1. RC helicopters Completely fun, flying a craft around in 3D. They are fragile - learning curve is easily five of them, mine was probably ten, but they are cheap, $20 each.
2. Navan Developed as a response to the Hip Hop crowd's favoring cognac, the House of Grand Marnier came out with a vanilla flavored cognac that is amazing, rich, sweet and packed with the flavor of vanilla. Also, Meukow produces a great alternative, a lighter recipe, in a frosted bottle with the bas relief of a panther wrapping around it. 3. Aquarius restaurant I am not a foodie, but this place is the restaurant attached to the thrice remodeled Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, with floor to ceiling glass overlooking Cowells Beach and the Pacific and the Wharf. Who cares about the food? I had an omelette. 4. XK8 clutchless shifting Recently I got a 97' Jag XK8, a coupe with a 290hp V8 and a smooth 6 speed German transmission. The transmission is in a configuration called a J-Gate, because on the left side of the automatic functions, you can shift over to having clutchless control regarding shifts to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The engine doesn't redline until 6800 rpm, so when you are going less than 150 it is loafing. In my best Spanish, it is mucho funno. 5. The Tuareg band, Tinawaren Found a CD of these guys when I went to an exhibit at Stanford on the Tuareq. Slightly electrified tribal with the sound of the desert.
