Issue number one hundred and thirty-four (February 2012) in a series of Signposts from the WorldU3A Service, sent once a month to U3A members anywhere in the world.

Please send snippets of possible interest to the editor, Tom Holloway.
Feel free to copy any or all of this information in your newsletters.

Invitation: We invite you to join the team of partners in the EU funded Grundtvig Volunteering Project. Herbs for Body and Soul (HBS). Our proposed project concerns seniors’ activity in the infrastructure of the natural environment aiming at :

encouraging seniors to participate in the volunteering activities in green areas, botanical gardens, nature reserves, herb growing farms, herb processing facilities and in other similar activities
exploring possibilities and ways to help seniors familiarize themselves with natural peculiarities of the area and their practical application
organizing for the participants of the Project sightseeing trips to natural places of interest, visits to ethnographical, architectural and cultural sites with the view of learning more about diversity of our country’s vegetation and its’ practical use as well as the historical heritage of our country.

About us: The Lithuanian Third Age University was founded in 1995. In June 2010 the University was renamed the Medardo Coboto Third Age University. www.treciojoamziausuniversitetas.lt Please reply to teodora.dilkiene@gmail.com
Sci/Tech Groups: IEEE Spectrum provides the latest engineering, technology and science news. Articles, podcasts, videos, and webinars about robotics, electronics, computing, energy and dozens of different subjects.

Book Groups: The home page puts it very well... "Welcome to the Republic of Pemberley! We, all of us, remember only too well the great relief we felt upon discovering this haven for Jane Austen Addicts. If your eyes did not widen, if you did not gasp in recognition, if you did not experience a frisson of excitement when you discovered a whole websiteful of fellow Jane Austen Fanatics, then this place may not be for you.

We are The Truly Obsessed here and have been known to talk for weeks about Jane Austen's spelling quirks and Mr. Darcy's coat ("No, no - the green one.") If this sounds like just your cup of tea, "Read on!"
Sailing Groups: Also of interest to Retired Mariners. The Marine Traffic website provides free real-time information to the public, about ship movements and ports, mainly across the coast-lines of many countries around the world. "The project is currently hosted by the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece. The initial data collection is based on the Automatic Identification System (AIS). We are constantly looking for partners to take part in the community. They will have to install an AIS receiver and share the data of their area with us, in order to cover more areas and ports around the world."
Thank you Philip Cakebread of U3A Bampton, UK.

This year Aughton and Ormskirk U3A are staging another brand new musical comedy called 'Up For It!' at the Ormskirk Civic Hall on Thursday and Friday March 22rd and 23rd, starting at 7-30pm.

The show has again been specially written for the Group and contains eighteen tuneful and totally original songs and dances never before performed in public.

For further information phone 01695 421602 or 572350.
Thank you Tony Crimlisk of U3A Aughton & Ormskirk.

Poetry Groups: This is the BBC Poetry website. Reruns of 'Poetry Please' if you missed one, plus 'Poets in their own words - watch interviews with John Betjeman, Philip Larkin, WH Auden, Carol Ann Duffy, Seamus Heaney and a host of gems from 50 years of the BBC archives. Plus, more about the poets.

Current Affairs Groups: Derek Stevens of U3A Cardigan says "I know there is no shortage of information on the web but this site seems particularly useful in the way it compresses and sorts information."

I agree - I found the articles thoughtful and well-presented. (Editor)
UK Readers: Rick Swindell of U3A Online writes..."one of you might like to take on an interesting volunteer project of editing the U3A Online newsletter. Although we have been an international organisation since we started in 1998 and our early committees had excellent volunteers from the UK and NZ, recently we have become too top heavy with Aussies. As you know, all our activities/resources take place in cyberspace so there is no reason whatsoever why our volunteers shouldn't live in any country, hence my request to you.

Ideally our newsletter should be published on our site every 2-3 months (ie 6-4 editions per year). We envision a relatively brief newsletter containing articles of interest to our international audience. If interested please email me."
Crash for Cash - Investigating Road Accident Fraud: Non-members welcomed. Bob Seston and Dominic Harris - Institute Of Traffic Accident Investigators

Thursday, 9th. February, 6:30 for 7:00pm, TRW Conekt, Technical Centre, Stratford Road, Solihull, B90 4GW

Bob and Dominic have extensive experience of investigating road traffic accidents, many lead them to conclude that fraud is being perpetrated. They will describe the methods used to show how they investigated attempts at insurance fraud arising from car crashes, including case studies.

Networking buffet afterwards. To help with refreshment planning please register at
http://www.theiet.org/local/uk/westmids/warks/crash-cash.cfm

From Rick Swindell: U3A Online's monthly e-newsletter is available online here. It contains useful free resources, interesting research snippets for health and lifestyle conscious readers, fun items consisting of interesting or amusing links, and technical bits and pieces. Anyone can subscribe; we have members from many countries. Example snippets follow...

Computer Groups: Three excellent technical tips tips from the U3A Online GEMS e-newsletter.

Should You Buy Discount Ink Cartridges? http://tinyurl.com/7mt6bbm

Many schools, non-profits, and government offices have dumped Word in favor of Docs. What are the pros and cons? http://tinyurl.com/6odussb

How long will your hard drive last? Is it giving you subtle signs that a data disaster is looming? How will you know when it's time to buy a new hard drive? http://tinyurl.com/74f3yrj
Art History Groups: A special offer from Compton Verney for U3A UK groups. Be the first to see Gainsborough's Landscapes: "We're giving pre-booked groups of 15+ people the chance to see Gainsborough's Landscapes: Themes and Variations from 11 February, before the public opening". Click here to learn more.
Do you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter in future? Ask them to email tom@worldu3a.org with a request and they will be put on the list. This webpage may be printed onto both sides of an A4 page and distributed to those with no Internet.