Spread FireFox

Another reason why I prefer FireFox.

August 26, 2006

What a day. It started off like any other Saturday... Matt up at 7:15 AM, Hannah and Gracie not far behind. I had to go into work for a couple of hours to get a project done before Monday and so after watching some Saturday morning cartoons and having breakfast with the kids -- then I went off to work.

Erin had a Wal-Mart photo session scheuled for the kids at 12:00 which she went to alone -- hard (with a capital "H"). Gracie was quite uncooperative and they spent the first 20 minutes trying to get the kids to stop crying and look at the camera. When they finally calmed down and posed -- the camera broke, and wouldn't take any photos. Erin went home without getting a single photo.

About the time that Erin was battling the kid's, Steve Miller called and invited us out to ride in his carriage. He's been training two of his horses to drive a carriage, and he had them out for a 15 km ride. Erin's cell phone is broken, so I drove to Wal-Mart to find her and try to go out to Cochrane. I couldn't find her car in the parking lot, so I drove home and sure enough she was just pulling in. When I rolled down my window I met with a very frustrated mother. Nonetheless I convinced her to come along, and we all ended up having a really great time on a Saturday afternoon carriage ride.

Hummer Ride

Dr. Miller came into the office this afternoon and told me to drop whatever I was doing, and come for a ride... in a Hummer H3. Fortunately I always have my camera with me. See the photos.

August 22, 2006

It rained for most of the afternoon, so Erin and the kids were quite bored when I got home from work. We ate dinner quickly and then decided to walk over to visit the Shipley's (Jeff got a new motorcycle). Of course I took some photos...

August 20, 2006

Had a nice day today.  Morning meetings went a big long, so I ended up attending the Rockyview ward.  After church I took the kids for a long walk in the ravine (even Hannah came along in the snugli).  All three of the kids haven't slept very well these last few nights, so Erin didn't come on the walk, instead she had a nap.

We went for the longest ravine hike yet!  Matt was excited to keep walking south toward the river, so we pressed on for about 10 mintues further south than we normally do.  I regret not briging my cameral because the ravine was so green, but I just couldn't manage it with Hannah strapped to my chest.

Later we went over to Rick and Cathy's place for a delicioius dinner (steak and Tabler corn on the cobb).  We had one of my favorite deserts -- vaniall ice cream and strawberies.

Melchin Family Photos (March 2006)

In March, all the Melchins from the Rick and Cathy clan gathered in Calgary. Everyone came to Calgary to be with Rick as he was released after having served 18 years in the Calgary Alberta West Stake Presidency. Here's the Flickr photo set...

Can!

I saw this video at work today, and was really touched. I can't belive how hard a thing this man undertook for his son -- it makes me feel pretty small. I'm giving you fair warning... you may want to get up and get some tissue paper now.

Tom (my boss) was telling me that the son highlighted in the video told his father that he didn't feel pain when they were competing.

UPDATE: I bothered to do a little bit of investigation on this, and as it turns out the son Rick Hoyt, said he doesn't feel "handicapped" when they compete. Here's the full story of Dick and Rick Hoyt.

Speedtest.net

This is the nicest Internet download/upload speed test yet! The image above is the test I ran from my computer at work. Click on the image to do your own Internet speed test.

August 15, 2005

I golfed in a corporate golf tournament yesterday -- though I went in feeling like I didn't want to be there, I ended up having fun. I'm starting to make more consistent contact with the ball, and that makes the game a whole lot more fun. The biggest difference has been that I've started to use the Taylor Made driver Networc gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It treats me very well (VERY WELL). Somehow I'm able to drive long and straight with that thing, and that makes it a whole new game.



The tournament organizers invited the 2006 World Long Drive Champion (Gerry James) to sit at one of the holes and tee-off for us. When my foursome arrived at the hole, Gerry gave a nice long 400 yard drive, and put us just a hundred yards from the pin -- right down the middle of the fairway. When it was my turn, I pulled out the Taylor Made, and knocked a respectable 300 yard drive, also down the middle of the fairway. After my stroke, Gerry Says "Scott, you're the man". How sweet is that!

I could like this golf stuff -- if it didn't take 4-5 hours out of my day.

The First Step in Recovery is Admiting You Have A Problem

Ok, I have a problem. I'm addicted to Flickr. I can't stop uploading photos.


We went to Peters' Drive-in tonight (slideshow). It was a bit chilly for this time of year, but we ate outside on the picnic tables anyway. The kids threw french fries (pardonez mois... "freedom fries") at the seagulls, as many generations have done before. Pete still makes a mean burger and milkshake.

Weekend At Bernie's

Several weeks ago, my boss invited us out to his tree farm for a day of fishing and a BBQ. We had lots of fun. The kids especially liked casting off the doc, and marveld at the fish that were caught.

I caught a fish, which we brought home and ate that night.

Erin

Hannahs Baby Photos

I know this is now almost a year old, but I thought I would post Hannah's newborn photos.

Matt Leaping Down the Waterslide

Matt is such a stinker.

Grassi Lakes Hike 2006

The Wolff's and the Freibergs hiked Grassi Lakes, near Canmore Alberta today (Heritage Day 2006). The hike was perfect for our little group. I ended up carying Matt most of the way up, but he walked the whole way down. Gracie is quite comfortable being on her own -- it's amazing what a couple of years of maturity will do. Erin carried Hannah in the Snugli, and the two of them fared very well.

It took less than an hour to get to the top (including a couple of stops along the way). The lakes at the top were amazing. The colour and clarity of the lake water was remarkable.

While Erin, Matt and I we're stationed at the top -- some climbers above us kicked some rocks down, and about 15-20 baseball sized stones came hurling through the air all around us. Erin was hit by one in the shoulder and it was very painfull. Had the rock fallen a couple of inches lower, it would have hit Hannah in the head. Erin quickly ran out of the way, and I grabbed Matt and got out of the way. I can honestly say this was the most dangerous "outdoor" experience I've ever had.

That aside, the trip was really great. The weather was excellent (not too hot), and the kids had lots of fun (Livy and Matt will do much better next year).

Lara and Erik in Hawaii

We were over at the Freiberg's place tonight, and I got carried away with Lara and Flickr... It suffices to say that Lara is now a Flickr member (lara.freiberg). This entry was posted directly from my Flickr account (having added Lara as one of my contacts). For the more technically inclined, I edited and customized the template to post according to my own preferences.

Matt Eating Corn on the Cobb

Matt Eating Corn on the Cobb
Originally uploaded by scott.wolff.

We had Taber corn on the cobb last night, and discovered that they both love it -- Grace especially. Gracie had three cobs, and still left the table un-fufilled. Grandma and Grandpa Wolff are coming over for dinner this evening, and we're having corn on the cobb again.

Matt at Windermere, or "Flickr Rediscovered"

More than a year ago, I signed up for a Flickr account, but I didn't really use it, because I was bent on writting my own blogging application. Yesterday I re-discovered Flickr and fell in love. Today I registered for a "pro" account.

For the uninitiated Flickr is a free online photo sharing application (the pro account costs 25 USD/year). While Blogger does allow you to upload photos directly to a blog post, I find Flickr easier to use, and a far better way of organizing photos to be shared online. (For organizing photos on the desktop -- Google's Picasa is the clear favorite.)

There are several ways of posting Flickr photos on your blog -- including (for those familiar with Picasa) the "Blog This" button -- which supports simple, one click photo posting right to your blog.

Flickr was one of the first application to really get behind tagging (which is now the web's trendiest method for categorizing anything), and they've got the photo collection thing licked -- they call it photos sets. Check out my photos set of Matt's 3rd birthday. As a software developer I'm amazed at how cool Flickr's organizing tools are -- brilliant. I'm also really impressed with the slideshow feature. A sweet tool, very well implemented.

Flickr also has some great tools for managing privacy and copyright. I highly recommed you check it out (free registration required). If you do sign up, drop send me a note and I'll add you to my contact list.

Flickr

I was showing my dad the Flickr photos sharing service tonight, and I ended up posting some photos.