No Laughing Airport

I finally finish downloading last year's No Laughing show.  There were 6 parts to download, but the site would only let me download 1 part a day.  This time it's No Laughing Airport.  Downtown and the guys are dressed up as cabin attendants.  The show is 5hrs long all subbed in english.  This show is too awesome!

Dinner today -> Beef Stew.
Made some pipping hot beef stew for dinner today.  The broth was left over from the weekend and I just added more stewing beef, red potatoes, organic carrots, and white onion.  Ate it straight out of the pot :)

Beef Stew.

Useless Idol News:
AKB48 performing "So Long!" from last week's Music Station.  Mayu looking cute, but no Kasai :(

3 Engineer Failure

Big wet snow storm today in Ottawa.  I think 25cms fell.  It's days like these that make me glad I ordered snow removal service :)  I'm getting my money's worth.

Lunch today -> KNH Delivery.
Ed, Steve and I ordered Delivery from KNH.  We wanted to try out their website ordering system, but some how 3 engineers botched it and we ended up calling in the order.  3 engineers can't order food online! 
Anyways, Ed and Steve both got vermicelli.  They both ordered pork, but it somehow got replaced with beef?

Vermicelli with Beef?

I got Chicken Pad Thai.  There was alot of chicken in mine.  Way more chicken in this than the chicken and shrimp version I had last time.

Pad Thai with Chicken.

Good think I brought my own bottle of Sriracha.  They only gave Steve a small container of hot sauce.

Dinner today -> Homemade Wontons
Susanna made a batch of pork and shrimp wontons on the weekend and delivered them to our family.  I forgot to cook mine until today.  They were pretty good.  I also cooked some instant ramen to go with it.

Susanna's Wontons with Ramen.

Discount Foods on Mondays.

Dinner today -> Reduced T&T Food
Susanna and I went to T&T last night.  There were not alot of people there and all the cooked foods got reduced by 7:30pm!  I picked up a bunch of dishes for only $3.99 a dish.  I got Sweet & Sour Pork, Braised Quails (8 Quail halves), Fried Noodles ($2.99), Short Ribs, Pot Stickers with Green Onion Pancakes, and a variety of Meat Pastries.  Monday is the best night for discount foods.

Reduced T&T Food.

The sweet BBQ pork pastries was really flakey and tasted really good.  I only 3 pastries and shared the rest at CMC this morning.

Useless Idol Info:
Got a package from HMV Japan today.  Got my AKB49 manga vol 12, and AKB48 "So Long" CDs (types A, K, and B) with bonus.
These are the CD front sides.

Today's AKB Stuff.

But some of you Yuko or Mayu fans might enjoy the oshiri side :)

"So Long" Backsides.

Happy Birthday Katelyn!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATELYN!!!

Margret made a cool Monster's Inc cake.

Birthday Cake!

As part of my gift to Katelyn, I bought her a pack of coloured socks.  I then rolled the socks in towels and made them look like sushi.  Stuck them in a box so it looked like a sushi bento box.  It looks really cool, but I don't think she will appreciate it, because she is only 2 years old.

Sock Sushi.

Weekend Report: Impromptu Cajan Style Stew

Food this weekend ->
Salmon with Veggies.  Sniffed the fish and it was starting to go funky... ate it anyways.  It didn't kill me, so it made me stronger :)

Salmon and Veggies.

Got some mini-Italian bread from Farmboy and made sandwiches with them.  Put in a slice of cheese and piled on the cold-cuts.  Mmmm, mock chicken.

Mock Chicken Sandwiches.

Made some beef stew with carrots, potatoes, and onion.  The black bits meant it was Cajan style (aka I burnt it abit).  It didn't taste burnt, and was still tasty.

I brought it over the Jeff and Linda's place for dinner.  There was also chicken nuggets, veggies, and Linda's slow cooked hoisin and ginger beef too.

Dinner Spread.

Useless Gaming News:
Played some 3-player games on Sunday night.
We started with Get Bit!  A quick game to start.  3 players is not that great.  Needs 4+ players to be better.
Next was FITS.  It's just like tetris, but with some twists.  A medium duration game (20-30mins), and it's pretty fun.

FITS.

Finally we tried out Legendary.  It can be described as a co-operative Dominion based in the Marvel universe.  Players try to work together and draft cards to defeat the Mastermind villian.  15 different heroes, 4 Masterminds and a bunch of evil villians and henchmen.  There are many evil schemes and some are really tough.
We defeated the beginner game setup and played again with a completely new group of heroes, villians, and schemes.  This time the Mastermind was Magneto.  We almost lost but I was lucky and drafted a powerful Thor card.

Legendary.

Topped with Egg Yolk

Dinner today -> Leftover Hotpot.
Threw together a dish with my leftover ingredients from yesterday's hotpot.  Topped it with a raw egg yolk.  The yolk makes the beef more smooth and tasty :)

Hot Pot Leftovers.

Nothing else going on today.

Opened the Masterpieces.

Dinner today -> Hot Pot
Defrosted some thinly sliced short-rib meat last night, and bought some fresh salmon and tilapia to go with the nappa, white mushrooms, and konnyaku noodle knots I had at home.  I made quick and easy hot-pot on the stove.

Hot-Pot on the Stove.

Useless Transformers Info:
Finally got around to opening Masterpiece Sideswipe, Red Alert, Soundwave, and Optimus Prime.  The transform for Soundwave is just like the original but tweeked so it is slightly more complex.  Soundwave comes with Laserbeak too.  His weapons transform out of his cassette mode.
Sideswipe and Red Alert have really neat transforms, but my Sideswipe has a bad paint job.  Some the red doesn't match, missing varnish, dust under the paint, and paint spots.  Very bad quality control.
Prime transform is slightly different from the original MP-01, and this Toys R Us version feels really cheap.

Transformers Masterpieces.

Spillage!

On vacation today.  Stayed up late last night and slept in til 11am today.  Then I headed out to do some grocery shopping.  On my way back I bought a Tim Horton's coffee for the first time in months, and as I was driving away I promptly spilt 1/4 of it on my lap and seat when I hit a huge bump!  D'oh!  I just did the laundry too.
BTW: I didn't win my "rrroll up the rim" too.

Useless Idol News:
AKB48 30th single "So Long!" released today.  A ballad graduation song.
Music Japan performance:

Long Weekend Report: I got Soundwave

Food this weekend ->
Lobster with Red Curry on Rice.  Yummy and seems more spicy than last time.  This lobster had lots of green stuff, but very little eggs.

Red Curry with Lobster and Rice.

Panda Garden Buffet.  I ate mostly sushi, mussels, and chicken feet.

Plate 1.

Plate 2

Cream of Mushroom Soup on Chicken Leg and Rice.  Very filling and satisfying dish that is quick to make.

Chicken Leg with Rice covered in Mushroom Soup.

Fried Daikon Cake.  I this stuff is so good.  Little bits of pork, chinese sausage, and dried shrimp mixed in with the daikon.  I'll need to checkout T&T if they got any more on sale.

Pan-Fried Daikon Cake.

Useless Transformers News:
I got Masterpiece Soundwave (MP-13) on Friday.  It was 1 day delivery from Automaton Toys (my new Canadian Transformers source).  Soundwave goes well with MP-12 Sideswipe and MP-14 Red Alert.

MP-12, MP-13, and MP-14.

Useless Idol Info:
Got a bunch of stuff in the mail on Friday.  Most of the stuff was AKB48 photos and Theatre CDs that I got off eBay.  Also in the mail was 4 copies of "Gideon, Champion of Justice".

eBay Stuff.

Useless Gaming News:
Played a bunch of boardgames on Saturday.
Started with "Caylus".  A worker placement game similar to Lords of Waterdeep, but lacks the intrigue cards to mess up other players.  The objective is to get influence points by building buildings and gathering royal favours.  We played 3-players, but I would like to try the full 5 players.  I give it a 7.5/10.
BTW: Brian was extremely annoyed when I blocked his placement on the last turn, therefore giving him no chance to win, but it gave me the win :)  I'm surprised he didn't do better too.  He knew the rules and plays it on iPad.

Caylus.

Next was "Dungeon Lords".  Also a worker placement game, but you play as the bad guys.  The game is played in 2 turns or "years".  Each year is broken down into 2 parts.  1st part of the game involves upgrading your dungeon by building rooms, hiring monsters, buying traps, etc.  The 2nd part of the game involves defending your dungeon from a party of heroes.  There is an "evil" level for each player and the player with the most evil attracts more powerful heroes.
Then repeat for a 2nd "year" using more powerful monsters/traps/etc and heroes. 
I played it strategically by being good and attracting the weakest heroes.  It allowed me to easily kill all my heroes without losing any of my rooms in my dungeon.
Gordon finished in 1st, which surprised me because he was the most evil and had the hardest heroes attacking him.  I got 2nd place, but I think I can do better next time now that I know what to build up.  Pretty good game, but we bought the Monsters and Rooms wrong and I think we did the magic wrong during the battle too.  I give it a 9/10.

Dungeon Lords.

After that was 6-player "Ca$h and Gun$".  This game is really fun.  Very fast game where you point foam guns at other players to win a pot of money.  (I played as Igor, who lives dangerously by keeping his loaded gun stuffed down the front of his pants and with the safety off.)
10/10 rating and everyone should play this game, but must be played with the max 6 players.  I think this would be interesting to play with Linda and her family.

Ca$h and Gun$.

The final game was "Nuns on the Run".  Similar to Scotland Yard, but you play as nuns who are trying to collect keys and your secret item, while the head nuns "teleport" around the map and try and capture you.  Rate it 6.5/10.  So-so game, that needs to be played by minimum 4 players.

Nuns on the Run.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here's a heart for everyone ;)

Valentine's Heart.

(I had to share this from Andy Richter's Tweet :) )

Useless Idol Info:
My dad came over and he "MacGyvered" me a display stand for my AKB48 Team Surprise Pachinko Banners.  It was a really good job using dollar store paint handle extenders, curtain rods, a couple pieces of metal, and some nuts and screws.

Team Surprise Banners Display.

I still need to get rid of the wrinkles with my steam cleaner.  I'm also missing banners M01, M02, and M10.  I'm hoping someone sells them on eBay.

Wrinkly Banners.

Where Chef's Eat in Osaka?

Lunch today -> Instant Yakisoba.
I picked this up at the SuperStore the other day: Instant Yakisoba.

Instant Yakisoba.

It's pretty good for $1.29, but not very filling.  It's a little sweet too, in a good way.

Small Portion Yakisoba.

Useless Food News:
I was at Chapters and I saw an interesting book called "Where Chef's Eat: A Guide to Chefs' Favorite Restaurants".
I took a quick picture of a page for Emi and Gavin, about the best places to eat in Osaka, Japan.

Where Chef's Eat in Osaka.

Ed Bought Female Lobsters and Mussels

Dinner today -> Red Curry with Sausage, Peppers, and Nappa.
I was tempted to drive to Super Store and pickup some sale lobster and mussels (because Ed texted me that he got some) to add to my red curry, but I just used leftover sausages with some orange/red/yellow peppers and nappa leaves.  I still have alot of red curry left, so maybe later this week it will become a seafood red curry.

Red Curry with Sausages and Veggies on Rice.

Useless Gaming News:
I got my Lords of Waterdeep shipped to me today from Indigo.ca.  I only got the email that it shipped yesterday and I already have it today!  Maybe give it a shot this weekend.

Lords of Waterdeep.

New Metroplex

Lunch today -> Honey Tangerine and Chinese Sausage Buns.
Honey tangerines are on sale at Farmboy and Basics.  I peeled the skin in 1 long piece.  I wonder if that is lucky?  The tangerine was sweet, but the seeds in it are huge.

Honey Tangerine.

Also ate some Chinese sausage buns for lunch.  I got them at T&T.  These are so good.

Chinese Sausage Buns.

Useless Transformers News:
A new Transformers: Fall of Cybertron toy was revealed at Toy Fair 2013 and is coming out in the fall.  It's Metroplex!  He is huge!  Check out the video and pics here!

Weekend Report: Year of the Snake

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

It's the year of the Snake this year.  Yeah, SNAKE!!!  Whoo! :)  As you can tell I'm snake.  (Thanks Brian for the pic)

Cobraaaaa!!!

Food this weekend ->
I had snowstorm Friday off.  I did some shopping at Walmart and Super Store then picked up Pho #15XL from KNH on the way home.  It's been awhile since I had it and I was so stuffed when I finished it :)

KNH Pho #15.

I also picked up a 1 lb female lobster for a late dinner (on sale at Super Store til Thurs).  I just boiled it in garlic salt water.  Not much lobster roe in this one.
I was going to make red curry with lobster, but I'll do it later this week.

Lobster.

For Chinese New Year on Saturday, I prepared 38 stuffed mussels (truly stuffed, not pre-cooked and topped with stuff).  I used a knife to slide between the shells and slice the white muscle that keeps the shell shut.  Then I stuffed them with cheese and sausage while it was alive!

Truly Stuffed Mussels in Progress.

Re-closed the shell and wrapped it shut using some wire.  Normally BBQed, but I baked them at 450F for 9 mins.  It was alot of work  but I think they were really good.  Might do this again, but only with large mussels.

38 Stuffed Mussels.

My mom made and ordered Chinese New Year dishes on Saturday.  The tofu soup with abolone is the best dish.

Chinese New Year Dishes.

At midnight we did prayers and ate vegetarian dishes.  This stuff is really good.

Vegetarian Dishes.

Useless Transformers News:
Picked up the New Bot Shot Dragon Track playset at Centrum Walmart.  Also got my missing #41 Kre-O pack.

New BotShots Playset and Kre-O #41.

Useless Gaming Info:
Gavin was in town this weekend, so we got together for a couple hours and played 3-player Magic.  I upgraded my millstone deck to use.  I pulled off a Mind Grind for 8 and left Gavin with 4 cards in his deck.  Gavin killed me with Earthquake, and it was down to Ben and himself.  Nothing happened until the last turn where Ben was at 1 life, Gavin at 15 and Gavin only had 1 card left to draw.  The last card he drew was Burning Wish and wished for Fireball and killed Ben.  Unbelievable. (BTW, I would have won the game if I Mind Grinded for 9)

Magic Sunday.

Instant Pad Thai

Snow storm coming on Friday, but I took it off as vacation for pre-Chinese New Year celebrations.  I'm planning on hitting up SuperStore in the morning for some Lobster and Mussels.  Might make some Red Curry with Lobster and some Mussels stuffed with Cheese and Sausage.  My mouth is watering just writing about it :)

Lunch today -> Instant Pad Thai.
I got this Instant Pad Thai from the Dollar Store.

Dollar Store Pad Thai.

The cashier only charged me 1 dollar.  I didn't know why until today.  It was expired :(  But I still ate it.  I use the "If it doesn't kill me, it makes me stronger." rule.  It tasted pretty good, but there were no shrimps in it.  The picture was only a suggested serving (stupid small print).

Tasty and Expired Pad Thai.

Dinner today -> Fried Rice with Egg, Pork, and Shrimp.
I was meeting Susanna at my parent's house to go to T&T, so I ate at home.  My parents made fried rice with egg, pork, and shrimp.  It was good.  It had lots of toasted bits along the bottom too.

Home-made Fried Rice.