Remote-control (RC) helicopters are smaller, quieter and much more nimble than ordinary helicopters, allowing them to take absurdly close-up shots.

In the sample video below, the camera nearly skims the surface of water between the docked boats in a marina near Fisherman's Wharf. It hovers with a bird's eye view over The Cliff House on the California coastline, too. Then it sweeps the city's skyline at dusk.

A company called SkyShutter has taken one of these RC helicopters and added a camera equipped with "gyro-stabilized remote-controlled gimbals," along with a live streaming video connection.

If, like me, you're both holding your breath for Sunday night's season finale of Mad Men and wishing it would never come, there is a sweepstakes here with your name on it.

In an ouroboros-like circle of marketing genius (or to television purists, perhaps expertly sinister product placement), the Hilton Hotels chain—whose founder, Conrad Hilton, was a major character in the show’s current season—is running a “Live Like a Mad Man” sweepstakes through November 15, 2009.

The grand prize is pretty impressive: a four-day, three-night New York City getaway including airfare for two, accommodations at the Waldorf-Astoria, a souvenir wardrobe item from the show, an autographed script, DVDs of the first two seasons, and gift cards for use at swanky restaurants and bars around the city.

My favorite part? The winners also get period makeovers by one of the show’s stylists. Fun! (Do you think there's a Joan wig? Or a corset/bustle combination?)

If it weren't an egregious conflict of interest (and I didn't already live in New York), I would definitely be entering the contest. But there's just a little time left! If you want to give it a shot, book a room online at hiltonfamily.com/madmen for any participating Hilton hotel around the world, and complete your stay by November 15. Winners will be chosen on or around December 7.

And if you win, you must tell us how it was. Seriously.

We're adding brand-new pages on Costa Rica and need your help to build them. Our stories regularly report on great finds, including Arenal Lodge, whose rooms have spectacular views of the volcano, from $99; Caballo Negro, a café that features local artwork and serves pasta with macadamia nut pesto; and Hotel Esperanza, which offers spa services, water sports, and horseback riding, from $88.

Share your favorite Costa Rica restaurants and hotels by posting a comment below. Keep in mind that we're most interested in affordable places that have some style and personality—and the more details, the better.

WE'RE ON IT!
Thanks for your recommendations so far in Paris, NYC, Rome, London, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Rio de Janeiro, and New Orleans. We're looking into your favorite hotels and restaurants in these cities and starting to add the best ones to our site.

Check out some of our latest reader picks: Villa Florence in San Francisco, Winchester Hotel in London, and Sunset Roma in Rome.

The holiday season really is the city’s most wonderful time of year, and it's already getting in motion. At lunchtime today, the Pond at Bryant Park and 125 surrounding holiday shops opened. Passersby crowded around the rink, even climbing onto the park’s café chairs to glimpse the synchronized Haydenettes and other professional skaters. Workers were putting the finishing touches on Celsius, a two-story rinkside restaurant and lounge.

Open through January 24, 2010, the Pond has a prime midtown location between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues—in view of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings. It’s the only free ice-skating rink in New York City, although skate rentals will set you back $12.

RELATED
Affinia Manhattan’s Real Deal includes accommodations, two skate rentals, hot chocolate, a Macy’s discount, an in-suite movie, spa products, and other goodies, from $239 a night—a savings of $125.

Air travel over Thanksgiving is no picnic, we know. But here's a perk we just heard about: Delta, in a promotion with eBay, will offer free Wi-Fi on more than 250 planes flying domestic routes over the holiday.

The promotion starts on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and lasts for a week. As passengers board, gate agents will offer up the promo code that will work on the Wi-Fi payment page. The promo code will also be available after boarding.

Read AdvertisingAge's full take on the promotion.

Nearly 1,000 pieces of luggage entrusted to the airlines went the way of Jimmy Hoffa and Amelia Earhart in the past couple of years, vanishing from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The airlines made passengers fill out piles of paperwork and provide lists of items in the lost bags. They were stuck reimbursing the losses, liable for roughly $1,000 per passenger.

So where did those hundreds of bags go?

Police think they've discovered the mother hoard. On Thursday, they arrested a couple in Waddell, Ariz., on charges they stole nearly 1,000 pieces of baggage over the course of a year.

The suspects Keith King, 61, and his wife, Stacy Lynne Legg-King, 38, were "booked on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property," according to The Arizona Republic. Police say they caught King on surveillance video. Apparently the couple tried to make money by selling the contents of the stolen luggage at yard sales and flea markets.

Congratulations to my Budget Travel member Dlj668, whose excellent photo of Venice (shown above), is the winner of our photography competition. The prize? A trip to Punta Cana!

The winner snapped the shot while on a mother/daughter trip.

Note: We don't usually showcase black-and-white shots, but this one really caught our eye for its fantastic composition and authenticity. Way to go!

The grand prize trip, supplied by Barceló Punta Cana, includes roundtrip airfare for two from the winner’s closest international airport to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—plus six nights/seven days, all-inclusive accommodations at Barceló Punta Cana (which is highly rated on TripAdvisor).

If you haven't joined myBudgetTravel yet, go to the sign-up page now! We're still looking for photos for our new food and drink series. We're also in search of fantastic nighttime photos.

MORE PHOTOS
Readers' Best Rainbow Photos

Budget Travel's new Paris city page—currently in beta—lets you post questions, recommendations, photos and more.

One completely new feature we've developed: If you're going to Paris soon, or you're just back, you can comment, ask questions, or leave recommendations and tips for other travelers—and you may hear back directly from our editors in real time, or at regularly scheduled intervals. If they do, you'll see a lime green "editor" button identifying their response.

The only thing better than visiting Paris is being able to enjoy free events in Paris. Here's a round-up of activities for the cozy month of November.

Fall foliage in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont
The city's wildest, hilliest park is exploding with autumn colors right now. Take an exhilarating urban hike around the the park's lake and cross the newly reopened suspension bridge to reach the waterfall. If that works up an appetite, you can stop inside the park at Rosa Bonheur, which has recently transformed from a simple drinks place to a full-on (affordable) restaurant. Parc des Buttes Chaumont, 19th arrondissement.

Dysfashional exhibition at the Passage du Désir, (through November 29)
This free art show has lured some of fashion's most cutting-edge designers into a pop-up exhibition space near the Canal Saint-Martin. Works from Pierre Hardy, Maison Martin Margiela, and Gaspard Yurkievich are displayed until the end of the month, when this show packs up and heads to Berlin. Passage du Désir, 85-87 rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 10th arrondissement, 011-33/1-56-41-36-04

Clotilde Dusoulier at WH Smith (November 17)
The author of the popular Chocolate & Zucchini site (who has written for Budget Travel Paris Tasting Tour and the aptly titled "My Paris Is Better Than Yours") will be celebrating her 6th "blogiversary" and discussing the editorial work she did for I Know How to Cook, the bible of French home cooking by Ginette Mathiot that was just released in the U.S. The food-love fest will begin at 7 p.m. WH Smith, 248 rue de Rivoli, 1st arrondissement, 011-33/1-44-77-88-99.

Azar Nafisi at the Village Voice Bookshop (November 20)
The author of the international bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran will discuss her new book, Things I've Been Silent About. The memoir presents Nafisi's personal story about growing up in Iran against the background of her country's political revolution. The reading will begin at 7 p.m. Village Voice Bookshop, 6 rue Princesse, 6th arrondissement, 011-33/1-46-33-36-47

Updated this summer with powerful new features, Evernote's free mobile application lets you record memories while you're on the go, using your iPhone, Blackberry, or Palm Pre.

Jot down a funny anecdote or a bit of historical trivia using your device's keyboard. Or just speak the message, using the built-in voice-recording software. The app will synch up all of your info—and any photos—with a Web service that makes them accessible from your home or office computer.

The niftiest trick? Evernote can recognize text that appears in photos you take.

There are lots of surprising travel uses for this text-recognition feature. Let's say you check out a hip new restaurant like The Breslin in New York City. And let's also say that you may have knocked back a couple glasses of wine during your meal. In hindsight, you may be a little fuzzy about which ingredient made the house smoked ham so delicious.

Now let's say you anticipated this problem by taking a photo of the menu. Evernote lets you search for keywords, such as the restaurant's name or a word like "ham." Then it fetches the image of the relevant menu. (A-ha! The ingredient was piccalilli!)

A month passes. You're standing in the aisles of the wine store and you wish you could remember the name of the great wine you sampled at The Breslin.

Whip out your smartphone, search on the words "wine" (or "pinot," etc.), and the image of the menu with the exact details of the wine will appear.

The fare wars are on, with plenty of airlines slashing rates for post-holiday travel. Deals include Midwest's Omaha to Ft. Lauderdale for $104 each way. Find the deals at Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheaptickets, Priceline, and other search engines.

In a clever move, Omni Hotels has latched on to the fare wars by launching a Winter 72-Hour Sale. Beginning today and running through Thursday, Nov. 5, guests can book luxury accomodations at Omni Hotels for up to 40 percent off in the same destinations as the winter fare sales. Rates from $69. You can't beat that for an Omni!

Eighteen hotels, mostly in the southern half of the U.S., are included in this offer. (See the complete list.)

A case in point: Newly built and opened last January, The Omni Fort Worth Hotel is sculpted from native stone and rich hardwoods and wrapped in glass. It houses 1,929 pieces of artwork, all commissioned by Texas artists, and its 614 guest rooms and suites are distinguished with an authentic Texas decor.

The property has sale rates from $199, roughly 40 percent off typical rates.

(If you book a room here, be sure to read Budget Travel's excellent round-up, "25 Reasons We Love Fort Worth.")

Travel must happen between Dec. 2, 2009 and Feb. 10, 2010, excluding New Year's Eve. For more info, please visit Omni Hotels 72-Hour Sale website.

Once upon a time, at least according to Paris legend, it was possible to dine exceedingly well for not a lot of money. Are those days over?

Since I began writing this blog series a year ago, I've become obsessed with finding "affordable" restaurants to share with BT readers. I've asked everyone from famous food critics to my local hairdresser, and the answer is always the same: "What do you mean by affordable?"

In a town where fine dining can cost hundreds of euros, many people agree that €35 is fair for a three-course menu—assuming that the meal is good. There are plenty of restaurants (let's say about forty) that are putting out special and memorable food for that price.

€35, however, is too steep for many people, especially those who are financing the fun with their declining-value dollars. As I wrote back in June, the weakened buying power of the U.S. dollar is presenting a serious challenge for budget-minded travelers. The €35 tab, which thankfully includes tax and tip, is now $51 for Americans. That's not something that most people can do every night.

In my food-obsessed opinion, every traveler should experience at least one special meal during their time in Paris. For that splurge, the Internet is full of good restaurant recommendations. Check out this selection of Top 10 Paris Food Blogs, as well as my new favorite, Paris Kitchen.
 
For all of the other meals, however, there's not a lot in the way of current and useful information. That's where Budget Travel is going to step in and help. In the coming weeks, we'll be adding a heap of affordable restaurant reviews to our site. In additional to my own suggestions, we'd love to investigate and publish your best ideas for affordable dining. And by affordable, we mean eating (not drinking) for under €20.
 
Can it be done? Tell us how in the comments.

Here's an exception to the widespread trend of car rentals getting more and more expensive.

Thrifty Car Rental needs some of its inventory moved to Florida for the peak winter season. Rather than hiring driver or putting cars on trucks, Thrifty is offering $1-per-day rentals to travelers who are willing to take off soon and drive one way to the Sunshine State.

As you might expect for such an extraordinary deal, there are quite a few restrictions. First, the pick-up areas are limited: Cars can be picked up only in three Texas airports (Corpus Christi, Houston Hobby, and Houston Intercontinental) or in three New England airports (Boston, Burlington, and Providence). Next, the drop-off locations are also limited (not so bad) to your choice of nine major airports in Florida, including Key West, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, or Jacksonville. This is a completely last-minute offer as well, available only through November 15. There's a seven-day maximum rental period, and, finally, availability is limited.

If you can make those requirements work for you on such short notice, a mid-size rental can be yours at a rate of $1 per day (taxes and fees are extra). Reserve asap at Thrifty.com.

In the past, car rental agencies have offered similar seasonal one-way car rental deals, but more often than not, the daily rates have been $10. National Car Rental has a one-way to Florida promotion right now, but it's cheapest cars are going for $30 a day, which hardly seems like a bargain at all. This is more or less to be expected considering that car rental rates have more than doubled in the past year.

To keep your travel expenses down, check out this AP story revealing "Tips for getting the best deal when you rent a car," which prominently features quotes and tips from BT's editor Nina Willdorf.

This morning, Budget Travel's Editor in Chief Nina Willdorf spoke on NBC's The Today Show. As part of the show's special series "Things They Don't Want You to Know," Nina talked about what the travel industry doesn't want you to know—from rental cars to airport luggage scales. Take a look:

Back in March, we reported on the new bike-sharing program in Montreal called Bixi (a combo of the words bike and taxi). The inexpensive program allows travelers to rent a bike in one solar-powered station and return it at another, all for about $5 plus a usage fee. The first 30 minutes are free.

After some initial, to-be-expected glitches, Bixi has been a success in Montreal, so much so that the model has been picked up by two major metropolitan centers—Boston and London.

With a tentative launch of summer 2010, the London system will have 6,000 bikes at 400 stations available 24/7, while Boston will have 2,500 bikes at 290 stations in the downtown area.

Bike-sharing programs are like eco-friendly taxis. You pick up and leave the bike at a spot that's convenient for you while being kind to nature in the process. Possibly the most famous bike-sharing program is Paris's Velib system; according to the Montreal Gazette, the city of Paris estimates the two-year-old program has saved about 15,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per 20,000 bikes. The Velib is not without problems, though. A recent New York Times story reported that 80 percent of the program's 20,600 original bikes were vandalized or stolen. This doesn't seem to be happening in Montreal. The Velib also requires a certain kind of credit card to work; it remains to be seen whether London's system will have this same kind of restriction. Stay tuned!

See our video on how to use Paris's Velib bike system.

New York City: Free bikes for downtown visitors

Rent a Bike in Europe for Nearly Nothing