Wasting Time
Ale, music and enjoying life.
“Can’t add to Home Page” Android. Upgrading from Pixel 6 to Pixel 8a: How to Fix Missing Shortcuts
I recently upgraded my Pixel 6 to a Pixel 8a. While the transition was mostly smooth, I encountered an issue with missing shortcuts, including both URL web shortcuts and OneNote shortcuts. Here’s how I resolved the problem.
Missing Shortcuts After Upgrade
After upgrading, I noticed that none of my web shortcuts or OneNote shortcuts appeared on the home screen. Initially, I thought I could simply re-add them, but this proved more complicated than expected.
URL Shortcuts
When attempting to pin URLs, the process seemed to go smoothly. However, the shortcuts didn’t actually appear on the home screen.
OneNote Shortcuts
OneNote was slightly more helpful by presenting an error message when I tried to add shortcuts.
A quick Google search revealed that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this issue Can’t add Notes to phone Home Screen after Oreo update! – Microsoft Community. Many users reported similar problems, especially after the Oreo update, but none of the threads I found offered a solution. Most were either locked or unanswered.
The Solution: Fixing the Shortcut Issue
Determined to find a solution, I started thinking about potential settings that might be blocking the shortcuts. Here’s what I discovered:
- Check “Display Over Other Apps” Permissions: Ensure that the “Display Over Other Apps” permission is enabled for the apps you’re trying to create shortcuts for.
- Disable Developer Options: I remembered that I had “Developer Options” turned on for app development purposes. As soon as I switched off Developer Options and restarted my phone, the shortcuts appeared correctly on the home screen.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Missing Shortcuts
- Turn Off Developer Options:
- Go to Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on System.
- Select Developer Options and toggle it off.
- Restart Your Phone: After turning off Developer Options, restart your phone to apply the changes.
- Re-add the Shortcuts: Try adding your URL and OneNote shortcuts again. They should now appear on the home screen without issues.
Conclusion
If you’re facing similar issues with missing shortcuts on your Pixel 8a, turning off Developer Options and restarting your device can resolve the problem. This simple fix saved me a lot of frustration and hopefully, it helps you too. For more troubleshooting tips, feel free to check other posts on our blog or visit the Microsoft Community for additional support.
New Docs4Life Update: Simplified Claim Process and Wider Selection
Update to claiming new Docs
It’s been a while since my last update on claiming new Doc Martens for life, and there’s great news to share. The process has recently been revamped, making it more convenient for all Doc Martens enthusiasts. Rather than the previous method of cutting up your old Docs and waiting for a replacement, the company has streamlined the procedure, as outlined in their guidance:
“Thank you for contacting Dr. Martens. If you wish to claim on your FOR LIFE footwear under the terms of our guarantee, please send us an email with the following information:
- Your FOR LIFE Unique Guarantee Code.
- Photos displaying the wear on the footwear, including the soles.
We’ve introduced a new, customer-friendly process to enhance the For Life guarantee’s replacement service. Instead of sending in £20 to cover the For Life administration fee, we’ll now provide you with a For Life code to purchase your new footwear directly on our website.
You can explore and choose your replacement from our extensive For Life Replacement collection, which you can find here.
Please keep in mind that the code can be used for any styles up to the value of £169, with the exception of Made in England and Collaborations.
Rest assured, the original For Life guarantee continues to cover any subsequent replacements that we offer.”
This update represents a significant improvement for Doc Martens lovers like us, as it broadens the selection of Docs available for replacement. No longer limited to the previous Henry Food black-only selection, you can now choose from a wider range of options. This means more style and variety for your beloved Doc Martens collection.
Playwright Infinite Scrolling.
Infinite scroll in Playwright
It’s not achievable “out of the box” to enable playwright infinite scrolling and there seems little in the way of anything online advising how you can enable this in your tests. So, here’s how you can achieve infinite scrolling with Playwright. Fire up Visual Studio and ensure Playwright is installed and get hacking.
Implementation Detail
It’s actually pretty easy. Firstly, select an element for a bounding box. I went with html….
Then create a loop that scrolls the mouse and checks the bounding box values. If they match then there’s no further scrolling to be done as you reached the end of the DOM.
Note in the above I’ve a sleep just to keep the scrolling performing nicely with the DOM rendering. Tweak to your requirements accordingly.
Demo
And here it is in action using the BBC Archive’s Twitter feed
Check out my other web scraping posts including one on scraping uk train times
Hugh Cornwell @ Holmfirth Picturedrome – 25th March 2022
Like every band and artist, dates originally scheduled 2 years ago have been punted back further and further. Tickets yellowing with age as we come out of the pandemic. Seemed like this tour of Hugh’s was originally scheduled a lifetime ago. Strange how he’s promoting his “new album” that came out in 2018 but such is the void of time during the pandemic.
Hugh Cornwell and band are doing almost 2 tours in one. They’re supporting the Undertones with a series of dates up and down the UK whilst Hugh and band are playing dates in their own right in between Undertones gigs.
Soundcheck
I was fortunate enough to be invited to witness Hugh’s soundcheck. Bundling into the stunning Picturedrome via the side entrance at around 5pm Hugh and band are already in full swing and blasting out the Stranglers classic “No Mercy”. We sit on the steps up to the bar. There’s hardly anyone in the venue, just myself, my wife and 2 friends and associated tour crew and sound and lighting engineers.
To my ears “No Mercy” sounds fantastic but Hugh doesn’t seem happy with it. A couple of run throughs of it and it’s met with “Let’s not include this tonight” from Hugh. Shame. Then they’re into Sweden. All sounding fantastic, it’s a real privilege to bear witness to what’s occurring.
Lighting check next. All band members stand still for a few moments whilst various lights are shone on them until the tour manager is happy with the setup. A little later Hugh exits the stage “Jim” he shouts as he walks towards me. I extend a hand but we fist bump (tad surreal). We have an enjoyable 10 minutes or so catching up with Hugh and band. Hugh seems in high spirits.
We exit via the side door into blinding sunlight. A mini heatwave and we find ourselves sitting outside the nearest pub enjoying the March sunshine and reflecting on what we’d just witnessed.
The Gig
We enter the venue at around 8pm. As we walk in the crowd is a bit sparse. Didn’t everyone get the memo? Hugh is on at 8.30pm sharp. I manage to get a drink and as I walk back to the stage I notice the venue has filled significantly and by no means a sell out there’s a decent turn out. I notice a few friendly faces in the crowd and a few brief hellos are exchanged as we wait for Hugh to appear. Hugh and band enter stage to much applause and Hugh says “Ok so there’s gonna be 2 sets. My first set will be solo songs and my 2nd Stranglers so if you just wanna hear Stranglers songs then you can go to the bar and come back in an hour”. True to his word we’re treated to solo classics.
Hugh had mentioned to me at the soundcheck that during lockdown he’d rehearsed tracks from his first solo album “Nosferatu” and we were treated to a couple of them tonight in the form of “Big Bug” and “Losers In A Lost Land”. They sounded fantastic. Rumour has it that is next album will have a similar dark edge to it.
His first set is incredibly enjoyable and you’d be happy if that was just the gig alone. I’ve heard more than one person mention that they preferred his solo set to the Stranglers set.
For the 2nd set it’s a complete onslaught of Stranglers classic after Stranglers classic. It’s difficult to select a highlight so here’s the setlist….
Hugh’s band
I’ve not done Hugh’s band justice in my review. Both Pat Hughes (bassist) and Windsor McGilvray (drums) are incredibly talented musicians in their own right and without them it just wouldn’t be as good.
As I write this the tour is still ongoing and I’d encourage anyone to check Hugh out. I’ve heard the Undertones are putting in some classic performances on this tour also.
The Wickerman Festival 2008
I dunno maybe because it’s near Halloween or maybe because I chanced upon my original post of this on my Stranglers forums today but here’s my original review from 2008 of the Wickerman Festival. Note I gave up the ciggies and meat eating some years go. Anyway over to me 13 years ago…..
So just got back from the Wickerman and after approximately 5 hours kip in 2 days plus 40 cigs, 17 beers, too much sun, too much rain, too much walking through clouds! it’s safe to say that I’m cream crackered with tinitus and a mother of all headaches. However, that said I’m very happy after being to one of the best festivals ever.
Friday
It all starts on Friday at 1pm – we shoot up the M62,M60,M6,A74. Google maps tells me the journey time will take 4 hours. I work out that The Fall are on at 5ish so if I do a ton all the way..dash in there and get the tent up and be supping Tennants Super Strength before you can say “Ladies and gentleman we are The Fall-ah”. Unfortunately, I realise things aren’t going quite to plan when half way up the M6 we’re faced with roadworks after roadworks followed by a delightful combination of tractors and caravans.
After travelling around endless country bends thinking the festival will be round this corner we eventually see a hill of tents and we’re there. Walking onto the site tent, rucksacks etc in hands I hear Mark E Smith’s bird shouting “I’ve been duped” – There’s no point trying to head to the stage – I have to sucumb to realising that I’ve missed the ruddy Fall.
Tent Rage
I’m not a happy bunny at this point so the tent goes up in record time and I’m practically knocking the tent pegs in with my bare fists.
The Wickerman site is probably the most organised festival site I’ve ever seen. The litter pickers are out on a constant rotation so everything looks fairly decent. There’s a great selection of burger vans (most of them don’t seem too grubby). My fave was the “Well Hung” burger van selling the Angus burgers – I recommend them if you have to choose between festival eateries.
Having missed the Fall I’m wondering what to do. Normally, a bit of Ska or dub kinda sees me right when there’s nothing else on. Unfortunately, there seems to be little on at the moment Dodgy make an appearance after The Fall (yes AFTER !?!). To make matters worse the weather starts to look grim and it soon begins to fuck it down. We head for the tents.
Happy Mondays?
One of the tents has been taken over by Bez and Shaun Ryder. There’s FAC51 Hacienda posters all over the place whilst Bez is at the front of stage hanging over the crowd repeatedly shouting “Scot-land” whenever he feels the song playing is kicking in (every 30 seconds in Bez’s case). It is now 20:00 on Friday.
Across to the main stage and we have Alabama 3. They had a big turnout and they got everyone vibed up. They remind me of B.A.D playing country and western – It’s an eclectic mix.
I’ve got a program by this point and I notice Sham 69 are playing in the Capitol tent at 22:30. As I’m sure you’re aware the guitarist is the only original member of Sham these days. But in spite of that they put on a great show to a packed tent – Angels With Dirty Faces, Poor Cow (lead singer dedicates to his mother!), If The Kids – It’s a real “hits” set and it goes down a storm. Meanwhile Gary Numan is on the main stage. Exit stage left the Numanoid and we’re treated to the “Red Hot Chilli Pipers”. I’m expecting a Scottish pipe band to cover the Red Hot Chilli Peppers songs but no this is not the case. At around 01:00 these chaps appear onstage with bag pipes, drums and all sorts. It’s a rousing performance and they’re pretty fucking good.
Back across to the Hacienda tent and by this time its around 01:30 – Bez is still onstage shouting “Scot-land”
Also, Shaun Ryder is spinning the discs. We hang around here for a bit and then call it a night.
Saturday
Bit of a non-event today IMO. Sure we have Mr Cornwell appearing in the afternoon but not a great deal else. Up and in the arena at 10am and we have 7 hours to kill before Hugh puts in his appearance.
The weather is good today and we find a nice spot near the main stage and (pretty much) just chill and drink. On the main stage there was a constant stream of bands playing acoustic guitars with pretty standard MOR stuff. Then it’s time for Hugh. We get down the front and for the first time today we start seeing people heading for the barrier at the front of the stage. I start to see the odd Stranglers T-Shirt and some familiar faces. Tension is building up and throughout the day the hills around the main stage have been covered by people sitting around with beers on the go. There’s definitely a few thousand casual observers easily 3000-5000 and there’s a good showing down the front (around 300 in the “moshpit” raring for Hugh to appear). And appear he does, he kinda just stumbles onto the stage with Caz and Chris closely behind him. The announcer needs to announce them before they appear but Hugh doesn’t care – he wants to sort his guitar out. So he spends 5 mins or so sorting things out. And then he hands back to the announcer who announces Hugh and co (already on stage).
Hugh Cornwell
Anyway it’s Saturday, it’s 5pm and the opener is Grip followed by Peaches (the crowd are interested now and we seem to have a few more people up the front) – then Hot Cat, Trowbridge, Delightful Nightmare, Rain On The River etc. Hugh’s added a few more guitar wig outs on Peaches and it works really well IMO. What follows is a near perfect performance (he has the odd bother with one of his pedals – which at one point he hits before a solo and the entire guitar cuts – quickly rectified though). The festival crowd are treated to Sewer (different wig out on this one – kinda more laid back, more experimental). Bear Cage (it gets longer all the time – big gap to let the bass do the talking – Caz drives the main riff home) . Straighten Out, Heroes and Hugh calls it a day but everyone is screaming for him to come back onstage. He does and we get Walk On By!!. The sun is out, we’ve got this great Hugh performance and one of the largest crowds he’s had for a long time.
That’s It!
It’s all over – the mosh pit breaks up and heads for the beer tent. There’s some very happy faces about (mine included). This makes the entire weekend for me.
The rest of the day is a complete Ska-fest. At 8pm in the Capitol tent we have “Aka Ska” a very competent Ska covers band complete with brass section that treat us to a trip through memory lane. We have countless Specials tunes, a couple of Madness songs, and bizarrely Geno and Reward (not that I’m complaining) – We’re all seriously skanking- I take my pork pie hat off to them – very good guys.
There’s only one act I’m interested in now and that’s Neville Staple just before the Wickerman gets set alight. He appears on stage a bit late and we’re treated to an entire walk through the Specials back catalogue – He does it very well indeed and like he said he’s in good shape for a 53 year old. After an amazing “Ghost Town” we wander out of the tent to see the Wickerman being set ablaze – After a bit of extra encouragement in the drizzle and gloom he goes off in a serious blaze of fireworks and cinder. It’s all over.