Aye, but tricky to do schoolwork on

Usually head over to pc part picker for this stuff –

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/PB6MnQ/entry-level-amd-gaming-build

This looks like a solid build, coming in just a few quid over budget, will need a monitor though!

Check your bank statement.

No recommendations on specific ones, but I’d be getting two smaller capacity, rather than one bigger driver. 2x1TB should easily be in budget

SSD over HDD for reliability all day. And you’re not going to find 2TB of SSD storage for < £100

Assuming hes on a laptop and wants an external drive – this is a pretty decent deal. He’ll want an SSD not a HDD.

1TB – £95.

The WindowsApps folder is really annoying – I went through something similar recently. It contains a lot of junk, but there are also some really important files in there, including new user provisions, and (I think) stuff relating to purchases and the store. Messing with this folder usually causes more grief than it’s worth – you’ll find that by deleting something seemingly harmless you can loose functionality to bits of the OS. Once this happens then it’s time for a fresh install of Windows. My advice is – leave it alone if you can. If you can’t then boot Linux from a flash drive and remove it that way. Oh – and restore the permissions to trusted installer.

@footflaps – thanks for the read.

The remastered versions of the bioshock trilogy are something like £10. Old but still outstanding.

Replace the bearing, chuck some bearing locker compound in there and ride it until the replacement arrives.

3 weeks in Cali and you won’t see it all. All the national parks are stunning – if you want to stay in Yosemite NP get booking your accommodation now!

Fun with a power kite and a big beach.

Yep – this is pretty much the only time they are any good.

Did a load of “DH” mountainboarding in my youth. Not only is slope angle critical, but so is terrain. Tiny wheels and no clearance dont deal with any kind of long grass/rocks/roots/whatever. Unless you have somewhere groomed to use them then they suck.

If you’re in Ambleside, head to ghyllside cycles – down the alley oppose the cinema. They’re super friendly.

If you’ve got Spotify premium then there are loads of audio books on there. Not sure they’re totally legit, and the player won’t save your location, not terrible if you’re not too fussy about what you want to listen too.

For those with kids – all the Harry potter’s are on there.

I’m on one of the older ones, so won’t comment on sizing, although they were dead weird.

Give Merlin a call, they will know exactly which size you should be on. Couldn’t be happier with mine, price Vs quality is great.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sram-Crank-Arm-Bolt-Kit-M18-M30-Self-Extracting-DUB-Black-1pc-/274137572749

The outer bolt is not optional.
£15 gets you riding again as soon as possible.
Try canyon, but I bet they take ages to get back to you. Annoying really.

Ings is miles better than the center of Ambleside.

No crowds
No paying to park
No parking disc
No faff
Chances are you were driving right past anyway.
Nice big shop
Cafe, shop and fuel right there

New cable (sram) and outer.

When you cut the outer, make sure you do it with an old inner in place, and use the proper tool. Badly cut outers will make this issue 5x worse. I usually file the ends of the outers down a bit too.

Make sure there are no sharp bends in the cable route.

I signed a contract for a new job the day lockdown started – job based in Dubai. Geting married next week so my partner can come too.

Been told every week that it was still on, not to worry, just waiting for restrictions to ease.

Just had the call to tell me I no longer have a job.

Been sitting on my arse waiting for 5 months. ****!

Its more like digging some test pits on a building plot to see what sort of foundations you need

It is this too, don’t get me wrong. But before you get that far, you have to ask: “is this even possible?” If the answer is no, well you don’t have a project.

The site is super important for power stations, you can’t just design around shit conditions like you can with a house. Loads of sites have had GI over the years, often multiple rounds over the years and decades, but never had a project associated with them.

A good example would be the 4x(?) times proposed M4 extension at Newport in South Wales. It’s had 5 or 6 rounds of extensive GI over the decades, and still no project, but we know it’s an option and we have a rough idea of the cost if we want to pull the trigger.

Ground investigations are not the same as starting a construction project. It’s simply feasibility, due diligence and data gathering so you can tender more competitively/if at all.

It’s the equivalent of having a survey done before you buy a house.

Don’t offer to walk/look after the dog with an arsehole owner. That’s a nightmare waiting to happen.

None of those questions make sense. Also barbells and Dumbbells are not exercises.

disproportionate cost / hassle ratio to amount of time actually spent riding is turning into a bit of a brain worm.

Mountain biking is legit about the least hassle outdoor sport you can do short of running or walking. Just stop faffing.

Bike on or in car – 1 min
Drive
Get changed in car park – 2 mins
Ride

What am I missing?

the name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The kingkiller chronicle.

Absolutely my favourite books of all time. I wonder if we’ll ever get the third?

I’ve got a pair – they are absolutely mint, easily my fave bit of biking software. Been running them for a year – shorts only in the summer for me now.

George – I’m a 32 waist and in a small.

Sorry, slight hijack – Are the Explore models designed for this? Map following? Rather than expecting you to be racing or training, like my Edge 1000. Most frustrating thing ever, trying to follow maps on the 1000.

Yeah, pretty much.

Nice big screen, scrolls/pans the map really well, nice and bright so easy to see, a few different ways of displaying maps/navs. Easy to search for POI/food/hotels/whatever on the device itself and on the fly. It doesn’t have any training or power meter support. It also has a good battery life and its pretty cheap considering. I’ve a few devices, but the edge explore is the easiest to use and is my go-to.

I rode here a few times when I was working on a site nearby.

As above – You’ll be struggling to get 3 hours out of it. Even 2 hours you’ll end up repeating some stuff. The trails are fun, lots of jumps and log drops and stuff to session though.

Yeah they still all use carbon black, it’ll be around 20-25% of the tyre by mass. Any rubber product that needs to be somewhat durable/abrasive resistant/temperature resistant will have it added.

Without it the tyre will get really hot, deform easily, be really weak and wear really really fast. Its why you don’t see coloured tyres ever, except those white ones which have had the (inferior) zinc oxide added instead. Incidentally all car tyres used to be white until they discovered what carbon black could do. There was a period of adding carbon black to the tread, and zinc to the sidewall rubber, which is where that classic car look comes from before they switched to 100% carbon for performance.

Quite like the look of skinwall on some bikes, but never run them because they’re form over function.

Tyres are black because they add carbon black to the rubber mix, this is a really good compound for making strong but supple tyres.

The skinwall areas dont have any carbon black in their rubber mix. They are weaker and leak because of this.

Surely of you want to get rid of racial anything it should just be lives matter.

38mph southerly will absolutely ruin the nan bield descent, especially as its not that dry.

As far as safety is concerned, just take note of the wind chill. Stop below the top of the pass if you want a rest on the push/carry, the wind will be cold and relentless on top, and the wee shelter wont be that good if its seriously blowing. Coupled with the mist/drizzle forecast, I’d be looking elsewhere.

I have one of these frames. I’m 6ft and on a 53.
If you call merlin, they will sort you out the correct size.

Really fun bike for the money.

It might take a while – as well as all the covid stuff, the USPS is currently under attack from the republican party in an attempt to stop postal voting. Mail sorting machines have been removed from USPS offices etc.

See here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/08/28/usps-mail-delays-still-persisting-workers-say-despite-dejoy-pausing-some-changes/

Go outdoors, just outside chester.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15898475/15898475

License check code here – https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

You wont always be asked for it.

@footflaps – you’re completely correct, GoldCar are terrible, as are europcar.

I’ve rented loads of cars. Car rental is about the most irritating and stressful service to deal with. It is an industry in desperate need of regulation, and a non-voluntary code of practice. The big players are a bit better than the really cheap outfits, but they still suck. Everyone knows that they cannot be realistically renting you a car for £150 a week and making money. They just do you over seemingly at random to make up the difference.

My advice for you:
-Use one of the big players – deffo don’t go with the cheapest.
-Get the excess damage insurance. Don’t go too cheap on this either, in my experience there is around a 30% chance of having to use it.
-Make sure you’ve a couple of grand headroom on the credit card.
-Make sure your license is up to date.
-Make sure you get that code they use to check your license.
-Be prepared for pressure selling nonsense at pick up and the “you’ve scratched it there (while indicating vaguely) , that will be £600” people at drop off.

If you loose the “we’re taking money for damages/cleaning/invisible scratches/because we want to” roulette, just claim from the insurance. Don’t even bother trying to fight it, unless you want to be dealing with it for the next year.

I’m expecting it to be hell.

Don’t worry that’s normal for Maryport

I live in the lakes and yes, its bonkers right now.

Lots and lots and lots of people are here – and not just the usual fell walking crowd, Coniston was like ibiza yesterday! However, we have a lot of open spaces here, so with a little planning you can still have a great time. Of course the weather is due to go off, and you’re not here on a fri/sat/sun which really helps. As soon as you get out of the honeypot centers you’ll find it just a bit busier than normal. Parking is the #1 issue with those that live here, so please, park nicely!

As you’re in Kendal, its also super easy to get into the western dales, which are really quiet!

I would avoid:
Keswick
Ambleside
Waterhead
Windermere/Bowness
Coniston village (east side of the lake road is currently closed to motor traffic – cycle down it and you’ll likely have a beach to yourself (and a nice road ride and/or access to the enduro trails that pop out there right on the lake))
Grassmere
Wasdale
Keswick borrowdale

I would:
Book stuff in advance
Go early if possible
Deffo go really early if you want to do a popular walk
Plan what you want to do for food/beers ahead of time – pubs etc are much slower and lower capacity than usual.

The noise cancelling headphones are a bad solution for snoring. You can’t sleep on your side with them on, and you really need to be listening to something for them to work well.

Id be looking at getting some custom plugs made. I’ve had a few sets for work – they will take a mould of your ear and because they fit so well they work much better than the cheapo boots ones. For example – https://www.ultimateear.com/product/custom-sleeping-earplugs/comment-page-1/#comments