Help me shop Amazon.com

[zengargoyle]

so, i recently learned that when using some Coinstar machines, if you choose to recieve an eCertificate (of various sorts) instead of cash, then there is *no* service charge for counting your spare change.... (usually they charge like 9 or 10%).

so i split the *humungous* pile of change that i've been collecting for several years now into two piles (because that was about all i could carry in my sack without worrying about busting a seam somewhere..), and one pile became an Amazon.com certificate for my nephew/niece/sister, and the other pile... all mine (muahahahaha).

so i went to Amazon.com and ordered enough Sci-fi/Fantasy books to complete my 'favorite author of the moment' collection, but i'm at a loss as to what else i should get from Amazon with the rest of my "spare change" certificate.

so, i'm here asking for ideas... o' wonderfull TJP people, find me something interesting from Amazon.com that i wouldn't think of myself. either Books, DVDs, DS games, CDs, or whatever.

[clay]

Here is an odd role playing DS game they guy at Game Stop talked me into buying:
Dragon Quest Rocket Slime

It is actually pretty fun, but of course read the reviews to see if it is your cup of slime. Basically, your village was attacked and all other slime balls were captured. You have to save each one while collecting debris to use as cannon fodder when attacking the enemy.

I was looking for a game that I could start and stop quickly. This one you have to go to the 'church' to save the game. It takes about a minute to go from just about anywhere to be able to save.

The other thing I bought recently which I found amazing is George Martin's playing with the original Beatle's tapes:
Love

Absolutely amazing. If you like the Beatles at all, you will love this. The 'fifth' Beatle and his son took the original recordings and mixed up some new creations over a span of 2 years. The most incredible thing is every single sound you hear (except some violin work on one of the songs) is from the original masters.

[zengargoyle]

sigh... nobody helped (except Clay...). Rocket Slime is still on my short list, but i've gone for the more practical.... my workplace is in the process of moving from on-campus to about a mile away on the other side of the freeway off-campus.... so someday soon i will not be able to avail myself of the many food options currently available to me (the food court at the nearby mall with *any* sort of food one may desire, or even the on-campus dining services that aren't *that* bad...).

so i was reading an article, and followed a link, and ended up at Amazon where i decided that i must have a Mr. Bento for the inevitable "packed lunch"... and because it was recommended... i also ordered my first Rice Cooker. (not that i can't cook rice without one, i do just fine with my pot on the stove method), but the idea of having rice or other (rice cooker cookable) deliciousness ready and waiting for me as soon as i wake up in the morning tilted the scales towards the "get a rice cooker" option.

your loss.... i was going to give back the equivalent "what was recommended" to the recommender with an Amazon certificate, but nobody answered (Clay doesn't count ).

on the other hand, i'm now looking for good bento-ish lunch recommendations, for the first time in many years i'm faced with actually preparing a lunch to take to work (since i'll no longer be able to opt-out for the fast-food solution). so any neato packed lunch ideas will be most welcome...

[ss]

Zen-san, I don’t know about your preferences (due to different cultural background). I understand from some of my western friends that they don’t own a rice cooker at home. They usually cook rice in a saucepan.

Rice cookers are common in most Asian countries because rice and noodles are the foundation for the entrees. And rice cookers are indeed versatile appliances, turning itself down to "warm" and you don't have to worry about burning the food if get distracted.

You know, with a good rice cooker, you can do more with it than just cooking rice.
You can cook all sorts of other things like steamed rice with cabbages or long beans, bacons + prawns + some seasoning; make your own sushi; steamed dim-sum like bun (體ｪ，包); cook all kinds of porridges and soups and even spaghetti......

So, you can now pack your sushi, 體ｪ，包and soups all in your Bento storage. Easy ??

Does your rice cooker come with some recommended cookbooks ? Sorry I can’t help much here. I think Coco-san is good at cooking, maybe she can help you out. :p

[coco]

SS-san

Spoiler:

To tell the truth, Zen-san's post is too sophisticated to understand to me.
What is an "eCertificate"?
"pile"?
Did Rochet Slime change to Mr.Bento?

Does Zen-san need to lose his weight ?
I even assumed "neato" might be a "なっとう(納豆)".

Zen-san, お役に立てず、すみません。
このページは既にご覧になりましたか?
http://www.flickr.com/groups/mrbento/pool/show/

[ss]

Coco-san

Spoiler:

Also to tell you the truth, Zen-san's English is very bombastic y'know
Sometimes I have to read 3 - 4 times then I like only understand 60% of what he's talking about. ;

Did Rochet Slime change to Mr.Bento?

Does Zen-san need to lose his weight ?

All work and no play makes Zen a dull dude, so Clay-san recommended the Rochet Slime to him (I guess so ... ). And in order to concentrate on playing, the best solution is to get a Bento (I guess so .... )

But whether he's intending to lose weigt, I guess you have to PM him personally.
I think your natto is a very good assuming, I think "Durian" would be in his next try list.......

[tanuki]

Rice cooker! That sounds cool. I cooked rice with a friend once, and what we got was some kind of...ball of...ricey substance. I never tried to cook rice again.

I think Coco-san is good at cooking, maybe she can help you out.

本当ですか。もう、誕生日に何がもらいたいか知っています。

[zengargoyle]

yes.... where i work now, i can walk across the street to the shopping mall that has an 'international food court' and eat almost anything for lunch everyday. Chinese, Mongolian, Greek, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Thai, Sandwiches, etc. but soon my office will move a mile or so down the street, too far away to walk for lunch. so now i have to worry about bringing my lunch to work.

one day, i found Mr. Bento and Mr. Bento Porn . Mr. Bento seemed perfect for a 'lunch-box', much better than the other lunch-boxes that i've seen at Target or Wallmart or anywhere else where i've looked at lunch-box like things.

i can cook fantastic rice with just a pot on the stove, but the rice cooker has a timer so the rice is ready when i wake up in the morning.

[tanuki]

I couldn't resist: Why on earth is it called Mr. Bento Porn???

[Chris Hart]

tanuki wrote:
I couldn't resist: Why on earth is it called Mr. Bento Porn???

Perhaps that's the aphrodisiacs.


Sorry, Couldn't resist.

[zengargoyle]

tanuki wrote:
I couldn't resist: Why on earth is it called Mr. Bento Porn???

it's just a particular fetish of Food Porn.

pornography is generally something of little artistic merit other than sexually exciting the senses. i think aside from sex, food is probably the next most suggestive factor of human life that depends heavily on the senses, (maybe food even more so than sex).

[clay]

It is amazing how sophisticated some 炊飯器 are. Yeah, you need an automatic coffee maker and a rice cooker.

[two_heads_talking]

ok zen, you mentioned loose change and then you have enough to buy a rice cooker, and a bento box thing. and books.. that isn't loose change brother, that's a pile-o-cash.

needless to say, what are your hobbies? Are there not any items on Amazon that appeal to you? If not, I will include some items that you can send me with your illgotten loot. I like Stephen King books on dvd or I would like to get the DVD's for the series The Shield.

After that, I too need a rice cooker as my current one has a hot spot and tends to burn and then cause the rice to get mushy.

In all honesty, how can we help you, when you haven't helped us understand what you are really looking for or how much you have left to spend? :@