A period of uncertainty

When was this written?

"It is one of the most melancholy reflections of the present day, that while wealth and capital have been rapidly increasing, while science and art have been working the most surprising miracles in aid of the human family, and while morality, intelligence, and civilization have been rapidly extending on all hands;- that at this time, the great material interests of the higher and middle classes, and the physical condition of the labouring and industrial classes, are more and more marked by characters of uncertainty and insecurity."

Though the argument could probably have been made at any time since the early Nineteenth Century and up to a minute ago, the fact that the quote above is a single sentence gives us a big clue. Actually, it’s 1843, it’s from The Economist, and it’s from the first issue included in The Economist Archive, 1843 to 2003.

I nearly didn’t cover The Economist Archive this week, since it’s been causing us a bit of trouble. A gremlin seems to have crept into the Westminster Libraries computer system, making it rather difficult to use this otherwise highly impressive new resource. But it doesn’t seem to affect access elsewhere, so I decided I would tell you about it after all.

It’s a subscription website – you know the drill, Westminster Libraries pay the sub, so you need a library card to use it at home. Got your card? Good, then read on…

The archive is a complete facsimile of The Economist from 1843 to 2003. Like The Times Digital Archive, you can search it like any other database but, when you click on to the item you want, it pops up looking just as it did when it was published, complete with off-white background and a hint of staples at one side. In fact the early issues come complete with scuff marks and ink blots – very atmospheric.

If you want to go into more depth than The Times (so we’re talking a long way from shallow) The Economist can do very deep indeed. Sometimes po-faced, sometimes waspish and petulant, there’s a lot of opinion here, all mixed up with the news. Not many pictures, but there are the charts and tables for which The Economist has become rightly respected, and these can be downloaded in a number of ways, as well as in facsimile form.

Jokes and light relief? – a bit thin on the ground, I’m afraid. But if your idea of a good laugh is to read some very thorough hatchet-jobs on erring politicians, this The Economist can do in spades. Good digging.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Newspapers and magazines". The Economist Archive is a Key link.)



Picture Credit: The Economist

Curl up with a good eBook

Be careful as you come out of your local supermarket. Drop your receipt in the street, and the chances are that someone will digitise it and bung it on the Internet. It’s not cheap to digitise material which was previously only available in print - you either need a charitable handout, or you need subscribers to share the costs. Let’s have a look (in reverse order) at one of each of these.

Searching for the sausages

Gale Virtual Reference Library is paid for by subscription. In our case, Westminster Libraries have coughed up the dosh, and library cardholders get the service by using a library computer, or by entering their card numbers elsewhere.

It covers a wide range of subjects (well, they include Arts, Biography, Business, Education, Environment, History, Information & Publishing, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Religion, Science, and Social Science, since you ask). But it isn’t a database, with all the stuff in one virtual pile on the Gale server.

It is just over 120 eBooks, each of which has been digitised and added to the library. Each eBook has a publication date, and its contents will remain constant until a new edition is substituted. With me so far? Good. Well here’s the clever bit: even though they’re individual volumes, you can search them all together. So when I put in my usual test search word, "sausages", I am offered entries from the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, the Writers Directory and Countries and Their Cultures.

Then, if I like the look of Countries and Their Cultures, for instance, I can browse it by going back to the home page. It’s rather clunky: I am faced with a list of subjects with +s by them. But if I can’t guess where my target eBook is hiding, I can click "show all" to reveal the whole list of volumes in the library. Then I can go exploring.

Gale Virtual Reference Library needs a bit of work on the Welcome Mat, but once you’re inside it’s a library well worth spending time in.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Quick reference". Gale Virtual Reference Library is under "Dictionary and encyclopaedias".)

Thanks a hundred million

Project Gutenberg is an example of the Fairy Godmother school of web publishing. A chap called Michael Hart was given $100,000,000 worth of computer time by the University of Illinois. If that isn’t being in the right place at the right time, my name’s not Santa Claus.

Michael decided that digitising out-of-copyright books and making them freely available was the best way to spend his windfall. As you can imagine, the subsequent story is long and complicated, and if you like you can read about it in an account rather longer than some of the books!

What we need to know immediately is that there are over 20,000 eBooks in the collection, with another 80,000 available through partners and affiliates. You can spend days exploring the treasure trove of texts, or you can use the search box to find the one you want.

If it’s there, you will usually be offered a variety of delivery methods. You can view an HTML or plain text version on your screen (or print it off if you have enough paper and strong arms), or you can download an electronic version which works on some of those little handheld devices – Palm organisers, smartphones, and so on.

Good work Michael. I imagine the University are satisfied that their computer time was well spent.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Books", then select "Online books" for Project Gutenberg.)

Picture credit: johnsense/morguefile.com

The choice is yours

Choice continues to be a buzzword with politicians. Choice is now compulsory, even when it’s between substandard goods or services. So when I was told about NHS Choices, and that it was similar to but better than NHS Direct, I was sceptical (now I’ve shocked you).

It’s all a bit strange, actually. NHS Direct is still there (last time I looked), with all the features which led us to put it on the Gateway in the first place: information about the NHS and the 24 hour advice line staffed by nurses; a self-help guide; a search box for local services such as doctors and dentists; and a health encyclopaedia explaining key medical concepts.

Now along comes NHS Choices, doing all the same things. What’s going on? My theory is that Choices is a development of Direct, and that they are keeping Direct going for the time being, in case Choices collapses. Given the government’s record with IT projects, that may prove a wise decision.

Doctor Where

We’ll keep an eye on all that, but in the meantime we’ve plumped for NHS Choices on the Gateway, prompted by its better performance in the finding-a-doctor department. When you first look at the home page, the search box simply says "enter a search term" – not very helpful. But if you click "GPs" in the grey box, the search box changes, to "place, postcode or organisation". Pop in your postcode, to get a list of local doctors (or dentists or hospitals, with more options).

The advantage of NHS Choices is that each item on the list has the information you need to choose a doctor. The distance from your home, the clinics the surgery runs, whether they are accepting new patients, whether they have early or late surgeries: all these are given, along with full contact details. Click on an individual entry for surgery and opening times. The print version seems to include all the information from the web page – now there’s a novelty!

I have concentrated on the "finder" function, but the site is also groaning with health advice, some of it interactive. My eye was also caught by the "compare hospitals" feature. This is a bit clunky – you have to do a lot of clicking to build up a comparison – but it’s a good start, and will be even more worthwhile when they start to get (and publish) feedback scores.

We’re getting flashier

By the way, if you are using a Westminster Libraries computer, you may find difficulty using some of the interactive functions on NHS Choices and some other websites. This is because they need the latest version of Flash (whizzy software). The bad news is that we don’t have it, but the good news is that it’s coming next month.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Health & medicine". NHS Choices is a Key link.)

Picture credit: click/morguefile.com

Tunnel vision

Web Treasure Hunt often features websites which have recently been added to the Gateway to websites. Obvious really – once they’re on the Gateway, show them off and get people using them. Reviewing the last year’s additions, I started to check out how they had stood the test of time. Here’s one which caught the eye again…

Metro magic

You know how it is. You’re jetting off for a weekend city break, you’ve managed to cram your stuff into a bag the size of a crisp packet to satisfy both Mr O’Leary and the security checker, and you start browsing the guides (print or online) to get the most out of your trip.

One of the keys is to crack the local transport system. You know your city has a metro system, and the guide book tells you which ticket is the best value. The book even has a map. The problem is that you don’t have 20/20 vision, the station names are printed in 4-point type, and the stop near your hotel is just outside the central area shown. You could try the local transport undertaking’s website – often a less-than-rewarding experience – or you could go straight to Subway Maps.

It does exactly… This clever, utterly simple website, has collected the subway/underground/metro maps from cities around the world. From Glasgow’s "Clockwork Orange" to Tokyo’s breathtakingly-complicated pile of subway spaghetti, they’ve got them. A glance at London will demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation.

The site uses a standard graphic system to show the systems, not the maps used locally. In many cases, the standard version is much better than the dog’s breakfast you see on the platform. In the case of London, the Subway Maps version serves only to remind you how clear and elegant is Frank Pick’s "official" map.

So if you’re staying in London, pick up a map as you pass a tube station. If you’re off to Bilbao or Bangkok, though, Subway Maps is worth a look.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". Subway Maps is under "Other Links/Rail".)

Picture credit: n-k-teko/morguefile.com

Get away!

I sympathise with people whose job is to pick the prize-winning novel from a sea of mediocre manuscripts, or cast the lead role from amongst the starlets who strut their stuff to so little effect.

My sympathy arises from the fact that we get sent suggestions for new websites for the Gateway, sometimes from the actual promoters of the sites. We always try to give these a fair consideration, but for a variety of reasons – too commercial, too narrow, just crap – we have to reject quite a lot of them. But there are exceptions…

Fly me to the moon… or Malaga if it’s cheaper

We got a request to include airlinedestinations from Paul Keogh-Davies who, with his partner Rachael, aims to provide

"an independent, impartial guide to 'who flies where' and aims to help people get the best information and save money by listing every flight, on every airline (scheduled/budget or charter) out of all the UK's airports -(large and small, from Heathrow to Inverness)."

I was a bit surprised that this information is not readily available already, but a bit of digging proved that it is indeed difficult to find. Although you can find information on where Airline A flies to, or which airlines serve Airport B, there is a distinct lack of websites which pull it all together.

airlinedestinations takes it a stage further by listing flights regionally, so you don’t have to scratch your head trying to remember which nearby airports you should check out. The flight map shows which airports constitute each regional cluster. Click on a region to get an index of countries served from that region, and click on your preferred destination to get details of who flies there and from which airport. Slightly confusingly, the indexes are based on a standard, catch-all list, so a destination is only served if its name is underlined as a link. But as soon as you realise that, it ceases to be a problem.

Extras include travel advice, featuring links to and tips from the Foreign Office, some wise words on why you need insurance, and the sort of packing checklist which you sneer at before you go, and wish you’d printed off when you arrive at the poolside without your swimsuit.

What’s in it for the website promotors? They get a small rake-off every time you click on any of the adverts. But they do not plug these companies in the text, and the ads are at the bottom end of the annoyance range.

If there are snags, I haven’t found them yet. Paul and Rachael seem to have identified a gap, and used their professional experience to fill it. Good stuff.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". airlinedestinations is under "Other Links/Air".)

Picture credit: hotblack/morguefile.com

How green was my Gateway

When we were tinkering with the Gateway to websites recently, we tried to draw together some useful websites for green types of a practical disposition. So here are a couple of recycling suggestions, and a route-finder for shanks’s pony.

Pick out the useful bits

RecycleNow combines good practical suggestions with some really naff trendyspeak. All the stuff about integrated advertising campaigns and "celebrity ambassadors" is probably more about getting government funding than it is about serious recycling. But ignore the guff and you’ve got some helpful hints on what and where to recycle.

The A to Z list gives general advice about whether you will be likely to be able to include an item in your recycling sack, box or bin. Even more useful is a search box where you can insert your postcode. What you get is a map showing local recycling points, and a cut-out-and-keep list of what your local authority will collect from the kerbside.

RecycleNow’s home page (which rather tediously mentioned Christmas card recycling four times when I looked!) has tabs at the top which lead to news and features.

Aimed at Westminster residents, with local information and links, Recycling in Westminster is another source of sound advice.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Environment & geography". RecycleNow and Recycling in Westminster are both under "Going green".)

Steps in the right direction

I love Walkit. It does one thing and it does it darned well. To quote from the website:
"We want to get people walking more. We think walking in and around town can often be a smart choice. No timetables to keep to, no journey delays, no overcrowding, healthy, green, free, direct, access to services (and sunlight!) en route."

I think the bit about sunshine is just some sort of joke, but the rest is great. Pick a couple of points in London (or Birmingham, Edinburgh or Newcastle/Gateshead), and the nice Walkit computer will find you a choice of routes, either direct or "less busy". Since I intended to walk from Baker Street to the Aldwych, these were the locations I naturally chose.

The direct route cut a knife through the West End, and would have got me there in quick time. The "less busy" route was a bit longer and much more complicated (turns and twists galore), but avoided the worst of the main roads very neatly.

As well as telling the distance involved, I got information about the calories I would burn (depending on whether I stepped out or sauntered) and the carbon dioxide I would save compared with a car, taxi or bus journey. There is a cost: unless you have a really good memory you would need, especially for the "less busy" route, to print out a map and directions. What percentage of a tree this represents is not divulged. Less damaging to the environment than driving, I guess.

Oh, if you’re taking a walk to lose weight or save money, ignore the notes about the restaurants you pass!

.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Environment & geography". Walkit is under "Going green".)

Picture credit: xpistwv/morguefile.com

The cream (or so they say)

Our brand new way of getting Who’s Who online coincides with the publication of the new edition and the addition of over a thousand more of the great and the… good heavens, is that the time? Must get on!

Cuddly not clunky

Who’s Who has been available, through KnowUK or Credo Reference, for several years. And we know from the stats (Big Brother really is watching you) that Who’s Who is the top-used resource on both databases. So why mess with it?
Well, the Credo version is a bit clunky, and the KnowUK version is even clunkier. Step up to the plate, Oxford University Press. They have just launched a new, cuddly version of Who’s Who 2008, together with Who was Who for the late-greats.

It looks a lot like the online version of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) - this is a Good Thing. Just like the ODNB, Who’s Who is searchable in oodles of different ways, and it looks nice when you get to the actual entries.

Different perspectives

In some ways, of course, Who’s Who is not like the ODNB. The entries are written by the subjects, and even when someone dies, and their entry transfers to Who was Who, it remains their own assessment of themselves. So unless you’re a very honest crook, you’re unlikely to list your criminal activities in your Who’s Who spiel. In the ODNB, on the other hand, the biogs are written by people who are often happy to spill the beans.

For a hilarious example, try looking up Robert Maxwell. His Who was Who entry is a model of non-communication. Self-educated captain of industry, benefactor and all-round good egg – it’s all there in Who was Who. The ODNB entry starts with the words "publisher and swindler", and goes on to expose every last bit of his monstrous life.

Bearing its limitations in mind, the new version of Who’s Who is an extra gem glittering in the crown of Westminster Libraries exclusive resources for library members.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Biography". Who’s Who is a Key Link, as is the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Or go to
www.westminster.gov.uk/libraries/ict/exclusive.cfm for a complete list of all the fantastic resources which come free with a library card.)


Picture credit: about.com

It's the Web Treasure Hunt Quiz!

This quiz is designed to give you an excuse to revisit some of the year's posts on this blog, and the websites we have featured from our Gateway to websites. Westminster Libraries staff receive this by email, with an incentive in the form of chocolate as prizes. No chocs on the blog, unfortunately, but we hope you will find it a bit of fun.

Big hint: each question contains keywords (or suggests keywords) which will go quite nicely into the search box at the top of this page. Of course, if you prefer to scan each post, that's OK too!

The questions

1. How did Lady Chatterley go on the record this year?


2. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? What on earth (or rather, what on the Web) is Zoho?


3. I urgently need a recipe to use up some pork and… let me see – oh yes, a few apples. Who can help me?


4. I’ve quite forgotten where we buried Auntie Nellie. Any suggestions? (The website will suffice – I don’t insist that you track her down personally.)


5. I’m sure the CIA are a blessing to the whole free world, but where will they give me just the facts?


6. OK, I should be able to cook a turkey by now, but which nice lady will give me some tips?


7. I have a rather old-fashioned CV – six pages including all my hobbies! Who can help me bring it up to date and down to 2 sides of A4?


8. Can I get some right royal advice on whipping up a great window-box?


9. What posthumous achievement has distinguished Adam Faith this year?


10. What can I do with all this rennet?

The answers will be posted after 4 January. Good hunting!

When you meet a spider

Advice comes at us from all quarters, much of it unwelcome, irrelevant or with strings attached. The two websites we feature this week are both well-aimed at particular age groups and, having picked their targets, get down to business fast.

Real life

Age Concern has got really wizzy. Their website’s home page is a model of simplicity – news and featured topics in the middle of the page, and a straightforward menu on the left hand side, leading to information and advice, more news, chatty articles about the real life of older people, and so on.

The top feature when I looked was entitled "Keep warm: Winter guide". Unlike the stuff on some official websites, which express pious hopes about people’s welfare and generally patronise us all, Age Concern’s approach is purely practical. Eight sections cover everything from getting help with heating costs to making sure you don’t swap one problem, being cold, for another – burning the house down.

The fun stuff is also good. I enjoyed the article about whether grandparents or grandchildren were more squeamish when it came to dealing with a bee or a spider in your home. Arachnophobes like me might sympathise more with the kids.

Take a good look round: this is a big site with lots to see.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Oldies online". Age Concern is under "Advice & practical help". Or you can select "Family & personal", and then "Retirement & older people". )

Like it is

The entry on the Gateway describes The Site as "no-holds-barred advice and help for 16-24 year olds". Now that’s the sort of "aren’t I cool and trendy?" tag you see attached to rather too many websites aimed at "yoof". Does this one justify our description?

As far as this greybeard can tell, it does. Sex, drugs, work and leisure – all are covered with admirable directness. There is none of that sniggering approach which leaves you confused about whether it’s smart or not to take drugs or try getting off with everyone you fancy at work. They point out the snags and leave the reader to make a decision. What more can a website do?

Actually, they do do a bit more. They have some lively discussion boards, which seem to me genuinely to carry forward the basic information on the site. I wouldn’t presume to advise younger people, but I would with a clear conscience point them towards The Site.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Advice & help". The Site is a Key Link.)

Picture credit: d3f/morguefile.com

Daily doors and funny food

As Christmas approaches, we at WTH Towers are busy darning our biggest stockings (in case anything falls out on Christmas morning). Some of us tend to be a bit humbuggy about the whole thing, so I’ve found some websites to get us all in the mood – including food, which always works.

Don’t wait up

Advent Calendars press the right buttons: they are in synch with the season, they have an air of mystery (as you wait to open the next door), and they surprise and delight us anew every 24 hours. How poetic!

The Westminster Libraries Advent Calendar has all these elements in spades. Colourful numbers are there already but, frustrating us deliciously, each number becomes a clickable link only at midnight on the relevant day.

Now I don’t want you getting in trouble with your mummies by staying awake until midnight every night. The morning will be time enough to discover the calendar’s daily delights, ranging from seasonal recipes to some very odd wintery customs (you’ll just have to wait to find out what they are).
It would be surprising if we had nothing to say about Christmas books. We have two other special pages on the Westminster Libraries website, one with favourite festive books for adults, and one with great Christmas books for children. Having had nothing to do with the choosing, I can say that they are both impressive lists – not just the usual suspects, although you will no doubt find some old favourites among the many new surprises.

Tiny Tim is there of course, but he is in company with Hercule Poirot, the inhabitants of discworld, and a navigationally-challenged wise man. If I were you I’d pop down to the library right now, and when you get back you’ll be ready for something to eat [cue next item].

Pork and apricots, anybody?

I don’t cook. I tried it once, but I didn’t really get on with it. So I eat out or stuff the microwave. But if you do cook, and if you accumulate odd combinations of leftover food, Recipe search can help.

It’s not just there to help you clear out your fridge. This web page, from Sainsbury’s, contains thousands of recipes for all occasions (sorry – a stray cliché got in there). The clever bit is that you can choose by course, cooking time, type of cooking, and several more options. And the really, really clever bit is that you can pile up your odds and ends of food on the kitchen table, bung them into the Recipe Search search box and, with a bit of luck, up will pop a dream meal.

Recipe search is just part of a much bigger website with ideas from the company, ideas from other users, advice on special diets, and a booze guide. Of course they would rather like you to go and buy all the food and drink from Sainsbury’s, but the commercial aspect is not oppressive, and the recipes work even if you buy the stuff elsewhere. Naturally I have not personally checked out the accuracy of the last statement – that would require me to cook!

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Home & Garden". Recipe search is under "Food & drink".)





Picture credit: kakisky/morguefile.com

Ken shows us round

Now that Ken Livingstone’s transport empire has been extended to take in "The Overground", it seems like a good idea to revisit the Transport for London (TfL) website, and in particular the Journey Planner.

An onscreen leaflet rack

You can still get maps and leaflets at tube stations about routes, fares, this and that. But the most reliable source of this information is the TfL website.

Underground, buses, river boats, trams, DLR – all these and more are covered in great detail. Taxis and minicabs are included, with details of the "Get home safely" scheme (you text a given number and they text you back the numbers of one taxi firm and two licensed minicab companies).

If you prefer to cycle, or you are interested in that other eccentric activity, walking, there is lots of help and advice. And if you have an Oyster Card, there are special money-off offers. I’m getting my nails done with 20% off – maybe I won’t chew them when they are bright pink with inset rhinestones!

So – lots of lovely info, and then there’s the Journey Planner…

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". Transport for London is a Key Link.)

The wheels on the bus go round and round (almost)

The TfL Journey Planner makes you purr with satisfaction. It’s just so good! Calm down, David, and tell the nice people why it’s so good.

Where are you, and where do you want to be? – as long as you know that, the Journey Planner will do the rest. You can specify a station, an address (or postcode) or a place of interest. If you do a simple search, it will find you the fastest journeys by any means of transport. But if you only want bus journeys, or you want to walk, just uncheck all the boxes you wish to exclude, and it will work with what you leave it.

If you like the look of one of the offered journeys, you can click to see the detailed breakdown of the journey. Then you can obtain PDF maps of the start, the finish and any interchange. Or – and this is when the fun starts – you can select an interactive map. What pops up is an ordinary-looking map of the start of your journey. But look for the "Wizard" box in the corner, click it and – wheee! – a tube symbol or a little bus (or whatever is appropriate) goes on the journey in front of your very eyes. Talk about bells and whistles!

You can edit your search, check for real-time information on any delays, and find out what the fare will be. And more and more and more.

Go exporing. You’ll have a ball.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". Journey Planner is a Key Link.)

Picture credit: mantasmagorical/morguefile.com

No experience required

Some people just go out and get a job; many more of us need a bit of help. Here are some online suggestions and an offline oasis…

Beginners please

If you are new in London, maybe with not many qualifications, or you are returning to work after taking time out, it can be difficult to find a job. This is where Fuse Jobs may be able to help. They specialise in "entry level" jobs.

Fuse Jobs is not a charity; it’s a limited company and it presumably makes money out of the website. So just bear that in mind. Apparently two people with experience in recruitment and training set up the site because they thought that more could be done to help people into work, and to help employment advisers. They don’t say so in so many words, but I guess the message is that most agencies and websites prefer you already to be in work – it’s simpler for them.

I tried to find a secretarial job in the public sector (don’t worry – I won’t be applying). I got a list of 94 vacancies, not all of which were really "entry level", so a bit more sifting would be nice. But enough of them were at the right level to encourage me if I were job-hunting. I asked for more details of one, and was linked through to a specialist employment agency (it was a medical job).

There is advice on things like writing a CV and preparing for interviews, and a "skills match" service is promised soon. Fuse Jobs I probably not the answer to every job-searcher’s quest, but well worth a look.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Education & jobs". Fuse Jobs is under "Jobs & careers".)

Browsers welcome

After mentioning a jobs website, I thought I would desert cyberspace and remind you about the Education & Careers collection at Marylebone Information Service. This is – shock! horror! – books and other printed material collected over many years but (I hasten to add) constantly updated.

As well as directories of schools, colleges and universities, there are prospectuses for individual institutions, guides to international study, and books giving tips on all aspects of getting a job. Then there are the Red Boxes.

The Red Boxes contain advice on many different categories of career. In front of me now is Box E: Fashion & Beauty. It’s full of books and pamphlets, some so specialised and thin that they would get lost if they were shelved individually.
A dear little book on modelling tells me that I might get to be famous, but that it can be a rewarding career even if I don’t reach the super-league. That’s reassuring, isn’t it? I must say immediately that it packs a huge amount of practical information into 36 pages, with "I never thought of that" stuff like the advantages of speaking a second language if you want to do modelling abroad.

A lot of this can be found online, and the Gateway to websites’ "Education and careers" category has a range of sources, but a trip to Marylebone will provide a good complement.

(Marylebone’s Education & Careers collection has its own page with many more details.)


Picture credit: mantasmagorical/morguefile.com

Everything's green except the cheese

Now I’m as green as the next man… as long as he’s not too green. But it’s all very well paying lip service to conservation – politicians show us the way. What about a practical approach?

A net benefit for nature

The "about" blurb for Naturenet includes the following: "Naturenet is a voluntary enterprise to provide a good online resource for practical nature conservation and countryside management." The website was started by the Isle of Wight’s countryside manager, for the very good reason that he couldn’t find anything already doing the job. But is there anything in it for the rest of us?

I had a look at the information about rights of way. I rather expected some general stuff about keeping clear of cows, together with large chunks of legalese. But no: they’ve written and published here articles about the subject in plain English. Whatever next?!

It’s the same with the greener bits. They don’t just tell you that it’s a good idea to plant a tree or a hedge on your bit of land, they tell you what would work best and how to go about it. Their blog is even funnier than this one (I particularly liked the bit about a Talking Heads album being all about the Town & Country Planning Acts – that had never occurred to me before. Just in case you don’t believe it, a YouTube extract is included).

If you want to be preached at about conservation, I can recommend some very worthy official utterances. If you want an approach which is down-to-earth and fun, Naturenet is for you.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Science". Naturenet is a Key Link.)

It’s not rocket science (actually it is, sometimes).

Because the Gateway’s "Science" category was getting a bit top heavy with Key Links, How Products Are Made has been moved to "Engineering", but this is not intended as a slight on what remains a great source of information.
Mind you, first impressions are not encouraging. A list of volumes 1 to 7 doesn’t give much away. And using the search box often takes you to a rather bewildering list of articles, some but not all of which are from this website. But be a bit persistent – it’s worth it.

I tried cheese. "How cheese is made" was first in the hit list, linking to an incredibly detailed rundown on the cheese making process, with diagrams, a reading list, and even some tempting adverts. Since I assume that the ads probably pay for the other stuff, I didn’t mind them, and they didn’t flash or pop or anything like that.

Now, where did I put my rennet?

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Science". How Products Are Made is under "Engineering".)


Picture credit: Herbert Hoskins/Juicy Orange

Gone with the fairies

Let’s face it: if you work in a library, you’re likely to get asked questions about other libraries. You could just gasp in amazement that anyone could wish for more than the treasures immediately around them, or you could read on…

What’s out there, Tink?

I know I’m easy to impress, but I still think What’s in London Libraries is a little bit of magic, a sort of Tinkerbell of the libraries, flitting around London and finding us the books we need.

If all that tosh doesn’t put you off, the first impression of the site is not very magical. You get a welcome, and you can click to search across London. Then it starts to get clunky. You have select "public library catalogues" and click" next", then click on "full list", then click on "select all" and "search".

Only after all that faff can you do a book search and start the magic: before your very eyes, the page whirrs and clicks as the catalogues are given a good shake. Out pop the hits, and you can then click through for more details of where the books are.

OK, it’s not perfect. There are always a few catalogues which are "temporarily unavailable" (only three when I last tried), and as with all catalogue searches what you end up with is a series of allegations that the books (or other items) are where the catalogues say they are. But you should be able to get enough information to check by phone and, if you belong to the relevant library, you can often reserve the book online.

I’m not sure that I really believe in fairies (gasp!), but this bit of cyber-magic has me hooked.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Libraries". What’s in London Libraries is just under London Libraries in the Key Links.)

Superheroes of simplicity

Sometimes you just need an efficient A to Z list. Some A to Zs, of course, make life more rather than less complicated (I name no names), but UK Public Libraries is great.

It’s put together by a couple called Sheila and Robert Harden. I checked up on them – it seems that they are legends in their own lifetimes, pioneers in enabling libraries to get the most out of the Internet and in persuading public library services to co-operate (not something which came very easily to most of them!).

UK Public Libraries is not snazzy, but it works. It provides links to each library service’s home page, its online catalogue if it has one and, in a few cases, to a source of local images.

If you need to know which library service covers a particular place, there is a link to a gazetteer. There are other links, and they give gold stars to the library websites which they find especially attractive. But mostly it starts at A and goes through to Z (Y actually) with a clear, unambiguous list. How often do you see that? Thank you, Hardens!

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Libraries". UK Public Libraries is a Key Link.)

Picture credit: somadjinn/morguefile.com

Instead of a scare

"A good scare is worth more than good advice": so goes the proverb. Well, if you need or want a good scare, Halloween is just around the corner, but if you seek advice, read on…

No appointment necessary

Getting face-to-face help from Citizens Advice Bureaux can be an uphill task these days, There aren’t so many of them around, and the ones which are left struggle to cope with the demand. Online assistance is not always an adequate substitute, but it can help if it’s good. Luckily, CAB Adviceguide is good.

The approach is practical and as straightforward as it can be, given the complexity of some of the problems people face. On debt, for instance, the Adviceguide helps you to examine your current position and then move towards possible solutions. Helpfully, the Frequently Asked Questions really are the ones which must often be asked by people with debt-related problems.

This website is not all about miserable things. The section about travel could, if you approach it negatively, simply put you off going anywhere. But just follow a few helpful tips and you will probably have a much nicer time when you eventually dip your toes in the Med. No advice, though, on what to wear – some things you have to do yourself.

The site is packed with good stuff, and is frequently updated. Well worth a look.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Advice & help". CAB Adviceguide is a Key Link.)

This is your life

Talking of advice, there is a great source of it which doesn’t necessarily spring to mind – this is KnowUK, one of the Westminster Subscription websites. It has lots of directories, but it also has things like Which? Guides and other information on all aspects of life (and death).

The easiest way in to this is to select an option called "Life Events" from the KnowUK home page. From before birth to after death, our lives are covered in extraordinary detail. About the only advice I couldn’t find for those about to be married is Punch’s: "Don’t"!

Many of the links are to other KnowUK pages, but there are outside links too – I spotted one to the BBC, one to the Citizens Advice Bureau (see above) and one to the Government, which is always ready with advice. KnowUK is a hidden gem which deserves to be widely admired (he opines, rather pompously).

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Advice & help". KnowUK is a Key Link.)

Picture credit: Darnok/morguefile.com

Anything but Jeffrey Archer!

You know how it is: you’ve enjoyed a book, you didn’t really want it to end, and you’d like to read another one just like it. Or… you struggled through that brick-sized saga with a gruelling plot and not many jokes, and all you want now is a bit of light relief. Help is at hand

Larger than life ... or down to earth?

Whichbook is a bit of fun, really infuriating, jolly useful or a waste of bandwidth, depending on how you approach it. The "about" says that "Whichbook gives readers an enjoyable and intuitive way to find books to match their mood."

I think its real task is to provoke you into thinking about what you actually want to read, whether or not it’s on their suggestions list.

The way it works is that you select any four of twelve bars which have opposing attributes on them. So you can use the "happy-sad" bar by clicking "happy" or "sad", and so on. It isn’t made very clear, but after four it stops accepting your clicks – you have to start the search at this point.

I asked it to find me a happy, unpredictable, short book with a bit of sex in it. The eight suggestions included novels, poetry and a book of short stories. Along with reader reviews, there was a feature which should have been really clever, but wasn’t quite.

By hitting a button marked "Borrow", you should be taken to the catalogue of the library service of your choice, to check whether they’ve got the book. Somewhere along the line, I got a "page cannot be displayed" message rather than the Westminster catalogue. I’m sure it’s just a temporary blip.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Books". Whichbook is under "Choosing books".)

Testing trivia

As you will know by now, we at Treasure Hunt Towers tend to be intensely serious about more or less everything, including books and literature. But we recognise that not everyone can reach our high standards of seriousness, so here’s something completely trivial.

FunTrivia Literature has quizzes on every aspect of the written word. Novels, poetry, plays, sci fi and manga – all these and lots more are given the pop quiz treatment. Some of them are ridiculously easy and some are really quite hard.

They warn you about the level of difficulty, and the joy of this site is that you can always pick the book you read last or have engraved on your brain from A-levels, to make sure you get a good score.

Modesty forbids me from revealing the rather good score I achieved on The Importance of Being Earnest, and shame prevents me telling you just how much I’ve forgotten about The Tempest.

Good fun, though.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Books". FunTrivia Literature is under "Fun stuff".)

Take your partner... and relax

Steps in the right direction

It’s a funny profession, dance. You train for years, continue to work out every day, and then deliberately pursue an activity with a high probability of causing you physical discomfort or injury, often getting paid about the same as an unskilled fruit-picker.

Of course it’s voluntary, so we shouldn’t shed too many tears. But it’s good to see that there is now a website, Dance UK, which aims to help dancers with information and support.

The promoter of the site is also called Dance UK – this is a membership organisation which lobbies for better conditions and funding for dancers. But you don’t get on to the Gateway just by sticking up for a good cause; you have to offer information on the website itself and, preferably, link to other information sources.

Dance UK has information on how dancers can stay healthy, with lists of speakers on the subject, advanced details of conferences and other events, and even an ultra-healthy recipe of the month. This is just one example; there is news and information on other subjects of interest to dancers.

For some things you have to register, but this is free and appears to be uncomplicated. Now I must make a start at knocking up my wholemeal couscous salad…

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Stage & screen". Dance UK is, not very surprisingly, under "Dance".)

There’s nothing on… is there?

If all that talk of dancing has made you all weak at the knees, perhaps you should curl up on the sofa with the Radio Times. Of course you can still go down to the newsagent and buy the print version, but I find that the website gives me all I need. And recent improvements have smoothed out the process of finding something to watch.

This is another website which works better for you if you register, and again it’s free to do so. You can build a list of your favourite channels and then, whenever you log in, the list is displayed with a choice of what’s on now, later in the day, or for up to two weeks in advance. Click on a listing for further details and viewer ratings.

But there’s much more to Radio Times than just telly. Apart from radio, they also have oodles of stuff on films, whether on TV or in the cinemas, competitions, news and gossip. The only thing they don’t seem to have is those wonderful black-and-white line drawings of your favourite characters. What? – the print version is also now in colour! Is nothing sacred?

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Stage & screen". Radio Times is under "TV & radio".)

Picture credit: Babzy/morguefile.com

Shall we walk or take a ride?

Whether you want to get about London under your own steam, or take a virtual trip on the Tube, we’ve got the gen.

A walk in agreeable company

If you live in or near London and want to know more about the history of the bits you don’t usually visit, or even the bits you do, then we have the answer: go for a walk with a nice chap talking into your ear. If someone asks you about reliable guides who don’t shout and hold umbrellas in the air, let them in on the same secret.

If you download a Free Walks in London podcast to your MP3 player or iPod, it will be like arranging with a knowledgeable but slightly hesitant chum to go for a walk with you. I listened to the first few minutes of a couple of the walks, and I liked what I heard.

The Docklands one starts in Shadwell tube station, where there is some building work going on. Consequently the friendly chap doing the chat has to compete with a lot of crashing and banging. There are some pauses while he checks his notes to tell us exactly how to get to Shadwell. Still, it makes it wonderfully "authentic", and once he gets into his stride, I feel that I am in good hands.

Each walk has a written introduction, which sets the mood for the walk to come. There are walks all over London, from Bayswater to Clerkenwell, from Regents Park to Bergen. Bergen? Surely that’s in Norway? It is, but apparently he just popped it in because "it was too good to miss". Rather endearing, I thought, and a bit daft. But it’s still a great site.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "London". Free Walks in London is under "Tourism, travel and facilities".)


Where does that line really go?

While we’re in London, have a look (just above the Free Walks in London entry on the Gateway) at the Interactive Tube Map. This is not a Transport for London offering. It’s not clear who exactly does promote it, but it uses Google mapping to show the Tube lines in their proper, geographical position. It’s informative and great fun.

You can view the Tube lines superimposed on a street plan of London, or swap that for a satellite view or – a bit confusing, this – a hybrid view with Tube + street plan + satellite. The default pointer is the "grab" hand - just left click and drag the map to see the bit you want.

Marvel at how close the Victoria Line goes to the Emirates Stadium. Make the pointer "hover" over a station symbol to find out its name, which lines it’s on, and which busses pass by. Or just follow a line to see where it really goes (switching between views to get the most out of it). Fascinating and, if you’re that way inclined, possibly addictive.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "London". Interactive Tube Map is under "Tourism, travel and facilities".)


Picture: mantasmagorical/morguefile.com

Uncle Sam gets global

There are lots of good jokes about Americans’ somewhat hazy knowledge of world geography (oh go on, you must have heard them), but this week’s featured websites show a rather firmer grasp on foreign affairs.

The view from Capitol Hill ...

The Library of Congress serves both the American government and its people as a repository for all things American - it claims to be the largest library in the World (no surprise there). But you don’t have to be American to use some of their online resources, and one of the best is Portals to the World.
Pick a country, any country - what do you want to know? I chose France, and I was offered links covering everything from the geography of the country to its language and culture, taking in government, media, libraries and lots more on the way.
They even have links to French search engines - particularly useful, as there is a lot of information in French which is (for reasons I’m too polite to mention) not translated into English.
It doesn’t look exciting - no, let’s be fair, it’s a one-note symphony in tedious blueness. But if you’re going somewhere new for your holidays, or just trying to get some facts on a place you’ve never heard of, Portals to the World does the biz.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". Portals to the World is under "Tourism & travel: World".)

... and the view from Spook Central

When you select a country from Portals to the World (described above), one of the links you are offered is to what they coyly refer to as the "World Factbook". Now this is actually an old friend, the splendidly sinister CIA World Factbook. While our own beloved MI5 maintains a website merely as a PR stunt, the American cloak-and-dagger boys (OK, and girls) publish huge quantities of material about the countries they are - presumably - spying on.
The country information is very straightforward, describing the place, its location, its people, its industry and its politics. The historical thumbnail sketches are useful - there isn’t an annoyingly American slant on the information, rather it’s written in the manner of someone taking a polite interest. There is no mention on the France page of cheese eating surrender monkeys!
If it’s all part of a sinister Yankee plot to run the world - and who am I to judge? - all I can say is that glancing through the CIA World Factbook is a jolly good way to pass the time while we wait for the invasion.

(From the Gateway to Websites, select "Government & politics: national and international". CIA World Factbook is under "Worldwide government". Or get in via Portals to the World as above.)

Picture credit: click/morguefile.com

The night of the long titles

We’ve made a few changes to the Gateway to websites. The front page is now (we think) cleaner and crisper, with icons at the bottom linked to related pages. Within several of the category pages there are links to Webtastic, the revised and greatly improved website suggestions for homework.

And when you visit a category page, you will see that all the other categories are listed on the left, so that you can switch between them without going back to the front page every time.
Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.

A good look

RNIB Technology Information Sheets doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as a title, and the page itself doesn’t grip me with its dazzling brilliance. But the actual information is very much to-the-point. For people with sight problems, IT equipment can be daunting. All the online and on-screen stuff that normally-sighted people take for granted these days can be of little or no use unless the equipment can be adapted or demystified.

I looked at "Developing keyboard skills", and it’s good stuff. It starts with a summary of why you would bother - the keyboard is the most reliable and, for some people, the only workable method of inputting information to a computer. Then the available courses are discussed, with price indications and links to suppliers.

All the hardware gubbins you can tack on to a computer to assist you, and all the software you can install to "bend" the machinery to your personal needs, are covered in other information sheets. The emphasis is very much on helping you to help yourself; contact details are included for the RNIB’s Technology Team, so you don’t have to struggle alone.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Computers and the Internet". RNIB Technology Information Sheets are under "Accessibility".)

All the developments

Another snappy title is A History of Photography from its beginnings till the 1920s, but at least it tells you pretty much all you need to know about this website. You can be fairly sure it’s not about moonwalking or the Dead Sea Scrolls!

Robert Leggatt is the author of this site, and he tells us that it's for dipping into rather than being a course of academic study. In rather small type, he deals with the origins of photography, "significant people" (there are quite a lot of these), and the various photographic processes (almost as many of these).

You might spot that - unless I missed them somewhere - there aren’t any actual photographs on the site, but there is a list of places where you can see them.
Take Robert at his word - don’t try reading the lot, or you might just lose the will to live. The website justifies its place in the Gateway because, if you need a quick(ish) rundown on a photographer or a type of photo, you can probably get it here.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Art & design".A History of Photography from its beginnings till the 1920s is under "Photography".)





Picture credit: taliesin/morguefile.com