Facebook doesn't accept my password

It would appear that at around 15:20 on Tuesday 5th March 2024, Facebook is saying "password entered is incorrect" so I guess a service has crashed.

I did try resetting my password, even entered the code but I still get the same error.

Lets see how long it is down and whether it make the national news as thousands of users don't know what to do with themselves!

Where has the COVID-19 years gone?

So here we are in 2022 and two years since this all begin for me. So what happened?

Apart from seeing very long queues at McDonalds the day before lockdown (and when lockdown eased). I started the first lockdown with good intensions. Started doing Core workouts via the Abs, Core & Back Workout at Home (from Fitify Apps) and Yoga for Beginners (from Workout Apps). I also tried the longer flowing sessions with Pocket Yoga (from RainFrog). I even tried meditation with Buddhify (from Mindfulness Everywhere). I started running up to three times a week. Sat in the garden and read. Successfully grew Chilli from seeds and had quite a crop (bought kit from Amazon).

By the second lockdown it all went out the window. Apart from running I just stopped every other exercise without realising. Tried to grow Chill again and nothing grew. Tried to grow a Venus Fly Trap and failed with that too. I struggles to get Meditation working for me. 

What I didn't do but the rest of the UK (and the USA) did was:

1) Follow Joe Wicks exercises on YouTube.

2) Make the best coffee ever. Some weird coffee from another country which I forget the name!

3) Follow Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.

4) Make the best coffee ever. Yes another one.

What I did notice was many Android apps suddenly became subscription based which was either monthly of yearly (I have seen one which was over £100 a year). The one off payment became almost non-existent. There was also the increase in seeing people out and about doing their walking exercise. Sadly there was the increase in dog poo/waste which was left and not picked up. Whether this was people walking their dog who didn't normally or the increase in lockdown dog ownership!

After recovering from the latest COVID-19 virus which started exactly one hundred days after my third dose (got a positive lateral flow result), I will be getting back into running three times a week, core workout and yoga on the other days plus another crack at Meditation. COVID-19 has lasted over two weeks which is quite a shock as I would say I am particularly heathy eater and exercised regularly. I have only had flu three times in my life and over twenty-five, lesser colds last about a week. Perhaps I need to have a check up with a blood test.

The Best Alcohol-Free Cider

In my opinion H. Westons & Sons Ltd. Stowford Press Low Alcohol Apple Cider at 0.5% is the best cider I have tried which actually tastes like the original. With only 29 calories it is also good for the waist for 330ml bottle.

If you prefer a more pear flavour then try Thatchers Zero 0.0% Alcohol Free Cider (Alc no more than 0.05% vol.) at 130 calories in a 500ml bottle.

Sainsbury's Medium Dry Low Alcohol Apple Cider (500ml, 150 calories, Als 1.0% vol.) is also would a try but I found it a little sweet for me.

Another option and my least favourite was Morrisons Low Alcohol Cider (500ml, 150 calories, Alc 1.0% vol.) and another sweeter version.

What is the Secret of the 39 Steps?

 

No not thirty-nine but ten thousand steps and it isn't a secret. The question which has been on my mind purely from a psychology point of view is what does this information mean to the wearer?  Simply knowing you have say only achieved just over half your quota does this make you:

1) Go out and walk around the block to reach or pass this goal.

2) Think I will try and do better tomorrow.

3) Look and say "oh I have only done that much, never mind".

 So really the question is does this motivate you or merely inform you.

What Has Video Conferencing Shown Us?

In these strange times of this lock-down under the COVID-19 epidemic we have seen how Video Conferencing has taken off. There have been some inventive uses particular a product called ZOOM which has been pulled from the unknown into the mainstream use. Other companies are slowly catching up with some business only software being made available to everyone for a limited period.

Now that we can see what can be done, there is even talk of people working more from home in the future.

What can we take away from all this? While watching a Boogie Bounce session on Zoom and catching up with family over Skype, one thing sticks in my mind... "How cr*p some peoples broadband really is!" I have seen a better picture from someone on the other side of the world then from someone about nineteen miles away in the same county of Norfolk. If working from home is going to be 'the new norm' then something has got to be done about bringing broadband up to a level playing field.

Does the BBC News stand for Quality Anymore?

The BBC News in a basic form started broadcasting way back in 1964. Back then they took pride in grammar and presentation which is very different from what we receive today. Now before I start ranting it is important to state that what follows is my opinion (though I know other people have expressed similar views) and that I have been assessed as having dyslexia.

The BBC News seems to have lost the ability to use proper grammar in both the programme and on their web site. An example today was a banner in reference to the coronavirus in Italy where it said "...there's 73..." (i.e. "...there is 73...) instead of "...there are 73...".

They are very obsessed with 'live from....'. Now I can understand them being live if something is actually happening where the watcher can gain the atmosphere of an event as it unfolds. More often than not 'Live' means a reported standing outside a building reporting on something which happened hours earlier. A good example is when BBC Breakfast were asking a report (for the BBC) about the sentencing of the murderer of Grace Millane from New Zealand. Though the news item was important, I fail to understand why asking a reporter 'Live' who was standing outside a closed magistrates court at about 21:30 New Zealand time about what 'had' happened.

Live includes talking to someone via a video link such as Skype or now more likely Zoom. In some cases they are poor connections so are either prone to freeze or such low quality it is hard to see or understand what is being said. I still do not understand what is gained by talking live, particularly when later they either have to show the recording or state they spoke to them earlier.

There has been poor production too especially at the weekend. For example playing the wrong recording for a news item or not playing it at all. They have even put up the wrong caption for something or someone.

May be it is just me but the BBC just seems to be 'sloppy' or sensationalist in their reporting these days.

Now don't get me wrong the BBC produces some excellent documentaries and programmes like Countryfile.

Pub & Restaurant Prices for Alcohol Free Beers & Soft Drinks

Being a non-drinker I am saddened to see that people who do not drink, may be because they are driving are penalised in both pubs and restaurants with extortionate prices.  We all know that soft drinks prices are exploited for something which does not have any 'alcohol tax' on it but can cost as much as a beer which does. For example a 275ml bottle of Becks Blue can cost cost similar price for a pint (568ml) of alcoholic beer. I have paid over £3 for a bottle of Becks Blue which means I would normally have a cappuccino coffee because it is cheaper or similar price.

Old Speckled Hen Just Got Low Alcohol

Last week my wife brought back from Sainsbury's a new low alcohol beer to try, Morland Old Speckled Hen Low Alcohol Beer 500ml bottle. Now when I use to drink I had always liked Old Speckled Hen so I was keen to see how this one tasted.

Now one of the issues which I have always found with non-alcohol and low alcohol ales is there can be a bitter after taste. With pale ales this is less noticeable and with this Old Speckled Hen it was only very slight. With the darker ones this is very off putting but for pale they seem to get this just right. I don't know if this is from the processing of making a low alcohol version or just that my taste buds have changed due to not drinking.

This Low Alcohol Old Speckled Hen works really well. I cannot say if it tastes like normal Old Speckled Hen because I haven't drunk for nearly 6 years. I would definitely recommend and I will have it again.

No Vertical Video, pretty please

I have to agree, it makes no sense making a video while holding a phone vertical unless the object you are filming is taller than it is wide. I know it shouldn't but it really does my head in, why someone would film a drag race or any horizontal movement with their mobile phone held vertically. I guess it is easier to hold the phone one handed but it makes the thing you are filming more difficult to track (follow). It is quite surprising to see on the internet how many people get wound up by this.

It appears that Instagram might be to blame for some of this as it only support vertical video.

Is Draft Coffee any good?

After seeing the latest trend for Draft Coffee on the Channel 4 TV programme Food Unwrapped, I thought I would give it a try after seeing it in Sainsburys at the cost of £2.00 for 200ml.

Now Draft Coffee out of a can is probably not as good as the trendy stuff served directly from a tap but here is what I think but first what is it:

"Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurised valve with tiny holes. As high pressure forces the cold brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect." - Esquire

To be honest cold coffee with a creamy head like a stout was disappointing for me. Now I like strong coffee a lot but this is not, it tasted no different to a cold black coffee, perhaps a little more watery. I will not be trying it again.