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Kopaka's Ice Engineering

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  1. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    For entertainment purposes only.
     
    New Mexico
    Fresno State (-10½) over Wyoming
    WYO 35, FRES 28 F/2OT
     
    St. Petersburg
    Central Florida (+2½) over State University of New Jersey
    RUTG 45, UCF 24 (Way to show up at a virtual home game, Knights. )
     
    New Orleans
    Middle Tennessee State (+3½) over Southern Mississippi
    MTSU 42, USM 32
     
    Las Vegas
    Brigham Young (+1½) over Oregon State
    BYU 44, ORST 20
     
    Poinsettia
    Utah (+2½) over California-Berkley
    UTAH 37, CAL 27
     
    Aloha, er, Hawaii
    Southern Methodist (+14½) over Nevada-Reno
    SMU 45, NEV 10
     
    Motor City, er Little Cæsar's Pizza
    Ohio (-1½) over Marshall
    MRSH 21, OHIO 17
     
    Meineke Car Care
    Pittsburgh (-2½) over North Carolina-Chapel Hill
    PITT 19, UNC 17
     
    Emerald
    Southern Califonia (-9½) over Boston College
    USC 24, BC 13
     
    Music City
    Kentucky (+7½) over Clemson
    CLEM 21, UK 13
     
    Independence
    Texas A&M-College Station (+7½) over Georgia-Athens
     
    EagleBank
    Temple (+5½) over California-Los Angeles
     
    Champs Sports
    Wisconsin-Madison (+2½) over University of Miami
     
    Humanitarian, uh, MPC Computers
    Bowling Green State (+1½) over Idaho
     
    Holiday
    Nebraska-Lincoln (+1½) over Arizona
     
    Sun
    Stanford (+8½) over Oklahoma-Norman
     
    Armed Forces
    Houston (-4½) over United States Air Force Academy (gasp, I went against a service academy!)
     
    ev1.net, uh, GalleryFurniture.com, er, Houston, um Texas
    United States Naval Academy (+3½) over Missouri-Columbia
     
    Insight
    Iowa State (+2½) over Minnesota-Twin Cities
     
    Peach, er Chick-fil-A
    Virginia Tech (-4½) over Tennessee-Knoxville
     
    Hall of Fame, er, Outback
    Auburn (-7½) over Northwestern
     
    Citrus, er Capital One
    Lousiana State-Baton Rouge (+2½) over Pennsylvania State
     
    Gator
    Florida State (+3½) over West Virginia
     
    Rose
    Oregon (-3½) over Ohio State
     
    Sugar
    Florida (-10½) over Cincinnati
     
    International
    South Florida (-6½) over Northern Illinois
     
    Cotton
    Oklahoma State (+2½) over Mississippi
     
    Mobile..er, papajohns.com
    South Carolina (-4½) over Connecticut
     
    Liberty
    East Carolina (+7½) over Arkansas-Fayetteville
     
    Alamo
    Texas Tech (-7½) over Michigan State
     
    Fiesta
    Boise State (+6½) over Texas Christian
     
    Orange
    Georgia Institute of Technology (-3½) over State University of Iowa
     
    GMAC
    Troy (+3½) over Central Michigan
     
    BCS
    Alabama-Tuscaloosa (-4½) over Texas-Austin
     
     
    Last year: Who knows.....
    This year: 5-5, 5-5 vs. spread
     
    Key:
    Correct
    Correct versus spread only
    Correct straight up, but not against the spread
    Incorrect
     
    -KIE, who reserves the right to update and republish this throughout the bowl season.
  2. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    I'm still here, but boy did I have a scare the other night.
     
    By the way, I'm working on the 2009 version of Not For Burgers, but it may be Friday before I post it.
     
    Monday night, I was trying to make potato soup. Was more like mashed potatoes, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, I didn't account for the saltiness of the bacon fat and oversalted the pot. Blech.
     
    In the process of cleaning up, however, I accidentally blended the tip of my left index finger. To borrow one of my dad's aphorisms, I tore it up real good. No stitches, because there was nothing to stitch back together. It may be May before the bandage is off to stay. And then would probably be physical therapy.
     
    Lesson: if the box says Dishwasher Safe, there is no reason to clean it ANY OTHER WAY.
     
    -KIE
  3. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Sorry to have taken so long to post this. Been busy with at TF2 cup competition for a server set I can't link to here because of their forums. Not to mention, 4 fantasy football leagues, and Ultima Online is a better use of my time than, say, staring at a keyboard.
    I will say this, though: Go <AXE) !
    Before congratulating me, make sure you've read the whole of the letter. There are important details. 
    Also, I may not be congratulated at all: I walked into this office the day after I was laid off from Digital, and was only laid off for 20 days, as opposed to the 4 month average. This is divine providence, to be sure, and it reeks of divine appointment.
     
    I started this past Monday, by the way.
  4. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    4½ years.
     
    Not really by the boards, but I had very serious plans of getting into a groove there. Even thought I was in that groove, but now I'm out.
     
    Pray for me. Pray for us. We need to land quickly.
     
     
    -KIE
  5. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    My life
    Has led me down the road that's so uncertain
    Now I am left alone and I am broken
    Tryin' to find my way
    Tryin' to find the faith that's gone

    This time
    I know that You are holding all the answers
    And I'm tired of losing hope and taking chances
    On roads that never seem
    To be the ones that bring me home


    Give me a revelation
    Show me what to do
    'Cause I've been trying to find my way
    I haven't got a clue
    Tell me should I stay here
    Or do I need to move
    Give me a revelation
    I've got nothing without You
    I've got nothing without You


    My life
    Has led me down this path that's ever-winding
    Through every twist and turn I'm always finding
    That I am lost again (I am lost again)
    Tell me when this road will ever end


    Give me a revelation
    Show me what to do
    'Cause I've been trying to find my way
    I haven't got a clue
    Tell me should I stay here
    Or do I need to move
    Give me a revelation
    I've got nothing without You
    I've got nothing without...


    I don't know where I can turn
    Tell me when will I learn
    Won't You show me where I need to go
    Oh,
    Let me follow Your lead
    I know that it's the only
    Way that I can get back home


    Give me a revelation
    Show me what to do
    'Cause I've been trying to find my way
    I haven't got a clue
    Tell me should I stay here
    Or do I need to move
    Give me a revelation
    I've got nothing without You
    I've got nothing without You

    Oh no,
    Oh no,
    Give me a revelation
    I've got nothing without You
    I've got nothing without You
  6. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Hurrah for getting back on BZPower!
    Hurrah for getting back on my blog.
     

     
    Hurrah for forgetting the post I was going to post when it finally came back up!
     
     
     
    Hurrah for running laundry!
     
     
     
    -KIE, who won't be in attendance in DC tomorrow.....but will next year.
  7. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    For the first time in 7 years, 337-842-0361 is not my cell phone number.
    My wife was receiving unwelcome phone calls in the middle of the night, so we had our numbers changed.
     
    After 4 years in New Orleans, I finally have a local phone number in the 504 area code.
     
     
    Oh, and married life? I don't think I can answer how it is: it's too early to have set an honest-to-goodness routine.
     
     
    -KIE
  8. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    <21 seconds of city street ambience>
    <19 seconds of random audio clips, interspersed with radio static>

    ...it doesn't matter to me
    Hey, I'm in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    In my Caribbean dream....

    Picture me just lying in the sun
    with the radio on
    And nothing has to get done
    Yeah, this reggae music is fun
    rhythym of the island

    Happiness comes sneaking up on me
    from a serious place
    There's not a serious face
    On any day of the week
    Dancin' with my left feet

    Boats are floatin' on the aqua sea
    Spirit soarin' with the mercury
    Yeah You make me smile
    while You're fillin' my cup
    You're fillin' me up
    to the brim of my big straw hat

    (I'm in no hurry)
    In my Caribbean dream
    Out in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    Oh, leave me 'lone
    just as long as I can possibly be
    (I'm in no hurry)
    It doesn't matter to me
    Hey, I'm in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    In my Caribbean dream
    Dancin' to a Caribbean beat

    Waves of joy come crashin' over me
    in my cinnamon tan
    I'm just kickin' up sand
    On the way to the beach
    Pickin' up the seashell

    Sit me down I've been lookin' all around
    for that coconut cream
    Yeah, could be a permanent thing
    Yeah, diggin' the tropical scene
    Pushin' up my favorite shade

    Boats are floatin' on the aqua sea
    Spirit soarin' with the mercury
    Yeah You make me smile
    while You're fillin' my cup
    You're fillin' me up
    to the brim of my big straw hat

    (I'm in no hurry)
    In my Caribbean dream
    Out in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    Oh, leave me 'lone
    just as long as I can possibly be
    (I'm in no hurry)
    It doesn't matter to me
    Hey, I'm in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    In my Caribbean dream
    Dancin' to a Caribbean beat

    <fun little lazy 8 bar harmon mute trumpet solo>

    (I'm in no hurry)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....) In my Caribbean dream
    (...breezy) Out in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....) Oh, leave me 'lone
    (...breezy) just as long as I can possibly be
    (I'm in no hurry)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....) It doesn't matter to me
    (...breezy) Hey, I'm in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....) In my Caribbean dream
    (...breezy) Dancin' to a Caribbean beat

    (I'm in no hurry)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....)
    (...breezy) Out in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....) Oh, leave me 'lone
    (...breezy) just as long as I can possibly be
    (I'm in no hurry)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....)
    (...breezy) Hey, I'm in the Caribbean
    (I'm in no hurry, yeah)
    (Caribbean dream is easy....)
    (...breezy)
  9. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Notice: The subject matter of this blog entry may need to be interpreted by parents for younger audiences.
     
    I've finished the course.
     
    Tonight was the rehearsal & dinner. Great fun. Made a complete cool dude of myself as per usual & Amanda bailed me out. Got to take my bride home, and the drive ended most well.
    (Side note: We missed you tonight, DV, but we understand, really. I'll have something for you in 2010.)
     
    Tomorrow is my wedding day.
     
    Tomorrow is my wedding day, and I, like my bride, will be wearing white.
     
    Last year, before my iPod docking station broke, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle, and I couldn't help but remark at the number of abstinence message songs. Not just "Average Girl" by Barlow Girl, but "Wait for Me" by Rebecca St. James, and even "The Love He Has for You" by Point of Grace and "I Don't Want It" by the late great dc Talk. When I encountered these songs on their respective CD's (Barlow Girl, Transform, The Whole Truth, Free At Last), I was of the mindset that these messages, like all of the "True Love Waits" messages that graced my ears in youth group & conferences & retreats, just weren't intended for me. I thought: I'm not in any kind of physical relationship; I don't have anything that sniffs of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Why do they feel compelled to drill this into my skull?
     
    Note to future youth ministers: I'm pretty sure I'm the exception, not the rule. I don't think I'm a wholly isolated case, though.
     
     
    Fast forward 12 years, and the situation changed. The first 27½ years of my life confronted me with no temptation to break the promise made back in high school. I'd always joked that I'd like to think I'd met who it was I was going to marry. In May 2008, I discovered I met her in 2001, and the subsequent 13 months were a very different story. There is a lot of truth to Genesis 2:24. Over the process of a relationship developing into wedlock, there is a lot of bonding that takes place. You can assume I've been sappy or not, but it's the truth. I'm attached emotionally to Amanda, at a very deep level. Her successes are my successes. Her trials are my trials. I devote, even lay down, my life for my wife, and I know she would do the same for me.
     
    And now, looking back, I am so, so very happy to not have bonded physically with anyone else. To have done so would have twisted my heart in that I couldn't cleanly bond with my wife, in the way I have bonded with her emotionally and still do spiritually.
     
    I am also glad I have waited until after our wedding to bond physically with her. Even if nothing else deviated from courses taken, tomorrow night, and every night thereafter, would have been greeted with a lingering doubt "Would she have still said "Yes" if I didn't give in?".
     
     
    True Love Waits. It is not impossible for it to wait: my bride & I are proof tomorrow that it can wait, because it has waited for both of us.
     
    Tomorrow is my wedding day, and we both will be wearing white.
     
    -KIE
  10. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    *giant dust cloud*
     
    Hello.
     
    Sorry you haven't gotten to hear about me for the past......while. I've been busy. Wedding plans & stuff.
     
    Well, that's not wholly true: I moved at the beginning of May, and I've spent a good chunk of time unpacking. Couple that with no internet access at work (firewall in the Yenni building), and Team Fortress 2, and it's been little but cricket chirping in my blog.
     
    One of the neat things about getting married is the registry. It's traditional to commemorate the couple's new life together by showering gifts to start the new couple's household, as friends are able and willing to give.
    Mind you, this is not a solicitation for gifts: we aren't greedy. We're grateful for any thing that arrives or doesn't arrive. If anything, the building and complete registry is a guide we've set for what we want our household to look like (stuff-wise) once we've settled in. Publishing the registry gives friends & family the opportunity to help fill in some of the first pieces of that stuff puzzle.
     
    One of the things that arrived recently, from one of my bosses at Digital incidentally, is a duvet cover & pillow sham to go on the full bed in the front bedroom. This is the bed I've been sleeping on since, well, as long as I can remember (it was moved over here when I moved from under my parents' roof in 2005), and where I'll sleep until the wedding in...12 days, 16 hours & 28 minutes. Anyway, my boss got me an $80 duvet cover (comforter), and Amanda & I decided we could afford to purchase the matching $60 sheet set now, before the wedding. (This way, I can replace the well-worn sheet set on the bed now.)
     
    Well, we used a 10% off coupon, the return of an extra candle ledge Amanda received at a shower in her office a couple of weeks ago, and a $25 gift card from someone at the shower at the church some weeks ago. Final out-of-pocket expense: 32 pennies. It was quite humorous, and blog-entry-worthy. I mean, I've catalogued so little of this process, at least this must be mentioned.
     
     
    Also, live-action ATHF was made of pure, unadulterated fail. It was excruciating.
     
    Good night, everyone.
     
     
    -KIE
  12. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    All my life, my parents have fed me, in one way or another.
    Okay, not my entire life, but it has been them buying or cooking me food.
     
    Tomorrow, the tables turn.
     
     
    Amanda tells me that I now have two dishes in my back pocket, to pull out on command as it were. One is the chicken parm, which I still tweak now and then. (Once I get good at making tomato sauces, it'll probably settle.) The other is a variation on Asian short ribs. These are beef ribs cut flanken style (across the bones, as opposed to with the bones), marinated, and grilled hot.
     
    My marinade for tomorrow's picnic in City Park:
     

    I forgot the hoisin this time, and I didn't feel like adding a garlic clove. 
    With the ribs, will be five-spice rubbed sweet potatoes, sliced and baked in butter spread (whatever one would call Smart Balance).
     
    The best part, though, is that Amanda will be here this weekend, which makes any rain immaterial.
     
     
    -KIE
  13. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    I like to make good ones.

     
    One thing off the bucket list.
     
    -KIE
     
    EDIT: the above image is an pressing of my engineer's seal. When coupled with my [noticeably absent] signature, the above impression states that I have reviewed the document attached to the seal, and on my authority and expertise as a professional engineer, the contents of the document are correct, safe for use or construction, or whatever extent dictated by my area of expertise (Civil Engineering), within the state of Louisiana (where this seal is registered). Other states have largely similar requirements for licensure, but separate licensure boards, and thus, different seals.
  14. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Cavities hurt.
     
    Not just the ones in one's teeth, mind you. Nature abhors a vacuum, and I'm no exception.
     
    Right now, there's this cavity between my arms and chest, that only Amanda can fill. She won't be here until Friday, so it'll have to hurt until then.
     
     
    But oh, it hurts. :\
    (no, this has nothing to do with the ab strain at the gym Monday night)
     
     
     
     
    -KIE
  15. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    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, in light of last year's debacle, Amanda forbade me from cooking dinner Saturday night. Instead, breakfast in bed will be served some time before noon.
     
     
    -KIE
  16. Kopaka's Ice Engineering

    34373

    By Kopaka's Ice Engineering,

    17 years
    167+10 hours
    1700 miles
    2 jobs
    11 weeks
    130 miles per hour
    4 cars
    12 roses
    13 months
    3 revisions to the application
    1 testing
    ...and 14046 registrations
     
     

     

     
     
    -KIE, who wonders who'll take a gander at the significance of all the numbers at the top.
  17. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    In 2009, I resolve to kiss Amanda more.
     
     
    I've only got a moment, so I'll share something that came via email.
     
    CAT HAIKU
     
    You are my best friend,
    Person Allergic To Cats.
    Let me shed on you.
     
    I leap for a bird
    And miss. I pretend I was
    Stretching, to fool you.
     
    I'm not sure what this
    Was when it was alive, but
    Isn't it nice now?
     
    I want out. I want
    In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In.
    Are you angry yet?
     
     
    No, I don't abuse Boots. Why do you ask?
     
    -KIE
  18. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    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 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 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 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!
     
    *hysteria*
     
     
     
    -KIE
  20. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Bah.
     
    I tried to force myself to write this entry Saturday night before heading to bed, but then I realized it was 1 AM Sunday morning.
    So, this had to wait until I got back tonight.
     
    Let me tell you about my weekend. *collapse*
     
    The fun started awful early, as Wednesday afternoon found me in an auto accident. Nothing major: the other driver (who was in his first accident in 45 years) clipped me in the process of avoiding me. We're both fine, but I still haven't had time to start to file a claim (which is something I will hit tomorrow).
    I suppose it would be just as well: I was driving no farther than Baton Rouge anyway, as my mother & I were going to take one vehicle to Monroe for Thanksgiving.
     
    Unfortunately, I left the paperwork concerning the accident in my car. This is why I have to call them tomorrow.
     
    Since I'd only gotten half an hour of work off, we were still middle of the night getting in...ten minutes until Thursday to be exact. (Next time I'm going to take Friday afternoon off. Honest.) While catching up with my fiancée was great, something upset me getting to the bed: Something (I don't know what) upset my costichondritis, and I spent all morning (from 1 AM on until 7ish) wheezing in bed. Amanda got me some ibuprofen, and I did get to pass out for an hour or so.
     
    Thursday morning saw me doing my chef thing. I give you...
     
    I understand it got rave reviews, but I don't know for certain: without breakfast, the squash splitting took quite a bit out of me. Compounded with the lack of sleep the night before, and I was in fairly bad shape at the end of the recipe. In fact, I missed the meal entirely, sleeping off my first fever in at least 8 years.
     
    Friday found us doing no shopping for gifts, but instead shopping for hotels in Monroe for the wedding. Weather was bad and most of us were distracted by the goings on in Little Rock that afternoon. We drowned our sorrows in fried seafood.
     
    Amanda did pull this one large bag from that shop, though....
     
    Perceptive people: don't act until we get stuff set up.
     
    Saturday was a trip to Hallmark after Ollie's first birthday card turned up missing, and the trip back to Baton Rouge. Once there, I had put in enough time on the Wii in Monroe, I was feeling up to challenging my brother to a game of Wii Sports Tennis: the two of us against two computer opponents. It matched us up against some near-perfect competition, so good that we had to "kill" the game a few times. By the time we'd gotten adjusted (There's always rust to knock off.), it was time to leave to pick up take-out. Upon our return, I took on the same competition alone, and to all our surprise, I got a fair amount closer to pro than I would partnered with my brother. Feeling overconfident, I switched to Baseball (a sport I went from *9* skill back to *0*), and proceeded to obliterate the computer: 15-0. Maybe it's because I try to swing through that everything I hit in real life bounces in the infield...maybe I should start swinging down to create some loft over the infielders....
    Feeling supremely confident, I went for Bowling, and proceeded to regain my Pro status there. Gosh, I feel protective of records on a system that's not even my own.
     
    Sunday afternoon was Ollie's birthday party. Quite windy, but I think it was a good day for Ollie: he got his first LEGO set, a bag of QUATRO bricks I'd bought better than a year ago. I would have a link, but I couldn't even find them on shop.lego.com anymore.
     
    Anyway, I see that it's now technically Monday. I best close this off and go in hiding for another week & change.
     
     
    -KIE
  21. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    To the new reader, I would still like to call attention to the original Thanksgiving entry back in 2006. If I get an update on those prescriptions, I will post it here.
     
    In more current news, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My mother & I will be spending Thanksgiving in Monroe with my fiancée and her family, since my father went offshore this morning. As soon as I can get away from work, I'm headed to Baton Rouge to meet up with my mom to go to Monroe in one vehicle.
     
    Also, I'm bringing squash to cook. If successful, I will post a recipe. If not, you'll likely hear nothing of it.
     
     
    Here's hoping your holiday finds you well and in good company.
     
     
    -KIE
  22. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Since XM merged its programming with Sirius this morning, all my station presets are out of whack. To top it off, the station it was most often tuned to, is now off the air and online-only.
     
    KIE is sad.
     
    To commemorate a comprehensive post that never happened, I give you the XM channels I had preset, in their order.

    XM 32 The Message: In my opinion, this mix is superior to Sirius 66. It's why I was an XM fan before the sports tie-ins. XM 110 Classical Hits: ...because I'm a sucker for a string section. XM 175 MLB Home Plate: A jump point for the MLB stations. Though my fiancée would disagree, MLB > NFL. XM 140 ESPN Radio: Especially since 1280 WODT changed formats, this is my only general sports radio. XM 82 The System: I am a huge closet fan of electronic music, stemming all the way back to the days I played Descent in high school. Heh, bet you didn't see that coming. XM 4 40's on 4: I should say my music tastes are varied & ecclectic, as I also am a huge fan of Big Band. XM 70 Real Jazz: Did you honestly think with Vince Guaraldi as my ringtone, I wouldn't have a jazz station favorited? XM 199 SEC Sports: The PREMIER Division 1 athletic conference, especially for football. There's one other, but I'll have to check my old channel list tomorrow to find it.
     
     
    -KIE
  24. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    There's a saying in Louisiana that people in New Orleans vote early & vote often.
    I haven't learned anything about this "voting often", but I did vote early this time around.
     
     
    In the off chance that it would influence anyone's vote (which it SHOULDN'T: You were the one paying attention the last 10 months. You were the one weighing everything you heard said by and about the candidates. You formed your own opinion on this landmark election season.), From the outskirts of Chocolate City endorses the following candidates and positions for the November 4 election.
     
    2008 Louisiana Electoral College
    Dianne Christopher Roger F. Villere, Jr. Lynn E. Skidmore Joe Lavigne Billy Nungesser Alan Seabaugh Karen Haymon Charles Davis Charlie Buckels 
    pledged to vote for John McCain of Arizona and Sarah Palin of Alaska
    United States SenateJohn Kennedy, (R) Landrieu sloughed off my friends at Presidential Classroom 12 years ago...if she doesn't have time for my friends, I don't have time for her. 
    United States Representative, First Congressional District of Louisiana
    Steven Scalise (R) Louisiana State Senate, District NineConrad Appel (R) Polly Thomas (R) lost my vote when she wouldn't quit badgering my fiancée in the primary. 
    Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, First Supreme Court District
    Greg Guidry (R) ...as if I have any idea who either of these people are.... 
    Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #1
    Term Limits for Members of State Boards & Commissions.
    FOR Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #2 Time Limits for Calling Special Sessions
    AGAINST Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #3 Temporary Successors for Legislators Ordered to Active Military Duty
    AGAINST My opinion would be different if it were the legislator himself/herself appointing the successor, instead of the Legislature itself. 
    Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #4
    State Severance Taxes to Parishes
    FOR Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #5 Transfer of Special Property Tax Assessment Level
    AGAINST ...even though it would likely be in my best interest in the future. 
    Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #6
    Re-Sale of Certain Expropriated Property
    FOR Louisiana Constitutional Amendment #7 Investment of Non-Pension Benefit Trusts
    FOR ...because now is the time to get into the market 
    Jefferson Parish Proposition
    Special Sales Tax Re-apportionment
    AGAINST ...because the Sewer department doesn't need its revenue further carved. 
     
    And a couple of ones that I have a strong opinion, and would vote if given a vote.
     
    United States Representative, Second Congressional District of Louisiana
    Helena Moreno (D) Seriously. It's time to fire Bill Jefferson. 
    California Statewide Proposition
    Number Eight
    YES ...not because some first graders were taken out of school for a wedding, but because those that took them out saw fit to put "NO on 8" pins on the kids' lapels. A 6-year-old should not be used as campaign material. 
     
     
    -KIE
  25. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    While I could throw everyone a curve and explain something I learned in statistics, I won't.
     
    I've taken quite an interest in the Chef Jeff Project, on Food Network. I think it's quite admirable to see an entrepreneur to put his company at risk to aid some unfortunates, and also inspiring for half a dozen Gen-Y'ers to buck the cycle they've known only, and aspire to something greater, something outside their environs.
    Of course, I volunteer this with a caveat: I know nothing of growing up in the hood, nor of gang influence or crystal methamphetamine. I thank God most every day for the loving home where I grew up (even if Dad was home only half the time), and the relative well-to-do of my parents that we were suburbanites.
     
    While working as a consultant for the Sewerage department post-Katrina has sent me to some very rough neighborhoods on the West Bank (foremost being Lincolnshire), I confess that I've only seen the houses. It wasn't until I started at the parish building proper (in the office of Capital Projects, still a consultant), that I got to get a peek into the mindset behind the seeming dilapidation. (Thank you, Zakita.)
     
     
    No, I'm not going to classify a group of people as a social experiment: that's ascetic, cold, and marginally (though not intentionally) racist. But, I am still an interested onlooker, and I thank this Food Network program for the peek inside.
     
    As far as the premise itself, good things happen when people take it upon themselves to pull themselves out of a destructive cycle in which they find themselves. This is the American spirit embodied, and I hope to see much more of it going forward.
     
     
     
    And in news also related to the title at hand, my boss at the parish (the one my boss answers to) is quitting smoking after ~30 years. Friday was one week without a cigarette. My hat's off to you, Reda.
     
     
    -KIE
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