Private jets are getting faster, more expensive, and offer more luxury features. But what does the future hold for private jets?  Halogen Guides looks at four key trends they feel will reshape the world of private aviation.

1.) Materials

Aviation has been well served by aluminum. It is strong, durable, and easy to repair, but it has its drawbacks. Limitations of the metal itself, its strength, flexibility, and most of all weight, are a major factor in aircraft design. Manufacturers have long looked to composite materials as a way of breaking free from these restrictions, but have been hampered by both the high cost of composites as well as their brittleness. But new developments in the fields of thermoplastics and metal alloys, in particular aluminum-lithium, and a drop in the price of more time tested materials like carbon fiber, mean that private jet designers are at last able to employ these materials in their plans. Grob Aerospace’s forthcoming “spn” light jet is using carbon fiber to create a roomy cabin on a plane whose size generally dictates that customers remain hunched over while standing. Moving forward, we can expect that new materials will allow for higher speeds, greater fuel efficiency, and more maneuverable aircraft.

2. Supersonic

The dream of supersonic civil aircraft has largely been hampered by public outcry over the prospect of sonic booms echoing loudly over the land. But new research suggests that planes may be able to circumvent, or at least dampen, the once seemingly inevitable sonic boom. The advancements involve changes in fuselage shape, which can break up and reshape the waves which cause the boom. The Nevada-based consortium, Supersonic Aerospace International, has already taken orders for its QSST jet. Designed by aerospace pioneer Lockheed Martin, the jet will be able to fly from LA to New York in a little over two hours.

3. Greener Technology

Private aviation is often considered one of the worst culprits for greenhouse gas emissions. With a growing recognition of the dangers of global climate change, not to mention the ever-increasing cost of jet-fuel, manufacturers are pursuing designs for the next generation of jets that emit less and fly further, while burning less gas. The pair of Rolls-Royce BR725engines which will be mounted on Gulfstream’s next generation G650will have four percent better fuel consumption and 21 percent better NOx emissions than previous models.

4. Personal Jet

Very light jets may be getting the most buzz these days, but they may have to make room for an even daintier competitor. Designs for personal jets, single pilot, owner-operated aircraft with room for one to four passengers are springing up all over manufacturer’s whiteboards. Maverick Jets offers its SmartJet, a pint sized plane not unlike the Smart Cars one sees careening through European cities. Meanwhile, Cirrus has been generating the most buzz of late with mockups of its personal jet, called simply “The-Jet.” The Jet’s single engine mounted above the fuselage will power the plane to speeds up to 345 mph, at an altitude of 25,000 feet, and a range of 1,000 miles. And for anyone who might feel uncertain testing their flying skills in a jet, The-Jet comes complete with its own nose-mounted parachute.
Article by: Halogen Guides

The Body English nightclub is in the world famous Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

The very exclusive club is hidden behind an unmarked door which leads down two stories beneath the ground. The main room is surrounded by booths and two bars. The VIP room has its own bar.

Plenty of celebrities are always stopping by along with some of the the best International world renown DJs. Body English features the best in hip hop, house and dance music. Lines are one to two hours long.

So, buy your VIP passes and reserve a VIP booth now for Body English at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. You won’t be disappointed.

Barbados, that tiny island nation that lies in the western Atlantic Ocean. This piece of heaven on earth has one of the highest standards of living in the entire world, and if you want to spend your vacation time here, we suggest you save up … like right now.

Barbados can be pricey to say the least, but is well worth the expense. Everything in Barbados is about luxury, and if you want to while away the time, basking contentedly on the beach or shopping in the most leisurely manner, then we suggest you go to the island’s capital: Bridgetown.

Accommodations in Bridgetown are usually only divided into hotels and private villas. If you can afford the latter, then we suggest you do so, because nothing can be more luxurious than having an entire villa to yourself; with a complete staff who will be at your disposal, of course.

However, it is highly recommended that you book for accommodations months in advance – especially during the peak of the tourist season. The tourist season usually peaks during Christmas holidays and spring break.

If you prefer trying your luck with the smaller local hotels, we recommend that instead of looking into hotel names, you look into hotel locations. Some of these have the white and pinkish beach sands right at their door steps; and that is a wonderful thing if you plan to spend a lot of time on the sands.Small restaurants pepper the edges of the water and some of them are pricey at best. If you want to save a little money, we suggest you venture inland when it comes to food and beverage. Or you could always try the restaurant or bar at the hotel you are staying in. Paradoxically, some of the smaller unnamed food stalls are more expensive than the 5-star eating establishments. For adventure, you may want to set your taste buds on authentic Bajan cuisine. Try Baxter Road where there are numerous eating establishments offering this dish, not to mention beer and an assortment of tropical drinks.

Certainly, Barbados is a gourmand’s paradise, a guzzler’s haven and the nocturnal owl’s delight. If you want to spend the greater portion of your nights trying out the local food samplers, drinking beer and having easy conversations, then we recommend you hit these places: the Boatyard Bar and Grill on Bay Street (offers excellent entertainment as well); Brown Sugar Aquatic Gap (serves the best seafood dishes); Harbour Lights also on Bay Street (serves Caribbean style barbecue with live music and all you can drink beach parties 3 times a week); and the Waterfront Café Careenage (serves meals by the water with buffet dinners for most of the week.)

As you walk through the Botanical Gardens at Bellagio there is no need to look to closely because if you’re lucky you can enjoy your dinner and get a great view of the gardens while having a glass of red wine inside Michael Mina.

The Michael Mina Bellagio is a luxurious, contemporary dining room bathed creamy neutral tones and golden light.

The menu here is in the care of a talented group of chefs trained and transported from San Francisco, who create innovate seafood dishes with California ingredients. The menu is extensive and offers la carte selections in addition to a pair of five-course tasting menus, one vegetarian and one seasonal.

Classic dishes include savory black mussel soufflé with saffron and Chardonnay cream and Maine lobster pot pie. The wine list focuses on American producers and contains some gems from small vineyards.

Large bright spaces and a roomy dining room make this place a pleasure to dine at. The restaurant is a bit loud but that gives it a certain atmosphere that lends itself to whispering into your dates’ ear.

As we all know, gas prices continue to skyrocket and the economy is sputtering. down. For people who have the “need for speed”, the only thing that matters is going extremely fast down the road.

Now if you’re looking a fast car that you can also haul 6 people, or store lots of groceries, you’re out of luck “speed racer.”  These cars are built for speed and looks, and not much else.

For example, the French-made Bugatti Veyron races from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and effortlessly cruises to a top speed of 253 mph.

Tom duPont, who’s the publisher of duPont Registry, a gallery of fine automobiles, cautions that superfast cars “aren’t for the faint of heart financially or physically.”   Full article

Inspired by the sidewalk creperies that line the streets of Paris, La Creperie Paris Las Vegas is the place to find this delicate, authentic French creation.

La Creperie in the Paris Hotel is the cheapest place I know in Vegas for an inexpensive bite that can still hit a sweet (or savory) spot on the taste buds.

Casino losers can buoy their spirits with a fruit crepe at La Creperie in the Paris Las Vegas hotel.

We’re in no-frills territory here. Walk up to the counter, place an order and watch the chefs pour out batter on those evocative round griddles. Retrieve the crepe when it’s ready and have a seat in the unassuming eating area to the left.

I’m fond of unceremonious combos: sautéed spinach and mushroom with cheese or ratatouille with egg, and crepes suzette or Nutella with banana slices for dessert. Staffers also let customers design their own concoctions.

This is also a good spot for a solitary breakfast. Something about the meandering layout of the hotel as a whole makes it enjoyable for strolling by one’s lonesome.

La Creperie

Paris Las Vegas,

3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South;

It’s been well publicized that once pristine, Lake Tahoe has continually become more murky.  But maybe a change has already begun.

Scientific researchers are now using more sophisticated statistical analysis of environmental data.  The good news is that the clarity of Lake Tahoe has actually been stabilizing since 2001.

What are the reasons behind this exciting news?  “It’s a good hypothesis that the land use restrictions and erosion controls have something to do with it,” said John Reuter, a lake scientist with the University of California, Davis, Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

This is definitely terrific news to everyone involved in the 40 years of monitoring the clouding of Lake Tahoe.  Charles Goldman, a UCD professor was the first to foresee Tahoe’s troubles in the 1960’s.  Full article

Robert Mondavi, the vintner who built his career and helped an iconic Northern California industry blossom by insisting that Napa Valley wines can compete with the best in the world, died in the Napa valley Friday. He was 94.

Mondavi died peacefully at his home in Yountville, Robert Mondavi Winery spokeswoman Mia Malm said.

“It is hard to imagine anyone having more of a lasting impact on California’s $20 billion-a-year wine industry than Robert Mondavi,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. Mondavi, said the governor, was “a tireless entrepreneur who transformed how the world felt about California wine, and an unforgettable personality to everyone who knew him.”

Mondavi was 52 and a winemaking veteran in 1966, when he opened the winery that would help turn the Napa Valley into a world center of the industry. Clashes with a brother that included a fistfight led him to break from the family business to carry out his ambitious plans with borrowed money.

When Mondavi opened his winery, California was still primarily known for cheap jug wines. But he set out to change that, championing use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels, all commonplace in the industry today. He introduced blind tastings in Napa Valley, putting his wines up against French vintages, a bold move.

His confidence was rewarded in 1976 when California wines beat some well-known French vintages in the famous tasting known as the Judgment of Paris.

“He had the single greatest influence in this country with respect to high quality wine and its place at the table,” wine critic Robert Parker wrote in a chat room posting on his Web site Friday. He called Mondavi “an exceptional man….a true pioneer…a legendary pathfinder…..and I feel so priviledged to have known him…a sad day…but also one to pay homage to his enormous contributions.”
The success of the Mondavi winery allowed him to donate tens of millions of dollars to charity, but a wine glut and intense competition gradually cost his family control of the business. In 2004, the company accepted a buyout worth $1.3 billion from Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands.

Mondavi was an enthusiastic ambassador for wine – especially California wine – and traveled the world into his 90s promoting the health, cultural and social benefits of its moderate consumption.

“He had an amazing life,” said Robert C. Koch, president and CEO of the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. “He was a major driving force and an incredible promoter for California wine and the Napa Valley.”   Article by: Michelle Locke – Associated Press Writer

It seems that Ryan Seacrest has a thriving broadcasting career and several ventures in media. Many believe Ryan Seacrest is at the very forefront of the entertainment industry.

This year marks Ryan’s seventh year as the successful host of the #1 TV show, “American Idol.”  Along with his winning personality, the show has become a true cultural phenomenon, making Ryan Seacrest a household name in the process.

In addition to TV, Ryan reaches millions through the world’s most popular radio countdown show, “American Top 40,” He took over the show from radio legend Casey Kasem. “American Top 40″ still remains an institution in radio. With Ryan running the show, it is heard on more stations and in larger markets than ever before.

Ryan states, “When I moved to Hollywood, one of the first people I ever wanted to meet wasn’t a movie star. It was a disc jockey, it was Casey Kasem.  Kasem is a legend, a guy I used to listen to growing up. And not only listen to, but pretended to be.”

In Los Angeles, Seacrest took over DJ role on the Top-40 radio powerhouse, 102.7 KIIS-FM. The program, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest,” which broadcasts weekdays from 5:00-10:00 AM, is now the No. 1 morning show in L.A.

On his love for radio, “I love it. I love the immediacy of it. I love the spontaneity of it, … I love the fact that every day you see something on TV that you have an opinion about and you want to talk about and the next day you can get on the air and do it.”

There has been many rumors about Ryan’s sexuality and whether he’s gay or not.

He comments, “I know a lot of gay males who I work with that are fantastic people and I love hanging out with them. But because I hang out and bring gay men into my life, does that mean that I’m gay? I promise you that I very much love women.”

Seacrest continues, “I’ve dated some women who have turned me on to some funny things that are strange for men to actually do, but these things have become part of my process. I think the things I do for my appearance help make me look better. I even colour my hair because I like how it makes me look.”

Ultra rich, billionaire Virgin Airline boss Richard Branson is moving ahead with building a luxury Australian island retreat for his Virgin airline staff despite protests from local environmentalists.

Plans for the $4 million (Australian dollars) nine-hectare estate at Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, have already been scaled back from those first outlined by the British tycoon.

Last week, bulldozers and builders were working on the redevelopment on heart-shaped Makepeace Island in the middle of the Noosa River.

But environmentalists were still concerned about the removal of trees and the 85-year-old timber Queenslander house on the island.

Sir Richard bought the island for $2.86 million in May 2003 and now owns it in partnership with Virgin Blue Airlines managing director Brett Godfrey. The idea was to turn it into a Balinese-style retreat for the owners’ families and for use by Virgin staff.

In style, it mimics Necker Island, Sir Richard’s private Caribbean island.

On Makepeace, there will be three villas attached to the revamped timber house, a lagoon pool in landscaped gardens, tennis court and two-storey kitchen. All the buildings will be on stilts to deal with flooding.

Anybody who says they can’t find a good cup of coffee, has got to be crazy or not even trying. Coffee shops are everywhere. Whether it’s a Starbucks practically on every street corner these days, a McDonald’s or a Dunkin’ Donuts, coffee is literally flowing everywhere.

What’s more difficult to find is the unique cup: the single-origin espresso or freshly roasted French press.

Most coffee fanatics will argue until they’re blue in the face, that the best java is found at small cafes where each cup is painstakingly crafted. These coffee shops are often tucked away in neighborhoods outside of a city’s financial district.

These specialty coffee shops can be difficult to get to for a business traveler, but aficionados say it’s a very worthwhile trip.  Full article