Most popular alpine peaks are pretty popular, so you’ll find that in good weather, it’ll be busy. Mont Blanc is obviously worse, due to it being the highest in Europe.
Yes, you absolutely can hire a guide. I would strongly recommend it if you don’t have a background in climbing.
You need to be very fit. Alpinism, that’s what you’re talking about doing btw, is utterly knackering. It’s also pretty dangerous. Don’t underestimate it at all.
Something like this would be a good course – https://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/climb/course/i/alps+intro+chamonix.html
It’s also very weather dependant, so unless you’ve got plenty of time and money, might not be ideal.
I’ve done a few Scottish winter seasons and two trips out to the Alps (3 4000ers in that), plus 15 odd years of climbing. I’d just stick to rock climbing if it was me.

Just found out that the Artemis set exists. So now I really want that. God knows where I’ll put it tho. Already have the Saturn V, ISS, Apollo 11 and Discovery.

I’d also buy this if it ever comes out – https://ideas.lego.com/projects/10a3239f-4562-4d23-ba8e-f4fc94eef5c7

Men's Howser II – Black Iris/Magnet

I guess you could call them ‘indoor shoes’. But they’re what I wear. Very warm. Very hardwearing, lasted for over three years.

Captain Disillusion. It’s mainly break downs of how special effects are done. But it’s very funny and clever. Also good to show how with the right tools you can fake anything.

https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainDisillusion

The Charismatic Voice, an opera singer who does reaction videos to a wide variety of songs. More skews towards rock, punk, metal et al. But she also takes a lot of time to explain how the singers do what they do. Utterly fascinating.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCharismaticVoice

Somewhere in the Valleys probably?
Do you want to live in a city or a small town?
If you want a city then Cardiff or Swansea.

Not logs, but compressed wood briquettes instead.
I use these ones:

Hotblocks – Our British made Wood Briquettes

A pallet will easily last me a whole winter of a few fires per evening per week. They’re using offcuts and waste from their pallet building business. They burn really hot and clean, my sweep always comments on how clean my chimney is. Broadly tidier than logs, but you will get a few chips of a briquette when you load them up.

I really like this one by topo designs. Nice rectangular shape. Plenty of handles. Comfy straps. Two pockets, I have a water bottle in one and a brolly in the other.

Global Travel Bag 40L

There is also a 30l version. Very well made and it’s standing up to a lot of abuse so far. Strongly recommend it.

We were on holiday near there once and it was described as a nice walk. Like you we got heavily bitten, no idea why the locals seem to actively go there to walk the dog. Horrible place. Should be logged and replaced with something else.

I always go to a running shop and let them pick. Shoe models are always changing so even shoes that were perfect in a previous model suddenly don’t fit when the next one comes along. It’s really annoying, I’d just like for them to keep a model for at least a few years, but now it seems it’s all change each year.

That said, I love my Hokas.

I’ve just bought an MSR Hubba bikepacking tent. Not a recommendation yet, but I’ll be using it this weekend, so I’ll report back. The 2p one as I’m planning on using it for general camping with my son.

I got a DMR Trailstar last year for this sort of thing. £300 off ebay. Lovely bike.

Yes, you want a NUC. Just search NUC and you’ll get loads of options.

Yeah, I bought a jump bike last year, DMR Trailstar same as my youth. I’ve also got back into skateboarding. Got to be cheaper than a sports car. Better for the environment too.
As for an affair/new wife, that sounds like entirely too much hassle. I’m also rather attached to the current model.
It’s deffo a thing, just don’t let it get in the way of enjoying life as it is currently, which is probably better than you think.

I use a mix of yr.no, met office and BBC. BBC is by far the worst. I also look at the rain radar and windly. On the day, it’s all about the rain radar really.

I live in Wales and while I’m definitely strongly in favour of the 20 limit, I would definitely agree that the signage could be much better. Broadly speaking, I’d just follow the signs, it’s what I do. Some councils have been better than others at either getting roads upgraded to 30 and actually putting the right signs up.

I got a cheap DMR trailstar of ebay last summer. Had a great time at local pumptracks. It’s an old bike, but still perfectly servicable. Do it, you’ll love it.

Climbing club huts. Some might be closed. Most are a bit rough and ready. Probably won’t have amazing parking either. But they’ll be cheap, dry and warm.

I just hope it’s what I googled. If not I’ve no idea.

4. Whoops.

It must seem so simple to fix from the other side of the wire. It’s just a website with a forum. But we have 2 people to manage it when other similar media sites, like PB and Bike Radar have teams. It’s beyond frustrating and it’s ridiculously hard to fix with just 8 of us running the whole ship.

It’s really not simple. Anyone who’s actually worked in IT knows that. I know of whole teams for websites that have less daily users than you do with more impressive hardware than you do. It’s not easy, especially as you’re using WordPress. You have my sympathy. Good luck in sorting it all out. So cut yourself some slack.

Great prize for this time of year, shame it’s not the dungarees though.

They sell dungarees? That’s interesting.

It’s dead easy, give it a bash. It’s fine to roll out your dough. Makes great pizza and you can cut out a lot of salt if you want to. Much healthier. Bit more hassle to make, but nothing terrible.

I struggled with it as well. Took a couple of views also.

Whilst not Lego; I’m excited to have a new large Forge World model from the Warhammer 40K range of miniatures to build.

They’re lovely tanks. Good in the current meta as well which is nice also. What chapter are you painting it up as?

I would openly humiliate fatties. Yes we may get the odd medical case but who cares about the individual in our modern society anyway? And we always have to exclude some one.

Do you seriously think most fat people like being fat? Humiliation will not work. Shocked that anyone thinks it will.

Can’t be arsed to watch the video, but the title is spot on.  Most ‘waterproof and breathable’ jackets aren’t.  In other news the Pope is Catholic and bears do something in woods!  How is this news to anyone?  Work hard enough and you’ll sweat so much that nothing will save you.  If it’s chucking it down your options are open the front and cool down, but get wet.  Or stay warm and wet.  Seriously, is anyone surprised by this?

I was going to say the same as Kayak.  The Katsu routers are a good cheap knock off.  Or buy the Makita ones if you want to pay full price.  Up to you.

I don’t.  But I’m also a weirdo who actually signals properly and does the speed limit.  Also adaptive cruise control does an amazing job on the motorway.

So I got massively and extensively bullied at primary/middle school and into secondary school.  It didn’t ruin my childhood, but has definitely affected me quite a bit.

Oddly the things that helped me with, making my own fun, being self reliant and the like, seem to have actually stood me in good stead for adult life.  I do have terrible social skills and quite a bit of social anxiety.  I have become pretty good over the years at putting on a mask and weirdly people seem to think that makes me very cool and calm (which I guess helps in my line of work).

I’m a parent as well my kid is a bit younger than yours.  I’ll be frank, I’m not sure that there’s loads you can do.  My parents certainly tried hard to stop it.  Endless letters and meetings with teachers.  It didn’t work at all and probably made things worse a bit.  I certainly wouldn’t bother too much with intervening with the other kids parents, it’s going to go badly, imo.  Talk to the coach at the football club for sure and the teachers.  Their young enough that the teachers might be able to put a stop to it if they know what’s going on.

If my kid does get bullied (and I know this is a terrible response really) then he’s going to judo.  At least if he gets in to a fight then at least the other kid might come off worse.  It would have been nice to at least properly clobbered one of the bullies.  It might have helped.  Who knows.  The running is a good idea.  Definitely a good idea to be able to run really fast.

Sorry that’s not nice and positive.

Edit:

The positive bit, despite all that, I like to think I’ve done pretty well for myself.  Good job, lovely wife, wonderful kid.  Live in a nice house in a very nice part of the world.  So while it may be grim now, it’ll come good, I’m sure of it.

If you’re climbing that often then, that’s probably about right.

It’s even worse now than it used to be as plenty of shoes now have thinner rubber as it’s ‘better feel’.  The thing to do would be try and find a local climbing shop with a decent range and ask there.

I would show you my shoes.  But sadly, I broke the cleats on the bottom of my 8 year old pair of shoes a few weeks ago.  So they went in the bin.  I guess I can post up a photo of the space on the shelf where they used to be…

Good luck everyone!

I used to wear Gel Trabucos they’re a nice shoe, be fine for a trail race.  I wear Hoka Speedgoats now.  I always go to a running shop and try them on first tho.  Which is what I’d strongly recommend.

I’m not sure the survey is really aimed at individuals.  I’m sure it makes sense to people who work in NRW.  I know a few I’ll ask them what they think of it.  But it’s a bit odd tbh.

Firstly, it’s programming.  Not ‘coding’.  Ugh.

Python would be my recommendation.  It’s been around a long time.  There’s loads of courses out there.  The language is very popular and that doesn’t show any signs of waning.  Plenty of python jobs out there as well.  Freecodecamp is good.  udemy, youtube that sort of thing.

WRT maths skills, if she is genuinely good at Logic, then programming should come easy.  But autism != good at programming.

Also practically to be employable IT, you do need strong communication skills.  I’ve worked with some of people who are excellent engineers, but can’t work with others and it has ended badly on some occasions.

I’d definitely agree strongly with everyone who says it’s useful to have a practical thing to do, as just learning programming can be rather vague.

Sorry if the above comes across as being overly cynical, but 20 years of sysadminning/devopsing has done that to me.

I hope your daughter does well and enjoys learning to program.

Sounds like a good idea, I’m in.  I suspect I’ll mostly do yoga to get there.  But hopefully it’ll help battle the usual post summer weight belt that creeps on.

An American shipwright builds a skiff.  It’s an amazing series, if you like boats or woodworking I highly recommend it.

Stalingrad by Anton Beevor.

Before that Code by Charles Petzold.

After refitting a radiator wrongly and having to drain down the whole system again, I’m not keen on them.

There’s also the time I put a nail through a gas pipe that was hidden in the wall (really no idea why it was there, no gas fires downstairs in the house any more..).

Amusingly I did a filler valve on my loo today as well.  Really easy and it’s not leaking yet.

I don’t really like wallpapering much, I’ll avoid that like the plague.  Also I don’t really do anything above wiring up lights when it comes to electrics.

For 8 pages?  I’d recommend just writing a static website and doing it that way.  Using wordpress for 8 pages is massive overkill.

Otherwise, like sparksmcguff says you can do it all with the default theme and code blocks.  Also it’s a very good idea to use as few plugins as humanly possible.

I don’t think toddlers have bad hearing.  It’s just for some insane reason toy manufacturers seem to think that kids toys need to be loud and annoying.  Some at least do have volume control on them.  Generally if a toy was just too annoying me and the missus just quietly removed it from the playroom.  Or took the batteries out.

There’s a special place in hell for people who knowingly buy loud toys for toddlers.