Photo of the Day (12.20.08)

by Brenda Yun on


I have a confession to make. I’ve been surfing my brains out lately, but as long as I’m working hard, I can play hard, right? The other day, I was surfing at Lighthouse, a shortboarding break by Diamond Head, on the south shore of Oahu, and it was one of those epic days when the wind was none and the waves were perfect peaks rolling in from the open ocean. About an hour into the session, it started to rain. I turned to my friend and told him, “I love it when it rains like this. The water looks like snakes.”

And here is the perfect “snake” of a groundswell. This awesome capture comes to us from localsurfer, who make North Devon, UK, his home. I love hardcore surfers like him who, rain or shine, snow or sleet, cold or freezing, can be found in the water living it up or on shore shooting these fabulous photos.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!

Blow everyone off and go to wine country

by Tom Johansmeyer on
Tired of fighting crowds in malls, sparring for parking spaces and fielding phone calls from relatives you’re trying to dodge? Here’s an idea: just leave. Seriously-pack a bag, lock the door and get out of town for a while. Sonoma, CA is calling, and I’m willing to bet that wine country is much more appealing than the local big box store.

If you need a glass of wine to take the edge off this holiday season, tour a vineyard, stuff your face with cheese, and dash over to the ocean to see the seals barking. If you need a little help relaxing, visit one of the countless spas in and around Sonoma. Depending on your timing, you can still pick up some cheap seats. Right now, New York to San Francisco (which is about 30 miles from Sonoma) will set you back only around $400.

Off-beat travel experiences people actually pay for: 6 worst vacation ideas

by Jamie Rhein on

When it comes to yard sales, there’s an adage “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” When it comes to vacation experiences, you might say the same thing.

Some folks can’t seem to get enough of a Disney theme park, while others wouldn’t step a foot in one. Being willing to fork out cash for Disney–or not—is a run of the mill vacation choice. Here are other options that fit the unusual to the downright weird.

Tom Barlow, my pal over at Blogging Stocks and Wallet Pop sent me this link to the “6 Worst Vacations People Actually Pay for” at Cracked.com. Jason Moore’s round-up includes one experience we’ve written about here at Gadling.

Jason lists a stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden as his number two worst vacation idea option. Frankly, I’m with Jason on this one. I’m sure it’s fascinating and beautiful, but too cold for a relaxing night of slumber. Ruben Laguna, who snapped this pic has several others which gives me the impression I could be wrong. Still, it does look too cold for my taste.

Jason’s number one choice of bad ideas is the one where people shoot farm animals with rocket launchers. WHAT!!! Isn’t there a grim film called, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? In this case, horses aren’t on the menu, but you can shoot chickens and cows. The place is near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Here’s a link to that weirdness.

Moore’s other bad idea choices are:

  • Tour the sewers of Paris
  • Illegal Border Crossing Experience
  • Ghetto Tours
  • Crossword Puzzle Cruise

The Paris sewer tour does sound interesting to me. The crossword puzzle cruise? Not so much. Check out Jason’s post for more details on each option. You can find decide for yourself what’s trash and what’s treasure.

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.


Green card holder? Be prepared for fingerprinting at the airport!

by Scott Carmichael on

As part of the US-VISIT program, designed to protect the country from terrorism and other threats, US Permanent Residents will soon have to subject to fingerprinting when they enter the country through an immigration checkpoint. The new rules go into effect on January 18th 2009.

The scheme is already in place for non permanent residents and other visitors, but it is the first time it has been expanded to permanent residents.

Fingerprinting Green card holders is quite strange, because part of the process of becoming a permanent resident involves an FBI background check and a pretty intensive fingerprinting procedure.

Of course, the fingerprinting could also be a way of ensuring the person entering the country with a Green card actually is who they say they are. It could also simply mean that the records stored within the government systems are such a mess, that they can’t do any reliable matching against terrorist records.

The next step in US-VISIT could be a little more scary, as the Department of Homeland Security claims there are “not currently” any plans to start fingerprinting US citizens when they re-enter the country, but I suspect that is probably not very far away.

(Via: Cnet)

Daily deal – Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset for $50

by Scott Carmichael on

With just 5 shipping days left before Christmas, now is the time to slowly start thinking about making those last minute purchases. My daily deal for today is for the Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset.

This headset is one of just a few out there that actually looks very stylish. The headset comes in a small leather case, which even contains a battery pack for charging the headset when you are not using it.

You can pick up the Discovery 925 in gold, purple and black. Of course, the most “normal” color (black) costs $5 more than the other 2. This headset usually retails for about $90, but Amazon currently has it on sale for just $49.99 ($54.99 for the black one).

Included in the package is the headset with its leather charging case, a MicroUSB charging cable and an AC adapter. You’ll also find 2 replacement earpieces. Be sure to check the shipping schedule, and to order with the correct shipping method if you need it on time for Christmas!