Had a bit of a problem with an upgrade, so I had to take the site down until I could fix it. I've got a lot more space for pictures now!

Some galleries aren't fully functioning yet. I've got a bit more to catch up on for news and pictures.

In the mean time, visit the Greep Vine.

We're planning a week-long camp trip in the back country.  Emphasis is on light weight so that we can pack in enough food for two adults, two teens, and two children.

Bannock is an easy one.  The simplest recipe is a handful of flour with a good pinch or two of baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Add enough liquid to make a stiff dough.  We'll probably mix in some dried cranberries and bring some honey along with it.  The simplest way to cook it is to form the dough into small cakes and lay them directly on a bed of hot ashes.  After a few minutes, just turn it over with your fingers to cook the other side.  Be careful not to burn yourself.  With some practice, you'll see how easy it is.

Another plan is fruit leather.  I found this recipe:
Outdoor Adventure Canada - Recipes - Fruit Leather

I'm looking for a good Jerky recipe.  Many of the commercial jerkies have MSG for flavouring.  I'm sure I can do better.

I'm planning to dehydrate a bunch of vegetables and probably some beans.  We'll make chili and soups with those.  I think we can make some rice dishes too - a simple fried or mexican rice with dehydrated chunks of ham or chicken.

If you have more ideas, please leave a comment.

Other Links:
The Canoe Camper - Recipes
The common Stinging Nettle
Freezer Bag Cooking
Hiking and Camping: Tips, how-tos and tutorials
Ultralight Joe's Moose Goo

It seems that springtime brings out the stupid people that have been hibernating.  This last weekend has been very crazy.  My nephew's truck was parked out front of my parents' house.  A car (we're sure it was speeding) sideswiped his truck.  It's a wide road with a fairly long stretch between lights.  There's a lot of room to get up to a good clip.  Winter is bad too.  One year, my cousin lost a car there from someone speeding that hit ice and lost control.  The neighbors said they've lost a couple of vans, and another neighbor had a van hit a tree close to the house.  It's a crazy street.  Normally you tell the kids to stay off the road, but here, you tell them to stay in the back yard.

On Tuesday, the cubs and scouts did Pitch-In.  While we were gathering at the church, a girl who says she's "learning to drive," was driving erratically through the parking lot with her boyfriend.  Ken (the other bishopric councilor) chewed them out good.  The parking lot was already full of other kids playing hockey, as well as a bunch of our parked cars.

Later, as we were picking up garbage near the local Elementary schools, some moron speeds through the playground zone.  Sometimes you forget and go 50 in a 30 zone, but he was obviously going faster than that.  And again, there were lots of kids around.

I just don't understand the stupidity of people.  I tend to get more of it while on my bike.  I obey the law and ride on the road.  If you believe that bikes belong on the sidewalk, I'll forgive you of ignorance.  Sidewalks are for walking.  It's a safe place for pedestrians, but not for bikes.  Check out John Forester's site if you still don't get it.  Treat cyclists with respect and patience and you'll have a better day.  I think selfish people that only think of themselves tend to do the dumbest things.  They put themselves and others in danger.  The sad part is that stupid people are too ignorant to know that they need to change their attitude.

Today, I marked a significant milestone in my life. My older brother ordained me to the office of a High Priest, after which I was set apart as a counselor to the Bishop in our ward. This calling to be part of the bishopric adds an element of complexity and responsibility to my life, and I hope to be up to the task.

I've spent the last few years as president of the Young Mens program. I worked closely with the bishopric as part of my responsibilities. I feel that the work I did with the young men has prepared me for this, but it's still going to be a great leap for me.

I had hoped for my Dad to ordain me, but his faculties are deteriorating rapidly. It was a great thing for him and me to have him there and standing in the circle. What I wanted most was to have my father in my priesthood line of authority, so having my brother ordain me allowed me to do that.

I received the call at about 9:00 Saturday morning at the chapel where My wife and I met with a counselor from the Stake Presidency. We went immediately afterward to my Mother's where I called around to my brothers and sisters to invite them to come to our ward the next day.

One of my sister's husband is the bishop in their ward. He and his son were in Utah at the time. His son was auditioning for the music program at BYU. They got the message at around 4:00 PM. I had hoped he could stand in the circle, but we didn't expect them to make it back in time. We were surprised this morning when they showed up, just in time for the call to be announced to the congregation. He had driven through the night and made it to Calgary at 8:00 AM. Our service started at 11:00 AM and they still had to drive about an hour across the city.

My mother is amazing. In a short day, she arranged to have a family dinner at her home. It was well attended, but there were still a number of my family that couldn't make it. One sister lives in Cardston, and another in Edmonton, so it would have too difficult to come on such short notice.

These kind of events are special because, as I mentioned above, it's a milestone in one's life. Some feel to boast of this as an achievement, and I don't write this to be boastful, but to share the blessings I've received. To me, it's a step forward toward greater maturity. This position gives me an opportunity to grow and to stretch my spirituality and maturity. What makes this a blessing is not the validation of something I've achieved, but opportunity to grow and to serve.

External links:

Mormon.org
Church Organization

Moderating a code review session.

The objective of a code review is not just to discover errors, but to improve the quality of code.  It helps in developing standards and best practices in programming.

Roles in a code review session are:

• moderator
• secretary/scribe
• author
• reviewer

I researched some code review practices to see how best to moderate the session.  This is a new experience for me, so I want to be prepared.

We want to identify and classify findings (minimally as major and minor).  The pace needs to be quick so we don't waste time and I need to keep the discussion relevant.

From DeadEd.com Simple Code Review Process:

We've selected and distributed the code to be reviewed.  We've also booked two hours for the review.During the meeting, we'll record findings in an issue log:

• Module name
• Purpose
• Author
• Reviewer(s)
• Date
• Finding
• Description
• Classification (Must address, Should address, Nice to have, Non-issue/Justified)
• Notes
• Action Items
• Who
• Deadline

Update: Jan 29/07

The review was successful. With a small and simple set of code examples, we got a feel for how the review should go. We borrowed from a Shaw template, which had useful advice regarding ownership of the code. Specifically that the developer has an attachment to the code and any critiques are directed at the code and not the developer. Also, don't questions that start with "why." Questions should be worded in ways not to be threatening, such as "What was your reasoning in this approach?" The idea is to get open exchange and prevent the developer from getting defensive and start undermining the success of the review.