I just want to be left alone but these ----ing people keep invading...

So anywho, I get my Unemployment benefits. On a prepaid VISA card. I was
not expecting that. I was expecting a check from the state.

Then 2 days later, I get this letter from J&FS saying that I have to go
through some stupid county "One Stop" program for "re-employment"
services, evaluation for skills, etc.etc. I went through this same
bullsh!t in Carroll county. There were these 2 guys from some other
agency. We were forced to watch stupid pipe dream videos. We were forced
to try writing a resume. I don't know how to write a resume. I hate
writing resumes mainly because I'm not that good at it. I can't possibly
put what I need on one to get someone to consider hiring me. We made one
up and then blindedly mailed them out en masse. Not one of those efforts
even got a call for an interview. No cover letter to explain why I was
sending this out. These 2 guys felt this sort of action would get
something.

Then there was the "required" making of phone calls. I sat in the room
with the phone for over 30 minutes and couldn't make any. I eventually
somehow managed to make 1 call. It was to some 1 man office, the
recipient of that call explained, and he wasn't hiring. The call ended
quickly after that. I am one of those people who can't just pick up the
phone, blab about whatever there is I'm supposed to say, and presto get
an interview for some place that won't hire me.

I hate the interview process. It doesn't help that I never got a job on
the few that I actually got, nor that one guy who blasted apart my
resume and said that he didn't see anything on there that would indicate
I'd be there 6 months from now. While I didn't get the job, I did find
out they hired some idiot studying computers in college - he didn't know
anything about them - and left the job after 3 months. Heh.

The 2 guys from that thing explained they get paid based on how many
people got hired from their "help" which I took to mean they'd find out
what we knew how to do and go out and speak to potential employers and
get our foot in the door. Which is what they didn't do.

I guess they didn't get paid because for all I remember, nobody got jobs
from that colossal waste of time.

This going to this "one stop" thing is completely bad timing. And on top
of that, I have to see a doctor the SocSec people want me to see based
on my filing for some sort of evaluation. I'm going to get screwed
again.

I can't just take any job. I've signed up for BVR services and hope they
reply soon. They should be able to understand my problems and find a job
where I'd fit in.

But why can't these people just proceed on stuff and let me be alone?
Criminy!!

Maggie recorder is nice

I'm starting to like the Magnavox DVD recorder more as I continue to use
it. What's interesting is that the disks done with my Cyberhome lock up
the 'puter when I stick it in the DVD drive. However, a disk I did with
the Magnavox loads just fine - I shudder to think I'll have to re-do all
those disks made with the Cyberhome unit. However, the recorded video
quality _is_ better in the Maggie, so I guess why not. And I can now
begin the project of putting my subtitled Ranma 1/2 tapes on DVDs. They
have the original title cards, not replacements!

Editing that you're able to do on the Magnavox unit include naming the
disk, editing chapter marks and menu thumbnails as well as title names
with more space. I should have gotten one of these instead of the
Cyberhome unit. It may see less use the more I use the Maggie.

Also: The Jakks Pacific Ms. Pac-man 5 game unit I bought in 2006 after
Thanksgiving has required 2 fixes to the controls. The first thing I had
to do was remove the springs under the fire buttons. They would jam when
I had to press them a lot while playing Galaga or Xevious. I hate that.
A couple days ago, I opened it up to reduce the sensitivity of the
joystick. It would get stuck after pressing down, which of course
frustrates anyone trying to play Ms. Pac-Man. As soon as I completed
that, I was finally able to break the 50,000 point level. Now to find
that book I had.

I can also tell people that the ROMs used in the unit are pretty much
the original games! The programmer's signature in Xevious comes up if
you do the right thing. The bugs in Galaga will indeed stop firing after
a while if you leave the right ones on screen and just wait. The hold
positions in Ms. Pac-Man do indeed work if you get the ghosts in the
right place. I found the ones in the 2nd blue board, and I saw one spot
where the ghosts and Ms. Pac-Man go past or through each other on the
board after that! You play enough times and you see strange things, like
Mappy popping through one of the trampolines to the one below. I imagine
it was a glitch or a bug of some kind.

I bought it because there had been no home version of Mappy when it came
out for the Atari 2600, which I find odd. Oh well.

DVD Recorders and Valu City

Did some investigation into the DVD recorders selection at one local
Valu City, as I'm considering getting another recorder because of my
Cyberhome unit needing some Luvincare that I'm anxious about doing. I
feel it needs some lubrication on the laser assembly. Oh well, I'll get
it done.

tonikaku...

Up first is an RCA DRC8052. Crossed this off quickly due to one owner's
report that it's too sensitive to the mysterious anti-copy flag in video
signals off TV. Some cable / satellite systems apparently set this flag
in the signal. About the only way to defeat this problem is to use a VCR
or other tuner device with composite out and route it into a magical
box, one of which I have. ^_^

Next up was the Sanyo DRW500. Some negative things about it was found,
though a supposed Firmware Update can be had to fix those issues, if you
can figure out how to burn the update CD right. A rumor is out there
that it defeats macrovision. I decided to pass on this one.

Next pair are interesting to note - the Magnavox MWR10D6 and the Funai
SV2000. BOTH are made by Funai and sold by Magnavox. More often than
not, people who have bought the Magnavox unit (dubbing it "Maggie") have
been very pleased with its performance, as well as the Funai SV2000,
which is also a unit once sold at Walmart. Both units also seem to some
people to be the very same unit. The Maggie unit requires Svideo In to
be enabled via on-screen menu. I may be considering one of these units.
The general opinion I got - if it screws up badly, you either check the
media you're using or take it back because it's most likely defective.
You shouldn't have any trouble with these brands.

The Apex DRX9200 is the last unit I took a look at. Some people claim
Apex units improve picture quality instead of degrade it, but reports on
this one was mixed at best.

One thing I found out is that there seems to be 3 brands people rave
about as being the Top 3 among DVD recorders: Pioneer, Lite On, and JVC.
A friend of mine has an ILO which is a Lite On variant, according to
some info I once looked up. Picture quality in various recording modes
appears to be very good. I know my friend's ILO does particularly well.
Then just behind those are ones made by Magnavox and Funai.

I really want to consider one with a hard drive, though. That way I can
spend the time recording something digitally and then the unit can burn
it to a disk and should the disk become a high tech drink coaster, no
worries because I can try again fairly quickly without having to sit
through the initial phase all over again.

The main thing to look for is Do I have a defective unit right out of
the box? I think it would be pretty easy to figure that out if it
doesn't work as you expect it to or it starts screwing up pretty
quickly.

More info on why I won

Saturday I got an envelope from the unemployment review comission. Today
I got one from Jobs and Family Services. I was not expecting one from
them, considering how I was expecting things to go.

The J&FS letter says my unemployment benefits claim was ALLOWED.

I taped that phone call we had. I opened the other envelope I already
had.

What's interesting was that the store's story changed Yet Again, this
time trying to say I was fired for Failure to Accurately Register Sales
in addition to the other 2 they've repeated all this time.

The store Has No Rule that says employees must notify management when
they suspect that an incorrect price has been entered into the computer.

REASONING they allowed my claim:

The employer alleges that the claimant engaged in willful misconduct and
dishonesty.

(The number of times I turned in found money or one lady's purse and
they want to try slapping this on me. And even after I "worked" with
them to resolve the issue about how much I paid for the cereal.)

However, the evidence does not establish that the claimant was
dishonest. He took the merchandise to the service desk where a cashier
with some managerial responsibilities allowed him to purchase the
cereal. She did not advise him that he should first bring the matter to
the attention of management.

Claimant was not responsible for entering prices into the computer.
Another employee made the error which created the situation that
ultimately resulted in the discharge of the claimant. The claimant used
poor judgement in purchasing products that he knew were incorrectly
priced. However, his conduct does not amount to an act of dishonesty.

The evidence does not support the employer's allegation that the
claimant violated three work rules. There is no evidence that the
claimant failed to accurately register sales. The claimant's job is to
scan merchandise which has already been priced. The employer has not
shown how the claimant abused Accu-Scan. The employer has provided no
evidence of a specific rule or policy which would have required the
claimant to report suspicious prices to management.

Due to his excericise of poor judgement, the claimant was deserving of
some discipline. However, he did not engage in wrongdoing of a
sufficient magnitude to justify his immediate termination.

Therefore the hearing officer finds that I was discharged without just
cause in connection with work within the meaning (of some section of the
Ohio revised code).

And there it is.

I win.

I WON!!!!!

I FREAKING WON MY UNEMPLOYMENT REVIEW!! Finally after 6 months of this crap I finally got someone to hear my case and saw it the same way EVERYONE ELSE saw it!!!

The main things pointing to MY FAVOR:

J&J Foods has no rule that provides that employees must notify management when they suspect that an incorrect price has been entered into the computer.

The Evidence does not establish that the claimant was dishonest.

The claimant (Me) was deserving of some discipline, however he did not engage in wrongdoing of a sufficient magnitude to justify his immediate termination. Therefore, the Hearing Officer finds that I was discharged without just cause.

I stand to collect quite a bit!! I will keep you updated as to how petty my former employer is when it comes to any appealing they may try.

Don't know if I should open the envelope or not

Well, 3 days ago, I had the phone hearing with the unemployment review
people. The call lasted about 35 minutes and I taped the thing. After
some points the guy made I felt were in my favor, and probably one
question I don't think I answered well enough, the call was concluded.
pRick didn't answer or make the call, which I felt was wrong. It's funny
how everyone who wasn't at the store when this happened said I did
something wrong - people who weren't there made that claim. It wasn't
until 2 days after this that people had to tell me they felt there was
something wrong, which is their claim but they weren't there to witness
it so how can they possibly determine that? They were not witnesses, and
the pricing thing was going on all day with no one else noticing or
saying anything - they're just as much to blame.

So today I get an envelope. I've gotta open the envelope to see what
further appealing I can do. Part of me just wants to drop it, but I have
to keep fighting.

I thought the call went in my favor, but that's the Asperger's working.
I can't tell either way, but from past experience, I've learned to
expect the worst.

Things have never been fair for me.

The Manga Cookbook review

Finally!!! AFTER 6 Long Months waiting for this most important book, it's finally out!!

You've seen your favorite anime or manga characters eating or making food and you know it's all Japanese, essentially. But part of the mystery is what the heck ARE they eating? How do you put together a bentou box? (That's one thing I've wanted to know!)

This has got to be the cutest Japanese cookbook ever produced. It's also very easy to follow. The only problem I can see is procuring the proper ingredients and utensils. Most places in the world are probably with 20 miles of an Asian Food store. Some items are available in your local supermarket but they're likely clueless about some items and won't have everything you need.

The Manga Cookbook is a delight to look at as well as learn from, which lends itself well to teaching the "mitateru" concept behind making your food look as well as it tastes.

If you go on the website www.mangacookbook.com, you'll see they have it available online and with a couple gift set options. While I'm sure you can get a bentou set for less than they're asking, I'm sure what they offer is good quality anyway. The sushi set also available separately is a good bargain.

Some things that disappointed me: I would have liked a section on what a traditional Japanese breakfast is, and there's 27 pages available for "Cook's Notes" which in my opinion would have been better used for a few more recipes, perhaps the breakfast section I wished was in there or some recipes for Desserts like handmade chocolate (for Valentine's Day) or Christmas Cake. Considering the average length of a recipe is about 4 pages long, that might have yielded 6 more recipes, but what is in there is a lot, so you shouldn't be bored too quickly!

The best point of the book are the full color photographs near the front of the book! A VERY good tool to use to make sure what you're being told to make matches what they actually did make. (niko niko)

Usagi Ringo? Tamago tomodachi? Tako sausage? I'm sure we've seen our favorite manga personalities eating these at one time or another - now's the chance to make them yourself! (and understand why some students make their lunches the night before! ^_^) I'm sure for Tako Sausage you can use turkey or chicken franks, which are not only kosher, but better for you. ^_- And yes, for Usagi Ringo, the author mentions Sailor Moon, so there's your connection and a reason to buy this one (as well as Warriors of Legend).

I think the recipe for Tamagoyaki is interesting and I might try it soon. I'd love to get the special pan they make for it. If you live near a World Market store, check them out. Very nice things there for your Japanese cooking needs.

This may be the chance to get those picky eaters who don't otherwise like Japanese food to finally try some and like it! It doesn't look like there'll be another volume to follow, but we can hope.

UPDATE November 2017: THERE IS A 2nd MANGA COOKBOOK! You can find it on Amazon and still published by Manga University! It came out in June 2017!!  Sorry I don't have a link to one listing, but hey, how hard is using Amazon anyway? And YES, I also got one of those special square Japanese egg pans! I also haven't checked to see if their URL still works, but I hope it does.


NOTE: Do not sell to eBay user geurrand. Block this user on all accounts. They lie and report you for doing nothing wrong.

Rick Seigal, you are an asshole

So I find out just a few minutes ago some news. My friends who had
invited me to the shop Christmas party were just now informed that pRick
got wind that I was invited and decided that _I_ was the only one NOT
ALLOWED TO COME TO THIS PARTY. Mind you, EVERYONE ELSE IS ALLOWED TO
BRING ONE GUEST. EVERYONE ELSE WHO INVITED THEIR GUEST CAN BRING THEM.
BUT _I_ AM THE ONLY INVITED GUEST NOT ALLOWED TO COME BECAUSE pRICK
SEIGAL HAS PERSONAL ISSUES AGAINST ME. Plain and CLEAR. HE USED THOSE
SAME PERSONAL ISSUES TO GET ME FIRED FOR UNJUST CAUSE.

It could be he's AFRAID of dealing with me. After all, I'm pissed at him
- I could end up doing anything, but mostly I wanted to see my friends I
used to work with and fill my stomach on his dime.

SO A NEW RULE WAS SUDDENLY IMPLEMENTED - IF YOU'VE BEEN RECENTLY FIRED
YOU CANNOT COME EVEN IF YOU'VE BEEN INVITED.

RICK SEIGAL, YOU ARE A CERTIFIED PUBLIC ASSHOLE. major bastard.

In my opinion that is. I'm just saying...

Cleaned the oven

In the UK, what we call a "stove" is called a "cooker" because it's what
you cook on. Go figure.

Anywho, Mom's been wanting the oven cleaned and I though OK, if we can
get some Easy Off, I'll clean it. So we got some Easy Off. This stuff is
named accurately. I recommend using it overnight.

We had this black carbonized mass at the bottom of the oven that would
send smoke streaming out at temperatures above 425 F. When I got to
cleaning some out before spraying it with Easy Off, some of it flaked
off and I threw that away.

It took 2 applications of the stuff before it was 99% clean. Kim and
Aggie (from How Clean is Your House?) would be proud. I want to treat
the racks as well. It was SO EASY to remove, too! A damp warm sponge was
practically all I needed to wipe down the oven, but I used a little
scrub pad of steel wool to remove some of the more stubborn bits. At
least it's clean now! No smoke!

I wonder if any regular degreaser product would also have worked.

It snowed today. I hate snow. The temperature outside was in the 20s, so
I pulled out my Duralast battery. Again. Good thing I don't have to
really go anywhere today. One appointment got changed to tomorrow. I
wish it would get cancelled altogether.

Might have finally figured out the heating problem downstairs

Ever since we moved in here at what I call Maison Ikkoku West (heh), one
thing for sure in the winter was that we have never been comfortable at
all. No matter how much we turned up the thermostat downstairs, it was
always chilly or cold. Cold feet, cold toes - not fun.

Some time ago, one of the guys where I used to work, I think his name
was James or something, gave me these 2 rolls of extra thick rubber
stripping. I think it was for some commercial refrigeration seal or
something. Anywho, one afternoon while working with the 'puter
downstairs, I decided to get these things out of the car and put them to
use. First up was sealing the edges of the front door. Cold air just
gushed around the door. It doesn't help that the front porch isn't
sealed off very well. It was tricky but I eventually used up one whole
roll and a little bit of the other roll in figuring out how to create a
tight seal.

Today, I finally got to doing the same for the back door. Every place I
could see sunlight peeking through, that was also a spot for cold air to
get in as well.

A couple nights ago, I even managed to put some plastic sheeting on a
couple of windows that hadn't got any already. This all seemed to help,
but we were still cold.

The house here has baseboard heaters made by Fasco, but the thermostat
controls are by Eaton. The ones we have are M402 models. About the only
other thing I can think of is that someone messed with the thermostat
downstairs, because the one for my room definitely works. No matter how
high we turned it downstairs, it never got warm enough. It would cycle
off on the maximum setting and it was definitely not 80 degrees!

There are a couple of set screws that you need a special driver bit to
do any adjustment - and fortunately, I have a driver bit that fit.

When I couldn't figure out how to get the screws set, I decided to check
how far the ones in the control in my room look. I also noticed that
there are little black glops on the screws. These glops are not on the
screws on the thermostat downstairs. I guess that's pretty much the
evidence I needed to say someone messed with them.

My guess is that the person who previously owned this place and rented
it out must have included the electric in the rent - and when the cost
got too high (well, it is Ohio Edison around here, the rip off utility
over charging for electric they don't even generate themselves!) he came
in after the apartment was clear (through eviction or whenever he got a
chance to) and must have adjusted the thermostat so it would never get
warm enough. So I observed the look of the set screws in my thermostat,
and duplicated that as best as I could, with adjustments in case the
heaters switched off for some reason.

For the first time, we measured 72 degrees downstairs and it's
comfortable. Now to finish getting the drywall in the ceiling at the top
of the stairs!!