Last week didn\u2019t have a weeknote. I just didn\u2019t get around to it! To be perfectly honest, my weekends are packed with cycling-related activities at the moment and work has been pretty busy too\u2026 so here\u2019s a bumper fortnight-note. Even this is delayed because I locked myself out of WordPress with too many incorrect login attempts\u2026 but the very fact I managed to post this indicates that I got in again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s much I can write about my work at the moment but we are approaching my annual review. That means I\u2019ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the last 12 months and looking forward to where I need things to head in the coming weeks and months. It\u2019s not been a wonderful year: although my family has been fortunate to avoid Covid-19 we\u2019re still living in strange times and I really could do with leaving my home office for the odd day here and there. Procrastination levels are certainly up, followed by evening catch-up sessions. That could be another reason there was no week note last week\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did manage to squeeze in another exam. It\u2019s one of the Microsoft Fundamentals series: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)<\/a> and I used Microsoft Learn to prepare, passing with a good score (944).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m also really interested in building a body of knowledge around sustainable IT and I worked my way through the Sustainable IT MOOC from the Institut du Num\u00e9rique Responsable\u2019s ISIT Academy<\/a>. Not surprisingly, some of the statistics are French-specific but, in general I found the content interesting and enlightening. Definitely worth a few hours for anyone with an interest in the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m a heavy social media user and I\u2019m under no illusions about what that means in terms of my privacy. I often say that, if you\u2019re not paying for the product, you are the product. Even so, my wife and I watched The Social Dilemma<\/a> on Netflix a couple of nights ago. Highly recommended for anyone who uses\u2026 well\u2026 the Internet. So, pretty much everyone then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After riding England Coast to Coast (C2C) on The Way of the Roses<\/a> a couple of years ago, I\u2019ve been planning my next big cycling trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My eldest son and I were planning to head to the French Alps after his GCSEs this summer but, well, that was before a global pandemic messed up our plans. So we\u2019ve been looking for something a little closer to home. We\u2019re planning on riding the length of Wales – from Cardiff to Holyhead on L\u00f4n Las Cymru<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After booking all the hotels, and the train travel to return from Holyhead (5.5 hours, via England, with a change mid-way at Shrewsbury) the biggest challenge was booking 2 spaces for bikes on the train. I had similar issues with the C2C and I\u2019m just hoping that I manage to make the cycle reservations nearer the time. I certainly can\u2019t allow myself to stress about it for the whole 4 day ride up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n After booking hotels for a bike ride across Wales, the easy part should be the @tfwrail<\/a> journey back. Website says to call for reservations (https:\/\/t.co\/lnH8rLtZWC<\/a>) but call centre says they can't make cycle reservations. Basically, I have to take my chances!<\/p>— Mark Wilson (@markwilsonit) May 7, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Something that will almost certainly come in useful on that trip are the waterproof socks I bought from Sealskins\u2026 they are fantastic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wore these @sealskinz<\/a> socks this afternoon. I'd heard good things but never used them myself. Bloody marvellous. Dirty, wet, bike. Toasty, dry, feet ? pic.twitter.com\/rwu8lXLriV<\/a><\/p>— Mark Wilson (@markwilsonit) May 8, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> Watching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cycling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n