Bulletin boards, forums and websites in general often have an area for those things that do not belong anywhere else or are 'off topic'. People, I find, edge around me, treading carefully in an effort to elicit my opinion on matters as diverse as current affairs to the best sherry to buy for Christmas. The soapbox page will probably appear to be the product of a deranged imagination because it needs to be 'ad hoc', succinct and forthright, without (hopefully) upsetting too many readers! The Soapbox is a sounding board for my opinions - just don't take them too seriously.  

Another month, another editorial (or should that read rant?). Amazingly, the World Cup is ancient history. It seems no time since we were congratulating Spain for winning the World Cup and surely, applauding South Africa for hosting the events so well but now the football season is upon us here in the UK. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of the new season -apart from the way the big clubs just throw money around- is the way that the pundits have already decided which clubs (in their opinion) will be relegated at the end of the season even before it has started!

Web logs and diaries quickly become stale if not updated daily but it was amusing to see the first day of Premier League football under way and newly promoted Blackpool acquitting themselves well. Once, I had an American girlfriend who lived in Blackpool and I used to spend as much time as possible there. Football was never on the agenda but I do remember how cheerful the locals were (it must be the weather!) and it was good to see Blackpool supporters jubilant.

The author lives in North East England and has strong ties to Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough but thankfully was born in Nottinghamshire, which helps allay locals' suspicions about allegiance to one team or another when travelling around the region. There is a deadly rivalry between Sunderland fans (Makems) and Newcastle United fans (aka the 'Toon Army') and this can manifest itself in any way ranging from mild reproaches through invective to actual physical violence(!) when rival factions meet. A long spell in Sunderland means inevitably that the author has picked up local sayings, if not a full blown local accent and this can lead to trouble, especially when in Newcastle, leading to cries of "Watch out, lads! The Makems are here."

UK Politics - spending cuts affect schools (July 2010) We read that Michael Gove has taken some flak over misleading the public over a list detailing the cuts to the school buildings project budget, although there cannot be many people in the UK who don't know that speeches and the information and figures that speeches contain are all written by civil servants (the permanent staff). Although television crews have delighted in screening reports showing leaking roofs and rotten window frames, knowledgeable viewers with even modest DIY skills would realise that budlings simply do not fall into such disrepair overnight but as a result of neglect and inadequate maintenance. In Sunderland, where the author lives, one of our MPs has lamented that Sunderland has wasted £250m on drawing plans for replacement schools that were 'needed desperately'. This, of course, is complete nonsense! The schools that were to be renewed were not decrepit or unfit for use but buildings from the 1950's/60s. There was no question of overcrowding and one of the plans for a replacement school involved demolition of a dining block that had cost £2m just 5 years ago. If the average 1960s house has an unreliable heating system or the roof leaks nobody suggests demolition! A wiser -and cheaper- course of action would be to fit an energy efficient heating system, a new roof and more insulation.

The trials and tribulations of the vegetable garden
There is something deeply satisfying about raising a plant from seed, nurturing it and just watching it grow. Last November, my brother brought me a plastic vending cup, some soil and a solitary pepper seed. The seed was planted in the cup and placed on the kitchen window sill and last month, the first peppers were ready. Outside in the garden, the cauliflowers appear to have bolted but the cabbages, Brussels sprouts and broccoli have prospered after being struck down by a series of mystery attacks that left the plants full of holes. The culprit was not caterpillars, slugs, snails or aphids but pigeons! An answer was found in the form of old CDs suspended from garden twine - these work by creating an illusion of movement in the pigeon's peripheral vision that triggers a warning reflex. The tomatos are also looking good and the pod potatos (Home Guard, Anya, Duke of York, International Kidney and Pentland Javelin) look very healthy. The tomatoes, donated by ace local grower David Holbourn are also thriving (see below).

The weather is proving something of an issue in that during warmer weather, the lawn has not been cut so frequently and the blades left high. The big worry is that the summer will collapse into Autumn prematurely, leaving less time than usual to get everything ship-shape for Winter.

The menace of malware, fakeware, trojans, computer viruses... and the perils of not backing up your data

The author holds an honours degree in Business Computing and is a full member of IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Apart from being able to supply and tailor software solutions to Business or intercede when software projects go wrong, the author has considerable experience with computer hardware and this not only extends to designing, building and repairing PCs and laptops but also providing help desk support.

There is much to be gained from not disclosing one's line of work or interests lest friends take advantage in unguarded moments at social occasions. It seems that while nearly all households have a computer of one type or another, knowledge pertaining to recovering from the effects of viruses or malicious software are sadly lacking, even though most people are aware of the risks.

It is the author's opinion that teenagers prove the old saying 'familiarity breeds contempt' when computers are concerned. Those of us who were involved with computers at a time when owning a PC was outlandish and only marginally better than the mad scientist with 40 Biros in his lab coat pocket launching rockets from milk bottles in the works car park tend to rather more careful than the youth of today who have grown up with computers and the internet. Even so, quite sensible people hold the view that so long as they don't 'go where angels fear to tread' their machines (and valuable business records) will be immune to disaster and many do not have any form of anti-virus software let alone a back up solution for their priceless file, music and photograph data. Virus, trojan or malware attack is one thing but even if your PC is not attached to the bad wide world of the Internet, it is still vulnerable to hardware failure, theft or destruction by fire, flood or accident.

Anti-virus protection should be mandatory for any computer that is connected to a network (for which read Internet too) but security isn't just about viruses, trojans that arrive by e-mail or drive by downloads (the sort that download nasties onto your PC without your explicit permission) but also fakeware. Bogus software with plausible sounding names like 'Security Tool' that alleges one's PC is infected with an improbable number of unwanted programs and that initiates a scan that has never been before decieves inexperienced users and exhorts them to pay for a product that is next to useless; the product itself is the infection.

Users on a budget are well catered for: either they can use free Ubuntu Linux for surfing with free AVG anti-virus for Linux workstation or they can use Avira free edition for Windows and surf with FireFox and the following free add-ins: WOT (Web Of Trust), FlagFox and No Scripts. The first of these, WOT rates sites in green amber or red, according to how safe they are whilst the second displays the flag of current page - if a Romanian flag appears when you think you are at Barclays Bank, UK but of course WOT would have already alerted you to the fact all was not quite what it seemed. NoScripts stops unauthorised scripts -like malware installations dead in its tracks.

The disturbing truth is that some users that believe they have protected their PC may have overlooked a loophole by not locking down their wireless networks. A wireless connection should NOT be used when conducting financial transactions on-line because of the risk of access to the router (and hence the traffic). In particular, never use a wireless hot spot for such activities because the security used at such locations tends to be minimal (WEP) which is easily compromised. Many home routers use WEP and with the default user name and passwords both left as 'admin', this leaves the network compromised. Ideally, the network ID should be changed - and the default user name and password changed to something that cannot be guessed easily. The screen dump above shows a network that anyone in their right mind would think about twice before trying to hack in!

As a second line of defence, security should be at least WPA or WPA2 and where there is the option of MAC authentication, this should be used too. Media Access Control provides for devices like PCMCIA cards or network cards to have an exclusive identifier (the MAC address). This may be on a sticker attached to the device but if not opening a Run session from the Windows menu button and typing in cmd followed by ipconfig /all will prove a revelation. Be sure to copy the wireless MAC carefully and add it to the allowed list of machines and devices - this works for X-Boxes and mobile phones too, although for phones, you will need the manual to discover the location of the information you require within the menu system.

It is always worthwhile backing up your precious documents and photographs but be aware that Digital Rights Management can be an issue with music. Very often, owners do not realise that their personal files are actually worth much more than the computer itself... until they are lost. Photographs of holidays or weddings etc are literally beyond value and must be backed up. Ideally, a backup should be stored off-site in a secure location - it isn't much good if it is in a house which is flooded or burned down. A portable memory stick is a good idea but you may need a portable hard drive for a serious backup. With older XP systems, using the Settings and Transfer Wizard to create an image file that you can import if you need to do a Repair install of Windows can be a boon.

Free utilities like CCleaner and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware are invaluable tools for the home PC owner. Just remember that if you find a computer virus, it is prudent to disable system restore... otherwise a restore will unwittingly revive the nasty (like Dracula). CCleaner sweeps away the clutter that slows your PC down -like temporary Internet files, for example. As a PC hard drive fills up, the amount of free space diminishes and Windows needs free space to operate - any less than 30% will incur a serious performance hit.

Happy - unbirthday and teens wanting helicopter rides to the prom?

Last month, we read that there is an alarming new trend whereby children have started to celebrate their 'half' birthday (whatever that is). Personally, I'd say it sounds like a cynical move by the card makers to shift more cards. This all sounds redolent of Alice Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll) in which people were said to celebrate their un birthdays. Whatever next?

There are times when the author suspects that a person or persons unknown have been adulterating our drinking water with some additive that makes everyone go slightly daft. In the news last week was an article about a school that had been approached with a view to securing space in one of the playing fields so that a helicopter could land. It wasn't so the Prime Minister or Prince Andrew could fly in but... for children arriving for the school prom.

There is something wrong with a world in which everyone has to grow up too soon, starting with celebrities clothing their offspring in designer clothes or worse still, allowing daughters under five years old to wear makeup and high heels. This prom nonsense is getting out of control and less to do with teens enjoying themselves or a class thing (as some have suggested) but more to do with parents showing off.

Stephen Tomkinson's Australian Balloon Adventure (Sunday, ITV 1, 19.00)
The author has spent a lot of time exploring Australia. There is something about the savage beauty of the place, the rawness of the Outback and dirt roads that is strangely addictive, so when I heard there was to be a series in which a hot air balloon was to be flown over one of my favourite areas (Wilpena Pound), the answerphone was turned on and a sign hung outside the front door proclaiming: 'Warning: callers will be pelted with large rocks and then boiled in used engine oil between 19.00-20.00 hours'.

Unfortunately, the large cauldron and wood was not required and I was able to watch as the presenter flew over the large natural amphitheatre of the Pound and later, over the Barossa valley. Great stuff! Can't wait for next week.

Secret Britain (Sunday, BBC 1 21.00)
Anything with Julia Bradbury in it gets my vote (!) but seriously, this series which explores seldom visited gems around the UK is well worth watching. Nicely presented and so absorbing it doesn't feel like an hour has elapsed.

Great Railway Adventures with Dan Cruikshank (Tuesday, 20.00, Five)
Whether he is presenting House Detectives, Invasion, The Lost world of Mitchell and Kenyon, or Around the world in 80 treasures, Dan Cruikshank is always worth watching. The author, of course, is a locomotive enthusiast so this series was a must. Once caught by the railway bug, there is no going back. Well put together, as always.

Green energy that works... and in N.E England, too!

Last week, there was an item on television explaining how energy from hot springs had been harnessed in... Weardale, County Durham, UK. Apparently, some 5 years ago, a bore hole was drilled to a depth of nearly 1000m to reach a hot spring. The Eastgate Renewable Energy Village project looks promising. This is the sort of thing that would have featured on the late lamented BBC series Tomorrow's World - the trouble is that we needed this sort of innovation yesterday. Energy is a worry for the future and over reliance on windmills is likely to lead to an energy gap that will affect many, as demand for power inevitably exceeds supply.

The EEC

What ARE we doing passing control over so may areas that affect our lives to Brussels? The sheer pointlessness of the latest diktat that insists that eggs have to be sold by weight rather than quantity merely underlines the point. Weight is a touchy subject in Sunderland because it was our Authority that created the metric martyr. Another shameful first for Sunderland.

The successful trading organisations of the past like the Hanseatic League or more recently EFTA were more compact and manageable. Public anger here in the UK is only just subsiding over MP's allowances but no firm of accountants will audit the EEC's books. There is no reason to suppose that abuses like MP's expenses will not occur on a bigger, grander scale within the EEC. In the author's view, the EEC has ambitions that border on imperialism and letting ever more nations join is just buying time to put off the evil day when the whole rotten edifice starts tumbling down, taking its suspect currency with it.

The EU flag - UK fined £150m for not flying enough EU flags

One of the daily papers once ran a story 'Lancaster bomber found on moon' and to the casual observer a story suggesting any government anywhere could be fined for not flying a sufficient number of flags surely ought to belong to that genre of April Fool spoof stories, along with spaghetti trees and Big Foot. Unfortunately, this is not a joke but absolutely true. The author believes that the UK should fly more flags - Union flags! Just think how many one could buy for £150m... better still, think how many doses of medication that money would buy or how much it would help buffer improve flood defences in places like Morpeth, Gloucester or York.

And the best sherry for Christmas...
Anyone who writes blogs always worries that pearls of wisdom dispensed fall upon deaf ears. Raw visitor data for SeriousSAAB is quite encouraging but a growing number of readers have contacted the author to say that tongue in cheek or not, the views expressed are not so reactionary. One eagle eyed reader did e-mail me, however, with a view to finding out exactly what sherry the author had in mind. Pedro Ximenez (Sainsburys) is a seriously rich and complex raisiny sweetie of a sherry - so much so that one foodie advocates drizzling it over plain vanilla ice cream for a dessert to remember. Either way, a quite remarkable tipple.

The gospel according to SeriousSAAB
Running a website extolling the virtues of SAAB cars and hopefully, helping people by sharing knowledge can be quite rewarding and it is always good to hear from readers -some of whom may not have wielded a spanner for some time- who have been inspired to have a go at jobs like dropping the sump and cleaning the pick up strainer. There is a responsibility not to mislead readers by saying that such and such a task is easy and procedures need checking to ensure that some vital step has not been missed out, so it comes as light relief when e-mail arrive asking -in effect- whether there is a SeriousSAAB lifestyle or asking what war films are the best or what music is playing in the workshop when engines are being stripped.

At the risk of disillusioning readers, there is no specific SeriousSAAB lifestyle (and we don't have a single item of IKEA furniture!) although the author does have strong views when it comes to clothes. Out there somewhere, is a website that proclaims that there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothes.

Bad weather is part of life in the UK and this is part of the reason why the English are so obsessed with the weather. Despite the hysteria over global warming, the English summer most remembered for being seriously hot was... way back in 1976 (not 2006). One of the best pieces of kit I've discovered is the Drizabone coat, which just shrugs off rain and can be had with a liner that appears to be made from half a Merino sheep. The flipside is that one looks like Wyatt Earpp when wearing it but why be different when you can be outrageous? Akubra is said to be Australian for hat and a wide brimmed Boss (with or without shark's teeth) keeps the sun (and rain) at bay. Blundstone boots are good to go with the rig - I have failed to wear out a pair despite daily use for 7 years.

Some good kit comes from Australia - R.M Williams isn't too well known in the UK - hardly surprising, as there are just two official outlets and a couple of other stockists here but Down Under RMW kit is respected everywhere. There is a vast range of Moleskin jeans, trousers, boots, shoes, belts, oil skins and shirts (the Brigalow is superb). I am also very fond of shirts and thornproof kit made by Thomas Cook Boot and Clothing (an old Australian firm that reaches back to the days of the Cobb & Co. stage coach era!) but these products need buying online or when you are actually in Australia. After 7 years of summer use my thorn proof TCGo Jacket (part of the Adventure ware range) still looks as good as the day I bought it.

Ray Mears is fond of Swanndri Ranger shirts and I have to agree they are great but something of an acquired taste. Since the value of £ sterling has declined in recent years, all these wonderful things from Down Under & NZ will be more costly to replace (I acquired most of mine when the rate was 2.7 AU$ = £1. When this needs doing, I might just have to go there in person, just to save the postage, you understand...

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