from Colin:
Got a visit from the USCG today
Oil is again on the beach…probably due to the storm and a stringer that was offshore and came in.
Am impressed with the USCG personnel….very clear as to what is happening……
BP crews stood down because of “storm”, but it is certainly nothing as strong as such here
The end result is that the beaches here are not that oily, but there will be re-currences of staining (such as we have seen yesterday and today) on the shoreline after and associated with storms.
Clean is attainable….pristine will take some time. I think we have an appreciation of the impact of Macondo on the environment. The folks here certainly have an appreciation of the impact on their pocket books.
We must always remember the 11
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
Have been in swimming twice today….magnificent waves….went in this am just across the border in Florida…..smallest trace of oil on beach & water very clean…went in this pm in Gulf Shores (Alabama)…very small amount of oil in water (you can tell by looking at the foam the swell hitting the beach) ….but not significant…good swimming and swimming with the fish…one even joined me on the boogie board!
I hope that the BP geologists are better at recognizing oil than their beach clean up crews!
On a heavier note:
It is very difficult to sort out a situation if you deny that the problem exists in the first place or deny the nature of the problem.