function parse()
 {
     self::$KETTLE_HOME = getenv('KETTLE_HOME');
     $fh = fopen(self::$KETTLE_HOME . '/' . $this->configFile, 'r');
     while ($l = fgets($fh)) {
         if (preg_match('/^#/', $l) == false) {
             preg_match('/(?P<key>.*)=(?P<val>.*)/', $l, $found);
             if (count($found) > 3) {
                 $this->items[trim($found[1])] = trim($found[2]);
             }
         }
     }
     fclose($fh);
 }