'The Club' for Cars

The average lamborghini is terrible at hauling lumber. As cool as an Aston Martin is, you don’t want to take it off road for a camping expedition. It’s difficult to have all the different kinds of vehicles you might need for your various activities.

Here’s an interesting option that’s popping up: Car Clubs.

Generally, for a set monthly price, you are given access to a pool of cars. Usually based on a ‘point’ system, one might get have access to amazing vehicles for about 40 days a year – with extra time available for purchase.

There are a couple of benefits: No maintenance. They insure them. Variety.

Here are a couple of example clubs:

Club Sportiva with branches in Las Vegas, New York, and Silicon Valley

www.clubsportiva.com


The Manhattan Classic Club in New York
manhattan.classiccarclub.com


The DFW Elite Club in Dallas
www.dfwelitecarclub.com

Two extra benefits:

Most of the clubs sponsor social events for members

And finally, your neighbors will go crazy trying figure out what you're up to.

Suites on a Plane

People taking the long flight from the UK to India now have an interesting choice: A mini suite. Jet Airways offers a mini cabin that includes a wall mounted flat screen TV, a seven foot bed, and a workspace - all enclosed in a privacy area. They're currently offering this for less than the price of a first class ticket on British Airways. Here's hoping other airlines pick up on this idea.


Details and further links via the Gridskipper:

gridskipper.com

Dude, Where's my car?

Vehicle tracking can be a messy thing. The 'Trackstick' makes it easy, and visually interesting. The Trackstick can be attached magnetically to a vehicle, and retrieved later for analysis. Just download via USB to your computer, and the data can be displayed using google maps. Brilliant. Available from various dealers starting at about 175 USD.


All the tech info via the Trackstick homepage:

www.trackstick.com

That's one clean pen

Clean drinking water is a good thing. Sometimes, you might be in locations with a questionable water supply. The SteriPEN is a great, portable way to make drinking water safer. This little device uses UV light to sterilize drinking water quickly (48 seconds for a 16 Oz glass). Solar chargable, it costs about 130 USD.

Details at SterPEN:

steripen.com


Tip: Would make a great swizzle stick in bars with questionable water soureces

Big plans

If you're in the UK, or planning a trip there - maybe you'd like to schedule a little fun. There are a lot of options from the folks at 'Red Letter Days'. They offer a wide variety of interesting experiences ranging from the genteel to the downright adrenaline rush -here are a few examples that might tickle your fancy:

SAS Themed adventure
Aston Martin experience
Off Road Military Driving
Spy Games
Spy Academy
Full Monty Tank driving

And many more.
Check out the schedules on their site:
www.redletterdays.co.uk

Shades of Serpico

Looking for a great pair of sunglasses without breaking the bank? Check out the 'Smith Serpico' sunglasses from Bentgear.

Cool retro styling for half the price of the designer label models. Available for about 70 USD.


Details and ordering info:
www.bentgear.com

Coffee substitute

Do you have a little trouble waking up? Here's something that might get your adrenalin going in the morning. The 'Danger Bomb Clock'. Each day, you need to 'disarm' the clock before a loud explosion sound is played. The safty code changes randomly at each reset. Bracing.

Available for about 40 USD.


The 'Danger Bomb Clock' available via Geekstuff4u:

geekstuff4u.com

Memory Lane...

Should you find yourself in Washington D.C., make it a point to stop by 'The International Spy Museum'. This elaborate museum has over 600 artifacts of spy craft - both historical and fictional. The 20,000 square foot space has a ton of interactive and 'hands on' exhibits. Oddly enough, photography is forbidden. But that never stopped you, did it?

Museum details available at:

www.spymuseum.org


Tip: The adjacent restaurant 'Zola' is very nice.


International Spy Museum
800 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004

Pumping Up!!

In the market for some high energy music to help you with your workouts? Take a listen to the 'Nike + Original Run
' series. These 45 minute workout sessions follow a wamup, build up, and cool down cycle. They are also built to work with the 'drive system' that links a sensor concealed in the soles of your Nike running shoes to an IPod. With or without the sensors, they sound great.

The Crystal Method CD is particularly good.

Music available via ITunes online store for 9 USD.

All about the shoes and IPod connection:
www.apple.com

Original review of The Crystal Method workout (via Jive Magazine):
www.jive.com

Well suited...

Buying a suit is always a bit of a project. There are tons of books and articles out there to help, but - let's save some time (you're a busy guy). Here's a short (8 minute) video produced by GQ covering the major points of makeing a suit purchase.


How to buy a suit via GQ:
Suits!


Tip: There is no mention made in the video of shoulder holsters, nor jet pack usage. adjust according...

Lose your keys

You may never have to worry about where your house keys are again. The clever folks at Kwikset are soon offering biometric deadbolts for your home. Built in to the lock is a fingerprint reader that can be programmed with as many as 50 different fingerprints. There are additional settings for time of day and other usage patterns. So, as long as you can keep track of your fingers, you should be fine.

More details to be found on their homepage:

www.kwikset.com

That new Italian model

This year, at the Geneva Auto Show, Maserati unveiled the new Gran Tourismo Coupe. Somehow, those little portholes that looks sort of 'out of place' on Buicks manage to look pretty great on this car. Pricing and US ship dates are still pending.


Here's the micro site - including the gallery and configurator:

www.granturismoisback.com

Just in case...

Looking to hide a room? You could do something elaborate (see the entry 'As not seen on TV' ) or take a more simple approach. At Woodfold, they make custom bookcases that act as doors. Available in standard door sizes, making it easy for do-it-yourselfers to stash things. Oh, and they work as bookcases, too - because everyone needs a llittle extra storage.

Take a look at some of the installations at Woodfold:

www.woodfold.com

Make sure to click on 'The photo gallery' to see a few more examples

Tiny Bubbles

Maybe a large, luxury submarine is a little over the top for you (see the entry 'Finding Nemo'). What about a nice, personal submarine? The guys at Uboatworx have just what you're looking for. A single or double person submarine that doesn't require any messy decompression - all for the price of a higher end sports car.

Check out all the safety features and technical details:

www.uboatworx.com

Funding your fun

Chances are, you don’t have the backing of a government agency for your adventures. You might like to read this book ‘The Four Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferriss.
Tim has figured out how to automate and outsource his work life, freeing himself to wander the globe in search of adventures. He is offering you his secrets on how to do the same. Highly entertaining and definitely recommended.

The books is available from all the usual suspects.

Visit his website for additional information:

www.fourhourworkweek.com

Go Luxe

Slogging around bulky travel guides isn't much fun. The staff at Luxe City Guides put together small, concise and up to the minute information - that will fit in your coat pocket. These little guides are chock full of useful information written in a lively (or snarky depending on your point of view) style. Many cities are available - weighted a little heavily on the Asia side of the globe. Quite a bargain for about 9 USD each.

Read all about the guides on their homepage:


www.luxecityguides.com

It's about time...

Looking for a cool, modern watch - but not ready to go big for a Rolex or an Omega? Take a look at the new '51-30' from the folks at 'Nixon'. This simple rugged watch is waterproof to 300 meters, and has basic 'no fuss' settings. Available in black or white faces for about 400 USD.

More details on the 'Nixon' website:

www.nixonnow.com


No laser, buzz saw, or garrote wire included.

Seeing through walls

Wouldn't it be handy to be able to see through walls? That's exactly what they do at Camero corp - makers of the 'Xaver'. This portable device scans rooms through solid walls, tracking the location of both stationary and moving objects. Sadly, there is no specialized software for finding lost car keys yet.

Read all about it at the 'camero-tech' website:

www.camero-tech.com

Avoiding 'Party Fouls'

Planning a 'get together'? Consider investing in a copy of 'A Gentleman Entertains'. This small, easy to read, and unpretentious volume will make you a black belt event planner in no time! In it are simple instructions for 12 different events - ranging from a romantic date, to a family holiday. All with goof proof check lists and seriously helpful advice.

Available from all the big online bookstores for about 14 USD.

Zapped!!

There’s an awful lot of research going on right now, using ‘directed energy weapons’.
However, few of them have an info-mercial featuring ex-US Secretary of State – Alexander Haig. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

Anyhow, follow the first link to view the informercial:

Lonatron Video

And here’s the site for the manufacturing company.

www.lonatron.net

Click,Whirrr.....

In films, it's always fun when someone pushes a button and a hidden bar or television screen appears from seemingly no where. How do you get that going in your own home? You could talk to the folks at Auton Systems. They've been doing exactly that sort of thing since 1955.

Here's a TV/Liquor cabinet from their webpage:

www.auton.com


And here's a photogallery of their other products:

Gallery