Seeker

How much time do you spend on the internet, for work or leisure? Some, obviously, or you wouldn't be reading this. 82% of the British population are now internet users, compared with only 0.2% of the population in Mali. But then, of its 12 million population only 22.9% are literate. Mali is a large land-locked West African country and one of the poorest in the world. Today Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings' calendar starts a week about transformation, a "week for change". Christian Aid's work in Mali is about change and adapting to a changing environment, described on their website like this: As Mali’s climate becomes increasingly dry, we’re supporting small-scale farmers adapt to the changing environment. These new methods not only build communities’ resilience to climate change, but protect the fragile environment. We’re also leading the way in developing green energy, creating new ways for people living far from the capital, Bamako, and the

T his collage was generated as a result of answering 20 multiple choice questions. It's supposed to represent my web. I don't even know what all these objects are. As a work of art I give it nil points. As representing me, possibly 2 points. I do own a finger puppet like the one here (keep it for the grandchildren) and a blue gadget like the one on the right of the penknife. I attach it to a belt loop (I use it while walking in the mountains to hang things on like sunglasses or a whistle). I also have crayons, dominoes and a safety pin or two - oh and a lipstick or two and some USB sticks. I blame Autolycus for this time-wasting activity. I have 4 objects in common with his and I don't know what one of them is. Perhaps someone can tell me? It's the one above the safety pin. If you've nothing better to do for fun on a Friday you can get your own collage here to show you what your web looks like. Beware - it's an advertising ploy. But you don't have

The internet is awash with programmes for instant analysis of almost anything you care to mention. What sort of writer are you? What sort of parent are you? What is your personality type? What is your learning style? Which celebrity are you most like? You know the sort of thing. Many of them are out there as bait to persuade you to buy something, after you've answered their quiz qestions. Or you are asked to enter a small sample of your prose writing and an automated system congratulates you and flatters you by saying 'you write just like...' (naming a successful published author), hoping you will spend money on a 'Write Better' programme. Well, I for one, won't. I blogged here about one of those programmes that instantly assesses your personality type from a small blog sample. The result was surprising. Autolycus had a better idea and tried several and varied samples from his blog post, with a variety of always flattering results. Which only goes to prov

I enjoy the internet for its windows on the world, all from the privacy of my study. Now I have a dilemma. Do I want to make video calls from here or not? My husband recently installed a webcam and Skype on his computer in his study. From there I've enjoyed sharing his free video calls to family and friends. It's fun both seeing and talking with the grandchildren. I've been persuaded to think about downloading  Skype . As it's free it seemed a good idea, but video calls need a webcam which are not free. I went out and bought a webcam. I mounted it on my VDU and installed the software. I tested it by taking a photo. It works! It works too well! It shows an accurate high-resolution image of me complete with wrinkles, reading glasses, unbrushed hair wearing slobbing-around-gear and no makeup. Perhaps if I placed it further away?...On the shelf to my left? On the right?.... Meanwhile I delay signing up to Skype, whose offer of free video calls was the only reason for