I am also new to the list and I reside in Northern California (Tracy). I have been a fan of the leaf for going on 4 years and I just stumbled across this site and I can say hands down it is the best.
I am an avid Nicuraguan fan Oliva, Padron and Padilla are some of my favorites. My tastes vary depending on the time of day...
I loved the post regarding improving one's palate.
My walk around is a 9x18 Makarov. For the price you cannot beat them. Practically a 'throw away' check them out at makarov.com as they are going fast...
In closing, has anyone ever smoked this little cigar wannabe called a Acid Blondie? This guy at work swears by them but IMHO life is too short to smoke bad cigars!