Disc Golf

I love disc golf, it’s a fun, easy sport that anyone can participate in. If you’ve never played disc golf before, you should really give it a try. The learning curve is short and there are a number of great local courses in the lower mainland. Here’s an excerpt from my wikipedia article on disc golf:

Understanding Disc Golf Course Components:

Three basic components go into a course design, Disc Pole Holes, Tonal Poles, Tee Signs and Tee Pads.

Disc Pole Holes are the main and most important components of a disc golf course. A Disc Pole Hole comprises a center pole, chain holder and a basket. A set of chains hang down from the chain holder surrounding the center pole. Surrounding the pole below the chains is a circular basket that serves to catch a disc thrown at the chains of the Disc Pole Hole. The Disc Pole Hole is also commonly known as a basket or a catcher. In some cases a Tonal Pole, a pole without chains and a basket, will act as the target. When the disc strikes a tonal pole, the pole makes a noise, indicating that the disc has been “caught” by the chains. The approximate dimensions of a tonal pole represent those of a full disc pole hole (if the disc strikes the tonal pole, that same shot would have fallen in the basket on a disc pole hole). When the disc drops into the basket or strikes the tonal pole the player moves to the next Tee.

For each hole, a tee pad provides a firm and level foundation to start play from, “tee off”. Tees are usually composed of poured concrete slabs, decomposed granite, or more recently dense rubber pads. Some courses have alternative tee pads for a given hole. Similar to traditional golf, one tee is often closer to the target, allowing multiple players of different skill levels a better chance of competitive play. The player(s) with lesser ability to drive the disc greater distances shoot from the closer tee than his/her fellow players shooting off the further tee. Most often, experienced players allow this strategy to be employed by novice players and children, to keep the scores in more competitive range.

Pay Per Click

The following is an excerpt from my Wikipedia entry on Pay Per Click advertising:

Pay Per Click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content sites, such as blogs, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.

Websites that utilize PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser’s keyword list, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content site.

Although many PPC providers exist, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter are the three largest network operators. Cost per click (CPC), vary depending on search engine and the level of competition for a particular key word or key phrase.

The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through click fraud, although Google and other search engines have implemented automated systems to guard against abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt web developers.