Mike Riversdale

Here's a couple more from the mid-May Christchurch visit . Don't forget that you get a full screen version of a picture by clicking on it Jack looks annoyed that Carol's trying to talk to him during the 6 o'clock news :-) Playing with cars - brrrrmmmmmm... Jack and his cousins Zoe and Char with their favourite friends - Lollys (sweets) Jack just before brushing his teeth - his getting there but it's not regular enough at the mo', totally his parents fault. And finally, Mum and Son looking very guilty

It was an early start for me as Jack obviously wanted me to take these photos

Sean has a theory on why the Hurricanes are always 'close but no cigar' at his Super 12 Champions posting. Hmmm - it pre-supposes that the fans actually affect the play and can win a game. So, in answer to Sean here's my Counselling Degree, 2nd year paper on "AS6206 Research / Critical Thinking Proposal". It's a reply-ish as it may not actually related directly to Seans theory but it's something I've been wanting to post for a while. By the way we didn't actually have to run the research just write a proposal - I know, I know but that was hard enough for most. Oh, two more things - if you're sitting this paper (or any like it) and want to use this as your own submission - don't! However, if you want to actually do the research and get an answer then by all means go for it but let me know first . AS6206 Research / Critical Thinking Proposal 2003 2nd Year Assignment Wellington Fans don’t CORF – an investigation into the underlying reasons

Barry John: the greatest Lion of them all Now this takes me back ... I'm loving this Lions tour not for what it necessarily is but for what it's reminding me of. Tours are (were) such a part of rugby - I went away to Scotland, Holland and France on tours and they rocked. Being away for weeks at a time, playing teams you'd never heard of, learning new approaches to the game and visiting the countries was just so cool.

A nice way of finding out what blogs (or any website) are located near to you (as in geographically near, yes, the real world!). Check out sites near MiramarMike - GeoURL (2.0) Thanks to fellow Wellingtonista Alan @ half-pie

News - none. Bump - appearing. Girls name - Meg(an) Hannah Boys name - Louie ... but waiting until the scan for gender Jack - "Baba baba" Me - excited when I think about it. Looking at little babies a lot more than. Looking forward to the wee girl/fella joining us. Starting to have conversations with him/her.

BBC NEWS | World | Lion Mutilates 42 Midgets in Cambodian Ring-Fight As spotted by eagle-eyed but a little sick Mr One-Eyed himself, Sean. Go the Crusaders!

Blah blah blah ... Just seeing if it raises my "look at me" stuff!

In true(ish) Wellingtonist spirit I'm gonna do the "let me count the ways..." deal. Unlike Mr Llew of SunnyO I won't be writing loads and loads - most of the ' why are you here? ' stuff is already detailed in glorious monochrome using the power of words placed in order at chapter four of the life story . What do you like about the town? The 'town' being the whole of Wellington City - not just the limited view that it's the CBD/Courtenay Place type areas. Lots but I have to say they're getting less and less at the moment. A list is required, no order: It's my current home It's small and walkable It's friendly (well, the people generally are) The hills, views, harbour and shorefront It's was The Riversdales first home and therefore will always have a special place in our heart Like Llew I love the fact that LOTR/King Kong is made here - it's so cool I love the rugby, the stadium The events are quie

This started as a witty and oh-so clever comment on Martha's Wanda Harland blog but, well, it deserves to have it's own link: The 100 Worst Porn Movie Titles !

In front of the biggest crowd (65,000 Lions watchers including some stunning Puma fans) the British & Irish Lions team will face they were taught a lesson in rugby , how to play it and have fun. The Argentinean amateurs (incl. one French restaurateur) and retirees ran the Lions 'C' side ragged . They also denied, with some awesome defence, the opposition any openings although the Lions backs were fairly quick off the foot but keeping a hold of the ball was a challenge. With 5 minutes of extra time the Pumas were defending a 3-point lead, a lead they had never relinquished during the game (19-16 at the break). The Aussie referee, Stuart Dickinson, gave Johnny Wilkinson the final say with a penalty kick and the Lions were saved from total humiliation ... probably. On the plus side for the Lions ... no one was red-carded. And Mr Wilkinson kicked as well as Federico Todeschini. And so, support the Pumas Six Nations cause - they totally deserve it All Blacks As a side note

Yep, I've gone into 'TV presenter' mode as I decide that this week is gonna be too busy for me to post original stuff that is up to my normal high and witty standard (about gas mark 2 on your old cookers). Repeats are good ... I promise it's just for one week. Thanks to ' A life of chaos ' for the 'relieve the classics' inspiration. Political Correctness http://chch-changes.blogspot.com/2005/02/political-correctness.html An interesting look at political correctness by David Farrar and the comments left are even more illuminating. A good read at Dog Biting Men: What do you really mean? about the ACT's campaign against "political correctness". This is a subject I have long had a lot of confusion and frustration with - political correctness seems to be a phrases that, now-a-days, people throw around anything they don't agree with. And it's usually used by people with a beef against the government of the day - it's unusual (but no

The Ultimate Olympian OK, not a repeat - think of this as a 20 second advert for a new show on the other channel. (thanks to Mushelle at the Jamjar )

After the excitement and fun (!) of last week I'm happy to report that nothing has happened this week. Nothing ... and it's a pleasure to write it. As we enter week 15 Liz has taken to stroking the imaginary expanding stomach. This act I find quite amusing and sometimes a tad annoying. There's nothing there. But inside I'm sure Meg/Louie receive good vibes from it. Also Liz is about to have a week or so of, "My word! Liz has put on some weight" type thoughts from those that don't know she's pregnant (are there actually people left that don't know we're having another baby?!?). I'm not so sure about 'Louie' anymore. It now has the feeling of being a place-holder until the real boys name comes along, if required. Meg has almost been voted in by all and is probably unassailable. Jack is definitely part of the "we're having a baby" gang now and has a little routine/joke of pointing to himself, "Baba?" to which

With the Lions named to play Argentina this Tuesday (kick-off 6:30am) there are bound to be rugby-friendly places open serving fantastic breakfasts (incl. mushrooms). Rumour has it that Arizona will be one such place. There may be others, please let me know. So, who's up to joining me for the very VERY start of the Lions tour ? Come on, you know you want to: miramar.mike@gmail.com Only 14 days to go!

wellingtonist: Left or right

Whilst I think it'll be a big call tonight I wish them all the best (I bet they're relieved). Mostly though I hope for a good game with NO injuries! [Updated Saturday 1:45am] Oh well, the far better side won on the day. And I got maximum Virutal S12 points. To console yourselves join me this Tuesday to watch the Pumas beat the Lions (yeah, right!)

Very funny: At Home With Rose: Fucking with signs Love the second one.

Is it OK to stare? I know it's probably a dumb question that instantly has everyone woman shouting, "NO!" but give me a few moments to explain where the question came from ... and then shout, "No!" I was idly watching the world around me at the Chocolate Frog ( Palmers Garden Centre ) this morning whilst finishing off Jack's smoothie as he played airplanes with the salt and pepper and I noticed a woman breastfeeding a (hers I assume) baby. Normally this sort of event registers with the same impact as leaves falling, birds flying and cars moving - as something happening but not affecting me in the slightest. But I stared . No, actually that's not quite right. I was staring into space and thinking about ... crickey knows what: jobs in Christchurch , Meg/Louie , fog , where's my phone, what time is it ... and noticed that my head has stopped moving and happened to be pointing at this woman and her baby . When I 'came to' I actually thought, &q

wellingtonist: Sanctuary

Tea Block building Reading A rest on the armchair called Dad

The statue outside Miramar Library Jack and the weird Library statue

The pregnancy has been bowling along at a healthy rate so far until this weekend. The blood Liz noticed wasn't a lot but enough to cause concern (any "little" thing does of course). It's been a few days now of on/off blood which, whilst it hasn't been gushing, is enough of a concern to go and get a scan later today. It's a nervous time. The midwife was very honest and said that it could well be a miscarriage. If it is then there's nothing Liz can do about it and we ("we") have to let nature take its course. On the other hand some women do have intermittent bleeding all the way through a healthy pregnancy - in fact, one of Liz's cousins did which was good to hear yesterday. The only way to find out if anything has "gone wrong" is to have a scan. 4:30pm today. And here's us with names all sorted - Meg or Louie. I find that once I have a name the person is "real". There's gonna be some serious loss and grieving to hap

Rainbow - Twangers Clip This is the old British kids programme. It looks like an original to me - anyone tell me when it was broadcast? Just brilliant!

Serious in Christchurch

Well, the boys keep on winning! But which boys - well, I have to say that whilst the Hurricanes have had a cracking 3 weeks away from home my eye is firmly on the "Welsh flair" up there in the Northern Hemisphere . From what I can gather the situation is that Italy , England and Scotland are out of the running completely. France must beat Italy by 40+ points to keep in the running ... tough but within grasp If Wales beat Ireland then it's the Grand Slam, first since 1978 For Ireland to go top they must beat Wales by 13+ All to play for then. I'm trying desperately to find someone with Sky to watch the game at 3am Sunday - no luck yet - leave a comment if you're in Wellington and up for it! Oh, and Virtual Super 12 - not too shabby this weekend but need a few more to get into the money. Still, only week 3 isn't it - and the Lions will be here soon.

It was a cracking evening despite the score.

My first Wellingtonist posting I am very excited.

This blog is probably merely adding to the useless quota. But I love 'em. They can be quirky, touching, funny within their useless-ness. Cliff @ This is this has a few listed bottom right. (yes, that's him to the left, I assume - wasn't expecting it to be so large. His blog is most definitly not useless as it makes me laugh) Yahoo! has a 'Useless Pages' section

Anyone know anyone in orkut ? [Updated 11-May] And now you know someone, me. Thanks to Mushelle for the invite. If you want to know what the heck this is and why you might want an invite from me (more than happy) check out: orkut: About Wikipedia: Orkut Wikipedia: Social Network

As music plays such an important part in my life I thought I'd try and see what the soundtrack would be if/when my life becomes a smash Wellywood film. The early days are not exactly music filled so we'd probably have to put in 'music of the time' to set the movie era. Probably have some sort of late sixties music and early seventies stuff over the top of generic British film clips of the day - Beatles waving as they get their OBEs, various Prime Ministers entering/leaving No. 10, FA Cup winners of the moment, Beatles returning their OBEs you know the sort of stuff.. I'm thinking Kinks (I absolutely, totally and adoringly love their music), later Beatles , a bit of Rolling Stones and possibly some West Coast hippy stuff. Also the heavy rock period should be probably be primed with Deep Purple , Black Sabbath and maybe a touch of Led Zeppelin . As for actually kiddie-winkle music I have no idea - can't really recall anything, "There was no Wigg

Except the injury to Anton Oliver which doesn't bode well for the Lions. Bum. Of course the game of the weekend was the Hurricanes sealing a semi-final place - that "Tana factor" must have been huge but we were definitely helped by a slack Blues game. I managed to catch-up with the guys in town ( Murphy's on Cuba Mall ) and had a raucous time of it. So much that I didn't get over it until Sunday - this old body of mine. Crusaders were very average, "sleepy" is the phrase I've just heard. And that's it really - 29 OK points in the V.S12 . Never gonna make any money now. Wish I'd out the $$$s on a draw for the Brumbies/Chiefs game . Off down to Christchurch Tuesday evening to prepare myself for the game on Friday . Of course the pressure is off now so I'm gonna totally enjoy it. A win would put the wind up those one-eyed Cantabs though, hee hee. And if you want to know the possible semi-final permutations check out " And then there

Welcome back Well, I think Sarah's back ...

Liz is definitely on the improve and that's making life easier for all (I know, I know - but it's all about me on this blog ;-). I'm happy to have my partner-in-crime back on the scene (almost) and that life will return to a semblance of normality for the next few months. Mind you, Jack now thinks that everytime she leaves the room she's off to vomit and even has a mime for it - quite funny. Jack is the real news with us and Baby X. His new word has gained some meaning as I told him that there was a, "Baba" in mum's tum. For a few days he thought he (and probably everyone else) had a 'baba' in his tum but he's moved on now and knows it's only Mum. Not sure what he thinks a 'baba' is and how on earth it got in there but it's the first step in the journey for the wee fella . Girls name - what do you think of "Meg"? Email comments to miramar.mike@gmail.com or leave a comment

Their web coverage of the British election was ... how it should be. Awesome.

Very cool - and apt considering my recent rant-ette . 1: Never read where your children can see you 2: Put a TV or computer in every room. Don't neglect the bedrooms and kitchen 3: Correct your child every time she mispronounces a word. 4: Schedule activities every day after school so your child will never be bored. 5: Once your children can read independently throw out the picture books . They're for babies. 6: Don't play board games together. Too dull. 7: Give little rewards for reading. Stickers and plastic toys are nice. Money is even better. 8: Don't expect your children to enjoy reading. Kid's books are for teaching vocabulary, proper study habits and good morals . 9: Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps. 10: Under no circumstances read your child the same book over and over . She heard it once, she should remember it. 11: Never allow your child to listen to books on tape ; that's cheating . 12: Make sure your kids only read books that are &qu

Whispering Inferno: Are we there yet? is the end of the tale. Read the previous posts involving Paul Hewitt, David Monroe, Lombard Finance and LJ Hooker for much more details.

(aaagh, crash before posting so no longer as provocative as planned and I can't for the life of me remember where the forceps were to be mentioned) 12 week scan occurred on Friday. For those that don't know this is the first of two scans - more great info at BBC - Parenting - Having a baby . It's also the scan that finds me the most nervous. In fact, it's the most jittery I get during the whole pregnancy (not including conception and birth, scary times both). This one involves seeing the wee girl (or boy) for the first time. It's the first check that everything is going as it should. It's also the end of the scary first trimester (there are three 'mesters' hence the term trimester . It means three ... somethings). During the initial 12 'scary' weeks the budding person is formed whilst from now on it's all about bulking up and putting the finishing touches to the bits. Scary because this is when you find out if the major formations have wo

Watching TV last night and we stumbled across That'll Teach 'Em programme which I have to put my hand up and admit is CRAP! But, there was nothing else on and Liz only had 30 minutes of up time left in her before abandoning me to the Hurricanes v Brumbies . If you're not familiar with the programme let me explain. Take some UK school kids on their summer hols (I assume), pretend it's 1 960-something , add a bunch of stereotypical teachers (think Bash Street Kids ) and film the fun that ensues. Oh, it's " reality TV " in all its glory i.e., does not contain reality. One of the segments last night was highlighting how far standards have slipped since the good-old-days , because that's what this programme is really all about isn't it - let's see how good it was " back then " and then complain about how it's changed and not so good anymore. I suspect the people making this programme went to school "back then" and, like mos