I read about this on Surfline – now I’m spreading the word and urge you to share this with your community of surfers.

With lessons learned from the recent fight to save Trestles, the folks at Surf-First.org have put together a survey designed to gather demographics on surfers in the US. Because they say it better than I can, here’s copy from the survey landing page:

All across the country, surfers are facing access and environmental fights that fail to consider their needs and enormous impact. While fishermen and other recreational ocean users flex big muscle in courthouses and town halls, surfers get pushed aside a ‘segment group.’ A minor hobby for punk kids – instead of healthy lifestyle for whole families. That’s because we let them.

Despite being a 1000-year-old sport with a $7 billion industry, surfing has failed to produce the demographic and economic studies to show who we are, where we live, and what we spend. So while other interest groups bolster their arguments with impressive numbers to prove their positions, all-too often, surfers get blindsided and bowled over, unable to offer a single hard number to support their cases or save their breaks.

Not anymore. With your help, we can start to paint a true picture of who surfers are and how we behave. And every surfer who answers provides another stroke of necessary detail. All you need to do is take 15 minutes to fill out the survey.

I’ve been browsing around checking out digital SLR packages (my current favorite is the Nikon D40x package at Best Buy) and came across this promo that Amazon is running for Black Friday 2007.

It’s the “Customers Vote” program. You vote on what deals you want to get and then Amazon will randomly select people who can then buy the item at the deal price. They keep using the word “ridiculous”, and I have to agree… (some folks will get a chance to buy a Wii for $79!!!!).

In the interest of full disclosure, I signed up as an Amazon Associate a while ago to check out their API – so if you use the links on this page and end up buying something, I get referral credit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/holiday/amazon-customers-vote/?tag=bbeojcom-20

My latest custom plugin:

Provides simple data entry interface for 5 custom global meta tags (description, keywords, etc…). It works perfectly on the production site it was designed for. Please let me know if you encounter any issues.

Download the plugin: BBEOJs Simple 5 Custom Metatags Plugin for WordPress

I was checking out the plugin generator interface at www.wp-fun.co.uk – it’s pretty cool for a work in progress – but don’t be fooled, it’s not for beginners. You still have to understand what goes where in a plugin file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn’t your plugin work on my site?

Probably your theme doesn’t implement the wp_head() hook.
To check this, switch your theme back to Kubrick, aka WordPress Default 1.6

If all else fails, leave a comment on the plugin page.

This is one of the first things I ever posted on the internet, way back in June of 1998 on my worldnet.att.net home page.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb package ground beef (turkey works well with this recipe too!)
• 1 package chili seasoning
• 4 cans stewed tomatoes (I cheat with 2 mexican style, 2 chili style, DelMonte’s)
• 2 cans large red kidney beans
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 4 bell peppers (2 green, 1 yellow, 1 red – or one package of frozen “chinese vegetables” works well too!)
• 1 softball size spanish onion (yellow will do)
• up to 4 jalapeno peppers (with kids I use 0, and garnish as necessary)
• chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper
• Optional: 1 can of beer (I recommend a light, fairly bland beer, like Natural Light)

Start the Sauce

• Open the cans of tomatoes and dump them in the pot.
• Rinse beans well, then drain and add to pot.
• Dice 1/2 of the jalapenos and toss them in as well. Leave out the seeds, and trim out the “seams” for a milder flavor
• Chop the onion and bell peppers into chunks
• Add 1/2 of the veggies in the crock pot on low

Meat & Veggies

• Start browning the meat in the frying pan
• Chop (not too small) onion, bell peppers, and the rest of the jalapenos
• When about 3/4 of the meat is lightly browned, dust with chili powder and cumin -
  about a tbsp. of each, but at least enough to lightly cover all the meat
• When completely browned, add the vegetables, and dust with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne to taste
• Simmer until the vegetables are pretty much limp (about 5-10 minutes)
• Mix in the package of chili seasoning (DON’T add water)
• Stir until the meat and vegetables are pretty well coated
• Cook for another 5 minutes on low, stirring continuously

Final Assembly

Add the contents of the frying pan to the crock pot and cook on low at least 2, but no more than 12 hours, stirring occasionally

As with most chili, this is extra good reheated after a night in the fridge. Don’t ask me why.

FUD = Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

It’s great bait when you’re trolling for AdSense revenue, because everybody wants to know when the sky is falling. And Microsoft Windows is such an easy target.

Take this article for instance (recently forwarded to me by a concerned friend): Hackers Use Windows Update to Download Malicious Code

Baloney, hogwash, and balderdash.

This is 100% spreading FUD. The headline is totally misleading – hackers are most definitely NOT using Windows Update to download malicious code – and the article even says so!

BITS is an auto-resuming, auto-throttling FTP client that is used by Windows Update (and other products) to send files over your network connection in the background – so your regular browsing & email is not impacted. It’s a very cool service.

Yes, hackers can use BITS. But first the Hacker has to have control of your machine. BITS is not a way in.

If a burglar breaks into your house through a window then goes and opens the garage door to back up a truck, we’re not all going to get rid of our garage doors! We put bars on the windows, or move to another neighborhood where noone will try to break in.