EAST Lancashire adventurer Roy Monk will be setting off across the frozen wastes of Alaska on Saturday.

Retired businessman Roy, of Saville Green Farm, Worsthorne, is taking part in the Iditarod, billed as the Last Great Race on Earth.

He will drive a team of dogs across 1,150 miles of ice to raise money for the Society of St George in Burnley, which helps local good causes.

Details of the race and Roy's fellow racers can be found on the official Iditarod website.

http://www.iditarod.com

Soothing news if you're down in the mouth

OK, I admit it, I'm addicted...to lip balm. I never leave the house without checking I've got one with me and a rummage through my handbag will probably uncover at least three different varieties.

It would be my one chosen luxury were I to be exiled to a desert island - and I am not alone. Thousands of people find it impossible to get through the day without a fix of their favourite balm.

Help is available, though, from Lip Balm Anonymous, set up by self-confessed addict Kevin C. With a 12-step programme which borrows heavily from that used by Alcoholics Anonymous, the site aims to help you break free from lip balm.

The site is packed with the stories of people who have successfully fought their addiction.

And if anyone doesn't believe it is possible to be addicted to lip balm, there is medical evidence too.

http://www.kevdo.com/lipbalm/home.html

Out of this world

THE Nine Planets takes you on a multimedia tour of the solar system.

This impressive site features pictures of all the planets and their moons, from the biggest - the Sun, with a radius of 795,000km - to the smallest - Deimos, which orbits Mars and has a radius of just 6km.

It is aimed at a general audience with little technical knowledge and all scientific terms are explained in a glossary.

The images of the planets are particularly stunning and will make you wish space travel for all was available.

http://www.ex.ac.uk/Mirrors/nineplanets/

Site and sounds

MUSIC fans will soon be able to download their favourite tunes from the internet with a mobile phone and play them on a personal stereo, under new plans unveiled by BT and Panasonic.

Panasonic is developing the player, likely to be priced at around £65, which will also feature a screen showing song lyrics and pictures of the artistes while their music plays. Eventually, it will be able to play pop videos. Eventually, the music will be downloaded on to a postage stamp-sized memory card in the phone which will slot into the stereo. The card will also work in home music and in-car entertainment systems.

But until such cards become universal among electronics manufacturers, the companies are considering a number of ways to transfer the music data into the personal stereo.

These could include a direct connecting device between the stereo and the phone or use of the infra-red linking function fitted as standard in many phones.

Trials will be held later this year and the stereos are expected to hit the shops in time for Christmas.

Panasonic is developing the electronics while BT will provide its high speed mobile network, the General Packet Radio Service, or GPRS.

Never too old to surf

WEB developers in the UK are waking up to the fact that more and more older people are getting online - and that they have money to spend.

The latest site launch aimed at the "silver surfers" is Life Begins, which promises to be kept free of references to stairlifts or colostomy bags.

Site editor Adrian O'Sullivan said: "Over 50s control 80 per cent of the nation's wealth and 40 per cent of consumer spending, which is worth £145billion per year.

"There are still very few magazines offline or online that are relevant to people of our age group."

Life Begins has signed up the "Green Goddess" Diana Moran - pictured - to write about health and fitness and Sky TV presenter Anthony Henn to write about gardening. Other contributors include agony aunt Tricia Kreitman and holistic therapist Bharti Vyas.

Among the features available on the site are chat rooms and competitions. Readers will also be able to contribute pieces of their own work for possible inclusion on the site.

When I visited it there still seemed to be a lot of gaps, mainly because readers' contributions had not yet materialised. But it is bright and colourful and easy to navigate, and certainly looks promising.

http://www.lifebegins.net

Boss-speak

EVER wonder why your boss says one thing when he really means something quite different? Visit the Management Speak Translation Guide to help you understand what he, or she, is really saying to you.

http://www.stokely.com/lighter.

side mgmt.spk.html

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.