So much happens on the internet these days that often we can get left behind. I am still trying to figure out what is so great about MySpace, for instance, but everyone seems to be using it. These things become the preserve of the young because people our age have not the time or inclination to keep up with all that’s happening.

Being so resistant to the new means that sometimes we miss out on really useful and interesting things, however. And YouTube is one of these - a library of videos on the net that can be viewed and added to by anyone. Naturally, the young discovered it first and there are lots of very silly and pointless videos included as a result. But, as demonstrated by a 94-year-old veteran, Les Loken, YouTube can be used for worthwhile purposes too.

Les has been recording his memories of World War II and other times, then putting the resulting video on YouTube. These are fascinating records of a time that is distant even to those of our age group. But they also point the way to another advantage of YouTube: it’s a nostalgia machine!

Think back to those glorious days of the 1960s and the music that filled our ears; and it’s probably on YouTube. There are videos of the most surprising things, bands long forgotten (or so we thought), videos of groups made before videos were invented. It is a treasure trove of memories for us.

Just to give a few examples, here are some clips of music from the sixties, arbitrarily selected as they sprang to mind:

Beach Boys

Kinks

Beatles

Give it a try - just go to YouTube, in the search bar enter the name of a group you want to hear and see what comes up!

Talking of being thankful for blessings, one of the things we in our fifties can be grateful for more than most is the personal computer. We remember a time when there was no such thing and so we can appreciate more than other generations how it has changed our lives and made them easier.

The growth of the internet that computers have made possible has multiplied the benefits available to us too. Now we can shop without ever leaving the house, pay bills with a few simple mouse clicks, communicate with friends, expand our interests into previously unexplored fields, read the news that interests us without having to wade through the stuff we don’t want, and so on almost forever. The list is endless.

One of the possibilities realized by younger generations very early on in the history of computers was their capacity for entertainment. We have watched the growth of the computer games industry with bemusement, amazement and sometimes alarm. Our children exist in a world that accepts new computer games as normal and they constantly ask for more. No longer is the computer game a thing for children - they have grown up and demand games that have grown with them into adulthood. And the industry happily meets the need. We watch and worry about addiction and time wasted, rather in the same way our parents worried about the television.

Yet the clock cannot be turned back. And, as long as the thing is out there, we might as well make use of it. We may not be able to cope with the huge, graphic adventures made for the young, games that require teenager reflexes and an insatiable desire for action, but there are quieter and more reflective games available too.

Most of us like puzzles in which there is no time pressure and it is just our brains against the machine. And the wonderful thing about the internet is that there are plenty of puzzle games that cost nothing at all. Just google “free puzzle games” and you will be presented with an inexhaustible list of relevant sites. The old standards like chess, checkers, mah jong, etc. are usually completely free, while others may add some advertising or be time-limited demonstrations of the full game.

In the coming weeks, I will be looking at a few of the gems that I have found - and I like games that take up no more than ten or twenty minutes of my time (I use them as a brief relaxation from the usual daily round). You may be the same or prefer longer, more involving games; if you have any suggestions or favorite games, why not tell me about them in the comments system?

The dating scene can be rough at any age, but for those starting out for a second time after divorce the prospect of beginning to date can be both exciting and daunting. Set-ups through friends and casual acquaintances might provide a pool of potential dates to choose from. But if you’ve ever summed up a blind date by saying to a friend “He was a Neanderthal”, turns out you might be right. Scientists recently uncovered evidence that Neanderthal and modern humans interbred.

Busy work schedules and a reluctance to go the way of the “bar scene” have more and more people turning to dating services, especially Internet services. What better way to screen potential dates and get to test compatibility before meeting than corresponding online? But a story in the news this week, points out the ease with which someone can appear to be something he’s not. A Philadelphia man posed as a doctor, an astronaut and a spy when corresponding with women he met through a dating service. He is now charged with having used date-rape drugs to sexually assault 10 women he met online.

Wading in the dating pool before diving into the deep end is probably the best advice. If you consider online dating, make sure the company is reputable and find out as much about potential matches as possible. You might have to forego some of the flashier types - it’s always possible an international spy wouldn’t need to use an internet dating service to meet women.