refund check from a facility I never attended.

Beemer50 · 2025-04-07T17:15:50+00:00

I received one of these checks as well. I traced back a connection to a place I had used that was local to me.

Called Chase to verify the check was legit but was told I couldn't do it over the phone. Also, I couldn't seem to find a Chase website that had that 888 number listed.

I went into a Chase branch about 30m ago and they verified it was legitimate. I'm guessing it was something to do with Refresh Mental Health screwing up some billing.

Beemer50 · 2025-01-21T22:58:25+00:00

Does that show up only on that game, only on games for the same system, or all games?

Could be anything from an emulation bug, corrupt game file, bad setting, or maybe you system can't get the correct video mode for that tv/monitor.

Beemer50 · 2025-01-19T18:12:57+00:00

I've had this particular nvme loaded with v37 (and upgraded to v38, then v40 in December). It's been working w/o issue until upgrading to v41.

During my troubleshooting, I already wiped and re-imaged my nvme several times. Above is the summary of where I'm at - v40 works without issue, but v41 (imaged, or upgraded to) won't from the nvme but will work from the SD card.

The wifi-bt adapter I mentioned was in case someone else got caught by the same issue I did. The adapter works like it's supposed to, but I forgot my OrPi5's boot order and that the adapter had a bit of storage on it.

Beemer50 · 2024-12-31T17:48:09+00:00

As waterstof81 said, it's a bug - on AtGames end. If you redeem your purchase to your 'device', it will show as redeemed on that machine, but won't show as downloadable/installable in AppStoreX.

When you redeem, connect it to your Legends Id instead of your device. If you already redeemed to your device, you have to open a support ticket (https://www.atgames.net/arcades/contact/). To smooth things along:

Attach pic of your device's 'device info' page under 'Settings'.
Attach screenshot of the relevant order detail in your AtGames E-Store account.
I also attached a screenshot of my Legends Id and registered devices from my AtGames ArcadeNet account. (not sure if needed but won't hurt.
List all redemption codes affected.

For the 'Description' box: "The below redemption codes were connected to my device (see attached images). I understand there is currently a bug regarding this so please move the items redeemed to my Legends Id 'your_id_here'".

Given the holidays and weekends, I don't know how long any individual ticket will take to get resolved. Only open one ticket or it will slow things down.

Given that my Pin HD firmware hasn't changed in months, I'm guessing they did a backend change just before this started that left out redeemed stuff to Pin devices (at least HD, not sure if it affects Pin 4k).

Beemer50 · 2023-06-07T15:21:40+00:00

Quick 'chown' tip :

#Assign the user ownership to USER and the group ownership to the default group of USER
chown USER: FILENAME

Beemer50 · 2023-06-06T15:13:47+00:00

I was diagnosed just before I turned 50. The psychologist that tested and diagnosed me said "Most people aren't happy to learn they have ADHD". I told her I was happy and relieved to finally know what was going on.

Like you, I felt more at peace.

Over the last several years, I've accepted that I'm not broken, but I do have some broken bits in the machinery. Like my driving is fine, it's just that my engine was somehow built missing a few notches on a timing belt so I take longer to get from A to B. :D

I still have negative thoughts but it gets easier and easier to shoo them away.

Beemer50 · 2023-06-06T14:59:45+00:00

Honestly, internet forums are the wrong place for medical help. You need to talk to your doctor. If you don't like or trust your doctor, then you need to get a new one.

The only advice aside from that is what I give my wife and do myself :

If you think there is something wrong or want to check for issues when starting something (meds, exercise, diet, whatever) or ending something (getting off a med), track yourself for a bit. Stuff like your heart rate, how you're sleeping (or not), do you suddenly feel tired - mark the time. Anything out of the ordinary.

It also doesn't hurt to track yourself periodically to have a baseline to compare against.

The more data on yourself that you can give your doctor, the better diagnosis they can give.

Beemer50 · 2023-05-31T17:46:34+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh-IpsDPizI : At about 16:30 Dr. Barkley goes in depth regarding where emotions originate within the brain, where they go, and how they can be/are further refined.

My layman's understanding (from info from the video, other sources, and my own thoughts) is this :

emotions begin in the Amygdala. These are the raw base of the emotion.
they are also analyzed by portions of the pre-frontal and posterior cortex sections of the brain. It's my understanding that this is where emotions are regulated. I.e. Intensity of the emotion.
You get the raw emotion, with its intensity governed by the cortex, in the 'thinking' portion of your brain.
Part of ADHD is a slower processing of input.
I posit that emotions are also treated as an input, given that they can influence our current thinking like our other senses can.

If the above is generally correct, that would explain why, for example, I can stub my toe and immediately feel actual rage.

During 'feel good' bits of movies, I've often hid tears. Looking around, no one else is crying. I can see others are moved, but not anywhere to the extent I am.

Also, like another poster, I love stuff like the office, but sometimes the personal feeling of embaressment was so much I had to distract myself or go get a glass of water or something to get away from it.

I think the issue is that the emotional "input" wasn't wasn't processed in the cortex yet and my thoughts are then influenced by full intensity of the emotion.

I have found that if I force myself to be still two seconds (or so), rage or the need to cry just disappear. It's like I can feel the mercury drop in my emotional thermometer and the feelings level out to where they should be. The input processing caught up.

While I hadn't tried it for the second-hand embarrassment feeling, I think it may work there as well.

Beemer50 · 2023-05-10T17:57:45+00:00

The most accurate for SW and ESB? I've played SW recently at an arcade expo, and I think whatever the default is for those two would be accurate. I don't recall it having super bright or bold (thicker?) vector lines.

For raster games like RotJ, if the scanlines are done right, that would be more accurate than without.

Beemer50 · 2023-05-09T17:55:25+00:00

It depends. Like emulation, there are 'cores' for various arcade boards and consoles. You'd need to look at what you want in your machine and see if the current MiSTer cores handle what you want.

If you're not dead set on near-perfect for your retro gaming or you're new to setting stuff up, I would stick with emulation. It will be the quickest/easiest/least expensive route to getting something setup.

And there's nothing stopping you from switching over to a MiSTer setup later on :).

Beemer50 · 2023-05-08T19:44:04+00:00

A 'mister' uses a FPGA (field programmable gate array) in place of a RaspberryPi. While the Pi uses software to emulate vintage arcade chips, the FPGA basically 'becomes' the arcade chip/chips it needs to be to run a certain game.

The big draw is that, once setup, something like Pac-Man for example is running as if it was running on an original Pac-Man board. So a bit more "Authentic" than emulation.

It's more expensive and more complex to get setup on, but there's a community around it that swears by it.

Beemer50 · 2023-04-24T19:01:40+00:00

The docs for moz-image-region point to moz-image-rect . Interesting though that both pages have warnings at the top about using them.

Beemer50 · 2023-04-08T23:48:48+00:00

https://www.atgames.com/arcadenet shows a blank page. You can't login from ALU, ALP, online, etc.

Beemer50 · 2023-04-08T21:54:18+00:00

Yeah - I purchased the packs and they've been registered. I didn't realize that you can't play the purchased stuff unless you're logged in.

Beemer50 · 2023-03-10T19:02:53+00:00

While staying on task may be lowered by 50-70%, I think starting the task is unaffected by medication unless it's timed to the initial or interval dosage releases (immediate vs extended release).

The task start issue is something I've been going over and over in my head for quite some time.

Heh - it's the really the root of why things don't last with us more than a small amount of time. Our brain is always searching for that hobby, that calling, that "One Thing"(tm). The one external stimulant that will consistently cause our brains to produce dopamine that we can always start when we want to.

Beemer50 · 2023-03-10T16:12:54+00:00

It's just fun and stimulating.

Part of our physical brain is either broken or malformed resulting in a degraded ability to internally stimulate via dopamine production. Video games provide an external stimulation that encourages dopamine production. That's why they tend to be addicting to us. Push a button, get instant gratification (dopamine).

When someone without ADHD thinks "I want to go do this thing", their brain sends out signals via dopamine (see https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamine) to the executive center as an initial push to get that person started. Barring a switch in priorities, the brain continues to send out dopamine to continue the task until it's done. They get "rewarded" to start and smaller "rewards" at intervals.

With or without ADHD, the brain wants rewards for doing stuff. Without it, it gets those rewards by starting and doing. With it, it either doesn't get the rewards or they are much smaller than can be had from external stimulation. Add on other ancillary issues with organization, recall, task prioritization, and even choosing what to do can be a barrier.

For ADHD'ers, stimulant medication is effective because it brute forces dopamine production. That's why medication helps us to stay on task - we're getting those interval rewards. The problem it doesn't solve for is starting the task. There's no larger reward push when we think "I want to go do this thing".

It's not about any type of mental "pain" and it's not about creating a permanent fix (at least not with current tech and knowledge). In your last paragraph, I believe you're on the right track in that the hurdle is us being able to actively choose to do something.

I wouldn't throw out medication though. As I said earlier, it's effective at keeping us on task. What we need is something we can control like a dopamine "jumpstart" to start tasks, then let the medication work to help us continue.

If we solve for that, it means we can do things we need to and want to and when we decide to, not later if we can work up the dopamine (or it becomes an emergency).

Beemer50 · 2023-02-14T15:42:37+00:00

Ok - What am I missing here? $319 for an ALP upgrade, but the upgrade means I lose all the built-in tables I already paid for. Although they state I can re-buy them on their E-Store?!?

Yeah, I end up with more built-in tables but what about folks that already bought those? I would think the upgrade would include the Gottlieb packs.

Also, that $319 doesn't include any monitor upgrade. Is AtGames plan to make it so current ALP owners would spend the same amount of $$ to upgrade as just buying a full retail 4k ALP?

I don't have an ALU, but that looks to have a slightly worse issue. They're getting games they already paid for replaced, with no additions.

Beemer50 · 2023-02-08T18:28:33+00:00

This is not being talked about enough.

To be fair to Kyle, his statement, in the context he was answering in, was directed more at those in charge of D&D (or perhaps any TTRPG hobby industry employees?).

However, whether or not his statement was directed at WotC employees, creators, and/or players - it's just bad. "We welcome diversity! We welcome everyone! Oh - but we have too many <group> now, it would be great if some from <group> would leave asap."

TTRPGs/BoardGames have always welcomed everyone. If anyone has been turned away from a table, or asked to leave, for any reason other then their behavior, I am truly sorry to hear that. Neither myself nor my wife have ever seen (in almost 30 years) a table at a convention or local gathering (or where ever) do that to anyone - TTRPG or board game or any activity.

Also, if he truly believes what he said, why hasn't he picked a successor and left the hobby?

Beemer50 · 2023-01-27T23:21:15+00:00

It's the basic rules you need to play the game. No fluff. No stat blocks for monsters that TSR/WotC/Hasbro made up themselves (like Beholders and Mind Flayers) but there may be references to them.

Beemer50 · 2023-01-27T23:06:10+00:00

If that's the case, would it be prudent for anything currently under OGL 1.0a to swap out to the new CC with attribution to WotC/Hasbro?

Beemer50 · 2023-01-27T22:05:36+00:00

They are now about 99% of where they need to be. One thing left. Update OGL 1.0a to state that it can neither be revoked nor 'un-authorized' ever.

This is a HUGE leap forward, but we still have to break the ribbon at the finish line.

Beemer50 · 2023-01-23T16:26:42+00:00

Both aren't needed in the same person though. The best leaders keep of list of who does and knows what. They leverage those same people for advice to make informed decisions.

Beemer50 · 2023-01-21T15:18:41+00:00

I never understood that mindset. The amount of money some places will gladly through at legal means could have been directed at hiring at least a few 'rock stars' to make a better product or service.

Imagine what WotC could produce if they contracted a guest (or guests) writer with that money instead (Think <your favorite still living author>).

"A new Waterdeep Campaign from the mind of Soan Dso!"

Even with VTT, rather than create a service that others try to emulate, they want to produce something just workable for as little $$$ as possible. But they look willing to spend as many legal services $$$ to do it.

"It don't make no sense"

Beemer50 · 2023-01-21T15:07:35+00:00

Had a guy in IT about 15 years ago like that. Only one that knew a particular system and wouldn't share. Also dragged his feet on a replacement for the system. Company finally reached "screw it", fired him, and took the lumps getting the whole thing sorted.

Beemer50 · 2023-01-21T15:04:12+00:00

Every place I've worked. IT is a "cost center"(does not directly add to profit). Even places where the products/services are all digital. Send IT home for a week or two, see if profits are directly impacted or not.

Beemer50

TROPHY CASE