Sharekoube Candies Secret Stash

Seeing Tebow and his Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers is seeing miracle upset #1. Will there be a #2? How do hard-lined football media pros talk about upsets like this? I mean, yeah, you could look at it like a statistical thing and say any given Sunday any team can win against any other team. But that seems like paltry complement that fails to describe Tebow’s Broncos, who now have one more playoff win than Matt Ryan’s Falcons, and the dirty birds are definitely a “better” team, at least on paper. I mean it’s the sort of thing you could say but it doesn’t really mean anything.

And even with a gimpy Big Ben, the Steelers are better than both of those teams. Of course the Steelers is far from invincible compared to even their 2010 season, so you have to ask what is going on here.

I think I like this whole Tebow winning games thing precisely because it makes people uncomfortable trying to describe what Tebow’s Broncos have done. How exactly do you talk about predicting an upset? Look at their far inferior team statistics? How do teams get it done when they have little statistical advantages? What is in the game plan? How will Tebow eventually crash and burn? Or not?

Coming into this next playoff game against New England, who is more or less still the same Brady offense monster as they were in recent years, will we see a repeat? New England is definitely also a team that has lost some of its sheen compared to 2010, although obviously Brady is much better off than Ben physically, and the Pats are less beat up than the Steelers as a group. This is such grand stage for such beautiful drama. And in that sense I’m going to root for Tebow all the way, because these upsets make for awesome entertainment. Certainly way better than if the game went the other way. I’m sure CBS execs are doing exactly the same thing.

Disclaimer: this post is probably me sharing too much sensitive personal information on the public internet. The fact I am disclosing to the world that I use Mint is already something of a boo-boo. Let alone my entertainment budgeting for 2011. But oh well, the saying goes that a fool and his money is soon parted. Maybe I’ll just spend it so there’s nothing left to steal.

I have a hard time putting away money. Or I should say, I do a pretty darn good job putting away money…if I can actually spend this much every year on otaku goods. I think if I just cut it by half, I would probably live O.K. If I get a renter AND cut it by half, I would probably be able to remodel my kitchen in a year or two.

So it seems prudent and good to see how I can cut it by half. Using Mint, I was able to narrow it down by category and make pretty pie charts, you know the drill. Looking back to the past 19 months (that’s all I had data for) I can see some interesting changes:

1. My figure spending has actually GONE UP. Despite trying to hold back all year. Well, it probably is more complicated than that. If memory is to be relied upon, my figure spending probably went down in the latter part of 2010, and went up in the middle part of 2011, and then down towards the end, and then up again. The net result is that my figure spending went up by maybe 15%, 6-month-to-6-month. If there is a reason to it, it’s Mandarake. And Love Plus. I’ll get to that in a minute. But given the way the exchange rate has been going, the 15% increase suggests that I have been buying less or buying cheaper, actually.

2. I don’t game much, and haven’t. Yet I put away about 35% of my anime spending on games in 2012. [Trying to not lay down specific numbers... (tho it's easy to infer something ballpark if you think about it)] A good chunk of it is for imported games or the crap Aksys or NISA is selling. And maybe $100 on EVE Online. Hopefully most of that will be off the list next year to make space for maybe a PS Vita. Most notably is a write-off (wwwww) for that NEW Love Plus 3DS that I’ve got proxy’d and paid for. Notable, because I don’t even have it yet and I paid already, and it is the one single largest expense. In light of all this, even if I get a Vita and get horribly addicted to TOR, I will still come out ahead by 20-30%. Or maybe that is a best-case scenario? The best case scenario is that I forgo a Vita until probably December 2012, when there are really good games out already.

3. My music spending has stabilized, which may be a good thing but given how much I spend, I still could do better not buying trashy stuff. On the other hand, I’ve been buying CDs even before DVDs and junk, so I’ve had a long time to come to terms to spending and methods to control it. I guess all I need to do is exercise more wishlist discipline, and put stuff on “wait” to see if I still like it and listen to it 3 or 6 months later. Overall even if I fail to exercise discipline here I should not be badly off. The exchange rate is more evil than anything that I could do at this point–for the same money for 2 CDs at CDJ, I used to be able to buy 3 albums and a single. Sigh.

4. Anime on BD and DVD is still doing very well in terms of how much I spend. Large, single ticket items still make a splash on my list, although you have to give it to Aniplex for being able to do so. Most of my attrition remains with RightStuf and their sales. Some bigger hurts were K-On on Blu, Utena, finished out Marimite, Baccano, Katanagatari, Gundam Unicorn, and some NISA/Aniplex stuff. Single sets like Toradora, Arakawa (I bought this just for an autograph ticket lol), OreImo, Ga-ei Zero (should’ve waited on it lol did you see that sale)… just those alone eclipses my novel and manga purchases by a multitude. Which is to say, all of that just adds up to a Rakkyo box. You know how it rolls. And I still didn’t buy Sorakake Girl 4 lol. Maybe I should before it’s terribly OOP. Or wait until next Christmas? Hmm.

5. I spent about 25% of my anime purchases in non-home-video, non-music, non-figure goods. That’s a lot. But that includes all the new earthenware I’m rocking. Like that Nyan Nyan ramen bowl. Srsly. I have to say, though, that Haikasoru is still probably the best enjoyment-per-buck line of anime-related goodness out there. I had a blast with their offering this year, even if I’ve been reading less in 2011. Also the “anime misc” category that I’m referencing to here is kind of fuzzy with Mint. I don’t precisely categorize all my purchases with so much precision. Especially at a con. I wonder how much of that is Tanto Cuore lol.

6. Yea. I spend way too much. Hopefully next year I can look forward to more frugal collector mentality ruling the home.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/rutgers_universitys_infamous_g.html

Rutgers University in New Brunswick has this food culture of grease trucks. They’re these Arab-American setups in the middle of campus, offering cheap foods that contains lots of fat and cal. It’s also delicious. So not only because they were caught selling Coke products, but new foodie trucks wants in! This is just like a replay of what happened in NYC, where the influx of new things rocks boats, lowers profit margins (although in this case RU has a good reason to put the screw on the grease truck owners).

This is more like a hybrid of this easy-to-do recipe with a touch from Bobby Flay’s Food Network entry.

From about.com

From Foodnetwork

It’s pretty simple. I gimped Flay’s recipe to begin with, and just simplified the bits. I used pre-made sauce, but it’s always nice to see a good sauce recipe independently as to how it’s coupled. That said I haven’t even tried it, so I don’t know. I do know my tastes are not too different than what Flay typically aim for, so that probably is a safe bet.

The only real modification is in the sauce, again. I tried to score some fresh parm, but it’s harder than it seems. I went to a corner grocer (Korean, natch) for the moz, and Target for the parm. Mainly because it was convenient, and I will never again buy cheese at a corner grocer in Manhattan if I can help it.  Typical Tyson’s frozen chicken breasts will do. As for bottled sauce, I think anything normal will work, just make sure it doesn’t have other meats (maybe except chicken) in it. I wonder if a white sauce version would work? Probably.

Frying with panko is the only way to go IMO. That said it’s kind of expensive. I think my $5 bag lasted me a good while, so it’s a worthwhile investment.

Basically, I recommend both recipes. Flay’s shorter oven time needs to be respected. I think if you do it hot it shouldn’t take more than 7 minutes at 400F. With that said I don’t know if I would double-barrel fry this, it isn’t a big deal. Flay’s ingredients can pump out an extra 2 mid-small size breasts if you maximize everything, so there’s also that.

I’ve been using this recipe for a while now and I just want to copy it here for reference. I think the next step is to sub the panko (it tastes great but I think normal American-style bread crumbs might be better both in cost and in terms of filling and texture) and maybe try it with nutmeg. I haven’t had it with the nutmeg yet, although I don’t think it’ll make all that much of a difference.

Source: http://www.lovelylanvin.com/2011/01/25/japanese-hamburger-steak/

[Copypasta begins]

Ingredients:  (Makes 2 large or 4 small patties)

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon canola/vegetable for frying

Hamburger Steak Sauce:

1 cup good red wine
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter

[Comment: I've not actually followed through with the sauce/gravy. Ketchup works surprisingly well as a substitute and it's cheaper and easier to ...squeeze out of a bottle.]

To make Hamburger Steaks, in a small bowl combine panko and milk, mix to soften, set aside until needed. In a frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, panko mixture, cooled onion, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Using your hands, mix to distribute all ingredients evenly. Divide the meat mixture into two large or four small equal portions. Form each portion into a patty about 1 1/2 inches thick.

In a frying pan large enough to accommodate the patties without crowding, heat the oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the patties and cook until a nice brown crust forms on the bottom, 4-5 minutes. Turn the patties over and cook until a brown crust forms on the second side, 4-5 minutes longer. Remove patties and keep warm in oven while you make the sauce.

To make the Sauce, in the same frying pan over medium high heat, (drain frying pan of excess oil if needed) add red wine and deglaze the pan scraping up the brown bits at the bottom. Cook until the wine is reduced and thickens slightly. Add ketchup, soy sauce, butter, salt and pepper and stir well until combined. Drizzle sauce over Hamburger Steak and serve.

[end copypasta]

I did try the ketchup/soy mix, it gets most of the tastes but it’s important to have that red wine I think, as I didn’t have any. Going to try some seasoning wine (mirin substitute) next. Probably not going to taste too good.