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
(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
New category!
The computer case arrived today. It's ÜBER-freakin'-spiffy.
It's a Cooler Master Ammo 533 RC-533-SWN1. I bought it off of NewEgg.com.
This thing is going to rock once it's all been put together.
I could break down each angle of it, or I could just link you to a Maj gallery. In any case (), the company takes better photos than I do.
OS, check
Case, check
>minimum 600 W power supply
>Motherboard
>Dual processor (Not dual core. Two processors)
>2 GB RA
T- minus 8 hours until the opening ceremonies of Brickfest.
198.4 lb., 24.7% body fat
My cab to the airport is here.
Amazingly, I'm not going to have to check any luggage. THANK YOU MOM for the luggage for Christmas last year!
The BIONICLE tables will be all that and a bag of chips this year, I just know it.
Gotta go.
Next time I post here, I'll be on the ground in D.C.
-KIE, who will throw a fit if there are snakes on his plane
It took a good long while (18 months), but I finally got another phishing email to my work email account, one I'm not going to share here.
I give you the contents, with links disabled...
Seems important enough, but upon opening the nuts & bolts of the message (closely observing the pointed-at address in a web client, or selecting "View Source" in Outlook), one can see that oversized address in the middle of the document does not go to where it states.
Of course, I didn't need to
Been busy for the past week. Anyone noting the entry ID number on this post will notice that this is from last year. This is true: I started writing an entry about what I got for Christmas. I started in draft, and got really busy.
For any of you wondering, a partial list is below:
WHAT I GAVE: Amanda: a Victoria's Secret gift card (Juvenile comments from the peanut gallery will be deleted.) a bottle of perfume: Ralph Lauren Blue a $20 IOU because underarmour.com can't keep their inventory st
That's what my little brother says when he has to drive through Mississippi. Such a comment is usually met with "ha ha" laughter, but he's one not to find any redeeming qualities about the state to our immediate east.
Certainly not with their two major college programs, being the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. Southern Miss, he's ambivalent.
(Speaking of my brother, I wish him good luck: he has an 8:11,000ish chance of getting his name pulled later today for a $160
Barry Bonds is the greatest home run hitter, and by extension the greatest baseball player, in the history of mankind.
There. I said it. Can we PLEASE move on to a different subject, ESPN?
With that sarcastically said (oh come on: you had to know I was sarcastic just now), I'd like to welcome you all back to my blog. Go read Tunnel and work your way back here first. Please comment on Tunnel, too, especially if you'd rather be in Stillwater.
I was late for work today. But I have a go
For the record, this entry was supposed to be made 3 weeks ago, but Michael had me busy playing Red Alert 2.
Yet another image borrowed from Wikipedia.
An anime that lampoons anime.
Genius.
That is all.
-KIE
Another edit for clarification: The above image is of 4 of the 9 or so major characters in the anime/manga Bo-BoBo BoBoBo-Bo, a japanese cartoon that basically gives the Scary Movie or Epic Movie treatment (mishmashing the stereotype to the point of absurdity) to anime/man
So I finally got around to going grocery shopping yesterday. Even though I live right across the street from Rouses' supermarket (a local chain grocery store... like Market Basket, or maybe HEB. Not nationwide like Albertson's or Winn Dixie or Kroger's.), I try to get my shopping done at Wal*Mart.
I know, I know, this makes me a contributor to the evil corporate giant, the progenitor of the oligopoly and destructor of the small-town general store. I'm thereby evil myself and should repent of
Nope, nothing to do with a near-accident. Fortunate to say I haven't had one of those (or the full kind) recently.
Let me tell you about my trip to the mall this afternoon.
It was supposed to be a short trip. Just picking up a CD from Family Christian Store & something from Smoothie King. The CD is Live the Life by Michael W. Smith. What can I say, except that I am in a timewarp. "Missing Person" is a very special song for me, by the way. It took almost 9 years, but I finally got it o
Hi.
I finally got the opportunity to watch Fireproof over the weekend. Let me say two things about it:
1) This film is a must-see for anyone considering marriage, or even in a long-term relationship. Yes, it can happen.
1a) I don't love Amanda because I get or even expect anything in return. I love Amanda because I love Amanda. (If you don't understand the previous sentence, you haven't found "The One" yet.)
2) Kirk Cameron has come a long way from "Growing Pains".
In other news,
There are some things that are required for Christmas in Louisiana.
Hot weather: Today's high in greater New Orleans is 71° F (22° C). And there doesn't appear to be another arctic front on the horizon until the weekend. Who knows.
Tree trimmings: Not necessarily spanish moss garland. I borrowed some surplus ornament hooks just now at work, and will hang most of the 32 miniature blue glass balls I bought over the weekend. Small tree requires small lights and small ornamentation. And it's n
I need a break. A day off. Something.
Heck, I'm drinking a Coke and it's only 10 AM!
Brandy & Michael's wedding (Saturday) went great. I don't know how many of you have been in weddings before, but this was my first.
No miniature groom. No ring bearer. No groomsman. Just straight to Best Man. In a way, I'm honored. And yet in another way, I feel gypped.
I can say exactly how I feel gypped: I'd never been in a wedding before, so I had no idea how much standing was involved. A third of t
...lies all the effort that must be put forth.
The heat has been absolutely oppressive lately. 88° F (31° C) with a 105° F (40.5° C) heat index at 8 AM this morning. It has been a week since the temperature has dropped below 80° F (26.7° C), and tomorrow's high will be 98° F (36.7° C), with a heat index sure to break the 120° F (49° C) mark.
Normally, I'm not one to complain about the heat. I live, by choice, in south Louisiana, and I'm even proud of it.
Still, heat indices this high make
I think I rolled my ankle at some point this morning. Or it might have been when I landed as I jumped backwards down three steps after a meeting upstairs. Either way, I don't feel like I can put any weight on my left ankle unless it (my leg) is absolutely vertical.
The meeting, by the way, was about my troubles at work: the prime firm now knows how far behind I am, and how it's impossible to catch up. And, how it's not my fault. While the EPA will have to wait on my computer to do its thing,
By the congratulatory messages, you can probably figure that it went well Saturday. Amanda didn't know I was coming, and was quite surprised.
We went out to eat at Jim Bowie kitchen, a place she was first brought to by James, her ex-boyfriend who henceforth need not be named. It's located in Duty, LA, about an hour away from civilization. Think Cracker Barrel on steroids. I haven't had fried shrimp like that in a good long while, and Dr. Pepper out of a widemouth Ball jar is still a unique ex
Wow, a week and change since I've updated this thing.
MAN has it gotten busy around here.
Updating a few previous items: The Ophidian invasion continues. Napa's become jaded to its presence, as usual. I'm still going to BrickFest, although the gathering of stuff has hit a recent snag. I wish it'd get here already, though...the anticipation is eating away at me. No progress on the model of recent. Why no model progress? Because I've been doing something else!
Describing a line!
*cricket chir
*looks up from his Civil Engineering Reference Manual to make a comment*
Memo to Red Sox nation:
Your sense of entitlement no longer amuses us, nor does your Game 7 mystique have us in awe. Complain about the breaks you got and brace for being viewed in the same light as the New York Yankees faithful.
You lost.
It's time for parity anyway.
-the rest of the baseball world.
-KIE
Go Rays.
In the grossly unlikely event that it should affect anyone's ballot, "From the outskirts of Chocolate City" endorses Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, Republican from Kenner, for the office of Governor of the state of Louisiana.
(Never mind that his polling was at 63% of the statewide vote last week....)
Oh yeah, and there's an election today in Louisiana. Go vote.
-KIE
Update at 12:30 AM CDT: With 53.9% of the statewide primary vote, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the governor-elect of the state of
I passed?
I passed!
I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed! I pa
Work has gotten snarky this week.
Someone didn't follow instructions when filling out a database 7 months ago, so now I have to go over the entire database to fix it, all but recreating the entire thing, before I'll be able to compile it and import it.
Snag? Yes.
Minor? Not really.
Life threatening? Er, *gnashes teeth* no, not today. Check back later in the week.
*mutters something that seems to include the words "disrespect" and "moocher"*
Just letting you all know I'm still w
Greetings from parts south and west of Monroe, LA!
Now that it's the weekend and with softball over, I have time to recap as I should. But first, the drop off of Cherry Coke Zero versus Cherry Coke is greater than that between Coke Zero & Coke.
*tries to spit out the aspartame aftertaste*
Anyway, it would appear I don't have any lasting effects from last weekend's apparent concussion. Still a little sore to rub the point where the ball conked me, but the headache and mental fog have c
