care.

"It means if someone wants something from you, they have to actually say
what it is instead of dancing around it and assuming you'll guess."

OMG YES! Ladies, if you want something from me, and it's the same thing
I want from you, then you go ahead and tell me outright. You'll be happy
and surprised at what comes after. I promise.

So in the end or is it?

So in the end, I ran out of time. I could not find free legal help that
would file the appeal. The local community legal aid office said they
couldn't get involved because they hadn't been involved earlier. Well,
f---! I didn't NEED legal help until now! What the hell use is free
legal help if they're not there when you need them!

I spoke to one lawyer, details of which I think I already posted. I
ended up not calling the pro bono guy, but might see if he can do it for
a wrongful termination lawsuit against the store. I mean, if one
unemployment review commission officer found in My Favor... You see
where this is going? Emotional distress, Humiliation... My pain and
suffering should be worth something and they should pay and be punished
for their crimes against me.

As for "paying back" the money I got... I dunno. I can get a really good
0% deal from my credit card, but I'll need to call them up about this
unusual transaction so they'll clear it. I also wonder if the state
would ruin my credit rating or what else they could do to me in attempts
to collect the money. I have at least 2 phone calls to make. If I go the
credit card route, I want that sent Registered Mail.

I want to keep up the fight but part of me wants it over. The store won
a hollow victory against an unarmed opponent. I don't know how Rick
Seigal can sleep at night. He better keep looking over his shoulder
though. You never know what will come after him.

This whole thing was nothing more than a personal grudge to get rid of
someone they didn't like. EMPLOYEES OF GIANT EAGLE STORES: DO NOT BUY
ANYTHING IN THE STORE WHILE EMPLOYED THERE. YOU WILL BE FIRED.

I have a few personal policies:

1. Don't Trust Management.

2. Don't Date Co-Workers.

3. Don't Shop Where You Work.

4. Don't Talk to Customers.

5. Customers May Not Always Be Right, But They Are Frequently Stupid,
Arrogant, and Self-Righteous.

You can't fix Stupid.

Trying to get ahold of that guy

It's been a week since I got that letter about SSI (as well as the phone
call) and I still haven't been able to get him on the extension nor has
he returned my call. I've left 4 messages none returned.

I may have to physically appear at the office which I don't want to have
to do.

What's it mean for me to have Aspergers. I think I should look at that.
The job I had at the restaurant was because I was the right person at
the right time. It had nothing to do with experience or skills, they
just needed a warm body. I was there for 10.5 years and I had the same
schedule and the same days. I got no benefits like a paid vacation, so
taking time off for Anime North was actually painful in that I wouldn't
get paid for it, and they pretty much came up with excuses why they
wouldn't offer paid vacations to any of their hourly employees. I kept a
blog (before there were blogs) of annoying and stupid customers which I
shared among my friends. It was our private joke and my way to blow off
the frustration in a job which the general public affected how much work
I had to do. By the time the corporate people found it, I was beginning
to burn out at the job anyway. I had not promoted the page, nor did
anyone get mentioned by name, but there was no negotiation. They
couldn't have gotten rid of me for quality of work, so they used
whatever they wanted and they could - it was not a union shop.

Giant Eagle in Louisville, OH run by J&J Foods, and by Rick Seigal, was
even worse. I took whatever just to get my foot in the door with hopeful
quick transfer back to hot foods. But that never happened. I was around
the general public. Rick claimed he had "issues" with me but was never
willing to come directly to me to see if they could be resolved.
Register training was batted about but I kept getting lies why I wasn't
given the opportunity right away. Eventually I did get it, and showed
them why I should have gotten it sooner, but still got denied in a
transfer back to the kitchen. Eventually when some little unusual thing
I did came along, they concocted a story and used lies again (they lied
to me and they lied to the state unemployment compensation people) to
fire me. They brought no evidence, the people who called it what they
did were not even direct witnesses to the incident, which is
frustrating. I was there, everyone else who called it what they did was
not.

I had problem dealing with the general public and in turn people I found
distasteful, disgusting, annoying, and stupid. People I did not want to
be around or have to deal with. I fail to understand why they didn't get
someone like me away from the general public and into a position like
hot foods where I would NOT be around customers. I have 10.5 years
experience in that regard. I was denied a transfer when they moved one
girl out of there to the front end, claiming there was no position open.
Wait a minute - you just created an opening moving a girl out of there,
why can't I get that opening? LIES, you see. When Management doesn't
like you, you get crapped on.

Rick Seigal is an uncaring asshole. He fears people smarter than him.

So the last 2 jobs I lost because of Aspergers - people find excuses
unrelated to the quality of my work to get rid of me. I also have
problems finding work and getting past the interview which I hate doing.
I got a job with the Soil Conservation Service mainly because I was able
to demonstrate what they wanted done and there was no interview. What do
you want done? Here's how I would do it and presto I got the job when I
could demonstrate exactly that I understood what they wanted and they
saw I could do it. I have never had an interview like that since and
those kinds of interviews are rare. Let me show you what I can do before
you trash my application or resume.

anywho, I cannot fight the unemployment compensation people because I
lack the resources and haven't been able to find a lawyer to pro bono my
case. pRick won against an unarmed opponent. I also don't have the money
to "pay back" compensation I originally won, but then got screwed out
of. I don't know how that jerk can sleep at night.

Sailor Moon Wallet??

Some time ago, I did a little search on Holiday Fair as a company that
produced licensed Sailor Moon items. I discovered this:

http://www.dasaq.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=25370

Trifold Wallet with Sailor Moon on it? How can I order this? Do you need
to have a Wholesale license to order this, and if so can I find someone
else with this license and can try to get a case of these wallets? I
should call the company at some point and see what they can tell me,
because this would be a rare item nowadays if they still have this
available. The site seems to list it as available. I hope to find out
more.

On another note of a licensed product producer, Ann's Trading Company
seems to be a purveyor of licensed items, like tins. I happen to have
bought one of their Sailor Moon tins today on a tip from one of the
ladies that helps my mom of what it was and where she saw it. Produced
in 1998, and it's licensed, so that makes me wonder what else they made
that I somehow missed out knowing about it.

Good news all around!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spoke to an attorney today about my appealing the unemployment compensation review commission's reversal of allowing benefits. While I won't be going with them in seeking to file this appeal, things the nice lady I spoke said these things:

This Case Is Winnable. She actually said after reading over the 2 documents where I won and then got it reversed - this is the kind of case they salivate over because in her words "you got screwed." Yet another professional person who agrees with what happened!!! She would have loved to take on those jerks at J&J Foods dba Giant Seigal. But then she went on talking about if it made sense to spend money to not have to pay back $3K. Since I don't really have the money, she wouldn't have felt good about taking my money and winning this case. This is the kind of thing that I would need an attorney to file and fight it.

However, she also said that I own no property and I don't have a job. I am what she called "Uncollectable." I could choose to not pay it back right away, but then there's this thing sitting around with the state collecting interest. I could arrange to make payments of whatever it is I could pay. They also can't get any disability or Social Security - it would be up to me to make sure they got their money.

So I will be calling the pro bono attorney they told me about and see if I can still consider pursuing this administrative appeal.

On another FREAKING GOOD NOTE - I WON MY DISABILITY AWARD!!!

OMG!! I can't believe it!! Spring has sprung!! I need to call the guy back to find out what else they need to know. I will be fretting over what the heck they want before they can finish processing it.

I may end up being able to pay off the Unemployment people and Dr. Z at the same time, and walk away from all that crap and end up out of debt in a few months.

Is this the news I've been waiting for?

Today in the mail from the SocSec office I get this letter. It sounds like in places that I'm awaiting a letter about benefit payments. I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I would love to have this be what I hope it is. I'll keep an eye open for further developments. In the meantime, I've got a lawyer consultation tomorrow and a possible pro bono referral. The guy is kinda far away, but hopefully if I need his help, I can get it.

Man, spring finally comes for me literally.

Court proceedings may soon commence. possibly schooling, too?

According to info I have found, in order to appeal the decision on my
unemployment case (an administrative appeal) through my county's court
of common pleas, I will need to file 3 documents in my situation:

A Docketing Statement, a Praecipe (pray sippee), and because I have no
money, a Poverty Affidavit. I found PDF forms for the first 2 online
through the county clerk of court's website. I called (finally!!!!!)
today to find out if they've heard of this form, and I was told yes,
they exist and are accepted in my county, even if links to this form
aren't on the website. The lady I spoke to suggested finding out if this
form is online with the state or trying another office with which I left
a message. If they have this form, which they should, I hope to get a
copy mailed to me or told where I can find it online. I might have found
a source for one such version already. So this weekend, I will be
printing these forms and trying to figure out how to fill them out. Once
I have this filed, I'm going to try finding a private attorney to pick
up my cause.

Out of the blue my father emailed me and my younger sister about a
possible opportunity to continue our education, which for me would be to
get my Bachelor's. I will probably also go online with Kent State to see
what I can do over the computer and I still qualify for grants and the
like. I am interested in anything that can get me a job in Japan if at
all possible. I wonder if any credits from Stark Tech will transfer
which was 18 years ago when I graduated. I don't even know if I'm in the
frame of mind to even consider this. Japanese language study is or was
offered at Kent State when Liz was going there. (I miss Liz.)

Manga cookbook review noted!

A few beams of sunlight come through: http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/

On March 13,2007, they noticed my review of their Manga Cookbook on Genvid! It's good to be recognized. I have a number of their products and I've liked what they've done. I also recommend their little Gift Books, and hope to add Manga Moods to my collection. Since I have 3 nieces, I got Manga Sisters and let the oldest read it to the others.

(Note: I wrote this when my life was different as it is now. Do not consider this next bit too seriously. Except the trip to Japan part - I still want to do that. 11/10/2017)

It'd be nice if the Manga University people would contact me. I'd like a job and anything that promotes Japanese culture and language seems like something I want to do. (That, and the possibility of being able to go to Japan and meet a potential future wife would be nice, too.)

Looking for more help

The free legal aid guy I spoke to today was helpful, but not as much as
I'd hoped. I've contacted several other "groups" which is the only word
I think I can use, and see if anyone responds. At any rate, I have phone
calls for info to place tomorrow if I can get myself to do it. I wonder
if contacting a TV Station to get help would work. They're always
looking for news items that get attention and sometimes they help just
ordinary people.