Here are fantastic instructions for setting up WordPress on NSF. This will get your automatic updates for plugins working.
http://www.sarahpin.com/2008/07/04/how-to-get-wordpress-working-under-php-safe_mode-on-nearlyfreespeechnet/
I’m mostly posting this so I can find it again in the future. However, if it helps anyone, then maybe my karma points will increase. 
