macOS Python 3.8 build stalling

[jrbourbeau]

The Python 3.8 CI build for macOS is hanging for some reason (see this build for an example). FWIW we saw something similar last week in this PR #78 for both Python 3.8 and 3.9 on macOS. I just restarted CI for that PR and the Python 3.9 build has magically fixed itself (🎉) but the Python 3.8 build is still stalling.

@fjetter do you, or someone around you, have time to look into this?

Alternately, we could also just drop Python 3.8 altogether. Dask did this a while ago.

[ncclementi]

@jrbourbeau for visibility, the CI build has been very flaky.

Irina open an issue upstream a while back, see actions/runner#2609 it seems more people have the same issue.

Some extra context #71 and #67 (comment)

[kgantchev]

Hi, sorry if I'm intruding, but a lot of people seem to be having issues with GitHub's macOS runners. Have you considered giving FlyCI a try? FlyCI offers M2 runners for both public and private repos. FlyCI's runners are more reliable, affordable, and faster than GitHub's. There is chat support via Discord for free tier users and on-demand support for those who purchase the support packages.