Halloween Birthday Party Photo Album Added

We had a joint birthday party for Alan and Jasmine last weekend, with a Halloween theme since it's that time of the year. The kids had lots of fun working on crafts and playing around, and a few grow-ups even gave the inflatable slide a try. To view the full album, click here.

Here are a few samples from the festivities:

Halloween Surf Report

Appropriately enough for this day, the surf looked terribly frightening on the way to work today. Thus, I wasn't all that hot about going out at lunch. As lunch approached, I noticed that the winds weren't blowing nearly as bad as the day before, so we went on down to D street to see what kind of waves we could find.

We were pleasantly surprised, to say the least. A decent amount of short period wind swell was on tap, with plenty of waves to go around. A great way to finish out this very odd week! One thing we also noticed was all of the ash in the water. It is now washing up on the beaches, looking as if a huge bonfire took place the evening before.

New Board Surf Report

So I took my new board out for the first time today, and it was eye-opening to feel the difference in maneuverability and weight between the new 6'8" and my older 7'6". The new board feels like it can turn on a dime and float down the whitewater - what a feeling! I caught the first wave I went for, and confidence was high after that initial pop-up was made. Too bad the waves pretty much sucked, but I still had an ear-to-ear smile at the end of the session!

“You’ve Got Foam!”

Yesterday afternoon, after arriving back from the lunch break surf, I found a wonderful message waiting for me on my desk. It was brief, and the person who took the message didn't undersand it. I, however, immediately grasped its meaning and it caused a rush of excitment as only it could. The note read: "Jeff. Rat Surfboards - it's finished". Woo-hoo! And so, without further ado, here is my new board:

This board is 6'8" and roughly 20.5" wide. Looks like it'll be a blast!

Flaming Monday AM/PM Surf Report

San Diego county is burning, and I am out surfing. Stirs up images of Nero fiddling as Rome burns, I guess. On the other hand, surfing requires no electricity, nor does it use up fresh water which is desperately needed for fighting the fires, so it's not bad. And with conditions as they are now, it is a good excuse to make the best of a fairly horrible situation.

This morning, I was first in the water a bit South of D street. With the sunlight scattering off th ashes in the sky, it reminded of "Smoke on the water... and fire in the sky". The southern swell which arrived over the weekend was pumping out some incredible waves that just peeled down the shore, and thundered on the reefs. I was a bit sketchy due to the size of them and the fact that I was by my lonesome, so I only managed to catch a few amazing lefts, but it was worth it.

On my lunch, I headed back down for a more productive session. There were about 100 people in the water, up and down the shore. Quite a difference from this morning! My confidence was up, and I was taking off and getting slotted regularly. What a lunch! Let's hope this swell can bless us with a few more perfect days, and that in the meantime, these winds will die down a bit and make the firefighter's job easier.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head home and pack up a few things. It looks as if another fire has started close to where we live, and evactuation is a possibility.

Thursday Afternoon Surf Report

Today the waves were pretty darn... shifty, I guess. You had to be in the right place at the right time, make the drop, then sprint up the line. Taking off too late was a sure recipe to meet the sandy-floored bottom of the sea (which I did). The weather was bright and beautiful, with a slight wind out of the NW.

Tuesday Afternoon Surf Report

Over the weekend, the first good sized swell from the northern Pacific arrived, bringing some big waves and even bigger crowds to the big name surf spots, such as Swamis. I didn't get out over the weekend, but did manage to catch the tail end of the swell on Monday at a spot just North of Swamis. Unfortunately, it was *still* crowded, which makes catching waves a bit more problematic unless you want to be a jerk.

Today, the NW swell has pretty much abated, and the waters were back to their normal, glorious, uncrowded fall/winter self. Caught a few fun waves, and the weather and water temperature are perfect.

Wednesday South Swell Surf Report

What a great mid-week surprise! A south swell served up some very nicely shaped waves at D street today, and so the usual lunch break surf session was extended a wee bit. Wave sizes were chest to the occassional head high set, and wind was fairly mild from the South. Hopefully we'll get another day of surf like this!

Monday Afternoon Surf Report

Today, the water was nice and glassy, and a nice north-westerly swell brought some fun sized waves to the local beach break. They waves weren't the best shaped waves, but some decent shoulders were available before the section closed out. A fun day!

Fun and Humorous Quickshots

• Another wonderful flash animation with music is unleashed upon the unsuspecting www: The Duel (or as I like to call it, Ode to the South).
• 34.094% - Total geek. That's me, at least according to the geek test. Take the (long) test, if you dare.
• Finally, an addictive little card game called RSVP. Like many other "simple" games, this one appears deceptively easy to understand, yet very difficult to master.

The Art of Unix Programming

I just wanted to point out a book which has recently been released by Eric Raymond. The title of his new book is The Art of Unix Programming, and an HTML version is available for one to peruse online. Of course, he would appreciate it if you bought a printed copy if you like it, but there's no obligation to buy (or so those salesmen always tell me).

From the preface:

This book has a lot of knowledge in it, but it is mainly about expertise. It is going to try to teach you the things about Unix development that Unix experts know, but aren't aware that they know. It is therefore less about technicalia and more about shared culture than most Unix books - both explicit and implicit culture, both conscious and unconscious traditions. It is not a 'how-to' book, it is a 'why-to' book.

So check it out and give it a good look-over. I plan on doing so myself...

Double Duty Wednesday Surf Report

Early in the AM, we hit the water hoping to catch some nice waves with the new swell. While not as consistent as one would like, there were many good waves for the taking, and take them we did.

I went down to the local spot on my lunch, eyeing the winds nervously. The wind was blowing onshore something fierce, and the waves closed out with a sound similar to something detonating. Caught two waves and made my way back in, grateful that I headed out in the AM.

Tuesday Surf Report

No wind today! Woo-hoo! Even though most of the waves continued their close-out behaviors, I caught a few steep and quick rides over lunch. Every wave I caught felt like a race against the pitching water. And as usual, I won some, and lost the others. :> Still fun as heck, though. Looks like we'll be getting a decent swell over the next few days, so I may try for an early AM session tomorrow and see what happens.

Monday Surf Report

It appears as if the winter surf season is now upon us here in northern San Diego county. As it did last year, the change in swell direction (primarilly S/SW in the summer to NW in the winter) wreaks havoc on the local beach breaks. The sand bars that have built up over the summer are now being broken down and molded more to the likes to the new swell, and it always seems to take a while to get things back to normal.

The water is chilly, but not cold enough to force me into my full suit yet. Which is a good thing, since I am sending it to Rip Curl for repairs, and probably won't get it back for another week or so!