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Kopaka's Ice Engineering

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  1. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    I'm not going to say TF2 owns my soul or anything, but it is taking a good chunk of my free time.
     
     
    Oh, and if anyone wants to volunteer their time with Photoshop to make a Targa spray for me, I'd be quite appreciative. I have everything except the program ready.
     
     
    -KIE, who is glad the value of his existence is not defined by his skill (or, more properly, lack thereof) in competitive FPS games.
  2. Kopaka's Ice Engineering

    Kiss Me

    By Kopaka's Ice Engineering,

    Kiss me out of the bearded barley
    Nightly, beside the green, green grass
    Swing, swing, swing the spinning step
    You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress.

    Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
    Lead me out on the moonlit floor
    Lift your open hand
    Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
    Silver moon's sparkling
    So kiss me

    Kiss me down by the broken tree house
    Swing me upon its hanging tire
    Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat
    We'll take the trail marked on your father's map

    Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
    Lead me out on the moonlit floor
    Lift your open hand
    Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
    Silver moon's sparkling
    So kiss me

    <harmonica & guitar interlude>

    Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
    Lead me out on the moonlit floor
    Lift your open hand
    Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
    Silver moon's sparkling
    So kiss me

    So kiss me
    So kiss me
    So kiss me
  3. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Man, it was a busy weekend. So busy, that it spilled over into the week.
     
    In scatter-point fashion:
     
    >$6 for a bag of 53 fun-size assorted Reese's is a very good deal from Walmart, especially since a king size (4 cups) goes for $1. That's like, 105% more free.
    >Like Amanda said, I have terrible luck with fantasy football: exchanging either the QB or the DST and I would have beaten the Kenner Knights soundly.
    >Why, Sean Payton, do you send an injured kicker to kick a field goal he can't make even while healthy?
    >6 weeks until I become an uncle, or so says Brandy's obstetrician
    >Go Tribe
     
    Amanda's getting the hang of disc golf, well, the golf part (planning one's shot and then executing the plan). In fact she's out at Lafreniere right now. Unfortunately, I'm not with her: over the weekend, some kind of cyst/boil/deep pimple developed in my right armpit, and it hurts. It hurts a LOT worse when I stretch my arm. I'm going to the after-hours clinic right now to get it checked out.
     
    Until next time...
     
    -KIE
  4. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    It rocked last night. I even hit the F# in the tower D chord in In the Beginning, and it was all I could do not to fist pump. (I sing by ear, and end up sliding around. I usually can't pick up on thirds.)

    My mom said it was worth the 200 mile drive, even if I weren't in the choir. Amanda wanted to clap after the first song, and the two of them were the first two giving the standing O after it was over.

    It was awesome.


    Like I said, you had to be here.


    -KIE


    In an unrelated note, there were 17 guests viewing my blog last night. I wonder how they got here....
  5. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Let's see, it's been over a week since my birthday, and the presents have finished trickling in....
    $50 cash (my parents) some chocolate (Amanda) a Saints necktie (Amanda's parents) first DEII FFL win of the season (Rob Delaune, this past weekend) Two steak dinners (Amanda (Monday night last week) & O'Henry's (Tuesday night last week)), and a bloomin' onion/soup/pasta dinner (my parents @ Outback Steakhouse (Saturday night last week)) A Baskin-Robbins ice cream birthday cake, with my name on it (DEII, Tuesday last week. Strawberry ice cream over chocolate cake... much better reviews than mint chocolate chip-chocolate cake for August) Various cards and well-wishing postings. And one or two saying I was virtually 30. The chocolate is something special: I usually don't get chocolate for myself. 
    -KIE
  6. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    She feels lost in her own life
    Treading water just to keep from slipping under
    And she wonders if she's where she's supposed to be
    Tired of trying to do it right
    Her dreams are just too far away to see how steps she's making
    Might be taking her to who she'll be

    And suddenly it isn't what it used to be
    And after all this time it worked out just fine
    And suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be
    And after all the tears I was supposed to be here


    She feels locked in her own life
    Scared of what she might lose if she moves away from who she was
    And she's afraid of being free
    There's a way she knows is right
    She can't feel the things she knows
    And so each step she's taking is a step of faith toward who'll she'll be

    And suddenly it isn't what it used to be
    And after all this time it worked out just fine
    And suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be
    And after all the tears I was supposed to be here


    And here where the night is darkest black
    She feels the fear and the light is farthest back
    And through her tears she can't see the dawn is coming
    Skies will clear and the light will find her where she's always been


    And suddenly it isn't what it used to be
    And after all this time it worked out just fine
    And suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be
    And after all the tears I was supposed to be here
  8. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Afford me a moment to rant.
     
    Not about politics per se, but about local goings on.
     
     
     
    Earlier this year, it was announced that Fox would film a new TV series called K-Ville, on location in New Orleans. The series would be a crime dramatization of post-Katrina New Orleans. The pilot episode aired this past Monday night at 9 ET/PT on Fox broadcast stations, and is currently available for free on iTunes. It is rated TV-14.
     
     
    And I made the mistake of watching it.
     
    Now, I'm not saying one shouldn't watch it. It's just that, I have some problems with it.
    I can't help it. I know it's a dramatization, and yet there are things they got wrong. I must address them.
     
     
    In semi-chronological order.
    I don't know about Bywater and the Upper 9, but for the rest of Louisiana, there's no such thing as a "gumbo party." Gumbo can be enjoyed by all, yes, but it's not like it's scheduled or anything. Besides, it's not gumbo weather until November at the earliest.
    Even in the Big Easy, no cop is drinking on duty. Warren Riley, NOPD chief will be on their backsides if that ever happened. Rue Bourbon (Bourbon Street) is never empty enough for an automobile to drive down unimpeded, or for two police officers to not have anyone in the background. The ensuing chase took place underneath the Westbank Expressway, on the West Bank of the river. (The two bridges you saw are the GNO and the Crescent City Connection.) It takes about 20 minutes to get from the Vieux Carré (the French Quarter) to the West Bank, not 30 seconds. Then, to get back onto the East Bank and to the CBD where the casino is located....no sir. That duBois mansion is on River Road, and not in New Orleans. It has to be about 40 miles up-river from the city, as there certainly isn't room for a house and lawn that size in the New Orleans metropolitan area. This is not a city of plantation homes, and hasn't been for many years. Fort Polk is outside Leesville, and is a US Army base. However, Leesville is about a 4½ hour drive one-way from New Orleans. One does not come here from Ft. Polk in the evenings. 
    And finally.
    There is no white conspiracy to force out the black residence! I'm sorry, but as a Caucasian male, I have to take offense to that generalization. Need I remind the reader of the genesis of this blog's name?: the mayor's office, in its wisdom-yet-flawed-execution, has publicly said that such a thing won't happen.
     
    No, even after the storm, things are not perfect here. And yes, I even heard with my own ears, some people with the money to try to execute what the plot laid forth. Thing is, it was nothing more than talk, and that talk quit by 2 weeks after the storm. Besides, anything has to go through City Hall, and even the most incompetent/dishonest government worker has his/her limits: to coin a phrase, our mommas taught us better.
    All that said, I wasn't wholly repugnated like some of my coworkers at the Yenni building. I may switch it on if there's nothing worth watching during Monday Night Football. Of course, that won't be the case this Monday night: the Saints are hosting the Titans the day before my birthday. 
    Oh, I guess I'm due for another birthday. Send cash, please.
     
     
    -KIE
  9. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    I'm skipping church to write this entry.
     
    I have a good excuse, though: Amanda & I didn't get back from Lafayette this morning until 12:45. It was a football game.
    Yes, they play football in Lafayette, LA. Or, at least the visiting team does.
     
    It was Red vs. Blue, round we-lost-count.
    McNeese, my alma mater, having paid its dues in blowout losses to Miami, Nebraska, Kansas State, nearly defeating Texas A&M, and actually defeating Northeast Louisiana ER Louisiana-Monroe, finally was considered good enough to schedule its old Gulf South Conference rival, a "real team" in Southwestern Louisiana ER Louisiana-Lafayette ER Louisiana at Lafayette.
     
    Why am I taking a Jim Rome style in describing the foe? Because, for 20 years, USL/ULL/UofL was busy playing with the big boys, and couldn't be bothered to continue a rivalry with Ryan Street High School (a derogatory name for McNeese).
     
    Last night, that was changed.
     
    Last night, McNeese was the I-AA rent-a-win on the Ragin' Cajuns' schedule.
     
     
    Last night, McNeese blew the barn doors open, and hammered USL in their home stadium by a count of 38-17.
     
     
    I had to thank my girlfriend for humoring me: she said she just enjoyed the football, but I know she could only start to grasp how big this was. The Cowboys could now finish 2-9 for the rest of the season, and I would be fine. Disappointed, but with the USL game in hand, it's all gravy here on out.
     
     
    Oh, and it was great yelling at Cajun fan, leaving with 12 minutes to play in the game. Even the student section (which was over ¼ blue & gold at the start) was 80% gone by the end.
     
     
    Now, to see about taking out the Perdido Pelicans. You know, they are favored by 25 right now...
     
     
    -KIE
  10. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Hooray, consonance!
     
     
    Taking the time out from the 2007 Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference & Show to post this.
    (The KIEpod arrived a day early, but this has nothing to do with it.)
     
    Every office has its characters. Some are even stereotypable (as opposed to stereotypical).
    Consider, for instance, a one Lewis. Lewis (his first name) is the office draftsman, and the original DEII employee. He's the only one who need never fear his employment during slow periods. However, his office is traditionally a bit...over-decorated shall we say. Okay, he has a bunch of collected items. A lot of collected items.
    So many, that they started to spill over.
    So much so, that it became an issue in the office in general.
     
    To try to bring about a resolution, Tim (the IT guy and Lewis' supervisor) made a wager with him: if Lewis could clean up his workspace, Tim would quit smoking cigarettes.
     
    To Lewis' credit, he removed a lot of stuff in January, and, in my opinion, it's a whole different enclave. Tim needs to hold up his end of the bargain.
     
    Si (pronounced like 'cy' in 'cyan') has gone from a named partner in another firm (He was the 'C' in "BCG".) to one level above me in the food chain here at Digital. When he came over earlier this summer, he brought 25+ years of files, collected knicknacks, and wall graphics.
     
    We think it's growing, and I'm fearful that my office will be used to store stuff because I'm only here in Kenner for half of the week.
     
    Lewis has every right to be upset, and it's an existing undercurrent now. No, not about to be a shouting match or anything, but you can tell in tones of voice.
     
     
    This is what awaits you on the other side of college.
    This is the officescape.
     
     
    -KIE
  12. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Wow, what a day.
    Amanda & I have a saying that goes back to the Summer Mission in 2001. Actually, it's a saying for the 5 of us, but since we are 2 of the 5, it still counts. The saying: "Never a dull moment."
     
    Well, Saturday, September 8, 2007, was not dull at all.
     
    Saturday was move-in day for Amanda. Her mom, dad, pastor, sister and two nieces, Mikayla (6) and Ally (2) came down from Monroe to help. (The former 3 this morning with a trailer in tow, the latter last night with boxes.) Since Mikayla & Ally are both a bit young to do anything but unload a box, or drag an empty box outside (respectively, of course), they were sold on the idea of swimming in the pool at Flowergate.
    I've not mentioned this pool before, simply because I am not a pool person. I don't have a pool pass.
     
    Well, the morning was filled with furniture moving, up two flights of stairs no less, and box unloading. Lunch was sandwiches at 2 PM, along with sparkling white grape juice to celebrate the occasion. Then, it was time to get ready for the pool. Neither of the girls can really swim, so since there would have to be an adult (Aunt Amanda) supporting them in the pool anyway, cramping was a non-issue.
     
    Big sister Mikayla got her bathing suit on, and Ally had to follow suit.
    Big sister Mikayla went outside, in anticipation, and Ally had to go too.
    - This is where I go outside myself: the stairs leading up to/down from Amanda's apartment aren't exactly level, and they're too short to reach the handrail. This is also where it gets interesting. -
     
    Big sister Mikayla paces up and down the stairs, and I stop her, inferring that Ally's going to want to do it, too.
     
    I use the logic to convince them to slow down and be patient: they didn't have towels with them, and you can't go swimming without a towel. Besides, Amanda was still putting on her bathing suit.
    It's at this point that Mikayla decides to go back inside, and was not quick with the door. Myself, sitting cross-legged about 4 feet away, couldn't tell that Ally's fingers had gotten in the door jamb.
     
    The unthinkable happened.
     
    Mikayla closed the door, not in a slamming fashion, but enough to crush Ally's fingertips. It took about a half-second of blood-curdling scream for me to realize what had just happened, and I jumped for the doorknob.
     
    What the next 4 minutes involved can only be described as organized panic. Ally's right pinky finger was bleeding profusely, and the tip had nearly been severed.
     
    Aunt Amanda rode with Marcie & Ally in the ambulance to Children's Hospital in New Orleans, by the river. I drove myself, Amanda's & Marcie's parents, and Mikayla in my car. (I took the interstate, didn't speed, and beat the ambulance by 10 minutes.)
     
    Out goes the swimming pool.
    Out goes the real-time merciless berating of my friend Earl, who swore that Michigan would redeem itself against Oregon and VaTech would upend LSU.
    Out goes the second Walmart trip.
    Out goes the trip to get an iPod on clearance.
    Out goes the trip to get my new glasses.
     
    Since I was the only one driving, we ended up with only one vehicle at the hospital. Amanda & I went back to the apartment to pick up her Tracker and some clothes for Ally & Mikayla. We spent 20 minutes trying to find her keys, which had been covered by a pillow in the haste to leave the apartment 2 hours earlier.
     
    All told, 8 hours after the incident, Ally was discharged at 11 PM. She has stitches in her right pinky, and it's unknown if enough of the nail bed remains, that she would still have 10 fingernails after this ordeal. X-rays confirm that the finger is broken as well, and she'll have to see an orthopedist next week in Monroe, to make sure the bone set correctly.
    Fortunately for her, she's only 2 years old and will likely not remember this.
     
    Never a dull moment.
     
     
    One point of interest: when asked who she wanted to ride home with, she said "Uncle Byron," or so I was told. I don't know if she was lucid (well, as lucid as a 2-year-old could be), but I'd definitely say that qualifies as putting words in my mouth.
     
    Anyway, I've spent so long on this entry just to wait up to see the second showing of Bleach. In any case, I need sleep.
     
     
    -KIE
  13. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Don't ask about the title: none of you would get it.
     
    Although favored by 5, the Cruisers trail the visiting Gators by 18 points after Reggie Wayne's two TD performance last night. The fantasy blow made the real loss all the more bitter: next week, I play Marvin Harrison's team, and you know Peyton Manning alternates between the two as TD targets.
    And then there's the fact that the Saints lost.
     
    7-7, that's my goal this season. 7-7.
     
     
    In other news, the model doesn't like me anymore. Sometimes I wish I were the Engineer in Team Fortress Classic. When something doesn't work there, all that needs to be done to fix it is to beat it with a spanner.
     
    In other, unrelated news, Amanda moves into her apartment today or tomorrow. And Vanilla Coke Zero has a 'blyeh' after-taste.
     
     
    Gotta love the stream of consciousness entry....
     
    -KIE
  14. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    My iPod died today.
    It was a slowish death, but the final straws were the forced plug-in to a radio/docking station. Less than 7 hours attached to it, and the sound quality deteriorated rapidly.
     
    It will be replaced this weekend with an early self-birthday gift, an iPod Video of undetermined color and hard drive size.
     
    -KIE
     
    P.S. Kex, do you need that essay on O. Henry that was left on the iPod?
  15. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Yes, folks, that's right. Pizza for breakfast.
    Kids, later in life, there's not going to be a parent telling you that you can't eat pizza for breakfast. (Instead, there will be a nutritionist and/or cardiologist telling you that you can't have pizza for breakfast.) College students, yes, there are times after graduation that you still have to get creative with the first meal of the day.
    In either case, the milk smelled funky, so bacon & sausage pizza was reheated.
     
     
    Amanda started her new job today. She had just called (4:30 PM) to relay several encouraging things that happened today, most of which I wouldn't divulge on her behalf.
     
    The past weekend was something. We went to another fantasy football draft (a Yahoo! league for church, no money changing hands), revelled in the demolition of the Big House at the hands of the BIG SOUTH conference. Big South > Big Ten. I've ALWAYS wanted to say that about a I-AA ER Football Championship Subdivision and a I-A ER Football Bowl Subdivision conference. 34-32 will be a score for celebration for the rest of the year.
    Then there was a McNeese game: the Cowboys beat the Vikings of Portland State by a count of 35-12. One of the Flying Elvii made an appearance, to claim the pair of tickets Jerry Glanville always puts on Will Call for Mr. Presley.
     
    Much of the rest of the weekend was filled with card games and an excessively long trip back. What is at most 3 hours ended up being almost 6, after a wait in Walmart for a tire repair and a 45 minute delay between Lobdell and the Mississippi River bridge.
     
     
    There has been disturbing talk about the Cruisers in the last entry being a force to be reckoned with. This is disturbing because I was hoping for a 7-7 season and no more: I like my mediocrity.
    *sigh*
     
     
    -KIE
  16. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Fantasy football draft couldn't have gone better, in my opinion.
    For one, I was the only one who didn't draft with the aid of alcohol, so that may be to my benefit.
     
     
    First, the rules:
    12 team league (3 4-team divisions)
    14 rounds.
    Must have 2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 4 RB-WR flex, 2 K, 2 D/ST on the roster. TE are considered WR.
    Must start 1 QB, 1-3 RB, 3-1 WR, 1 K, 1 D/ST.
     
    Scoring:
    6 points for all TDs (Rushing, Receiving, Passing, Return (D/ST))
    1 point for every 50 yards passing
    1 point for every 20 yards rushing/receiving
    2 points for all 2 point conversions and safeties
    1 point for all extra points
    3 points for all field goals
    1 point per sack
    2 points per turnover recovered
    No penalty for turnovers lost
    Defensive scoring bonus:
    0-6 points allowed = 8 points
    7-13 points allowed = 6 points
    14-20 points allowed = 4 points
    21-27 points allowed = 2 points
    28+ points allowed = no bonus
     
     
    And now, the draft:
    Key: Round # (overall pick): Player, position, team. comments
     
    1 (1): LaDanian Tomlinson, RB, SD. As much as I publicly mulled over this pick, he was a Cruiser as soon as I drew the Ace (first overall pick) in the preseason meeting.
    2 (24): Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAX. He killed me last year (His 4 TD game was the week I was playing that team.), and I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. Drew Brees, QB, NO went #7 overall, and there was much amusement at the expense of the rookies.
    3 (25): Torry Holt, WR, STL. Steve Smith was still on the board, but he and LdT have the same bye week, and I didn't want to hamstring myself against the defending Super Bowl champion Mudhens.
    4 (48): Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI. Best WR available
    5 (49): Jon Kitna, QB, DET. If he can play all 16 games with those receivers, this was a steal, regardless if he makes good on his promise to win 10 games.
    6 (72): Deion Branch, WR, SEA. Best WR available, and the Seahawks have a relatively soft schedule to open the season.
    7 (73): Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE. Yes, 73rd is high-ish for Gostkowski, but he wasn't going to be there at 96. This was the first kicker taken after Adam Viniateri (who went to the Hooligans in the THIRD ROUND), and 4 more were off the board by the middle of the 8th round.
    8 (96): Dolphins, D/ST, MIA. Miami shouldn't be too terrible, and the pickings at DST were getting a little lean.
    9 (97): Reuben Droughns, RB, NYG. Platoon guy who might end up starting if Brandon Jacobs doesn't work out. Very passable pickup here, and I need someone to spell the top 2 backs for byes/just in case.
    10 (120): Greg Jennings, WR, GB. Best RB/WR available.
    11 (121): Brett Favre, QB, GB. Oh, hey, look who I found. Started the second run on QB's.
    12 (144): Vernon Davis, TE, SF. With a bunch of mid-level receivers gone, I had to go with a upper-mid level tight end.
    13 (145): Jets, D/ST, NYJ. J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS
    14 (168): Ryan Longwell, K, MIN. I had to take another kicker, but it's not like I needed anyone in particular. Sorry, T. Don't hate me.
     
    In all, I am very pleasantly surprised. To get as much value as I did in rounds 2-6, I actually think I might have a competitive team this year. My only regret is not getting any Saints. But, when Drew Brees goes in the middle of the first round, I'm not surprised. I'll just have to root for specific aspects of the game on certain weeks.
     
     
    I have another draft tonight (that I found out about 90 minutes ago), in an 8-team church league. I'll edit in the results of that draft sometime over the weekend, and maybe republish if it warrants.
     
     
     
    -KIE
  18. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    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 on CD. While I was in there, I ordered The World as Best as I Remember, Vol. 1 by Rich Mullins. They didn't have volume 2.
     
    Upon leaving Family Christian Store, I realize that, hey, while I'm here, I'll go ahead and get a new dress watch: my old one bit the dust this morning. How so? Well, it started back on the Fourth of July, when my parents & I went to Houston for an Astros game. It was raining, and before the game even started, I check my watch (to verify how long it'd be until the park opened), and there was a mist underneath the crystal. It took until this past weekend, the same Saturday that Amanda & I went apartment hunting (the title of the previous entry), for me to find out how much it'd cost to get it fixed.
    How much? Too much.
    The removal of the crystal is not a thing easily done. And since there's water under the crystal, there's likely water in the mechanism itself. Water = corrosion, which will have to be cleaned or may have to be replaced. What's more, it is (or was) waterproof, so before it can be called "done", it would have to go under waterproofing tests again. $125 to repair a $70 watch. Ain't happening.
     
    The final straw was this morning, when I checked the time on my wrist after I got to work, only to find it was 12 AM. (After I got back from this Esplanade escapade, it was 12:06 AM.)
     
    So, I decided to go ahead and see about the watch today, since I was in the mall already. From Family Christian Store, I went to what reminded me of the Sunglasses hut (not the kiosk variety), only to see that the watches were very poorly displayed: I had to stoop and crane my neck to see the faces of the Fossils (the brand I'd more-or-less decided on to replace the busted Armitron). I told the man I might come back, and then went to the Dillard's Mens store. Up & down the escalator twice, only to find out in the cologne department that men's watches are in the jewelry department in the main store, on the other side of the mall, next to Family Christian Store.
     
    Mind you, I'm still sort of on-the-clock at the office.
     
    Back to Dillard's, got a $85 Fossil, not as heavy as the Armitron, stopped in at Family Christian Store again because I realized I'd forgotten about a CD I've meant to pick up for the last 2 years: Shawn McDonald's first CD, whose name escapes me because the disc itself is in the car.
     
    And all this time, I'm forgetting the one thing I really need: a new pair of glasses from LensCrafters.
     
     
    Yep, and you girls wonder why guys are afraid of malls.
     
     
    -KIE
  19. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    I need to talk to my brother, yet when I called last night, I completely forgot what it was I was going to say, and ended up just chatting about Team Fortress Classic. Yes, I'm as well-versed as any in using the detpack, a timer-set bomb (5-second, 20-second, and 50-second timer varieties only) capable of clearing enviromental barricades and killing any enemy within blast range (and the demolitions man that set it, if he's still within line-of-sight) in one blow, as an offensive weapon. Still, there are more important things than running up a score on a game: why can't I see this after 7 PM at night?
     
    Sad, really. Both the runons and the subject matter.
     
     
    Word for the day: oratorio <ôr'(schwa)-tôr'ē-ō'> n. an extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based upon a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and performed without action, costume, or scenery.
     
    Why is this word relevant? I'm glad you asked.
     
    On the evening of Thursday, October 4, 2007, I, along with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary choir, and parts of the choirs of First Baptist Church of Kenner, First Baptist Church of Covington, First Baptist Church of New Orleans, First Baptist Church of Marrero, Metairie Baptist Church, and a couple others I don't remember, will be performing Savior: a modern oratorio at Leavell Chapel, on the campus of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
    How big is this? The choir should be pushing 80 people. I mean, the sheer size of this piece cannot be completed by any one church (except, maybe, Second Baptist in Houston, FBC Dallas, or some other mega-church).
     
    Anyway, the piece is out of print: it was only on the market for one year before it was pulled, as no one was buying it [because it was too big]. There are soloists coming from Dallas & Mobile to perform with the choirs. I know these sentences are disjointed, but I'm more than a little distracted with the Bridge City model looming over my plate.
     
     
    -KIE
  20. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    Opening note: any "approval image" wider than Dokuma's will not be put in the content block: I'm not making the sidebar any wider. Sorry.
     
    Oh, what a weekend to recap.
    I've been so busy, it's been all I can do to actually stop to write this.
     
     
    Okay, I haven't been that busy in the evenings, but gosh, time just flies when you're blowing computer-controlled enemies sky high.
    Or at least 4 stories high.
     
    Yes, Dok, the title "Tunnel" is from the song "Tunnel." It was the theme song for the playoff run. Sorry it took me so long to address that comment.
     
    Amanda's second interview of Friday went well enough. She got some more answers, and, more importantly, a salary range. Salary is important when shopping for rental property: can't rent something you can't afford.
    We found a couple of nice places, a few places she wasn't going to afford anytime soon, and a lot of places whose leasing offices weren't open on Saturday. Like she quipped: "Don't these people realize Saturday is the only day people have to shop for apartments?" We found a reasonably nice one available at Frenchman's Creek, not too far away from my place. By some miracle, the place didn't flood during Katrina, which means the unit's price doesn't incorporate a refurbish cost. In other words, at least for this lease period, it's below market.
     
    We also went to Mid City Lanes, at the corner of Tulane & South Carrollton. We rented Lane 18 for an hour Saturday night, and she beat the pants off me: 339-270 in a single series. It's not that I was going easy or anything: she beat me straight up. I am mortal.
    We would've stayed for the live band at 10, but 1) the Saints were still playing when we got done at 8:30, and 2) Mid-city isn't that pleasant a neighborhood after 10 o'clock at night.
     
    Also, two more things of note.
    1) I found out how much my dress watch cost: $65. This is too low, as the cost to repair the water under the crystal is going to be at least $125. Thus, any birthday present you had plans of giving me can be in the form of cash, to post-purchase defray the cost of a new watch. I'm thinking of Fossil, or maybe Citizen, because I'm not a Rolex person. Any specific models anyone wants to recommend?
    2) I found a Chris Rice CD, Smell the Color 9, at the Family Christian Store Friday, for $1.90. Yay.
     
    And, at 9:40 AM today (about 2¾ hours ago), Amanda was called to tell her she got the Covington job, and that she starts the day after Labor Day.
     
    -KIE
     
    P.S. Mark your calendars now for October 4, to be in New Orleans. It's a Thursday. Reason coming later this week.
  21. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070817.html
     
    Astronomy is so cool. I swear, next meteor shower I'm going out to the meadow at LaFreniere, fireants and light pollution regardless.
     
     
    Amanda got down here without incident. She's called to tell me that the 8:45 interview was really just a second interview, and that the process is not complete yet. Gosh, it wouldn't be the federal government if there weren't red tape.
     
    Yesterday on the way in, she got a phone call from a place she interviewed at on the northshore last time she was down here: they want to call her in for a second interview, which was scheduled in a quick turnaround for 3 PM, or a little more than 3½ hours from now.
     
     
    I'm so happy for her, and words only begin to describe my thoughts on how much a part I've been thus far. It's a line I can trace so far back: I wouldn't be here if I hadn't gone to Akron in 2003, and I wouldn't have gone to Akron in 2003 if I hadn't been in 2001. Amanda wouldn't be where she is if she hadn't gone to Ecuador in 2004, and she wouldn't have gone to Ecuador in 2004 if she hadn't gone to Akron in 2001. And in the "us" sense, we wouldn't know each other, much less be with each other, if we hadn't spent 10 weeks in/around Akron in 2001.
    They say hindsight is 20/20, but I say this is God. No, I'm not about to move up relationship timetables, but I still have to admit: God is so freaking cool.
     
     
    *contented sigh* Now if only work would be so blissful.
     
     
    -KIE
  23. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    ...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 any outside activity uncomfortable, especially patio work that awaits me tomorrow morning.
     
    Amanda & I are still waiting on pins and/or needles for her job interview. I'm probably more worried about it right now than her, but that would undoubtedly change next week, as she actually has something to keep her busy between now & then. Between now & then, I have laundry to cycle through, and I'd hope to get my car washed.
     
    Really, anything to get out of this heat.
     
    -KIE
     
    Song of the moment: "Into the Day", Bebo Norman
  24. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    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 good reason.
    Amanda got her call back yesterday. I had a silent part in it, and I can only say that God is so cool.
    She's coming down the weekend after next (Thursday-Sunday, August 16-19) for a job interview for the TSA at the airport Friday morning (if anyone of you would feel led to pray for her then).
     
    In any case, I was so excited I couldn't get to sleep until almost 2 AM, and I didn't get up but for 7:05.
     
    Work on the model is progressing too slowly, so I'm going to get back to work before my situation is made any more dire.
     
    -KIE
  25. Kopaka's Ice Engineering
    200½ lb., 25.0% body fat
     
     
    Is this what it's like?
    Every time I turn around, there's something to remind me of Amanda, and every time Amanda comes to mind, I start with the stupid smile again.
     
    Not that I'm not enjoying it or anything.
     
    Finally, a new recipe.
    This would have already been posted, except that I was acquainting myself with the epicenter map in Team Fortress Classic. I'll have to run it on a private server to get a feel for it, but in the interim, never underestimate the value of explosion-proof sunglasses (Demo man, my second favorite class after Medic) in separating a red flag from a flying flag runner 5 steps from a capture point.
    I'll tell ya, though: I really need to get acquainted with the flagrun map. Blue team kept getting it handed to us there.
     
    I don't think I've mentioned Team Fortress Classic before, so I think that'll have to wait for another entry. Anyone out there play, send me a message on Yahoo and I'll try to hook up with you.
     
    I confess, this a meld, so to speak, of two different chicken marsala recipes out there on the net. And yet, it is not a marsala because it doesn't use marsala wine.

    It was GOOD. The mushrooms tasted fruity, and the sauce, albeit small in volume, was rich & flavorful.
    We actually only made enough sauce for two, so I doubled it in the process of posting. Of course, the chicken ate so well the next day that you might just keep the front half of the recipe for frying chicken portions.
     
    In softball, we're about to go play Williams Boulevard Baptist Church, the team that plated 3 in the bottom of the last inning to tie us at 5-all in the regular season.
     
    -KIE
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