Brawn's Vehicle Transform

Useless Transformers News:
Picked up Wave 2 of the Titan Masters wave at Kanata Toys R Us.  Problem is I don't have wave 1 yet.  I either missed it or they never showed up in Kanata.  Anyways, Apeface is really cool.  Looks just like the original transformer.  Not sure what Brawn's vehicle is suppose to transform into?  From jeep into a "hover bike"?

Titan Masters Wave 2.

Rogue

Dinner today ->
Went to Loblaws tonight hoping to pick up some discount king oyster mushrooms, but there were none on sale.  I did find some cooked chicken drumsticks for 50% off.  There were 11 drumsticks in the package for $6!  Loblaws' cooked chicken isn't the greatest, but it's good enough for $6.

11 Drumsticks.

Useless Toy News:
Picked up the newest Rogue figure from Comic Book Shoppe.

Rogue.

Holding Gym

Snack today -> Brownie Chewy Chips Ahoy
Opened up the Brownie Chewy Chips Ahoy bag today.  These cookies are really good.  The brownie isn't really dense like I expected.  It was more cake-like.  Similar to a Joe Louis cake.

Brownie Chewy Chips Ahoy!

Useless Gaming News:
Yesterday James, Ethan and I took a walk over to Brookstreet Hotel at lunchtime.  We defeated the Pokemon Gym there and took it over.  It's the first gym we've taken.  We aren't very high level, but we still held it for about 3 hrs.

James.

Ethan.

Me, Gym Leader.

Useless Softball News:
CMC Strike Fighters defeated Honeywell 18-16 tonight.  The win came at a cost.  Maureen got hit in the side of her face while running to first base.  It doesn't look bad, but it was a loud smack when it happened.  I think she'll have a black eye for a few days and swelling.
I hit 2-for-3 tonight: single, double, and flyout.

Hot Dog Pringles

Dinner today ->
Got ribs again this week from Big Bone BBQ.  Same as last week, I got the Monday Special: 1 full rack of ribs, 1lb of fried wings with fiery honey garlic sauce, and 1 large fries upgraded to poutine.  I'm really liking the poutine upgrade.  It makes the meal just that much better.

Mmm... Ribs :)

Useless Food News:
Susanna picked up some goodies for me from the US last week.  She got me Choco Chip Oreos, Red Velvet Chips Ahoy, Brownie Filled Chewy Chips Ahoy, Everything Ritz with Cream Cheese Sandwich, PB&J crackers, and Hot Diggity Dog Pringles.

USA Only Snacks.

Only tried the Pringles so far.  Doesn't really taste like hot dog.  It tastes mostly like mustard.  I think I'll like the brownie filled chewy chips ahoy alot.

Useless Gaming News:
Got this games in a couple weeks ago: For Sale and Mysterium.  Finished sleeving these games tonight.  Still need some more Dixit-sized sleeves for Mysterium. 

For Sale and Mysterium.

Since we are playing Dominion non-stop at gaming lunches at work, not sure when we will play these games.

Weekend Report -> Pie Tin

Food this weekend ->
Picked up Franks on Friday for a late lunch.  Got the usual #1 Frank's Special on white.  So much meat as usual.  I had to separate it into halves to eat.  I also tried out the sausage rolls too.  They are very good.  The meat filling was very flavourful.

Frank's Special and Sausage Rolls.

Peter got a #10 Mighty Casey.  He said it was good too.  I might have to try it next time.

Picked up a couple Hot 'n' Ready Pepperoni pizzas this weekend at Little Caesars.  I ate them while working most of this weekend.  I wanted a Canadian pizza each time I was there, but they never have any ready :(

Pepperoni Pizza.

Made steak Saturday night with some sugar snaps.  I didn't feel like washing a plate so I quickly finished a sugar pie I got from Ben, and used the pie tin as my plate :)  Everything just fit inside the tin.

Steak and Sugar Snaps.

Useless M:tG News:
Picked up the newest Magic set "Eldritch Moon" boxes from Miraj on Friday.  Haven't cracked any of it yet.

M:tG Eldritch Moon Boxes.

Silver Crown?

Dinner today -> Steak, Sugar Snaps, and Rice.
Made a quick dinner today.  Cooked a steak and sliced it up.  Also cooked the sugar snaps in the steak drippings.  Topped all of that on some instant microwave rice.

Useless Gaming News:
5 Player gaming at Jeff & Linda's place tonight.  Broom Service was what we all wanted to play first, as it has been awhile since we played it.  It was a semi-close game, but Anthony won easily at the end.

We followed that up with some hilarious Telestration drawings and guesses.  Jeff's guess of my Body Guard picture as Silver Crown was hilarious.  I should have taken a picture of it.

Add to Anti-Banner

Happy Birthday Thu!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THU!!!

Lollipop Day

Today was Lollipop Day!  We had 2 baskets of lollipops for everyone at work.  I ate 3 tootsie pops (hard candy outside and soft taffy in the middle) and a blueberry lollipop that turned whole mouth blue :)

Free Lollipops for Lollipop Day.

Lunch today -> Pizza.
Got a pizza from the food trucks today.  I don't remember the name of the pizza that I ordered but it was very good.  It was freshly made and baked in their flaming stone(?) oven truck.  I would get this pizza again.

Personal Pizza Lunch.

Dinner today -> Steak
Made another steak for dinner tonight.  I made sides of microwave steamed sugar snaps and white devil tongue (konjac) noodles.  The noodles are new at T&T.  Usually I get them as little noodle knots, but these noodles came as a couple giant bundles.  They were abit difficult to eat as you have to bite them with your teeth as any other pressure doesn't break them.  I think I will stick with the knot version.

Dinner.

2 Grand Slams

Snack today -> Strawberries and Cool Whip.
I had an extra container of strawberries from Costco in the fridge and an extra defrosted tub of Cool Whip that I didn't use to make cheese cake.  I brought it in to work as a snack.

Strawberries and Cool Whip.

Dinner today -> Steak
Made steak for dinner today.  Jeremy gave me the steak.  Thanks Jeremy :)  It was very good.  I ate it with a side of leftover poutine.

Mmmm... Steak.

Useless Softball News:
3rd win in a row for the CMC Strike Fighters tonight.  We defeated Ripping Lippers 31-10.  We are now 7-6 on the season.  Mark's pitching was great tonight.  Totally in control of the ball's placement.
I hit 3-for-4 tonight: 3 singles.
MVP tonight: Andrew and Jeff.  They each had 2 home runs, including a grand slam each.  This is why Andrew hits behind me.  I get on base, and Andrew gets me home.

Useless Transformers News:
Got a package in the mail from HLJ.  It was Masterpiece Ratchet and Unite Warriors (Japanese Combiner Wars) Bruticus set.

MP-30 Ratchet and Japanese Bruticus.

Pokemon Lure Module

Lunch & Dinner today -> Big Bone BBQ.
We were talking about Big Bone's ribs at Julie's BBQ on the weekend, so I had pick up the Monday Special at Big Bone BBQ.  It's still a full rack of ribs, 1lb of wings, and a large box of fries for $25 even.  I noticed that they added poutines to their menu since I've last been there.  Also in the small print, I could upgrade the fries to a classic poutine for $2.95; so I did :). 

Big Bone Monday Special with Poutine Upgrade.

I ate the poutine for lunch.  It was good.  Lots of cheese and gravy.
I ate most of the wings and ribs for a late dinner (more on that below).  The rack I got this time seemed small...

Useless Gaming News:
When I got home after work, the 2 Pokestops by my house, both had the Pokemon Lure Modules just activated on them.  So I went there and joined a bunch of kids, parents, university girls, and older adults walking back forth between the 2 pokestops (they are on the same street and only about 40 steps apart) collecting pokemon.  I learned who the blue gym leader is, and that he is the one trying to hold the nearest gym with a 1200+ CP Snorlax!  I also learned how to specifically evolve Eevee into the 3 evolutions (Google search "Pokemon Go Evolving Eevee").  I evolved myself a Flareon thanks to the info.  A couple of cars also pulled over and parked to join in the pokemon collecting. 

Some Pokemon Trainers at the Other PokeStop with 3 More in the 2 Parked Blue Cars.

The girl who activated the lures, kept activating them for 1.5hrs (6 lures is about $9 unless she got them from the PokeStops for free?).  After each time the lure finished, I tried to go home to eat ribs, but I would have to turn around and go back to the pokestop because she reactivated the lures.  I couldn't pass it up :)  I did collect a few new Pokemon I didn't have yet, caught alot of extras for the stardust and candy, and collected enough experience to get to Level 11!  I only just got Level 10 yesterday.
BTW: Ethan and I encountered a rare Gengar at CMC during lunchbreak.  I encountered it by the upstairs photocopiers.  It ran away after escaping from only 1 pokeball throw!  Ethan saw it a couple minutes later by the Bistro area, but lost it too.  He only had 2 pokeballs left and wasn't able to catch it.

Weekend Report: Campfire

Food this weekend ->
On Friday Reza, Luke, Ed and I went to the New Hong Shing restaurant Greenbank for lunch.  We started with crabmeat fishmaw soup.  It was very good, but maybe a little on the thick side.  Still, thick is better than watery.

We ordered 4 dishes: General Tao Chicken, Black Pepper Sauce Short Ribs, Gai Lan, and Lobster.  Luke told us that the General Tao Chicken is the most authentic to the Hong Kong flavour.  It was very good and didn't taste like Rideau Restaurant's version at all.  I also liked the black pepper short ribs.  It also tasted different that other restaurants.  It had a few familiar KFC type flavours.

Lunch: Before.

We destroyed the dishes as the meal was very good.

Lunch: After.

Julie had people over at her dad's place for a BBQ.  It was fun.  Played some Commander Magic, ate some good BBQ burgers, sausages, and short ribs, followed by a campfire where we roasted some marshmallows. 

Campfire without Flash.

Campfire with Flash.

When I got home I think I've got about 25+ mosquito bites all over my back half.  I was purposely sitting in the campfire smoke so I wouldn't get bites, that only seemed to protect the front of me.  The most itcy bites were on my back thigh and my butt.

Useless Toy News:
Picked up some Ghostbusters figs at Walmart on Sunday.  They look really cool, though I'm not sure if I'll keep them yet.  They were kind of expensive.

Ghostbusters Figures.

Retro NES Out in NOV

Useless Gaming News:
Nintendo announced they will be re-releasing some classic NES games in a retro system that looks like a mini NES.  It comes with 30 built-in games and 1 controller.  Most of the games are good too.  I'm only tempted to get this system.  "Tempted" instead of "Must Get" because the system isn't able to accept the original NES cartridges, and the only games that I don't have on my still working original NES and I would play are Bubble Bobble (I recall see it at the Flea Market for $40) and Star Tropics (I think it was $40+ at the Flea Market too).

Turning ON App Before Walking Around

Lunch today -> Chicken Souvlaki Wrap.
Went for food trucks at the Hub today.  I got the chicken souvlaki wrap.  It was very good.  Lots of chicken and was filling.  Ed's taco salad didn't look that great and was expensive.  Katie's butter chicken fries from the same truck looked good and had alot of meat in it.

Chicken Souvlaki Wrap.

It wasn't as hot as I expected at noon today (+38C), but after we got back inside the building, that's when I really started to sweat and my clothes were clinging to me.

Useless Gaming News:
Before I walk anywhere now, I have to turn on my "Pokemon Go" app before moving :).  I want to get the random encounters and count the steps to hatch some eggs.  Been finding lots of Pokemon in the build, including one today in Steve's desk.  Found my first Jigglypuff and Pikachu today too.

Pidgey at Steve's Desk.

Rattatas

Useless Softball News:
First win in awhile for the CMC Strike Fighters.  We defeated AFSD 14-11.  We took the lead in the first inning and didn't let it go.  I think we are now 6-6 on the season.
I hit 3-for-4 tonight: double, mid-opposite field pop-out, single, and single.
MVP: Mark.  His pitching was on fire tonight.  He was placing the ball exactly where I wanted him to put it, as I was reading each batter's stance and hitting style.  He got a couple strike outs and forced their big hitters to hit stuff they didn't want to swing at.

Useless Gaming News:
So I installed Pokemon Go last night and playing it alot.  I'm actually out walking the neighbourhood looking for pokemon.  There should be some water types near my house, but all I'm getting are Pidgeys and Weedles.  CMC is infested with Rattatas, but my desk seems to spawn Eevees!  There is an Alakazam somewhere near the break room, but I can't seem to find it.

Rattata in the Hallway.

I joined blue team.  There is a blue controlled gym near my house, but I don't know how to join the gym to add my pokemon, so I can get some bonuses.

Game of Gnomes

Useless Toy News:
I ordered this garden gnome for Susanna's lawn :).  If you don't know, it's a parody of the throne in the TV show: Game of Thrones.

Game of Gnomes.

Weekend Report: Wilfrids Brunch and Pokemon Go

Food this weekend ->
Went Yang Ming Chinese Buffet on Merivale on Saturday for lunch.  It was the family along with our grandparents and relatives from Toronto.  We started eating just as a bus load of tourist arrived.  Alot of the dishes got emptied quickly. 
My 2nd plate was mostly fried stuff, mussels, mushrooms, and baked meat pastries.

Buffet Plate #2

I made my usual congee bowl too.

Congee Bowl.

Afterwards we went to my parent's house for my Grandma's birthday.  My mom bought a Bailey's Cheese Cake.

Baileys Cheese Cake.

This is the cross section.  I didn't find it very good.  It didn't have enough Bailey's taste and the cheese cake didn't have any flavour.  The cream was fresh, but it didn't have any flavour either.  For some reason, my mom would not let us eat Susanna's Tuxedo cake or my Tofufa...???

Meh.

For dinner, we went to Rideau Restaurant.  We got noodles and rice dishes.  Most of us were still kind of full, and I thought we should have just gotten the food to go.  Then we could have eaten it at a leisurely pace, when we were hungry.  But no, we just sat there for an hour slowly eating just to put it away.

Rideau Dinner.

For lunch on Sunday, we went to Wilfrids at the Chateau Laurier.  I wasn't impressed last time we were there and I was hoping were going to make a last minute change to go somewhere else.  But this time we got the "Brunch Buffet" instead of ordering from the lunch menu.  I was super relieved :)  The brunch was actually good. 
My 1st plate: roast beef, eggs benedict, sausages, smoked salmon, brie and cheddar cheese, deviled eggs, chicken salad, steak salad, garlic bread, and fresh bagette.  The eggs benedict was amazing!  Susanna and I ate alot of smoked salmon too.  At least $9 worth each.

Wilfrids Brunch Buffet Plate #1

For my 2nd plate, I had to get another eggs benedict.  The egg was perfect as it was still runny when sliced (see pic).  More roast beef and smoked salmon too.  The only bad thing I ate was the Yorkshire pudding.  It tasted burnt.

Brunch Plate #2

My dessert plate: maple crepes, fruit, key lime tart, and chocolate bark.  The maple crepes were very good.  Not overpowering sweet, but just sweet enough.  On the flip side, the key lime tart was way too sour.  I couldn't eat more than 2 bites.  I used the chocolate bark (along with my cousins Kevin and Michelle) to make white mocha coffee :)

Brunch Dessert Plate.

Summary: I would go back for this $40+ brunch buffet.  Totally worth it.  The lunch menu... probably not.

After brunch, we ate abit of Tuxedo cake.

Tuxedo Cake.

I also made potato, leek, sweet onion, broccoli, and lobster head soup on Friday.  It was good hot, but I found it better cold.

Soup.

Useless Gaming News:
Kevin showed me his "Pokemon Go" game on his phone.  It's not released in Canada yet, but there are ways to install it.  I'll wait for the official release.  After Rideau, we went to a couple Pokemon Gym locations in Glen Cairn.  He was going to take them over by defeating the Gym Leaders and Guardians there.  That's when we hit a glitch, and the enemy Pokemon would get stuck at 1 hitpoint and wouldn't die.  It was too bad as we were slaughtering the enemy pokemon.  Some tips here.  Apparently there is a high level Blastoise defending the Gym at the White House.  Cool.

We also played some board games.  We played "Cash n Guns", a hilarious few rounds of "Telestrations", and a little bit of "Broom Service".  "Cash n Guns" was the 2nd edition.  It has alot of improvements over my first edition copy.  I think I have to buy the 2nd edition now...

Cash n Guns (Second Edition).

Fort Max

Useless Transformers News:
My newest Transformers: Titans Return wave 1 figure: Fortress Maximus.  Found this big guy at Kanata Toys R Us.  None of the other figures in this wave were there.  Also nothing new at both Kanata Walmarts.

Fortress Maximus.

Shrimp

Dinner today -> Shirmp.
Defrosted some cooked shrimp and made a simple dinner.  Sliced up some lettuce and put the shrimp on it.  Then added some oyster sauce.  Finally I finished it off by cooking some vegetable oil and pouring the hot oil over the shrimps.  (Cooking the oil changes the flavour.)

Shrimp Dinner.

I ate the shrimps in some lettuce wraps.

Testing Code Shirt

Useless Softball News:
We played Cisco tonight.  We kind of slaughtered them 38-5.  They only had 7 players playing and were mostly rookies.  Dave and I played catcher for them when they were in the field.  With all this extra squats, I think my legs might be really sore tomorrow.
I hit 2-for-3 tonight: ground out, triple, and a double.
I used my new cooler that Jeff and Linda got for me to bring popsicles to the game.  I thought they might melt by the end of the game so we ate most of them before the game.  But surprisingly after 2+hrs of softball and sitting in the sun, the cooler still kept the popsicles mostly frozen!  Pretty good cooler.

Good Cooler.

FYI: 18pack of Chapmans Lolly popsicles (aka knockoff Rockets) are only $1.99 this week at Sobey's.  There is a 28 pack too, but the flavours aren't as good and the popsicles are smaller.

Useless Clothes News:
I ordered a new t-shirt.  I don't know why, but it cracks me up so much!  LOL  I should wear this during audits.

LOL.

Spicy Duck Wing Snack

Breakfast today -> Farmboy Breakfast Bar
Had to get a blood test this morning and went to Farmboy afterwards to pick up some breakfast from the breakfast bar.  I got a pile of scrambled eggs, some veggie scrambled, 5 bacon slices, 5 sausages, 5 perogies, and a couple of tomatoes. 

Farmboy Breakfast.

All this food was all just over $10, but totally worth it.  I also got a pack of pita bread to make some breakfast wraps.

Snack today -> Duck Wing
I got a pack of spicy duck wings from T&T last week for $6.  I was iffy about these, but these are actually very good.  In the duck wing snack pack was 5 individually wrapped wings & tips (no drumstick part).  I think it was boiled in some kind of spicy soy sauce.  It was meaty enough for a duck wing and a satisfying snack.

Spicy Duck Wing Snack.

They also had duck necks (alot per pack) and duck drumsticks (2 per pack).  I'll definitely get more wings and will try the drumstick.  I might try the duck necks too.