Lasagna Recipe

I made that GIF!

Lasagna must be one of my favourite meals of all time. Many people use roux sauce in the middle however it is just as easy to use natural yogurt, eggs and nutmeg as it saves a lot of time (like what it says in the following recipe).

Ingredients:
397g/14oz extra lean ground beef
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into bite sized cubes
1 zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
14oz can chopped tomatoes with herbs
1½ cups/14oz tomato paste with herbs and garlic
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
low calorie cooking spray
12 dried lasagna sheets

For the white sauce:
2 cups/1lb 2oz fat free plain yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 level tbsp grated Parmesan
a pinch of nutmeg

Method:
1. Place a large, nonstick skillet over a high heat. Add the ground beef, bell pepper, zucchini, onion and garlic and stir-fry for 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and dried herbs, season well and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring often.

2. Meanwhile mix together the 'white sauce' ingredients. Season well.

3.Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C. Spray a medium-sized lasagna dish with low calorie cooking spray. Spoon half the meat mixture into the base and top with half of the lasagna sheets. Spread over half of the white sauce mixture and top with the remaining meat mixture. Top with the remaining lasagna sheets, spread over the remaining white sauce. Sprinkle over the Parmesan if you're using it.

4. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with the mixed salad.

The most expected iPhone yet

Over half a month ago Apple released the iPhone 5 and despite iOS6 and Apple Maps getting negative reviews, the iPhone 5 has been a hit with over 2 million people pre-ordering it and the responce being extreemly positive.

Despite this, on the 12th September 2012 when the iPhone 5 was announced there was nothing which surprised us. Rumours had spoilt everything. A 4-inch screen, 4G and Facetime over a cellular network was stuff that we already knew or what  rumours had said.

When the New iPad was released in March, Apple said that they didn't call it the iPad 3 becuase that would have been too predictable so why didn't Apple make some crazy feature last minute to throw into the iPhone 5 which would have surprised us a bit (or atleast called it the 'New iPhone' or something like that). Apple is making no sence.

I think Apple should make a department for making fake rumours and fake iPhones for the press just so we do get a bit of excitement at the next Apple conferance.

Also, in the last week a first rumour came out for the 4th iPad, apparenly it's going to have a flexible screen. That should be good. I'll post more about rumours on that soon.

Blackberry 10

Rumours and a few features have been announced about Blackberry 10 and yesterday a device that is exclusive for developers was announced. It is called the Dev Alpha 3, it has ridiculously simple hardware however the software running it is Blackberry 10. It has lots of gestures to access different things and it has an unique messaging app which can be accessed my sliding your finger up from the bottom and then right. It combines e-mail, text, Facebook messenger, Twitter and, of course, Blackberry Messenger.
There is an unique work mode feature which allows you to access all of your apps but under a work account instead.
It's closest competition is Windows Phone as both phones have a type of live tile and they both are fighting for 3rd place in the smartphone market.

Is there any weather Britain can cope with?

In the North of England there is currently vast amounts of rain coming from the heavens which is causing loads of roads to be closed and in extreme cases flooded houses. There are 850 calls to the AA every hour and the Met Office has issued an amber weather warning (which no-one knows what it means).
Watching the rain bounce of the car window, it made me think. Is there any weather Britain can actually cope with?
Rain, as I know from this week causes many people to struggle to travel around since so many main roads are closed. There is the same story with snow and ice. People can't and won't travel in those conditions either. There is an advantage to that, as you can have snowball fights instead, but that is beside the point.
When there was too much sun, like earlier this year, there was a hose pipe ban in London because there wasn't enough water in reservoirs to last us the rest of the year.
Finally, there is the usual British weather which is grey, mild and sometimes damp too. This causes the whole nation to complain how we don't get a good summer.
In conclusion, Britain doesn't have a favorite weather condition however it is more convenient for everyone if it stays boring like it usually is.

Inspiring the future (as long as it's in the curriculum)

Teachers always say that their goal is to inspire students and they can do that easily in History, Art, Music and other subjects along those lines. That is all well and good however they may be missing massive opportunities by no fault of their own.

Google recently released an advert on YouTube where they said that in 2020 there will be over 1 million jobs in computer science. This is making computers, software's, apps and websites. They also said in the advert that you should go and ask your School ICT administrators why the school doesn't teach computer science as it is such an important thing in the world. The answer to this is, they can't. Not in the UK at least anyway. The government is currently highlighting the importance of academic subjects instead of stuff like Computer Science. Teachers are under so much pressure to make sure that pupils perform well in the academic subjects, they don't have time or patience to teach Computer Science.

There is literally no awareness in Britain that jobs in Computer Science exist. There will be students getting high marks in subjects like Art and Music all the way through to university, some will end up getting a job in those subjects however a majority wont. However if instead they picked computer Science, then the job possibilities would be endless.

The world is evolving to being on the web and it might surprise the people in Britain but it's not automatic. Twitter has over 300 employees, Facebook has over 2000, Google has 24,000 and Microsoft has a staggering 94,290 employees. I'll admit that some of them work in the shops however for the people who engineer the software, websites and apps, they will be making loads!

There is the same problem with engineering because it's not a subject which is taught in schools. I'll admit that there are a few Science organisations that have engineering days where pupils get to learn what it's like to be an engineer however it is not something which is taught at secondary school.

A pupil might have potential in computer science or engineering however they might never know as long as the curriculum doesn't include even taster sessions of these.

How Twitter alone is ruining the English Language

As more of the young generation get Twitter and mobile phones it is inedible that they are going to start using text language sooner or later. In some countries it is accepted and you are even allowed to write exam it the short version of English however in most places it is a language that is only allowed to be used on the Internet. In my opinion, text language is the most annoying thing in the world. Doing smiley faces is fine however when people start sending you stuff like OMW and BRB, it just gets confusing. I suppose text language is OK if it stays on social networks however when people are in a conversation in real life and say LOL, it just makes me want to cringe.

Facebook doesn't cause this as you don't have a character limit when posting a status however on Twitter, you have constant limitations. You can only post a tweet 140  character long and you can only use 160  character to describe yourself in your 'bio'. This causes people to start using abbreviations and text language. It's not good English and you're not allowed to use it outside of the Internet so why bother with it in the first place. I suppose when you're texting/messaging friends it is easy to give a quick reply however if they are friends, you could at least spent a minute or two giving them full words.

NFC Business Cards

Just came up with a brilliant idea for Windows Phone 8 users. I got given a business card yesterday (for the first time in my life) and I thought to myself how business cards are roughly the same size of smartphone screens. Then I thought about Windows Phone 8 and how the NFC technology is only mainly being used for playing music.
What if there was an app which let you build your own business card. Then share it via NFC with other Windows Phone users. The app could then have a card contact index theme so you could scroll through your business cards.

"The modern way to give and receive business cards." ~ PAPE"R"MAIL

Also, if you wants to make your business cards available without having to scan your phone, you also get a QR code.

HTC amaze with Windows Phone 8

I have been the proud owner of a HTC Windows Phone 7.5 for almost 6 months now and I don't regret it one bit. The new Nokia Lumia's seem to be pretty average to me. Yes, I'll admit that they have awesome cameras and a few good apps however there is something that HTC does with hardware that I really love.

Rumours suggested that the next HTC Windows Phones were going to be called the Rio, Accord and the Zenith however the rumours were wrong and the 2 new HTC's are called the 8X and the 8S (I honestly perfered Accord).

Surprisingly, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft was also at the HTC press conference where they announced the phone.

The bigger phone is the HTC 8X and it apparently takes great photos in low light, so I'd  love to see how it compares to the Nokia Lumia 920. The camera on the 8X also has less noise and greater clarity. On the front it has a 2.1 megapixel camera for making Skype calls or something similar.
It is also the first Windows Phone to come with Beats Audio to come built in. This phone also has a 4.3 inch screen.

HTC are taking a massive risk and bringing 8X and 8S phones to more markets than any other phone HTC has ever shipped.
The 8X and 8S will be available in November on 150 operators and in over 50 countries. I can't wait.

Samsung launches new poster against iPhone 5

ouch...

Nokia even joined in the fun and made a fake advert against the iPhone 5.

HTC Windows Phone 8 rumours

The  HTC Accord running Windows Phone 8 

The Samsung's Ativ S was the first Windows 8 Phone officially announced and it has pretty much the same specs as the Samsung Galaxy 3 however it includes an NFC chip and a micro-SD slot (as standard with Windows Phone 8).
It was followed by the Nokia Lumia 820 and the Nokia Lumia 920 and on Wednesday HTC is going to be announcing it's new Windows Phones.

First rumour is the HTC Rio. It is the smallest of the new HTC phones to be rumoured with only a 5MP camera and a 4-inch screen (however that is still bigger than most mid-range smart phone screens).

Next is the HTC Acord, it is rumoured to have a 4.5-inch screen and an 8MP camera.

The 3rd and final HTC Windows Phone 8 to be rumoured is the HTC Zenith. It is bigger than the HTC Acord because it has a 4.7-inch display. It has the same 8MP camera as the HTC Accord though.

Small and maybe unnoticed differences between Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 on the hardware side is a new notifications light which (the clue's in the name) lights up when you have a notification and a new START button with the Windows 8 logo on.