Mike Riversdale

So, we've had the oldest running blog - that's blog and not personal website or online journal/diary . So, how about finding the most famous blogger/online journal-er ? As a start there is the Bloggers category at Wikipedia but I couldn't find that many famous people - I'm talking world famous and not just famous to a handful of Americans - they're not all like that but you get my meaning. To kick off, how about Sir Ian McKellen (" Gandalf ")? Leave a comment ... The List In the running and in "famous-ness" order : (last updated 29-March-2005) William Shatner Michael Moore Moby Sir Ian McKellen David Duchovny Noam Chomsky Gene Simmons Zach Braff David Hasselhoff Rosie O'Donnell Dave Barry William Gibson Neil Gaiman Ron Jeremy Know of someone missing? Leave a comment ... [Updated 31-March-2005] A cracking read at Vile File about this article ... and so, what letter would you write to your "InnerSelf"? Thanks to Morph...

Wow, David Winter at Science and sensibility does some serious typing. All fascinating stuff as well which I found by clicking the '?' for random Kiwi Blog site on my blogroll. Well, it's better than updating the CV which I'm meant to complete tonight ... maybe tomorrow night instead.

I received this email this afternoon about the Marie D'Esple post . What do you think ... yep, me as well! Good effort but not suckering me in at all. Dear Mike, I just got 3 letters from Marie, Here is what is written at the top of each one. Please respond to [address removed] , Thank You Joyce Neroni 1st How to win handsomes of money at the Casinos, 2nd would I like to be the 17th person to win over $15,000 a month and every month, 3rd The vision of my future is extremely clear. Now I wish for you to let me know if she is a fake, because on each one she has MR Joyce Neroni. I am certainly not a MR nor do I wish to be. If she is so good why put MR in front of my name. On each one she wants different denominations of money. 1st one she wants $29.90, 2nd one she wants $35.00, 3rd one she wants $35.95. I work part time and have just enough money to buy food after paying bills. I don't have this kind of cash. No Bank account Just living off paycheck by paycheck. Thank You for Yo...

I like his attitude as Shark Pickler Hirst Admits He's Had Silly Ideas . Especially liked: "I don't like the idea that it has to be done by the artist, I think it's quite an old fashioned thing," he said. "Architects don't build their own houses," he said, adding that his assistants are better painters than him anyway. "You'd get an inferior painting if it's done by the artist." Other stuff as I trundle through a lunchtime (where did that come from? Man I'm busy today!). Hurricanes did well to keep winning - it's not pretty but it's a win. Whilst I had a pretty good Virtual Super 12 weekend and moved up a few places on both listings I'm still quite a few off the top placers. Movie News : HGTG movie is finally coming out - loads of expectations/fear on my part not unlike LOTR when it was first mooted. Also, King Kong is coming to the final week or so of principle photography - parties galore for those involved,...

Was sitting outside the new-ish Tasting Room yesterday late afternoon with a refreshing Celtic in my hand as I watched the world go by. Someone then went by (well actually, out of the very pub I was in) on a Segway and I thought, that's got to be the drunks perfect accessory. The woman that was on this particular version wasn't a drunk and didn't look at all like she would be one. Wonder why she was using it. Another thought I had at the time was, "Why does it seem that only poor and the non-beautiful people do volunteer work ". Now, I've made huge assumptions there ... but, generally, it seems true. This came about as a bunch of, what looked like, Sally's walked passed from an event of some sort. They weren't gonna be drinking in Dockside or eating at Chow in the near future. Is it true or did I just insult many many people?

And The Vicar Of Dibley is meant to be a comedy. But if you saw the Easter Special last night (actually part 2 of the New Year special when originally shown in the UK) then you'll know what I was talking about. If you didn't then check out this video which was shown as part of the show ... and I blubbed! The "letter to Tony Blair/Maggie Thatcher" by the character Jim summed it up - I paraphrase: No more children dying when we know how to stop it. No more excuses. No more. Now that Jack is in my world I'm definitely affected by children in pain a lot more. It's that feeling of, "It's not their fault" and, "They just don't understand" and, "They need helping from big people who should know better". I imagine being in a foreign non-English speaking country and having my only friend and guide suddenly taken away - bloody scary for me and I'm 38, imagine if it had happened when I was 10! So, instead of only being sad (j...

"... Absolutely nothing! Say it again." * And if you're Christian of any make or model then please move along to the nice blog just down the road , this ain't gonna be for you. So, really, what is the point? I'm sitting at home on an average Friday - re-named Good Friday but I have to say it's bloody average from where I'm sitting - and there's sod all to do. I can't go and buy anything , I can't catch-up with my mates for a drink , all the best adverts have been taken away from me, I can't smoke inside - oh, hang on, I don't smoke anymore. AND note, it's Friday, I could be at work producing worthwhile things for the community and receiving a fair days wage as I normally do ... *ahem*. OK, so I'm a bit bored and I could find things to occupy my mind - I could update the CV , I could do that work for Dianne at skylight (I've just re-designed/coded/launched their website - whaddya think ?), I could clean the front-room ...

Anyone out there from Bristol or Cardiff (in the UK) or can point me towards Bristol/Cardiff related blogs? Leave a comment OR email (miramar.mike@gmail.com) me Thanks

Sorry, late for the pet shop and the library ! Gonna blog (soon-ish) about: 'A' is for Anticipation 1999 World Cup semi-final loss, a defining Kiwi moment Blogging and partners Comments part 2 Reading is such an understated skill Plain english - please use it! Exciting news from the Riversdale family UK and when we'll next be there .... oops, more late - but you can check out the current article list

Rob (see ' Welsh rugby comments ') has just reminded me about a pre-2002 attempt at having a ... well, I s'pose it was an attempt at what Public Address has turned into, a regular set of cool writers writing about stuff - I was before my time! Check out the old yet still funny writings at "The Forum" (still a catchy name n'est pa?). It had writers from Australia , England , London #1 and #2 , Wales , NZ and everywhere in between . One of the contributors was none other than our esteemed blogger/comment-maker llew of SunnyO . Be sure to read his movie review column, "See This" BTW: If you're wondering about my change of name, all can be explained .

So far the rugby weekend has been a mixed bag: Six Nations Well done to the Welsh Rugby team (and no-one else, can't stand the "We did it" emails I'm already getting - "WE?"). Anywho, they (the squad) absolutely deserve the adoration they're about to receive from the Welsh nation. Awesome work . I see the Welsh U21's did the same as well - that bodes well for them. They (the Welsh fans) are now claiming world supremacy (understandably I s'pose) and the number of "Bring on the All Blacks" calls is quite astounding. Surely getting into the British Lions is first and then the All Black "Grand Slam" tour at the end of the NZ season. Super 12 'Canes let themselves down once again. After a blinding start with 3 away matches under their belt they fail to deliver at home. Nothing new I must say and, "Expected the Unexpected"! Crusaders whipped the Blues (Auckland) big time. It was good to watch. Sevens World Cup...

Well, out the back of our local school - a few close-ups of the wee fella.

Jack and his adventures on the local playgound's big slide. Enjoy. The start of the slide adventure Up the ramp - "Catch me if you can" "Come on Dad, keep up" "Oops, nearly the wrong way" "What? Use my hands as well? ... Let me get back to you on your request" Arrived at the top - even from this angle you can tell he's grinning from ear to ear "Just get myself up on the ledge .... hmm, bit windy today". BTW: This little event is where Dads pulse rate rises somewhat Nearly there (now you see why I struggle with this little bit ... "Deep breath, he'll be fine, he'll be fine" - just be bloody ready to catch him) "Wheeeeeeeeee" ... is probably what he's thinking And a safe landing "Ha ha ha ha ... let's do that again" ... and again, and again. "Come on! COME ON!" Jacks domain ... and I have to say, it's a bloody good playgound with things for most ages to do - Miramar Centr...

Jack during one of his ' let me tell you a story ' moments

Liz and Jack paddling at beach at Oriental Parade (smack bang in the centre of the city) one March weekend. Ahh, it's a hell of a life in Wellington Jack a'paddling (it was so hard to get a picture of him looking at the camera) Now this is what it's all about - what a city

Dad and Jack with homemade playdough .. doesn't have the "real" smell though :-)

I think llews younger bro's (Richard) email is a spot-on summary of New Zealand in 2005

The Fifth Annual Weblog Awards have happened and the only category we care about ("Best Australian or New Zealand weblog") has the winner of ... what's new pussycat? NOT, bizgirl ... still, I'm sure Natalie's having a grand old time in Austin, Texas anyway. What else, oh, maybe James and Natalie have got it right with the Wellingtonist re: Gothamist 's win. And 'how to blog by tony pierce, 100' is pretty good if you're out there Pimping Ya Blog (tm) and complements my own 'Blogging, the story so far' BTW #1: once you've loaded the Bloggies page scroll down and down and down to see the results - nice usability, NOT! BTW #2: What is up with Blogger, it's bloody slow and cranky at the moment ... sort it out geek people putting coal in the engine!

The 1978 team contains names I look back on with awe and a huge sense of "warmth" - I trust Jack will do the same to a Welsh and/or All Black team in the same manner. Wales 1978 v 2005: The reckoning

Another from Dave Barry's blog ... and, gosh, I nearly snorted through my nose when I read the opening line ... IOL: A Step Beyond

But some how I get the impression that Sheep Dash! is just a lot of silly fun.

[Updated 17-March] Here's the latest Six Nations situ from Auntie Beeb ("That's the BBC to you sonny!"): If Wales beat Ireland on Saturday they will clinch the Six Nations title and win the Grand Slam (for defeating all five opponents in the tournament). Needing to overcome a points difference of -25, Ireland can still win the Six Nations if they beat Wales in Cardiff. But they need to win by 13 points - though France can still pip them if they beat Italy by 42 points or more. If Ireland beat Wales by one point then France would need to beat Italy by 53 points to retain their title. Large weekend of rugby coming up with the Welsh XV (and U21's ) playing the Irish for the Grand Slam in the 6 Nations ( still no venue for little ol' me though ) AND the World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong - go the Kiwis !!! Oh, and I have mentioned that the British Lions are coming . Poor old Wilkinson still holds a Lions dream - what are his chances?

one before: Choose Your Dinner Companions Wisely I'm still giggling about it

If she wasn't Benito's granddaughter I'm sure the story " Mussolini's Granddaughter on Hunger Strike " wouldn't fly at all. Love the final paragraph, paraphrased as "I didn't cheat! But if I get caught then it's not fair because they all do it". And having just eaten two pies (I know, I know - but they stopped selling good salads at the cafe!) this seems a little appropriate ... sort of: Pi Day Gives Math Mavens Something to Celebrate Johnny Wilkinson - bet he's a f^cked off young man. Whilst anything that weakens the English rugby side I applaud wholeheartedly I do think this is tough on Wilco (see how close we are? He calls me Mr Riversdale, no point letting standards slip are there?) and the Lions ... who are coming soon (June-July) . And always a good time waster is the Ask Yahoo! stuff. So, now I know the answers to Did John Lennon or Paul McCartney sing more lead vocals for the Beatles? - yes Does Michael Jackson still own ...

Having not bothered with Google News New Zealand as I thought it was just another MyYahoo! rip off I realise that it's much MUCH better. It's delivering all the breaking Kiwi news to me ... just what I wanted. And I can now customise the layout. Bloody awesome. Gotta be careful in my "Google is awesome" - I recall saying that about Microsoft when they started!

Have just read that Dave Allen (comedian) died on March 10th which has left me a little sad. I once saw him on stage in London and I can only recall two things he said (much like Billy Connolly he didn't tell ya outright jokes but more rambling hilarious stories). Anywho, one short one he said was: I once read an instruction notice on a product, it was on a deodorant stick. The notice said, "Take off top and push up bottom" ... why would anyone want to do that? Also, Tommy Vance died earlier this month. Listen to "TV on the Radio" R1 jingle , MP3, 307k ... wow, I could feel, taste and smell my bedroom when I played that. Just his name takes me back to my early teens in Wyesham as I listened to him on my pride and joy, my stereo system, listening for the latest NWOBHM . Hmmm ... feel sad and wistful.

I know, I know, it's very British of me to titter at this . But I do everytime I look at it.

Before I start: what I went through may make it sound complicated to get a Gravaar - it isn't, now that I know what they are and how to get one What the blinkin' flip am I talking about? Well, I got a new blog/website toy . As you know if you've left a comment at this blog in the past month or so that little pictures are appearing next some of these entries and ... I WANTED ONE! It's not just my standard "I want one" cry though, they're bloody useful for quickly scanning comments to see who said what. But I had no idea what they were as they weren't linked to anything ... oh, let me take a break at this point and highlight for a certain iPod competition , that I would love for the Gravatars to be clickable, going to either a 'profile' or user chosen site. Anyway, on with the story ... they weren't linked to anything, no-one was mentioning them in their comments (damn secret societies) and I couldn't find anything at Haloscan (my comm...

Here's all the blog referral, lists, blogrolls and other such nonsense I've signed up to to try and draw people to the blog ... but the best way is to get yourself on national TV . Tools Well, the obvious tool being used is Blogger - it hosts and powers everything you read. Photobucket A free and extremely easy to use store for all the pictures I use on the blog. Turn your blog into any standard news-feed to be syndicated out to others that want to read my articles. Podcasting the blog letting anybody hear (in MP3) my writings. Counts loads of stuff as people surf around the blog Directories, search engines and the like Locates your blog (or any website) in the real world and lists those near you. Is my Blog HOT or NOT? An opportunity to have people visit the site from others. I think the current rating is 9.x with around 25+ voters. Links my blog with others, allows ratings and let's people discover me. A Yahoo! "directory" approach to finding blogs and therefore...

About this blog This blog is used to both link websites d'jour and get the things that intrique/bother me out of my head. Oh, and I suggest you check out this blogs policies and copyright . About Mike You can read my Blogger profile , Yahoo! profile or Virtual Tourist page . You can check out the life story / life soundtrack and talk about my body . I'm a sociable wee man so please drop me an email at miramar.mike@gmail.com or try the ways to get in touch with me or even just buy me something My work life uses Knowledge Management approaches which I'm detailing at the KM Wiki. With that in mind I'd love you to think about hiring me . Check out the photo collections here and here . Or just gazing admiringly at the following photo for a few minutes: "Life's too short to drink bad wine" - Winston Churchill? Listened to Radio 2 National Radio BBC Radio 7 MoreFM Canterbury Radio Active , Groove 107.7FM Played : Amazon CD wish list Employment : Kaiser...

(don't forget ALL pictures I've ever taken are at my Flickr photo album) 2006 March A trip to The Groynes Meg in her bouncy chair with her bro' Clouds over Sumner Beach Jack, a part of the iPod generation Jack playing in his house Meg on Jacks lap Carol and a fast asleep Meg February Jack and Meg photos late February Photo's of, you know, people and stuff Wellington International Rugby Sevens, the photo's January Just a few of us around and about in January Attempting Pilates .. but with a slight handicap Jack and Meg during the early weeks of January How the other half lived A quick hello from Liz and Mike It was a cracker of a New Year 2005 December A growing two and half week old Meg Jack's photo's of the moment The Riversdale/Carol Christmas tree Riversdales - almost all of them Jack, looking cool and a little deer November First day home for "bub" Liz and Meg are home tomorrow Meg is doing awesomely and Mum is tired Megan Hannah Riversdal...