Sharekoube Candies Secret Stash

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.

http://iplaywinner.com/news/2011/11/2/the-salty-runback-oktoberfest.html

Let’s isolate the issues and points that I want to talk about first. Then kind of “Socratic” my way through them.

1. There are more online gamers who are women than men.
• But they can’t clearly be all playing the same kinds of games, can they?
• How many of them play competitive games?
• How does that define “average gamer” stated in the article?
• Isn’t it contradictory to claim that gamers are misogynistic if a large number of them are women? What would be the nuance that we need to take into account to reconcile this difference?
• And who are gamers? How do we profile average gamers? Should we even bother?
2. There are way fewer women competitive gamers.
3. There are way fewer women in fighting game tournaments.
4. Women are treated poorly (versus some kind of societal national average way women are treated) in competitive gaming scenes.
• Poorly meaning in a sexist way?
• Is sexism just another way to put down someone?

I got my Nexus One back in April 2010. It was my first smartphone and it changed the way I work and play. It also gave me this habit of staring at it while nothing is going on. It’s probably a bad habit.

With my 1.5 yr mark coming up (well it’s up technically but the 6-month-to contract renewal time is in November) it’s time to shop for a phone. I’m definitely interested in Verizon’s Nexus Prime and Droid RAZR. I also have some partialness to a GSM style device that AT&T provides. Sprint is a dark horse with good 4G plans and prices. All three, as of now, have good devices.

Current problem with my phone and service. Ranked:

1. It only supports  HSPA, which is really terrible especially as an AT&T customer in this area–it  is simply unusable on large strides of the northeast corridor. And on the train is where I use my phone the most.
2. It could be a little faster, although I can run most anything I want to at this point. Even more if I hack it and run a 3rd party ROM
3. It’s finally dropping out of the googly heaven, but it’s still a well-oiled and well-hacked machine.

Long story short, these are the devices low-down:

• I like those Galaxy S II’s, even if we’re 6 months into its life cycle already. AT&T’s LTE version launches next week and it is probably the one I would buy if I am sticking to that device. It’s also available starting 11/6.
• Pluses: Nice screen, Available next week. Probably best supported non-Nexus phone you can get.
• Minuses: LTE won’t roll out in this area until probably late next year, so feeling a bit wasted with just HSPA+. Kind of big. 6months in the cycle. Feels tinny.
• I like a Nexus Prime because I’m coming from a Nexus One, and I like my googly updates. I tinker with my phone enough even if I’m running stock vanilla right now. No release date yet though.
• Pluses: Google Heaven experience. Good phone all-around.
• Minuses: Probably has one of those fatal flaws that mars all Nexus phones. A gambit on a Samsung CDMA-LTE phone. GS2 has better screen. No MicroSD slot
• I think the Droid RAZR is a top notch device coming from the hardware perspective. Google’s “partnership” with Moto bodes well for Moto owners. It would be more desirable than the Nexus Prime if it had the added devices like a gyro and a compass. out 11/10.
• Pluses: Good hardware, doesn’t feel like a POS, better than Nexus Prime basically in terms of hardware quality.
• Minuses: Lack of a gyro and a compass, no NFC.

In terms of network, pros and cons:

AT&T:

• I am an existing AT&T customer, so upgrading to anther AT&T phone saves me the ETF. The ETF for me is actually very low due to the fact that my 2-yr is not with an advance device. (I got $50 out of this supposed contract). But another $80 or whatever it is now (150 – 4*number of months, or 150-4*16=86).
• I am grandfathered into their unlimited data plan. This is a huge deal potentially.
• I can stay with the family plan (it’s better value for everyone on the plan, but not necessary the cheapest option for individuals).

VZW:

• Full LTE coverage in my area, way better coverage on commute. Even in the tunnel!
• See above, ETF.
• About the same cost as AT&T on the individual basis.
• 2gb data limit most likely.

Sprint:

• Cheapest on the individual basis, unlimited data.
• See above, ETF.
• Worst coverage for my area. I don’t even think I get 4G at my folk’s place.
• But unlimited all that jazz.

The picture is more complicated if I also splurge for a LTE mobile device like a laptop/portable hotspot or a tablet as a holdover. But that is like another $50/mo on the device. That solves the immediate service issue needs (I would get a VZW mifi type thing with LTE) but if I upgrade my smartphone to a LTE device then it kind of is just redundant. Or I can buy a VZW iPad2 and do pay-as-you-go, and resell the iPad when I renew. Something like that.

Damn, those Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTEs are pretty tempting! Only if I have $700 to throw around.

I am not a New Englander in the typical sense, so it is fun and interesting to visit something customary to that when I attended Steve’s wedding.

It’s a classy affair. I think Bonnie and Scott’s pressure just went up! Anyway, congrats to the newlyweds.

Nice moves!

And damn it Charley why am I bagging groceries on my way home now… And what was it about my tie? The Boss2 semi-meetup was nice. It definitely has to happen more often. Scott and I make the effort, and at this point traveling 4 hours to and fro on a weekend is not a big deal for me (mostly in terms of cost). But LA is just so far away.

I wasn’t in Japan when the magnitude 9 quake struck its northeastern provinces. I was planning to, however, and if not for the disaster I might have been in Japan some point this year.

The consequences of that is most likely a delay on the house hunting, which not only means there’s a greater chance that I would have gotten an even lower interest rate (since I locked in, the interest rate has dropped by another 0.20-0.25% which is just :V) and more likely, not have purchased a house yet. I mean I was planning to spend some real money this trip. It would have put off the house thing if I went. And the place I bought would likely have slipped through simply because it’s a hot buy and would have gone off the market in a week.

This means I am kind of giving up on Japan this year. I also really need a vacation. These weekend-like trips just won’t do.

From a purely selfish perspective, it was a good idea to not go to Japan this summer, simply because it would have been hot, a lot of the electricity conservation effort meant still escalators and no AC. And Japan gets kind of hot and humid during summer. There’s a trip this winter that some people are going to, and it’s not yet too late to hop on that wagon. But in all likelihood I will be staying in and doing home improvement. I’d rather get a TV than an plane ticket at this point. And a better sound system than this Bose nonsense that I am left with.