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Tropical Depression Ernesto left the Florida mainland Wednesday, and like a pent up post pubescent teenager, quickly regained its stamina over the warm Atlantic waters. Ernesto was officially declared Tropical Storm Ernesto around 11 oclock that night.

About the same time, the beaches east of Jacksonville experienced the first band of Ernesto, rapidly moving cumulus clouds accompanied by thunderous booms and bright flashes, winds around 25 mph and brief but torrential downpours. The bands continued racing onshore intermittently throughout the night and by morning it was over. Or was it?

The eye of Tropical Storm Ernesto had actually passed well offshore of North Florida, continuously gathering strength and churning up the waters as it made its way to landfall in the Carolinas.

Weather wise, the storm was no big deal in the North Florida beaches area, and most people slept through it with little incident. But there were those who retired that evening with tense anticipation of what was to come the next day. As Ernesto passed offshore and north east winds turned to south west winds, a phenomenon typical of cyclonic storms occurred in the area.

As the waves generated by a passing storm pound the shore with the fierce power of a nor'easter, they can at times be huge, but are generally sloppy, poorly formed mush. These waves, backed by the winds from the east, can last as long as the storm is out there churning up the waters.

If the storm is paralleling the coast, and is close enough that it is effecting our wind direction, once it passes and is to the north, the winds will shift, coming out of the west.

Those big ole waves that were once pounding our beach are now standing up proud, spitting back foam from their tips with the blusterous wind hollowing out the face, preventing the wave to break until it can no longer hold back, finally curling down in a thunderous crash of white foamy water peeling the wave left and right.

The chop is gone, and the surrounding water is as smooth as a baby's butt. The water can look as calm as a lake, only to be up heaved by sets of incoming swells standing at attention until finally bursting at the seams at the last possible moment.

From a surfers standpoint, this is as good as it gets in North East Florida, but you better be there on time, because it only lasts a few tide cycles.

And thats the downside. This west wind is so good at cleaning up the surf, that over time it totally knocks the waves down, and they keep getting as long as the west wind lasts. In an absence of anything creating waves in the Atlantic, the surf can diminish to less than 6 inches. Not an uncommon occurrence in Jax Beach or the entire east coast for that matter.

Due to the geography of the coastline in north Florida, we seldom get a direct hit from hurricanes or tropical storms. This is not to say that we wont, and if we do, it will no doubt be disastrous. We do however get a lot of storms passing by, and some very close calls. Floyd is one that comes into mind that skirted our coast on its way to wreak devastation further north. The surfing community here has come to know what to look for, and with an excellent bottom that is in place at the Jacksonville Beach Pier, they also know where to go.

Tropical Storm Ernesto was small by any comparison and did not spend a lot of time off our shore generating waves. But every surfer knows that when the right circumstances converge, and all the conditions are met, there is a real potential for some very fun, if not huge surfing opportunities. In this case, this little tropical storm called Ernesto delivered!

A native of Jacksonville Florida, Michael Talbert lives, works, and plays in Jacksonville Beach. To find out more about the Jax Beach community, visit the unofficial guide to Jacksonville Beach at http://JaxBeach-Pier.com .

Humans play solitaire to keep themselves occupied when theyre alone. Dogs chew. Its what they do. Actually, chewing is much more important to dogs than solitaire is to humans. Dogs need to chew on things to maintain healthy teeth and gums and good jaw strength. Solitaire will do nothing for your dental hygiene.

Puppies need to chew even more when they are teething (in fact, there are special chew toys that can be dampened and frozen to provide relief for painful gums during this process). So chewing isnt a problem in itself, but destructive chewing is. Dogs need to learn what they can and cannot chew on, and they are quite capable of doing so when properly taught. Here are four steps every dog owner should take to encourage constructive chewing.

1. Prevent. As always the best cure, but dog owners should always dog proof their home, especially with puppies. They can be very creative with what they chew. Anything not removable that has been or is likely to be targeted can be sprayed with a deterrent, such as Bitter Apple.

2. Interrupt. Whenever you are there with your dog, it is important that you actively teach them commands for leave it or drop. These are given whenever you see them taking something into their jaws that should not be in there. You may have to orchestrate this training process by adding some of the items that you removed in step 1. But thats what training is all about - setting up safe scenarios in which you can help them differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. These commands will also work well when you are out with your dog and they want to pick up something dangerous or just foul.

3. Redirect. Heres where you start teaching your friend which toys belong to them, to chew to pieces if they like (and they will). Immediately after removing the inappropriate item from their clutches, replace it with an appropriate toy. It will take some time to really zero in on a few of your dogs most favorite things. But as you try lots of different toys to encourage constructive chewing, keep in mind that the best ones are those designed to promote healthy teeth and gums such as dental chew ropes. Also, try to find what are called active toys, which give your dog something to do for an extended period of time. For example, Kong balls and rubber toys can be stuffed with food, such as peanut butter or whatever they go for. Often dogs are inactive when they are alone because theyre missing you.

5. Praise. The final step is simple but not one to forget.

The good news is that most dogs will grow out of this phase somewhat at the same time as they figure out whats chewable and whats not. If your dogs chewing problem continues, however, it is likely to be an expression of nervous energy (the same goes for excessive licking, of themselves and others). The number one cause of nervous energy for dogs is lack of exercise.

A brisk 15-minute walk is simply not enough for many dogs, barely a warm-up for a Border Collie, and it is important to understand that exercise is different from a play session or outing to the park.

The mistake that a lot of dog owners make, which is an unfortunate function of their busy schedules, is that they pack in two high intensity (15-20 minute) fetch sessions at the beginning and end of the day. True, this is much better than nothing, but the fact that the dog goes more or less from sleeping to sprinting, then from lying around all day to sprinting again, can cause extra wear and tear on the joints and possibly early arthritis. Like humans, a dog benefits from a decent warm-up and warm-down, and busy owners should do their best to sneak in some longer, less intense exercise sessions.

All the best with it, and dont chew out your dog in the meantime.

Martin Olliver is a proud member of the Kingdom of Pets team (http://www.kingdomofpets.com). For more great articles on chewing and other dog habits, visit: http://kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/articles/dog_training_solutions.php.

How much money would you like to earn from your book, I ask my client.

From her facial reaction, I know that the question resonates as if I am asking how much her child is worth. It is challenging to most writers to think in terms of dollars and cents.

Thats why I ask.

The romantic myth that money somehow sullies the creative process is, in reality, a bigger obstacle to your publication goals than not having an agent. Its not that your goal has to be to get rich from your book, although that is a perfectly fine goal to have. Its that understanding the ebb and flow of money in your publishing life creates a positive perception about you as an author prospect. When you have defined expectations, you project confidence, commitment and focus.

To clarify your financial focus, I offer three questions to help you center on where you are today, and three questions to help you establish your financial goals.

1. What is your motivation for writing the book? How will the book serve your career and/or life purpose?

2. How do you promote your image now? Do you do workshops or publish articles?

3. What are your long-term career goals as a writer? Currently, is writing a hobby or a business? Do you report your income and/or expenses on your income tax?

Here are three questions to help you establish your financial goals.

1. Identify two books that are similar to yours in your publishing category. What is the LIST (cover) price of each one? Assume it is a hard cover book and that you would receive a 10% list royalty from the publisher (for paperback, assume a 7.5% royalty). Then, calculate how much you would earn if the book sold 5,000 copies, 7,500 copies, and so on.

2. Using the amount you would like to earn as a guide, how much of that money would you like to retain as income and how much are you willing to invest in publicity or direct selling, independent of what the publisher plans to do for your book?

3. Given what you plan to invest in the marketing and promotional effort and in the time you will invest in writing the book, what is the ideal advance amount you would like to negotiate with the publisher?

Every editor comes to the contract negotiation with numbers in mind. He or she has made a decision about the market value of your work. If you do the same, you are in the position to have thorough discussion about mutual expectations. Make a list of the items that are most important to you.

Finally, make a financial calendar that will help you visualize when you will be incurring expenses versus when you anticipate receiving your advance payments or income from other sources.

Whether you are an author with a commercial publisher or you are self-publishing, you have the power to make your project a financial success on your terms.

Believe in yourself, your talent and your ability to value your work. Now, go forth and prosper.

C 2006 Melissa A Rosati

Melissa A Rosati is a publishing coach, a contributing editor, Novel Writer magazine and a professor of publishing, Pace University, NYC.