What is a Walrus Super Blimp? It is a giant heavy lift Blimp being evaluated by the United States Department of Defense’s special research division; DARPA. What is DARPA? Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. You see they have been looking at how to move more for less? Imagine having to move millions of tons of fighting gear to the battle area? Well giant blimps may hold the key, because they are cheap to operate, can carry lots of weight and save lots of money.

The Walrus Super Blimps will soon be out to bid to see who can come up with a suitable design and plan. It is too bad we did not have four or five of them to pick up all the people in New Orleans who did not have a ride out of the city before Hurricane Katrina. Imagine giant blimps picking them all up and taking them to Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio? Then when that darn levee broke which most people suspected it might a blimp could have had 20 cargo containers filled with sand and simply lowered them into the breach to slow down the water flow and then used sand bags to fill in the spaces between? Or it might have picked up broken pieced of I-10 bridge sections and laid them on their sides covering the hole in the levee? Then the Army Corp of Engineers could quickly shore up the levee system and get the pumps and power back working and all those lives would have been saved?

Why don’t we have a couple of squadrons of heavy lifting blimps for such things? Don’t worry we will, but it may take a couple of years. Boy are they going to be a life saver? Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” – Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Overview
Hamburg is a German city situated on the Elbe River, and its port is one of the ten most important in the world. The city’s center is defined by the streets Spitaler Straße and Mönckebergstraße and is mostly a shopping district, though there are a few notable sightseeing attractions in the area. However, you’ll find more valuable sights in the areas around both the city hall and St. Nikolai. The harbor area hosts a few decent sightseeing attractions, though it is the most modernized city district. This is the area that is most tourist-oriented, with the majority of the city’s hotels, bars, restaurants, cafes, and clubs.

Sightseeing Attractions
Around the city’s center, you’ll find the remains of two once-important Hamburg structures: the bishops tower, built in the 11th century, and the Hammaburg fortress, built in the 9th century. Hamburg’s city hall is an impressive structure and is surrounded by other notable buildings such as Rathaushof and Rathausmarkt. Around St. Nikolai, you’ll find Hamburg’s oldest remaining bridge, the Zollenbrücke from the 17th century, and the remains of the church itself are a sight worth seeing, especially the Vierländerinbrunnen fountain that sits in front of the ruins. Finally, the Auswandererhalle is a major sight for its historical notoriety.

Museum, Theater, and Outdoor Attractions
Hamburg is home to several world-renowned museums, some of the more notable being Deichtorhallen, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, and Kunsthalle. Hamburg is also a city that is heavily influenced by theater. There are many fantastic theaters scattered throughout the city, including Deutsches Schauspielhaus, the Ernst-Deutsch Theater, and the Laeiszhalle. There are several beaches in the area between Övelgönne and Blankenese, and these are nice places for a swim or a picnic in the summer. Additionally, Hamburg has many fantastic parks. Some of the more popular include the Alter Botanischer Garten, Planten un Bloomen, Ohlsdorfer Friedhof, and Hagenbecks Tierpark.

Nightlife
Hamburg’s main shopping district runs along the Mönckebergstraße in the city’s center, though the Schanzenviertel has recently been gaining popularity for its boutiques. Dining establishments are not hard to discover in Hamburg — they can be found on just about any corner, offering traditional German dishes alongside other worldly cuisines. Nightlife is fierce in Hamburg. In fact, Hamburg’s Red-Light District, the Reeperbahn in Sankt Pauli, is world-famous for its party scene. In this district, you’ll find hundreds of bars, pubs, and nightclubs, offering everything from live bands to DJ-controlled techno music, traditional German beers to unique cocktails with liqueurs that are found only in Germany. Prostitution is legal and abundant in this district, and sex shops are scattered around the streets. Overall, it’s the location of the best party scene in the city.

Jessica Elliott is a freelance writer for directoryofhotels.com/ Directory of Hotels.com – Hip Cool Hotels. For travel to this region, she recommends staying at any one of these fine
directoryofhotels.com/europe/hotels_germany_hamburg.asp Small Hotels in Hamburg.

Although many people think of travel Spain vacations as a summer destination, there is plenty to do in all seasons. There are many unique experiences and attractions to enjoy at all times of the year. Outdoor activities such as skiing, water sports and rock climbing are great for the nature lover. Museums, old churches and festivals allow you to experience the history and culture of this unique country.

Travel Spain Outdoor Activities

While many people think of outdoor activities as confined to the summer, there is plenty to do all year in Spain. Depending on the area you visit, there are activities available in all seasons to enjoy the outdoors and nature.

The beaches and sun make the Mediterranean coast a popular tourist destination. The Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol are the most popular spots for enjoying the beaches and water sports in the summer months. The weather is sunny and hot. There are a large number of resorts and spas in both the large cities and small towns of the Mediterranean coast.

Running with the Bulls is another popular summer attraction in the summer. This festival is celebrated in the month of July. The festival attracts people from all over the world. If you are brave, you may want to participate in running with the bulls. Otherwise, you can observe the event and join in with the other parts of the festival.

Skiing is a popular attraction in many of the mountain areas of Spain. Some of the top resorts for winter sports are located in this country. There are excellent ski resorts in Aragon, Torremolinos, Malaga and Catabunya. Skiing can be enjoyed in various areas from the early winter through late spring months.

The late spring is an interesting time to go skiing in the mountains near the Mediterranean coast. At this time of the year, there is snow in the higher elevations. The weather outside the mountain range is warm and sunny. In this area, you can go skiing in the morning hours and enjoy the beach in the afternoon.

Rock climbing and hiking are popular outdoor activities in many areas of Spain. There are several sites throughout the country that are popular with avid climbers. You can go on a rock climbing tour or with a private group. Tours are a good idea for less experienced climbers. Many include some basic instruction in rock climbing.

Travel Spain Attractions

There are many world renowned museums in cities around Spain. Madrid and Barcelona are home to several large museums. Other smaller cities and villages are home to museums which showcase the art and history of the country. These give you the opportunity to experience the culture and history of each region.

Spain is home to a large number of festivals. Many of these are held in the spring and summer seasons. There are a variety of processions, patron saint festivals and religious celebrations in local villages. Several towns have summer music festivals. These are a great way to interact with locals and enjoy the local customs. There are processions during the day and parties at night during many of these festivals.

Holy Week activities are popular attractions in the spring months. These are held in towns and cities all over this predominantly catholic nation. There are plays, processions and activities that commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Catholics from all over the world visit Spain during Holy Week. They are interesting to many non Catholics as well. There are festivals held surrounding the Holy Week activities throughout the country.

Jack Blacksmith’s articles are published on lots of web sites linked to Spain and Spanish culture. You can learn about his observations on alicante-spain.com/spain-tips/jobs.html jobs in Spain and Spanish culture over at his site and many different sources for Spain news.

If you own a boat maintenance business you need to be providing winterization services to your customers. Many boat owners who get to know you may trust you to help them winterize their boats. The best place to store a boat is under a cover in a controlled climate environment. This can be very costly and although there is debate on whether a boat should be “shrink-wrapped” for winter or not that too is very costly.

Since during the winter you will be requested to either halt services or curb washing to a frequency of every two months. Of course, the charge for these washings will be at double or triple the weekly price but you still lose a lot of weekly wash monies. If you charge $20 for weekly washing then that is $160 for two months of washes instead of $60 every two months for one wash. Including snow and debris removal.

Your solution is easy. Get the $60 for the washing every two months plus charge a $200 winterizing fee which includes weekly walk-byes for no additional charge. On those check-up days, cruise by the slip or dry storage and make sure the covers and tie downs are all secure. Boat owners seldom find time to get down and check on their boat during the four to six month ‘dormant period’. You would normally make $320 for washing a boat weekly for four months (4 months = 16 weeks), (16 x $20 = $320). During the winter if you wash the boat twice then that’s $120 plus $200 for your winterizing service. This equals the same amount of money.

Here are some of the services you can do as part of your ‘dormant period’ winterizing service. Now, before we list all these services, remember the obvious… a boat detail, window treatment coating, coating of metal parts (tuna towers, tie downs, horns, hooks, aluminum striping, propellers, etc.). If the boat is going into dry-dock how about an www.ADSIL.com coating. Hull only $30 per foot in Florida, $60 to $70 per foot in California, $50 to $60 per foot in the northeast. That can certainly add up on a 23 foot Sea Ray. And, of course, there are boat painters’ referral fees and even engine, canvas covers, etc. bird dog fees. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” – Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/