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Counting Full Circles

I've been hit by the nostalgia bat recently. A few weeks ago, I was tagged (on the book of faces) in an 18-year-old photograph of my senior homecoming, well, a homecoming alternative put on by those of us (and our parents) at the church I attended at the time. I was about to turn 17 (if I wasn't already) at the time of the photograph, and I'm now more than twice as old as I was when that photo was taken.   Something else I saw on the book of faces recently: an update to something I posted 6 year

The Fall of Chocolate City

Behold, the end of C. Ray Nagin's trial on counts of bribery during his term as mayor of New Orleans.   ...courtesy WDSU, NBC affiliate in New Orleans, LA (and whose offices are catercorner from my office (parking lots both open to Carondelet St)).  I've wanted to post about my computer for a few weeks now, but I haven't gotten around to it. This, this is something I couldn't delay in posting, not when I borrow one of his most famous lines to entitle my blog.   It would behoove me to learn more

Vote for your candidate

Hello.   Remember me?   I used to be a moderator here on these boards, but life has happened over the past 7 years. If I hadn't rotated off the forum circuit by the time Katrina hit, I was awfully close to doing so. I'm thankful, however, for the time I've gotten to know people with color-shifty masks. I'm honored to have been one, and I do not regret the time spent, for more reasons than making friends scattered throughout North America and beyond.   Gee, it sounds like I'm leaving the site. I'

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Walking To New Orleans

<image to be added at a later date>   This time I'm walking to New Orleans I'm walking to New Orleans I'm gonna need two pair o' shoes when I get through walkin' these blues When I get back to New Orleans   I got my suitcase in my hand now ain't that a shame I'm leavin' here today yes, I'm going back home to stay yes, I'm walkin' to New Orleans   you used to be my honey 'til you spent all my money no use for you to cry I'll see you by and by 'cause I'm walking to New Orleans   I've got

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Requiem For A Skillet

Packing is a most arduous task with a 9-month-old in the house. One person must always be parted off to entertain the girl, and sometimes, one isn't enough. This is a new feature against the 3 previous moves in the past 7 years, and it's a bit of a trip.   One that has been constant through the past three moves has been a 10" non-stick skillet. A relatively heavy aluminum number done by Invitations, and I don't know if that's a store brand or what. All I know is that I've had it since my mom gav

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Take Me Home

I can't exactly say that I'm a fan of Semisonic, or any of the other bands who may have covered the song "Closing Time", although it is a very appropriate lyric at the moment.   We have just gotten back from a whirlwind trip to NOLA, only to be thrust into more acceleration. It is the endgame of my time in Morris. As of 12:30, my wife & I now own (well, mortgaged) a house outside Covington, Louisiana. Yesterday, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the dredging beneath the new bridge, widen

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Blue Star

What do the Buffalo Sabres, Oakland Raiders, Silkeborg, UMass Minutemen, Lille, Αποελ Nicosia, LSU Tigers, the Ohio State/Michigan game, Mississippi State Bulldogs, and Maurice Jones-Drew have in common?   If you said "sports" or "athletics," you're about as close as I would expect anyone to get.   For the past two years, I've been playing a game called Streak for the Ca$h on ESPN. It's a simple little game: select one from a series of offered props on sporting events. Sometimes it's a simple as

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Tryptophantic Advent (2011 Edition)

Ever since I moved out from under my parents' roof in February 2005, Thanksgiving has involved traveling. I [and later Amanda] jumping in a car and driving an appropriate amount on I-10, I-20, I-55, or US 165 and arriving at my parents' [or her parents'] home for a Thanksgiving meal. (Except in 2007: that year we were on baby watch for Oliver in Baton Rouge.)   Not so this year.   For the first time, family is coming here for Thanksgiving dinner. Our cozy little house of 3 will become 11 in a fe

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Tossed Salad, Meet Scrambled Eggs

Hello there. Have we met?   For the many here that don't know me, I go by KIE on these boards, which is short for Kopaka's Ice Engineering. I derived the name from the bridge Kopaka built at the end of the first BIONICLE comic so many years ago. I am a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Louisiana, though right now, I live and work in Illinois. Within the next two months, my family will be moving back to NOLA [greater New Orleans], more properly, the north shore of Lake Pontchartrai

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Dry Run #3

My my, what have we here?   So much dust; so many events; so much life has happened here, I should think I ought take a moment to catch you all up.     However, that moment is not immediately. Expect more soon.

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Lullaby

<twelve odd seconds of monotone electric guitar> <8 bars of melody>   Just close your eyes Take in the tune I sing to you For my lullaby can soothe when your friends have moved to Neptune   It must be the way that I can hear you say this now "Don't be afraid, just know that I'll be with you somehow. All of your cries, soon they will drown in my lullabies, Just close your eyes, just close your eyes."   Don't be afraid when the day has become your lion's den. It's pure concentrate your

Black Snow

As the temperature cracks 60 degrees of Fahrenheit for the first time since November, I have to comment that I'm glad that the snow is gone. Yes, I understand that the snow isn't gone for good: Chicago has seen snows as late as May, but, at least now, everything outside is brown as it should be [for January, not March], not white.   I want to go back to a world where a "Blizzard" is something you go to Dairy Queen to get.   I have had the pleasure of digging out a snow drift, shoveling the dri

Requiem For The Poor & Irish

Finally.   Those of you (yes, all 6 of you) who have read through the archives know that I've played Team Fortress 2 for a while. In fact, I posted a quick screenshot some three years ago. Three years ago...wow. I'm happy to report that my 119th medal is golden, and I am known to still haunt a certain server set [who has their own forae and as such I won't link them here]. Though, if you go hunting for me on Steam, you'll find me with an avatar that looks awfully similar to the one I sport her

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Not For Burgers (2010)

For entertainment purposes only.   New Mexico Texas-El Paso (+11½) over Brigham Young BYU 52, UTEP 24   Humanitarian, uh, MPC Computers Northen Illinois (-2½) over Fresno State NIU 40, FRES 17   New Orleans Troy (-1½) over Ohio TROY 48, OHIO 21   St. Petersburg Southern Mississippi (+3½) over Louisville LOU 31, USM 28   Las Vegas Boise State (-16½) over Utah BSU 26, UTAH 3   Poinsettia United States Naval Academy (+1½) over San Diego State SDSU 35, NAVY 14   Aloha, er, Hawaii

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

The Chophouse Rules

Rule #1: Order the beef, not the vegetarian plate. This does not preclude ordering a side of asparagus, though. Rule #2: Don't lose your coat claim check.     I have an expense report to take care of today.   One of the drawbacks of being field personnel is how very far away from your home office you can find yourself sometimes. For instance, when the annual Christmas party came to pass 7 evenings ago for the New Orleans office of Modjeski & Masters, at Angelina's in Metairie, Amanda &am

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

A Matter Of Balance

I saw my first snowflake yesterday.   I've mentioned before that it will snow on rare occasion in south Louisiana. While it did snow two weeks before Christmas 2008 in New Orleans, it also snowed on Christmas in 2004, and to ring in the new year 2001. Before that, maybe something in the late 80's. I'm too lazy to look it up in an almanac now, anyway.   Those of you who know the story that brought me to BIONICLE may also know that I passed a semester of graduate school at The University of Akro

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Suppression

One of the most thrown-out-there quotes is "Art imitates Life; Life imitates Art". There's a measure of truth to it, too. For instance, I give you a scene from both Bleach 19 and 211: Bakudō 99. It's funny, in that the first time it is introduced, the ultimate manner of restraint is rendered insufficient. In a similar manner, I've seen intangible things grow lives of their own, even recently. That the hype around some things can grow and build and compress and concentrate and...compress, it is n

A Treatise On Pasta

The end of September is always a favorite time of the year for me. Not only because September 25 is my birthday, but because Olive Garden always has their "never-ending pasta bowl" special. All you can eat pasta and sauce for $7.95$8.95...I think. For $2$1.50$1.95$2.95 more, you can get meatballs or italian sausage (like the pizza topping) or chicken with every fillup.   I like pasta. I'mI was OCD over my wire-mesh colander, because I like my pasta. I tinker with cans of tomatoes, fresh onions

Festival Of The Corn

Those of you hoping to see the republishing of A Treatise on Pasta this year will likely be out of luck: for all the Italian restaurants to be found southwest of Chicago, the nearest Olive Garden (and Never-ending Pasta Bowl) is 25 miles away in Oswego. It makes me sad, but it can't be helped: Amanda's job is a solid hour's drive away from home, and I'm not about to indulge without her.   This year, however, does mark my first time being around a corn harvest.   It's different than it was in t

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Tomato Summer

I never knew how green my wife's thumb could be until we moved to Illinois. One of the perks of the house, when we came to visit and house hunt, was a garden spot behind the garage in the back yard. Taking the advice of people to not plant before Mother's Day into account, we planted seeds and plants in early May. Then, we covered the plants for a week or two because we planted before Mother's Day. All told, however, our plants made it. We planted 5 Better Boy (a readily available hybrid varie

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Kopaka's Ice Engineering

Sonar

Hello.   I realize it's been a solid 4 months since I've posted anything worthwhile. In fact, this entry may go largely unheralded, but I'm not worried.     I've been equal parts Busy and Distracted during this summer. My wife & I planted a garden, and tomatoes were never this much fun growing up. Beyond that, it's been good to scratch out a living, so to speak.   Amanda & I went back to where it all began: Akron, Ohio. Well, we were in Akron to go to Canton for the Pro Football Hall

Opera Solo

Not that I've actually done anything to the computer, well, I have: we had to replace the monitor. Went from a 19" ViewSonic VX922 at 1280×1024 to a 22" widescreen ViewSonic VX2233wm running 1920×1080[p]. When they say HD, apparently they aren't kidding: text is awfully tiny now.   But anyway, just wanted to drop a note saying I'm 3 years late to the party, but here I am: this entry was typed using the internet channel on our Wii.   And yes, I am using the remote, not a keyboard.   -KIE

Forever Chocolate City

I do have thoughts on Deepwater Horizon, but that will have to wait for later this week. Today is a day of celebration.   It may be disputed as to whether 69th mayor was the worst mayor in the history of New Orleans, but it will hardly be disputed that he was not the right man for the job immediately after Katrina. To have seen one whose platform be based on "business" and "clean up corruption" turn around to hire a tech chief who allegedly pocketed hundreds of thousands on non-working technolo

Leaving Chocolate City

(No poissons d'avril here. This is one of the many years I'm not pulling any pranks on the 91st day of the year.)   So sorry I've been away. Been really, really busy with work, and right now, packing.   (Actually, it's my wife & mom packing now: I'm at work until 4:30 PM.)     It's an odd feeling.   When I moved here in February 2005, I was all "country boy coming to the city." This was where I was going to make my fortune; this is where my life was leading me. After Katrina, 6 months l
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