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PPcenter. Arts and craft for my Sega Saturn. Since 1847 !

Tired ...

Written by cafealpha 4 comments
I just spent the whole week not (or few) sleeping during night, then sleeping because of fatigue during day
I don't know the reason of this, but I suspect bad weather (I rained nearly all week here), and also children sleeping in "kawa no ji" style.

What is "kawa no ji" style ? This is a Japanese expression used to speak about children sleeping in the same room/bed as parent's.
While it's not very common in Western countries, I'm personally OK about this, but it would be great if children wouldn't move so much while sleeping !
Example : you fall asleep with son#1 on your right side, and you wake up during night with son#1 near your foot, and son#2 pushing on your back

Another reason may also be chemo I'm currently taking : among the side effects, fatigue or feeling heavy is mentioned.

I'm currently taking "TS-1" chemo drug, which is administered orally as any other "normal" capsule drug. One of the difference with regular drug is that effects (and so side effects) are a little stronger than drugs everybody take when they get a cold
data/images/20141009_nks1.tb.jpg data/images/20141009_nks1_pack.tb.jpg data/images/20141110_ts1.tb.jpg
TS-1 and NKS-1 (TS-1 generic) capsules

Until now, I experienced the following side effects :
 - Diarrhea
 - Nose bleeding
 - Mouth ulcer
 - Fatigue
Fortunately, side effects are relatively mild, and also I experienced them one per one

Let's hope this week's fatigue state is temporary If it is due to chemo side effect, then I'm OK with this, because I consider it is part of the price to pay in order to get rid of my cancer

Read more Tired ...

Dragon Ball Kai - The war with Majin Buu is over

Written by cafealpha no comments
So 3 weeks ago, Buu was defeated by Goku, and last week Goku and Uub left Budokai in order to start training ...

Dragon Ball Kai is finally over ... I especially appreciate during Buu's death when it is said something like "he disappeared, and didn't left any cell behind", because I felt my cancer was completely cured (until the last malignant cell) at that time

Dragon Ball Super will start from this Sunday ! Toriyama-sensei, please bring us new adventures and dreams !!!

BTW, I saw Dragon Ball Battle of Gods on DVD, and it was cool
My comments :
 - I felt that Toriyama was behind this, because it was about eating foods from the beginning to the end
 - Not born yet Pan is already considered as a Sayajin ... it is strange that it didn't led to debate about pro/con abortion in Europe/USA


Last (technical) comment : I prepared an HDD in order to record Dragon Ball Super on it, and discovered that it isn't possible to copy recorded videos from one HDD to another ?!?
So, NO thanks to :
 - Sharp, for making such ugly user interface ... you didn't thought it would be cool to allow multiple selection when deleting recorded movies ?
 - Sony, and other companies from "Entertainment Industry", for restricting copy on recorded media from TV.

Ah, everything was simpler during video cassette tape era ...

Read more Dragon Ball Kai - The war with Majin Buu is over

Coconut oil ... "please ask your doctor before eating"

Written by cafealpha no comments
In a random shop, I found a bin filled with coconut oil.
data/images/20150503_coconut_oil.tb.jpg

Why do I post this picture on my blog ? Because of the funny/wtf warning message on it :
"To people under disease treatment : please ask your doctor before using this product"

Wow, maybe it's like I should ask my doctor when choosing what to eat ? oO

Note if you don't know : oil that is solid at ambient temperature is filled with trans fat, and good for trash, or preparing Mc Donald's burger, but it's the same anyway
And, it's not even it's written "Organic" in big letters on a product's label that it guarantees this product will be healthy !

Read more Coconut oil ... "please ask your doctor before eating"

Treatment report (2014/12/22) : MRI

Written by cafealpha no comments
Today was a MRI day !
MRI taken so far (4 or 5 times) were took with contrast medium (liquid sent via intravenous in order to see clearly veins), but this time was the first time without contrast medium !
It was a little strange that catheter were not used this time, and it was so "easy mode" that I half felt asleep during MRI exposure session  ^^;

One anecdote about this day is that when I entered in MRI room in order to put off clothes and wait for my turn, atmosphere in the room was a little strained, and 3 bodyguard shaped guys were waiting with MRI technical staff.
Maybe theses guys are maintenance staff ? But they definitely didn't looked like : they only stare at the window and monitors showing the MRI patient just before me.
When it was my turn, I understood why atmosphere was a little strained : bodyguard shaped guys took handcuffs and put them to the MRI patient just before me : he was a prisoner, and today was something like his "quarter-liberty day" outside the prison !
It was the first time I saw a prisoner for real (not on the TV, internet, whatever) in Japan.

Additional CT is scheduled for next month, so see you later for my next adventures


PS : I'm looking for a laptop better than the one I'm using now. Is there somebody to help me ?
My requirements are as follow :
 - No need brand new laptop, used laptop is OK
 - Screen resolution >= 1366 x 768
 - DDR3 SO-DIMM memory slots x 2
 - RAM address area >= 8GB
 - Battery for offline use >= 2 hours
 - CPU >= Core 2 Duo
 - Japanese or US qwerty keyboard
 - No need of OS, HDD and RAM, I already have theses parts here.
 - No more than USD 150
 - Easy to purchase in Shikoku area (Japan).
I looked in Hard Off ... only found a SNK 95 Saturn cartridge and very old or very expensive laptops.
I looked in PC Depot ... only found a good Sony laptop very cheap ... with broken LCD. And of course, nothing about LCD damage indicated near price tag
Any other idea where to search ?

I plan to use this laptop for Saturn development stuff

Here is a picture of the laptop I'm currently using :
data/images/20141222_laptop.tb.jpg
Old stuff from 2007, with 2GB RAM (no more addressable space ... what a pity), and a 512GB SSD.

Read more Treatment report (2014/12/22) : MRI

Back home !

Written by cafealpha no comments
Home sweet home !
There's no more hospital staff to prepare food or take care of my scars, shampoo, whatever, but returning back at home after around 6 weeks at hospital is nice

Today, I could get my hands on ICs for USB dev cart and Saturn dev stuff (Saturn, small TV, damaged proto carts, etc) that I put in a small storehouse before entering hospital.
Everything is still in cardboards/bags ... I shall tidy the apartment a little before to do some Saturn things ^^
Oh, and I finally could touch the new PCBs I ordered 3 weeks ago

Read more Back home !

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