I just looked back and found that it’s been five years since I last did a year-end blog post. That’s mainly because my life has shifted away from the things I set this site up for.

Shareware - People still occasionally send in payments for Icon Machine, which I appreciate. A few other projects have come and gone in the past 5 years. The current one I’m calling Budget Machine, and I’m hoping I’ll get it to the point where Lisa and I can use it some time this year. Whether it’ll go farther than that, as open source or shareware, remains to be seen. I’m also imagining doing a web-based iPhone/mobile counterpart, which I think I’d be more likely to expose to the public (with appropriate disclaimers).

Games - I never got very far on doing mods for Unreal Tournament 3. Having less time, and seeing the UT series get progressively less mod-friendly (from my perspective), there was too little motivation.

Icons - I occasionally work a little on updating Paper Folder to 512x512, but with this kind of design it’s an inherently awkward process. Now that I think of it, it’s probably the hardest one I could have picked.

Real Life - Lisa and I recently celebrated our second anniversary. We remodeled our condo, and got cats. We attended family gatherings in Utah, Italy, and Disneyland. It’s been fun (and at times a bit grueling, but that’s life). At work, Picasa continues to move along, having recently reached version 3.6. I continue to look for opportunities to broaden my experience.

The coming year is harder to predict. No major events are planned, other than the arrivals of a couple of new nieces. There’s also the possibility that we too will find ourselves having to repurpose one of our bedrooms. We’ll see.

I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I could summon, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it came forth the way Joseph said it came forth and was given to bring happiness and hope to the faithful in the travail of the latter days. — Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Elder Holland’s talk was for many, including myself, the most memorable of the last LDS General Conference. Its boldness was unusual, refreshing, inspiring, and awesome.

I think the most shocking moment was the use of the word “pathetic” to describe attempts to write the Book of Mormon off as a work of fiction. Normally when the word pathetic is used in a Conference talk, it means something like “pitiable”, but here it was more like “miserably inadequate”. Some people may take offense at this choice of words, especially those who have read the Book of Mormon and decided that it is not true.

Based on my own experience with the book - from which I read at least a little almost every day - I find it very hard to raise any sympathy for that position. The depth, richness, and layers of meaning that I regularly see in it are a continual source of amazement and learning for me. As I progress from Nephi to Jacob, Alma, Moroni, and others, I’m always struck by how different their voices are.

I’m sure there are plenty of other people on the Internet that have made lists of why the complexities of the Book of Mormon should disprove any theory that it was fabricated by Joseph Smith or any of his associates. I don’t think I need to repeat their efforts. Not only would it be redundant, it would distract from the real point.

I once heard a rumor that somewhere in the Salt Lake Temple there is a secret room full of ancient artifacts, any one of which could prove the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon if it were shown to the world. And yet the church keeps them all hidden away. I have no reason to believe that this story is actually true (these rumors abound in Mormon culture), but it illustrates an important point. We have the Book of Mormon to teach us faith in Christ. No logic or physical evidence can do that.

The Book of Mormon itself describes the ideal test. The catch is that it must be done on an individual basis.

I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I recommend this test to anyone who reads this, because I have tried it myself. It passed the test. Many things in my life have followed from that: my belief in actively attending church, in seeking and recognizing the active influence of God in my life, the eternal nature of our souls, and the core importance of marriage and families. All these other things have likewise withstood every test I have seen.

This is why I feel motivated to follow Elder Holland’s example and declare to the world, here on my little platform, that the Book of Mormon is true.

Finally, a post that doesn’t have a turquoise title bar. In the early days of this blog, they were more the exception than the rule.

I’ve undertaken a new software project, intended to replace the Numbers spreadsheet Lisa and I have been using to track our expenses. I’m calling it “Means”. Edit: It was later renamed “Budget Machine”.

Of course, there are plenty of finance apps out there, but none of them seemed to fit the way we’re used to doing things. For one thing, we’ve focused more on tracking expenses and budgeting. Most apps out there are about managing accounts - syncing with online banking info, balancing checkbooks, and so forth. It’s kind of a subtle difference, but I don’t want to be forced into another way of doing things, or awkwardly use a tool for something it wasn’t quite intended for.

So these are the goals I have in mind:

• A database of expenses, covering all our checking, savings, and credit card accounts
• Assign expenses to categories (health, groceries, etc.), as well as arbitrary tags like “Italy trip” so we can easily see how much certain events and projects are costing.
• Display live charts & graphs according to the current view or selection (I’ve found a good library for that)
• Make it easy to search by various things - date, category, etc.

This will be my first real adventure in Core Data programming (that’s a framework Apple has produced to make it easy to write applications that deal with lots of data objects). It’s also one of the few attempts I’ve made at Cocoa programming. It occurred to me recently that I’ve only written Cocoa applications as hobby projects, and professionally I’ve only done bits of Cocoa inside Carbon apps.

There will be a question of what to do with it when it’s done. Shareware? Open source? Just keep it for Lisa & me? On the other hand, given the amount of free time I have these days, I’m not taking it for granted if or when I’ll finish. I’m in it for the experience as much as anything.

As I was watching General Conference, I kept noticing one of my birthday presents on display on the shelf over the TV: the LEGO Creator “Cool Convertible” set, currently assembled as a convertible, though it also comes with instructions to make a truck and a mini loader.

The thing about LEGO sets is that at first I think, cool, I could build all kinds of things with these pieces. But then as I follow the included instructions, I realize that it takes a lot of time and skill to create something as cool as what you see on the box. Following the instructions is easy, but I honestly have little hope of coming up with something like that. At least, not without quitting my day job.

As I was putting it together, I kept noticing one bag of pieces that had two little black swords, and wondering what in the world they had to do with building a car. Finally, near the end, the time came to place them: in front of the dashboard, as windshield wipers. That’s the genius of these sets. There are very few really specialized pieces. It’s all about taking the existing ones and figuring out how to use them to build what you want.

What did this have to do with watching a church broadcast? I kept thinking of gospel parallels, and they started coming pretty easily.

I believe that God has a plan for us, and it’s like the LEGO instruction booklet. I never could have come up with it on my own, but I can follow it. Sometimes I find that I missed a couple of pieces, or that I’ve put them in the wrong place. The only way I can proceed is to go back and put things right.

The coolest thing about the convertible is that it actually converts. You just twist a lever on the side, and the trunk opens, the roof folds back, and the trunk closes again. Twist it the other way, and the reverse happens. The hood opens to reveal the engine. The doors open, and they even have little side pockets. These details could have been left out, but they were included as delightful surprises. Life also has occasional delightful surprises. (On the other hand, life can have disappointments, obstacles, and disasters. This is where the analogy breaks down.)

Just as the little black swords were confusing until it was finally time to place them, there are many things in life that seem wrong and confusing until the time comes.

Some statistics: LEGO bricks are manufactured with an accuracy of two thousandths of a millimeter, and out of every million bricks produced about 18 will fail to meet that standard. Bricks made today will fit those made as long as 50 years ago. I love stories of people maintaining a history of high quality standards. Especially when they’re making toys.

(This post is a little belated… it’s a little harder these days to find time for blogging.)

Compared to my last week-long trip - to Disney World - my trip to Italy involved about as much walking, and even more Pinocchio. It was also hotter. I don’t recommend Italy in August.

This trip was a first for me in many ways: first to Italy, and Europe in general; first time visiting a country without having studied the language; and first time visiting another country simply as a tourist.

Some things that I learned:

- Real mozzarella cheese is an entirely different animal: buffalo. It’s white, and comes in balls packed in water. It’s pretty much nothing like the stuff that gets grated onto American pizzas.

- When evaluating a gelato place, look at their pistachio. If it’s green, keep walking. If it’s grey, give the place a try. You want a gelateria that doesn’t try to impress tourists with artificial colors. The best place we found was I Caruso in Rome. It’s not very close to any tourist spots, but fortunately it was close to our hotel. We went back for more on the following two nights of our trip.

We saw Castiglione del Lago, Siena (the day after the famous Palio horse race, by chance), Florence, and Rome. Overall I liked Florence best. It’s less spread out than Rome, and none of the neighborhoods we passed through made me nervous.

What caught me off guard about Rome is how there are ruins spread out everywhere. You can be walking down the street and come across the Pantheon, or some other lesser known Roman building. It made me wonder what it’s like to live in one of those apartments that overlooks something hundreds or thousands of years old.

I hate to say it, but the Sistine Chapel was actually disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, the paintings are wonderful. But for some reason I thought the architecture would be more intricate as well. Instead it was a big box. But more than that, the whole experience was not what it could have been.

The Sistine Chapel is part of the Vatican Museum, which is mostly laid out as one long winding pathway through various exhibits with statues and paintings and such. Mixed in with the older sections, easily identified because the walls and ceilings are intricately painted, are newer sections that look like they were built in the 60s and don’t seem to have been used for much except herding museum tourists. After alternating through these for a while, you find yourself in the Sistine Chapel.

When you’re done looking at the paintings, and listening to a recording asking you in five languages to be quiet, you exit through another barren hallway from the 60s. It takes about two hours to get through the whole museum. It’s all indoors, so having gone through it I couldn’t tell you where the Sistine Chapel is on a map.

But enough complaining. In spite of the heat and all the walking, my first visit to Italy was a blast. I love learning about the history of places, and visiting sites like the Roman Forum really gets the imagination going. It’s mind-blowing that these buildings, statues, and paintings can last so many hundreds of years.

Spoiler alert, blah blah blah.

Lisa and I went through the first five Harry Potter films this past week to get ready for the big event. Not only did it get us in the mood, it also got us ready to compare.

I think Prisoner of Azkaban remains my favorite. In spite of the fact that it leaves out several things from the book that really tie things together (such as the identity of the “Marauders”), it all flows very well and there are so many nice touches here and there.

Order of the Phoenix is my least favorite. It’s just not very memorable, and it’s not clear what the point of the story is. Plus they leave out what I think is an important point: Voldemort wants the prophecy, but it turns out it wouldn’t have done him any good. It’s a recurring theme that one of his flaws is that he doesn’t understand things as well as he thinks he does.

Now on to Half-Blood Prince. Obviously it hasn’t replaced either my most or least favorite. But I’d rank it pretty high. The love triangles and such were fun and gave it a nice human touch. Luna was great fun, and it was a shame that she kind of disappeared from the story halfway through.

Draco’s portrayal is different from in the book. Rather than just seeing Harry watch the map and wonder what he is up to, we get to see Draco going about his task - and we see the burden of it nearly break him. Of all the changes from the books to the films, this is my favorite.

Conversely, there are two glaring omissions. It’s a close call, but I’ll rank the funeral as number one. Simply put, Dumbledore deserves better.

Second is the battle at the end. What was the point of bringing all those Death Eaters into the castle if they weren’t going to do anything? Draco and Snape were the ones tasked with killing Dumbledore, and they were already there. Once that was done, they all just broke some windows, set Hagrid’s house on fire, and ran away with nobody but Harry to chase them.

If it was a question of time or budget, I would have traded the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes scene for the battle at the tower. Sure it was a fun scene, but story-wise it only introduced the love potions and darkness powder (and the latter should probably have been omitted).

I could go on, but since I really enjoyed the film overall, that would be counterproductive. So I’ll just mention my two favorite quotes, which were omitted from the film. They’re both from Dumbledore:

“Oh, surely not. So crude.” (Disappointed that blood was required to enter the cave)

“Jokes? No, no, these are manners.” (Refusing to lose his composure in front of the Death Eaters even though he was about to die)

Yeah, I know, dead horse, but I’m a fan and I must rant.

So yes, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was bad. The first film way okay, and the second was bad. For me, the worst of it was the pervasive crude humor. Having read the reviews, I thought I had set my expectations low enough, but I did not expect to be tempted to walk out. Maybe if the third film doesn’t have any fluids squirting out of Bumblebee for once, I’ll consider seeing it. Maybe.

One thing that Michael Bay continues to get wrong is that the titular Transformers characters lack personality (the twins and the little RC truck guy don’t count because they’re stupid and annoying). The thing is, almost every transformers toy since 1984 has had a description of the character’s personality on the back of the box (called Tech Specs). To me, this is a big part of the appeal of the Transformers. They’re not just robots, they’re characters. Why is this so hard?

Take Skids for example. The original Tech Specs describe him as a daydreaming scientist fascinated by Earth. In the movie, he’s an offensive caricature. I was seriously disappointed that Devastator didn’t eat him.

Frequently, especially during the desert battle scenes, it was hard to tell who was who. I think the silliest mistake in this category was the introduction of two silver sports cars: an Autobot named Sideswipe, and a Decepticon named Sideways. The original Sideswipe was red, which could have easily solved the confusion. Why is this so hard?

Fans were very excited to hear that Peter Cullen would be reprising the role of Optimus Prime for the Transformers movie. Then we got a truck with flames on it. In the second film, we hear him trash-talking the Decepticons as he fights them. With most other Autobots I’d have no problem with this, but for Optimus it’s just out of character. The filmmakers tried to please the fans by bringing back Peter Cullen, but they didn’t understand why it’s important to us.

Optimus Prime is an iconic character, a classic leader. He’s charismatic, wise, powerful, but also friendly and approachable. These are the qualities we wanted to see Peter Cullen bring to life again. But he wasn’t given the chance.

I have heard and read many times the idea that same-sex marriage should be allowed because marriage is a civil right. The problem with this claim is that it very conveniently ignores the opposing argument, which is that the real issue is the definition of marriage. It makes no sense to discuss whether marriage is a civil right until we agree on how marriage is defined.

So I’m actually undecided on whether marriage qualifies as a civil right, but I’m not very concerned about the question because I think it’s irrelevant, or at best premature.

Out of curiosity, I have been searching the net for explanations of why marriage should be considered a civil right, looking at blog posts, articles, and court cases. In nearly all instances, people simply repeat the assertion that marriage is a civil right, without any kind of justification.

The closest thing I’ve found so far is traced back to a 1942 decision in the case of Skinner v. Oaklahoma in which it was declared that sterilization should not be allowed as a punishment for crimes.

We are dealing here with legislation which involves one of the basic civil rights of man. Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race.

This decision was referenced by the Goodridge v. Department of Public Health case in which the Massachusetts state supreme court declared that same-sex marriage should be allowed. (The other Massachusetts case cited on this subject is that of Milford v. Worcester, but the text of that decision doesn’t seem to be easily available online.)

Finally, an explanation for this civil right idea. But I don’t buy it. Why not? For an explanation, I’ll use the words of the Hawaii state supreme court, in a case which is actually mentioned by the Massachusetts court, even though as far as I can tell it argues against their interpretation of Skinner v. Oaklahoma.

Whether the [US Supreme] court viewed marriage and procreation as a single indivisible right, the least that can be said is that it was obviously contemplating unions between men and women when it ruled that the right to marry was fundamental.

That was my reaction exactly. To use Skinner v. Oaklahoma to support same-sex marriage discards the entire context and severely manipulates the original meaning.

So I’m still looking for an explanation… but still, only out of curiosity. I still believe that the definition of marriage is the real issue, and I firmly believe that gender, as a fundamental characteristic of the human race, is and should be a vital part of that definition.