https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG7W83zHowQ

Hi all,

This is just a notification that there will be no ForumWG meeting this month due to end of summer holidays and personal reasons.

Hope to resume again in October!

@[email protected] @[email protected] can you please update the SocialCG calendar to reflect the canceled event?

It seems Anandtech is closing up shop after 27 years of coverage — simply astounding.

One interesting thing they included in their farewell:

The AnandTech Forums will also continue to be operated by Future’s community team and our dedicated troop of moderators. With forum threads going back to 1999 (and some active members just as long), the forums have a history almost as long and as storied as AnandTech itself (wounded monitor children, anyone?). So even when AnandTech is no longer publishing articles, we’ll still have a place for everyone to talk about the latest in technology – and have those discussions last longer than 48 hours.

Emphasis mine.

That single phrase is one of the reasons why we started NodeBB and continue with it today. The social media landscape is rife with hot takes and expressions of opinion that last a mere days before it is pushed aside to make way for new content. It's by design and a part of the reason why the web seems so much shallower now than it did even a decade ago.

Admittedly, it's what a lot of people want, and the last thing I want to do is to say that you're "using the web wrong", but there are a significant number of people who want to use the web to have real, genuine, long-term discussions with other human beings, and the best way to do that is with a forum.

With ActivityPub integration, we're hoping to extend that olive branch into a fediverse mostly inhabited by a microblogging software.

Goodbye Anandtech, you will be missed!

In another climbing forum, user Leslie H. warns of a proposed $5/day parking fee for the Wrinkled Rock Climbing Area, and points to the financial impact to climbers visiting the area.

N.B. do not participate or brigade other communities, please keep the discussion confined here

My local crag is managed by Conservation Halton, who charges about $12 CAD for a day pass (which includes parking). Since I live in a suburban area, and the conservation authority serves the entire Greater Toronto Area, I feel this is well worth the cost.

This money doesn't go towards the local climbing community, so I encourage those I climb with to also get memberships with the Ontario Alliance of Climbers (~$20/year)

That said, do you pay to climb at your local crag? How much do you pay, and would you stomach a price increase?

Indoor climbing has gotten so expensive that the American Alpine Club officially considers it an "access issue." Is there anything we can do to stop climbing from becoming an elites-only pursuit like skiing or golf?

https://www.climbing.com/places/climbing-gyms-are-too-expensive/

Okay, I did a thing.

Yesterday I briefly outlined my plans to build a set of practice anchors in my garage.

After a quick trip to the hardware store, I got what I needed and as promised, here are some progress pics and the final result.

Some notes

• The initial plan was to use tee nuts or threaded inserts, but I wasn't able to easily get those, so the fallback was to use regular nuts and to drill a recess into the back of the board so they'd sit flush.
• There was some splintering the first time I tried to use a spade bit. Practice makes perfect!
• I expected the studs in my garage to be 16 inches apart, but they were 21.5 inches. Measure twice, cut once!
• I was today years old when I discovered a 2x4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches.

Cost breakdown (Canadian dollars):

• Fixe 316 SS Bolt Hanger 1/2" (MEC, $2.93 apiece)
• Camp 8mm Oval Steel Quicklink (MEC, $4.95 apiece)
• 1" spade bit ($8.98)
• 1/2" threaded bolt ($3.85 apiece)
• 1/2" nut ($0.26 apiece)
• Free/on-hand items:
  • Scrap wood (2x4)
  • Power drill and drill bits
  • Adjustable wrench and socket wrench
  • Deck screws
• Total: $32.96 CAD

https://www.climbing.com/news/access-fund-survey-2024/