Aibu
20 April 2006
Well, my copy of 'Treasures of Aht Urhgan' has finally been despatched to me. I did have a whole lot of heartache trying to get a copy though. I pre-ordered it from "play.com" on the 10th April, but cancelled it on the 18th after I learnt it would be delayed until the 21st. My reasoning was that I could switch to "Amazon" and get it from there quicker. However, I forgot to take into account that their 1st Class post is expensive so in the end I had to re-order it from "play.com" again. This put me to the back of the queue and they ended up running out of copies after sending everyone else's copy. I cancelled it again as I didn't want to wait for them to get stock again. Went over to "Gameplay" and got it from there with 1st Class delivery. It got posted today so I should receive it tomorrow morning. Hopefully...
Posted byHocchan at 6:35 pm 1 comments
Spot The Difference
17 April 2006
Top: What my Meronpan look like.
Bottom: What they're supposed to look like.
Guess I got a little work to do before I perfect these...
Posted byHocchan at 2:53 pm 0 comments
Prt Sc Bugger
Stupid Prt Sc decided that just this one time it wouldn't save a screenshot when I wanted it to. Wish I had FRAPS goddamn it. Anyway, what I would have saved is the log of my quite impressive self Light I made today fighting the Shadow Lord. It was something like this:
Tachi: Yukikaze = 711 damage
Tachi: Gekko = 876 damage
> Fragmentation = 432 damage
Tachi: Kasha = 1,287 damage
> Light = 1,930 damage
Total = 5,236 damage (Approx.)
I really wish I'd saved it. The figures for Kasha and Light are exact, the others are from my best recollection. I also had a Tachi: Gekko left over after but I missed it (typical). Oh well, I can't prove it with physical evidence but I have a few witnesses who can testify for me. That's good enough in my eyes.
Posted byHocchan at 6:33 am 0 comments
Meronpan
16 April 2006
I've been making batches of Meronpan (Melon Bread) recently. I haven't managed to get a good photo of any at the moment but I plan on making some more tonight if I'm not too tired. Here's the recipe I've been using:
Bread
200 grams Bread Flour
2 teaspoons Yeast
20 grams Butter
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
120 millilitres Water
1 medium egg, beaten
Topping
120 grams All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
40 grams Butter
50 grams Sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
1.) Mix dry ingredients of the bread together. Add the butter and the egg, followed by yeast and the water. Mix to form dough and knead for 10-15 minutes.
2.) Allow to rise in warm place for 30-40 mins.
3.) Mix butter and sugar together in a bowl until it becomes a creamy texture. Add the egg, followed by the flour and baking powder. Mix together until it's a slightly sticky consistency.
4.) Divide into 9 equal pieces and place on greased tray. Leave to cool in fridge for 15 minutes.
5.) Once the bread dough has risen, punch down and knead for a few minutes. Then divide into 9 equal pieces and allow to rest for 15 mins.
6.) Remove cookie dough from fridge and roll each one into a disc about 3 inches in diameter.
7.) Apply a little water or egg to the bread dough and wrap the cookie dough onto the top of it.
8.) Make a lattice pattern with a knife and sprinkle sugar on top.
9.) Bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 180C (Gas Mark 4).
I'll try to post some pictures of my attempts later.
Posted byHocchan at 2:34 am 0 comments
Less Is More
15 April 2006
Another rant! I went to buy some butter today. Arrived at the chilled section and began inspecting the various brands of butter available. I wanted unsalted butter since I'm making bread and I want to be able to control the amount of salt that's in the dough. Here's the thing though; a 250g block of unsalted butter (84p) cost 11p more than the same 250g of salted butter (73p). What the hell is that about?! I'm paying more money, for less ingredients? Stupidity knows no bounds. I ended up buying the more expensive unsalted butter in the end. I bite my thumb at the pricing though!
Posted byHocchan at 9:49 pm 0 comments
Burn In Hell!!!
Just a very quick post to express my absolute DIGUST at the unit known as "cup". I have no freaking clue what a "cup" equals, goddamn it!! Use grams, it's far, FAR more accurate and something I can understand. Every freaking bread recipe I find measures in "cups", annoys the hell out of me.
Posted byHocchan at 7:53 am 1 comments
Suki Dakara
It's been a long time since I wrote anything about the anime that I'm watching so I'll update with this post. I'm currently watching four series in conjunction, with another four on the way! o.O;
The first one is 'Jigoku Shoujo' which I've written about before. I've been watching the odd episode of this from time to time but haven't got too far with it. It was good when it started but I think each episode is starting to get a bit too similar. I don't intend to quit watching this series but I think I'll put it on hold for a little while. I hope that the later episodes mix it up a little so it doesn't get boring to watch.
Next up was 'Shuffle!'. This one has also taken a bit of a back seat recently. The artwork in this anime isn't the best I've seen but it's good enough. The storyline isn't perfectly to my liking but I do like the humour. One thing this series does have in it's favour is that it has superb opening and ending songs. Very catchy and addictive. I haven't decided if I'll continue with 'Shuffle!' yet.
Third in line is the superb, 'Yakitate!! Japan' from which my baking obsession stems. This has become one of my all time favourite series due to it's excellent characters, it's great storyline, and it's lovely atmosphere throughout each episode. Add to that the nice animation, the decent opening/ending songs, and the way it actually teaches you the science of each episode and you have a recipe (get it, get it?!) for a great anime. I'm currently up to episode 57 and eagerly awaiting the next installments. I will, however, be deeply saddened when the series eventually draws to a close. It's one of those great anime that truly touches your heart, albeit for a short time. I love it.
Lastly is 'Kashimashi'. I'm still unsure about this anime. On the one hand, it's great to listen to Horie Yui's voice, but on the other it's not quite developing the way I'd hoped. I'm starting to enjoy it again so hopefully it'll improve with the coming episodes.
That's the summary of current anime. On the horizon are: 'Ouran High School Host Club', 'Girl's High', 'Aa! Megami-Sama: 2nd Season', and 'Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu'. They look good, but I'm going to be so busy trying to keep track of so many plotlines! /laugh
Posted byHocchan at 12:49 am 0 comments
Game Of Death
10 April 2006
My new haircut! I'm really lazy when it comes to going to the hairdressers. I always let it grow for months on end, all the while getting irritated when my hair gets into my eyes. What I really hate is when I'm outside and there's a breeze since it always messes up my parting. I was thinking of getting a really short hairstyle, maybe something like a crew-cut but I decided against it until it got warmer. I'll have to get a Shaolin Monk style haircut sometime. /laugh
Posted byHocchan at 2:00 pm 0 comments
Tama-Go!
09 April 2006
I'm a bit surprised myself, but I've suddenly got addicted to the egg collecting event on FFXI. I didn't do the one last year as I wasn't too interested. This year, however, I've had the urge to hoard a massive amount of eggs. I've managed to get all the available prizes (not counting the ones you get for the Initial 3) in one day. They are as follows:
Initial 3 (HOC) = Chocobo Tickets x4;
7 of a Kind (PPPPPPP) = Fortune Egg;
Straight 8 (HIJKLMNO) = Happy Egg;
Day of the week super combo (FIRE) = Orphic Egg;
San d'Oria controlled region (RONFA) = Wing Egg;
Bastok controlled region (GUSTA) = Lamp Egg;
Windurst controlled region (NORVA) = Flower Egg;
Beastmen controlled region (MOVAL) = Temporary beastmen costume.
The 3 furniture eggs are sitting nicely in my mog house, and the other ammo eggs are in storage since they're not too much use to me. Only problem is... I have a billion eggs left over now... I guess I could go for the Beastmen controlled region prize of a beastmen costume.
Edit 09.04.2006 - Went and got the beastmen controlled region prize, it wasn't that good. Only a temporary costume. Not really worth the eggs but it was funny for a few moments.
Posted byHocchan at 5:49 pm 0 comments
Kenpan #7
My best loaf yet! I changed some of the quantities of the ingredients and it worked out exactly as I wanted. I reduced the sugar, increased the milk and reduced the water. I also added a little self raising flour in addition to the normal bread flour. Now my bread is nice and fluffy. Success!
Posted byHocchan at 1:50 pm 0 comments
Kenpan #6
07 April 2006
My latest creation! The best loaf of bread I've made yet (although it's actually the first loaf I've made but nevermind), Kenpan #6!! I can't wait to taste it! I'll get a better photo of it in the morning. I had to take this one at 1:30am so the houselights make the picture look awful.
Edit 07.04.2006 - Done!
Posted byHocchan at 1:34 am 2 comments
Bang! And The Dirt Is Gone
05 April 2006
It didn't rain! The weather on the BBC said that it would cloud over during the afternoon, and while this was true, it didn't actually rain like it also said it would. There was a fairly large amount of sunshine too which made the brisk wind bearable. We didn't go too far from the visitors centre in the end as the cycle path that we were following ended up going North, right into the wind. We didn't fancy walking the rest so we turned back and ended up driving around the small villages on the way back to the motorway. There wasn't as much walking as expected but it was a fun day out regardless.
Got a super exciting e-mail today. Turns out that Horie Yui is releasing a new DVD in July!! It's for the 2006 tour she's doing so I expect it'll have lots of old and new songs. I haven't seen Horie Yui in concert for a long time so I'll be very happy when I get this. If you're interested (though I doubt anyone would be as obsessed as I am) you can go check it out here. I can't wait! Gimme gimme gimme!!
Posted byHocchan at 6:16 pm 0 comments
Chiisana Uta
04 April 2006
Not much to report today. Going to Grizedale Forest tomorrow morning with my friend, Mike. Hoping the weather is going to be good. At least as sunny as today was in any case. I'll post some photos from the trip once I get back home tomorrow night.
Posted byHocchan at 5:40 pm 0 comments
Comet Cloud
01 April 2006
For all those wishing to try out the funky recipe I've been (incorrectly) using, go to this link: Yakitate!! Japan website. Click on "Special" and click the top link on the page that appears.
The recipe and the instructions are all in Japanese but there are photos alongside each step. If you're still confused you can follow my rough translation of the steps below.
1.) Put the following into the rice cooker tin: 350 grams flour, 21 grams sugar, 6.5 grams salt, 180 ml water, 35 ml milk, and 5 grams yeast;
2.) Mix them together to form the dough;
3.) Incorporate 21 grams of butter into the dough and need until the dough is firm;
4.) Once the dough is ready, form it into a ball;
5.) Grease the inside of the tin with butter. Put the dough into the tin and allow it to rise for an hour in a warm place;
6.) After the hour, drop it from a short height to get rid of excess gas. The website specifically says not to punch the dough with your fist;
7.) Allow the dough to rest for another hour;
8.) Turn the rice cooker on and cook the bread for 1 cycle of the machine;
9.) Once that's done, turn the bread over and cook for a second cycle;
10.) After that, turn it back over and cook once more for a third cycle.
Posted byHocchan at 8:36 pm 0 comments
