Dennis Paull and I have been working on a Half Moon Bay weather page. Dennis has a weather station in the Alsace Loraine neighborhood, about four blocks from the beach. He generously offered to supply Coastsider with a weather feed. The feed is in beta testing right now. I will also be adding the basic current weather data to Coastsider’s navigation bar shortly. Please email me if you see any problems or have any suggestions.

We won’t be posting as much news on Coastsider during Thanksgiving week.  I am using the reduced pace of the holiday week to work on a couple of new features for the site. I will still be posting news and editing the site, so free to post your own stories.

Coastsider was designed to be created by contributions from the community.

We’re looking for all kinds of contributions: links to coastside-related stories on other Web sites, first-hand accounts of coastside events (especially if you have pictures), descriptions of recreational opportunities (hiking, biking, picnicking, surfing, etc) on the coastside, opinion pieces from all viewpoints, and news. The only requirement is that it be directly related to our community.

To contribute all you have to do is join the site—it’s free and it’s private—by clicking on the "Register" link at the top of the left-hand column.  You can then send us your story by clicking on the "Submit a story to Coastsider" link that will appear once you’re logged on.

Once we’ve reviewed your story and checked your spelling, it will appear online.

If there is anything I can do to make this easier or less intimidating, email me using the "Email Barry Parr" link on the left-hand column.

Coastsider’s albums (Chili and Chowder Cookoff, HMB Wine Walk, and Moss Beach Park construction) have been tremendously popular.  We’re adding a link in the top menu bar to our Gallery, which will be the place to if you want to find some new albums or to return to an old favorite.

Look for more photo albums as we go into the Halloween season, an important time of year on the Coastside.

Beginning today, Coastsider features headlines from the San Jose Mercury News, arguably the best paper in the Bay Area. This is especially exciting because Coastsider is the first outside site to carry their news.

This is part of a beta test for both sites, so please let me know if you experience any problems with the feed.

I’ve changed the events list in the right-hand column so that it is now automatically generated from the Calendar.  Now the two will be in sync, updates will be more reliable, and I’m able to update it more often and include more information in the list. Let me know if you see any problems with it. I’ve also broken out individual events from ongoing weekly live entertainment. This should make Coastsider’s Calendar much more useful and up-to-date.

It’s not too late to win our limited-edition Point Montara Lighthouse print, but I’m closing registrations in a couple of days.

Ironically, the photo in the original story doesn’t do this print justice. We had it on display at the Chili and Chowder Cookoff and a number folks offered to buy it.

Only a few people have registered for the print, and I’m going to be closing registrations in a couple of days. All you have to do to get a chance to win is to post any comment on the story is sentence is linked to.

The Cookoff didn’t work out like we planned.  I scorched the chowder and I’m not sure I scaled the ingredients up properly. If you tried our chowder on Sunday, it’s not representative of this remarkable chowder.

I got this recipe from my grandmother, who was born on Shelter Island and lived from 1933 to 1983 in East Hampton, NY, back when it was more fishing village than playground of the rich and famous.  Like a lot of classics, it’s pretty simple.

1/4 pound lean salt pork—don’t use bacon

Plenty of clams

3 potatoes

1 large onion

3 celery stalks

2 carrots

1 one-pound can of tomatoes

Fry salt pork out slowly and chop up.

Add vegetables, using more potatoes and onions and not too much of the other vegetables.

Cook about an hour. Add the clams at the last minute, so they don’t overcook and get rubbery.

In conjunction with the Chili and Chowder Cookoff, and to encourage our readers to try posting comments, we’re holding a prize drawing. Whether you’re a first time visitor or a registered user, you can win this framed limited edition sepia photographic print of Point Montara Lighthouse. The print was created by Cheri Parr, who took many of the photos on Coastsider. You can see the print at our booth at the Cookoff.

Registered members: Just post a comment on this story. Just say hello if you like, but you need to comment to be entered.

First time visitors:  Take a minute to register on the site by clicking on the "Register" link in the top left column of this page. Once you’re registered, you will be able to a comment to this story. You will need a valid email address to register, but we strictly protect our readers’ privacy.

To add a comment: Click on the "comments" link at the top of this story, enter the text of your comment in the form at the bottom of the page, and click on the "Submit" button. It doesn’t matter what you say, just add your comment to this story and you’ll be entered into the drawing.

If you haven’t posted a classified ad on Coastsider yet, here’s a reason to try it.  I’ve added a list of the most recent classifieds to the top of the right-hand column. As new ads are created, they appear at the top of the list. Your ad will be seen by everyone who uses the site while it’s on the list.