World War Two Wrecks of Truk Lagoon

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Death and destruction came to the tiny Pacific outpost of Truk Lagoon in February 1944. Operation Hailstone was designed to destroy as much of the Japanese fleet and surrounding island bases as possible over the course of two days and stop the Japanese advance across the Pacific. While many of Japan's larger battleships and destroyers had left for Palau and other regions of the Pacific fearing an imminent attack, the allies still found over 60 ships in the lagoon, sinking over 45 and damaging many others. Of 365 Japanese planes, over 270 were destroyed in the air or on the ground.

In 1970, Truk Lagoon again came to the attention of the world through Jacques Cousteau's survey of the collection of shipwrecks and aircraft on the sea floor. Truk Lagoon is now on every shipwreck enthusiast's bucket list.

World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon by Dan E Bailey is the definitive guide to the build-up to the air strikes, the events of Operation Hailstone and details 52 shipwrecks and 5 aircraft wrecks that are lying on the seabed. The first section of the book deals with the history of Japanese expansion into Truk Lagoon and its development into a naval base. The days of the allied raid are comprehensively covered, with decoded intercepted messages and black and white images included.

The author is an expert on the wrecks of Truk Lagoon, having been diving there since the early 1970s. He has exhaustively researched the wartime records and pieced together information from other Pacific war researchers to compile the information relating to the raid. With over thirty years of diving on the wrecks, he has built a comprehensive guide to each one including background history, wreck description and diving notes complete with colour photographs of the most interesting artifacts.

What's nice about World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon is that you can slip into whatever areas that interest you easily and quickly. It's well laid out and everything is easy to find. If it's just the wreck information that you're after, then the information is complete in itself but the options are there to delve further into the history of each individual ship or get involved in the detail of Operation Hailstone.

I bought this book on my way home from my first trip to Truk. Apart from wishing that I knew of it before I went... it gave me a greater insight into the wrecks that I'd just dived on. Some of these wrecks are so big that there is no chance of see everything in one or two dives - this book will fill you in on the bits you missed and help guide you on your next trip back.

It's hardcover and over 500 pages long so it's not a book easily carried with you but if you're planning a dive trip to Truk, you've just been or you're a Pacific war enthusiast then you need this book on your coffee table or bookshelf.

Jane Mitchell is a scuba diving instructor who works at a public aquarium for her day job. She loves introducing people to the joys that can be found underwater and discovering everything she can about shipwrecks and sharks.

Her website is http://www.shipwrecksandsharks.com/

Where Can I Find Direction When Traveling?

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Nothing beats that intuitive sense that says, "I know exactly where I'm going." Unfortunately, we are simply not programmable, as robots are. We cannot just download directions into our brains to be stored forever, so we rely on maps. Over the years, mapping has become so much more than just street maps and road atlas functions. Today we use online maps to advise us on local businesses, news, weather, traffic and more.

Google Maps has become the template of choice for a number of local food maps. At Menurequest, you can plot restaurants on a map of your city, as well as read/write reviews, make reservations and get driving directions. In Philadelphia, Communitywalk is an amazing resource for local event organizers who want to ask a number of nearby restaurants to participate.

At Toeat, you will find a number of dining options in your neighborhood. In major cities like NY, Paris, Bangkok and Chicago, you will find baked goods at Yummybaguette. Or you may need to get your burrito fix at Burritophile. Drinkers can appreciate Wineandtimes, which helps plan a winery tour, as well as Drinktown, which lets you know all the local booze specials.

Google Maps is not the only "mashup maker" on the block, of course. A number of non-Google applications have popped up to serve a wide variety of functions. For instance, if you live on a fault line, then visit Lerdorf, as you may appreciate the "Real-Time Earthquake Map." If you are looking for nearby bloggers, movie showtimes, gas prices or driving directions, then you can see "Atlas" (based on MSN's Virtual Earth platform) at Atlas Freshlogicstudios.

One of the most popular mapping sites is Flickr, where amateur photographers can share their pictures and create maps of their favorite places, people and things. Readers have given rave reviews for Gutenkarte, where lit lovers can read full books (such as Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days") chapter by chapter, while viewing a map of the locations discussed in the book. If you prefer news to fiction, don't miss the world and local news at Mappedup or Poly9 Viavirtualearth (where MSNBC news is plotted out on a map!)

You can find directions on your computer, on your GPS device or even on your cell phone. The trend is that programmers are finding ways of bringing online maps to you, no matter where you are. For instance, if you find yourself lost somewhere with little time to recoup, never fear: Loki can track your location via satellite and send you a map to your next location on your mobile phone. A number of phones, from the iPhone to the Android G1, are making MapQuest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps technology available to you when you are on-the-go.

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Everywhere There Are Signs - Book Review on Signage

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Signs are a form of communication in our society and civilization, they warn us, alert us, and help us stay safe from harm. They help navigate and simplify our lives, well, if they are done right. If not, they can cause problems, sending us the wrong way, having us stare at them too long, which causes challenges in driving, riding a bike, or maneuvering to our intended lane, or destination, it matters, just think about that.

Think about parking structures, signs for elevators, bathrooms, food, or office directories. How about Corporate Logo signage, drive-through arrows, and the time it takes to read a sign and then act upon that information while driving down the freeway?

There is a lot of planning and designing that goes into signage, a lot more than you think, and this was originally brought to my attention at our Online style Think Tank by one of our visiting members, who recommended this very good book to me to read - the name of the book is:

"Architectural Signing and Graphics," by John Follis and Dave Hammer, published by Architectural Press Ltd., London, 1979, pp. 232, ISBN: 0-85139-060-9.

One of the authors John Follis created the signage for the Los Angeles Bicentennial and for Disney World, and was a major pioneer in the revolutionary changes in the industry. David Hammer had worked with Sears, Bank of America, and many other top corporations designing all of their building signage, and an incredible photographer.

What a great book indeed, with information and consideration of the real human factors involved in signage, language, and time to decipher while driving or moving. There is also project analysis and planning topics discussed and debated. Fabrication and materials, as well as longevity is also talked about. There are examples from well over 25 designers of modern signage systems. How the use of common symbols, alphabet also work for Hospitals (H), Parking (P), or Airport (A).

Now then this is a large illustrated book and the authors have written research papers, and studied uncountable others. Although it was written and produced some 30+ years ago, it gives us all a reality and history check, it's amazing how many examples in this book, and ideas are common place today, I mean the sign concepts for the future in this book can be seen everywhere in Europe, China, Australia, South America, the US, Canada, Mexico, and all across the Middle East and African Continent.

You will learn about typography, cultural issues to be accounted for in design, and the use of fonts, and how associations and industries must work together to standardize. How the EU, USA, and other neighboring nations must work together to build consistency, and there is talk about royalty payments for designers, and international symbol usage. Learn how to implement, design, and supervise a large project with signs spanning many sectors, nations, and industries.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

What Are the Available Restaurant Maps Online?

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Traditionally, when people were looking for a new restaurant, they would pick up a copy of Zagat's or some other fancy food guide. But in just a few short years, online maps have come a long way and now offer local information on businesses, shops and eateries too. Sites like Google Maps allow users to create their own maps of favorite establishments that they can save or share with friends and family. There are hundreds of food maps online, although a few noteworthy ideas have risen to the top.

On the West Coast, what could be better than eating a real, authentic Mexican taco out of a truck? With heaping portions, loads of options and mama's homemade guacamole, you just cannot go wrong. You just can't get that level of deliciousness from a restaurant, Californians say. However, it can be tricky to locate these trucks, especially if you are from out-of-town. Thus, Yumtacos was born.

Creator Joshua Lurie-Terrell of Sacramento, California said he had been keeping a list of the best taco trucks for quite some time. "As soon as friends of mine knew I had this list, people were calling me all the time," he admits. From there, transferring the data onto a Google map was no problem. Once the site was live, people could add their own taco truck sightings. Yum Tacos primarily focuses on California, although authentic Mexican taco trucks have been plotted from as far away as Baltimore, Maryland.

Another site, Chinesefoodmap, is based on mapping out the Chinese restaurant locations for Chinese immigrants. Web users will also have access to reviews, menus, driving directions and other local information. Creator Brian Hui first created this site only in Chinese and focusing on Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Chinese food establishments. However, the site has grown nationwide to metros like Houston, Seattle and Atlanta, and an English version inevitably popped up as well.

Users of Google Maps have created a number of restaurant "mashups" based on the Google template. One of the most notable sites is Menurequest, which features more than 5,000 links in New York, San Diego, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Napa Valley, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington DC. Users can visit the restaurant's website, read reviews, get driving directions and make online reservations through this amazing map. These are just a few of the food maps available to culinary curators. Perhaps your very own city has a site designed just for hungry local residents like you.

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