Mike Riversdale

I was gonna do a story about a guy at a bar, how he met a girl with a handbag and the other girl wasn't in a rock band but I just get confused. (joke Caroline , joke) So all I'll say is Happy 2nd Anniversary darlink! It's been an amazing journey already and, to be honest, "2nd" isn't that far into it so we've obviously got loads of fun stuff coming up.

[Updated 1-march] Tried and reviewed One of my enduring complaints about the "blogsphere" (ick word used to describe the world of connected blogs) is that once I leave a comment somewhere I invariably forget where and then miss out on the replies and subsequent conversation. Someone clever has come up with a solution called coComment - clear conversation in the blogosphere I haven't tried it yet but I am already excited ... please let it be the solution I want :-) (and link to everything else in my online office!) Thanks to this posting: http://imbok.blogspot.com/2006/02/cocommenting-and-managing-all-your.html

Ning - Create and share your own social web apps! - I thiiiink it lets you create wee programs that you can quickly add to your web pages. I think. Anyone tried it? Looks like it should be easy to use ...

Blake Ross on Firefox » Ten predictions for the new year , especially: Yahoo, acclerating its bid to dominate the social space, will announce that it is buying the actual societies of 32 cash-strapped governments. Citizens will be allowed to link their existing names to their Yahoo accounts.

Crickey, after not being sure last week I'm in turmoil this week. So it's reached France which is a mere hop skip and a train ride away from the UK and then it's all on. When I say it's all on I mean all of the following will be played out in Liz and my mind: Our children will die before our eyes We will never see home (Wellington) ever again It'll cost a small fortune to get out of the UK as fast as possible We'll never get to go back to the UK until the kids are old enough to have the same worries about their own children (this is the first ever "grandchildren" thought I've ever had!) Our children will die before our eyes Of course I know all the cerebral arguments which all boil down to, you can't catch it off dead birds and it's not mutated to humans. To which I reply, remember Mad Cows Diseases (they, UK Government, claimed it'd never get to humans) - "they" just don't know. As for the last one all I have to say is,

The Several Habits of Wildly Successful del.icio.us Users » Slacker Manager If you use it then this is quite a good crib sheeet to using it 'better'.

I sit and watch him as he trudles through the Wiggles website looking for his games, playing his games and then pushing the home button to wander off to the Teletubbies site ... all without a hint of assistance required. I'm showing my pre-PC-in every-room age I know but wow, not too shabby for a wee fella coming up to 3 years of age in June. Meg - she's cut her first tooth, way too many months before the "average" - above average already :-) And that's it from the Riversdale Proud Father News Office for another week.

What the Flock ? I know, it's an obvious joke but it had it coming. Ah, but you want a real answer - Flock - it's another web browser . It's built on the Mozilla platform so basically it's Firefox but it's got some other cool (potentially) stuff built right into it, namely: Flickr integration - upload, show and use (drag-and-drop) pictures in the/your Flickr world Blog this - Blogging built in - I'm using it now to post this page Online bookmarks/favourites - uses del.icio.us or shadows Spell checking built in - for everything from your blog post to filling in any field/form RSS stuff - god knows what but it sounds more than just showing the feeds It's beta (means not officially launched) so be aware of slowness and odd crashes although it's pretty stable. The one crash I had (or might have been user error) didn't result in me losing any of this blog posting which was automatically saved as Draft, nice - although it's first publishing n

After leaving a complaint because of my not so good King Kong movie experience I'm here to tell you that they never got back to me. Now that's NOT customer service!

The sun is shining as it heats a stunning crisp and clear "autumn" day here in Christchurch - the first day I could see the wee puffs of breath. I've had a major component of my work go live (part 1 of 1,657) with little heartache from the Unit and we're having a wee celebration at lunchtime ( Twisted Hop , of course) with all those involved. I've got "Absolute Disco" playing on the stereo. Life is sweet. I trust you're all having a cracker as well!

The Web Office Suite: best of breed products is a nice complimentary article to my vision of living online

Blog Hui 2006 When: March 17th-18th Where: Turnbull House, Wellington Cost: $300 Anyone?

Luckily Frogstar is on the ball: Frogstar World E: WHAT'S iN A NAME?

This article is now at Enterprise 2.0 New Zealand style: Blogging and KM: Discussion facilitated by Mike Riversdale, KM Specialist

One of the things London taught me was to always look up. And one day, on my way home from another hard day slaving at a computer in the Etam Head Office on Oxford Street (#19 bus to Clapham) I did ... and there they were, above Piccadilly Circus, 3 amazing female golden divers. Here in Christchurch there are some amazing old building facades up above the ground floor shops. So, when you're wandering the steeets wherever you are remember to look up, you'll always see something of interest.

Here's a little blog posting from the guys that draws 'em up: Official Google Blog: Oodles of doodles Nice ones from the past

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Having had Dad over here in New Zealand for sometime I miss not being with him to celebrate. Have a blast Dellboy / Derek / Dad and we'll catch-up soon for that beer in a Monmouth pub !

Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto for Change is an articulation of statements that exemplify Bruce Mau's beliefs, motivations and strategies - and I think it's something to print off and read every morning as you create your day [Updated: 23-Feb] Aha, this is (c) copyright so I'll remove the text and let you all tootle off to the original . My picks are 1, 4, 6, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 29, 32, 35, 37, 39, 41, 42 and 43

Colabria - A Model for Global Knowledge Management within the Enterprise After looking at 140 KM frameworks worldwide, here are some of the conclusions in the paper (pdf) . (Some from other references.) "...Making time to converse at every level of an organization is not an indulgence, not a luxury, it is an imperative..." "...portals must be seen as collaborative information systems..." "...emphasis is on people and their behaviors and roles in enterprise operations..." "...the digital information system, centered on the knowledge-worker, requires a human centric design approach to place the knowledge-worker into the heart of the design process..." "...knowledge resides primarily in the heads of individuals, and in the social interactions of these individuals. It cannot be consider as an object such as data are in digital information systems."

Plenty of Google Job Opportunities and their application process is easy-peasy pudd'n 'n' pie!

Final show - Guardian Unlimited | Ricky Gervais | Ricky Gervais podcast Episode 12 February 20 2006 In which Ricky, Steve and Karl discuss... Coughing up for Karl; Karl talking hyperbolics; pragmatism and romanticism combined; life with the lions; coping strategies post-transmogrification; extracts from the diary of an idiot; the last monkey news. Download the MP3 here (suitable for playing directly on your PC or copy it to your portable player) Download the MP4 here (enhanced iTunes and photo iPods) Subscribe to the podcast - MP3 Use this url: http://www.guardian.co.uk/podcasts/rickygervais/mp3.xml Subscribe to the podcast - MP4 Use this url: http://www.guardian.co.uk/podcasts/rickygervais/mp4.xml It's been a pleasure and I can most definitely see a CD coming out of it all. AND, Karl Pilkington will move on to bigger and better things with Monkey News books, "I Could Eat A Knob At Night" single, the Diary published and many many more bits of merchandise for us all. But t

Having had a few great mates down from Wellington this weekend I let myself go and got horrendously drunk at The Twisted Hop Friday evening and then lashing of good Merlot on Saturday whilst we all chowed down on BBQ burnt by my fair hands. One of the side issues though was that I stole a ciggie from Paul on both the Friday and Saturday. And enjoyed it. In fact, as I write I can feel/hear that little voice inside telling me, "It's OK. Just one won't do any harm". Not good, not good at all. And as I arrived at work this morning there was a rather large Montecristo (Habana) Cuban cigar sitting on the keyboard. One of my work colleagues, Jane , has returned from an awesome holiday in Cuba and it has to be said that I did ask for the cigar before she left. What else does one demand from work colleagues when they go to Cuba?!? But now we have a dilema - paragraph 2 + paragraph 3 = decision. Do I return the cigar (and seem extremely ungrateful) OR do I go for it?

It's missing off the offerings from Google re: life online ... but who knows, this dude has done some more code foreshadowing perhaps? and found a potential reference in the code (near the bottom of the article).

Whilst the Bird Flu could be definitely serious I'm not sure how much weighting to place on it in our decision to go/stay in the UK/Sweden .

This article is now at Enterprise 2.0 New Zealand style: Wikipedia and rewards for knowledge sharing

Further to my "Best beer in NZ" posting where I mentioned a "a wee place selling British crisps, sweets and the like" to which the owner left a comment saying, "we're called Union Jack's ". I also see there's a website for the whole Poplar Street set of 'twendy' shops! But as a service to all that crave Walkers crisps (CRISPS!!), Custard Creams, Tetley tea or a Sherbert Fountain then pop along to these NZ shops: Union Jack's : 12 Poplar Street, Christchurch Cool Brittania : 35 Taranaki Street, Wellington If you're in Christchurch then this blog recommends Union Jack's for all your British snack attacks :-) You can buy almost anything that sends you back to Britain in waves of nostalgia from the manufacturers or the like - just do an interweb search and have your credit card handy!

Kids Summer flora

Life is good but bits can be a pain. No decision on the UK/Sweden/Christchurch thing yet - we've both put it on the backburner for a few weeks ... can't leave it too late though as tickets don't get cheaper When I wear a suit (after forgoing it for a month) I must remember that everyone will ask me, "Going for an interview?" or, even more humorously, "How was the interview?" - *sheesh* Oh! And don't wear a suit and have a stubbly face, it confuses people! Nice to hear that Aucklanders are taking to the public transport ... see, if you invest you get a return! You watching any of the TVOne Winter Olympic coverage ? Liz and I are quite enamoured of the sports and enjoy it when it's on but it's just too damn late. Why didn't they stick on during the evening - we're sure we could survive without Coronation Street for 2 weeks. The universally accepted view that Kiwi's have a "can do" attitude doesn't always pan out

Well there of the surrounds really, but still, Felicity and Phillip's Flickr photos of Monmouth are extremely evocative for me

You know you want it ... and if you don't please pass on to those that might . Urban Mountain Buggy for sale - TradeMe * Green * Comes with storm cover * Front wheel is swivel or can lock into position * Bought in April 2003 Structurally sound, no rips with only a few minor stains on canvas. Note: this model does not have adjustable handle This is an excellent buggy, very manoeuvrable, light and easy to collapse.

I think I've made that proclamation somewhere else on the interweb ... and I totally stand by it. In the newly refurbished and becoming twendy area (in a council approved and sanctioned way) of Poplar Street ( location ) there stands the Twisted Hop The Hop is a local brewpub - i.e., it brews it's own beer , something that isn't new in NZ as there are many such places popping up all over Aotearoa. The Hop, however, is the only place that I have drunk at that has both the ambiance and the liquid refreshments of an English pub through some hard work of the two brewers . I highly recommend you pop along during your Christchurch days and sup a pint and if you mean to make it a regular event (I do, but not quite as regular as 2005) then the Hop Club is something for you to look at And just down the road there are more twendy shops, in particular a wee place selling British crisps, sweets and the like. And round the corner on the High Street is both the best movie rental place i

Penultimate show - Guardian Unlimited | Ricky Gervais | Ricky Gervais podcast Episode 11 February 13 2006 In which Ricky, Steve and Karl discuss... The cult of Karl going global; how no well-appointed planet should be without one; Karl's contributions to the curriculum; playground pugilism; verbiage on the vermiform appendix; horological considerations for interstellar pioneers; further entries from the dimwitted diarist; monkey news. Download the MP3 here (suitable for playing directly on your PC or copy it to your portable player) Download the MP4 here (enhanced for iTunes and photo iPods) Subscribe to the podcast - MP3 Use this url: http://www.guardian.co.uk/podcasts/rickygervais/mp3.xml Subscribe to the podcast - MP4 Use this url: http://www.guardian.co.uk/podcasts/rickygervais/mp4.xml And as Miss Seph says , "Chimpanzee That! MONKEY NEWS!! You fff..u..." with Mr Pilkington merchandise available - no money goes to Mr Pilkington, Mr Gervais or Mr Merchant;

Or just want to use/create Microsoft Office documents then check out ThinkFree Office Online Like everything when l iving online , you will need to sign-up (it's free) - it'll stop everyone else getting at your documents. Here's the salient points from the official blurb : Write , ThinkFree's word processing application, which uses Microsoft Word's .doc file format. Write has most of Word's features, and even retains the user interface that Word users are comfortable with. Show , a powerful application for creating presentations that is highly compatible with Microsoft Powerpoint. Powerpoint users will feel right at home with Show's robust feature set, which includes graphical tools, dozens of animations and transitions, and of course use of the .ppt file format. Calc , a spreadsheet editor built for compatibility with Microsoft Excel's .xls format. With the built-in chart wizard, auto-fill support, and 300 computational functions to choose from, Excel

I see the world through stories and that's probably why I get such a 'home coming' / 'at peace' feeling whenever I am in my book sanctuary's :-) Seeing one's life as a story has given me a great deal of freedom. Freedom to re-write, freedom to plot for the future, freedom for the 'concrete' in the world (if there is anything like that) to be broken down into a more nebulous 'thing'. An example (a mini-story, if you will): A lot of people that were around my life in the late 1990's would have had some experience of how Jude and I broke up. I am sure that each one of these people has an image of how it occurred, how I dealt with it and it all 'turned out for the best'. That final phrase is one commonly used, along side, "Wow, it's amazing how you and Jude stayed friends..." (or similar). Part of my story (and potentially hers, but I don't know how it is for her in her life) is that there were some pretty hairy tim

Stewie tells it how it is: About the show : It's me and a bunch of drooling Neanderthal dullards, what more do you need to know? Upcomming events : Tuesday, Kill Lois. Wednesday, try on all her shoes! Store : Authentic Stewie Griffin stool, $9.95, get it while it's hot! Multimedia : If you're hoping to see a video of Meg in a compromising position, believe me, so is she! Community : Hey, give it a shot, I hear this is how Ernest Borgnine met his fourth wife. Downloads : I say, if you're looking for photos of the dog humping Lois you're at the wrong site ... Family Guy

That Bill Bryson book basically says, "We don't know" .. and Kaliyuga Kronicle ensures that scientists the world over remember that, for instance : As I compose this little essay, the BBC is doing one of its Horizon programmes, in which various eccentrics are allowed airtime to propound their delusions. The proposal at the heart of this little entertainment is that 96% of the universe is missing. Yes indeed. Another pause called for, I suggest. And take as long as you like. The obvious question is, where are we going to put 96% when some fucker finds it? My house is already overflowing with stuff that I don’t need. The wailing and moaning of Mrs S can be heard as far afield as Shropshire when she goes off on one of her “When are you going to get rid of that pile of …… that you never use?” episodes. I know. I know that it is the nature of men to hoard things. I am too old and seasoned to alter my behaviour, even though I know that if I were to lose on of my CDs of Carl S

Amusingly enough I bumped into Sir Ian this week at a function in the House of Lords. I felt it only fair to tell him that I had called for his resignation and a lively discussion ensued. This is a real MP, in the real UK Parliament, talking about real Lords ... "Lords", I mean really, "lords" - so Disney and very cute. No, I shan't be ever voting there if we pop over , it's too much like a comedy show and I just couldn't take it seriously. Love 'em. By the way, on a totally unrelated track - doesn't Alison Moyet have a just amazing voice? Yep, playing her version of "the best of" and quite happy it's on repeat. Next they'll be telling me they still have a Queen (of Hearts) and think that the world cares.

Not saying that Fidels has automatically put our photo on their wall ... but the boss man did pop out to take a few of us ( Jamaican Netballers ) just before we collared Kathryn (ex-Australian Netball captain - not Liz, who is going to her site !?!) for a few "tips" - phone/camera photo coming once Graeme and I work out how.

Second half ... but that's that way we like it, u-huh u-huh! And, after yet another amazing weekend in Wellington I realise how much it's about the people and the potential ... it's quite infectious. But mostly it's my mates - Adam, Paul, Pete, Sean, Karen, Kim, Pete, Kath, Just, Emma, Amanda, ... and the newbies (to me), Tim, Dave (ish), Amanda, Rob (ish again :-), Jane, ... and the oldies that I didn't get to catch-up with - Jude, Phil, PP, Llew , John, Rach, Mands (sorry, oops), Ruth (um, again, oops), Chicks, Kerry (how was One Love?) ... I miss it! Oh! And having the Drop (" Wandering Eye " - that is just the bomb for me!) or Black Seeds on TV after I've just watched the 'Canes whip Auckland (and here )... with a bottle of wine inside ... I'm strutting and bobbing to it all!

Who did?

Lewsey tips England for World Cup

I cannot, in anyway, condone the sniggering or belly laughter you may experience at the expense of these people! Go Fug Yourself: Grammys (cheers noizy )

I think we're now coming down to two choices: UK/Sweden for a month - paid or not, whatever works Sweden for the wedding, UK for a few years Liz and I have always said that Jack'll be in school in Wellington which really means whatever we do we'll need to be back in Wellington for June 200... um, er, 200... hang on, 2008. That gives us 2 years to do stuff here (Christchurch) or there (UK). After seeing that film a few nights ago though I am definitely of the mind that no matter what decision we come up with we will make it right and it will be the one right for us!Righty-ho, pro's and cons! UK/Sweden for a month: Pros Time enough to see everyone oop north Can plan for the house now Job available on return I can immersse myself in Christchurch and get to know the cool funky places Only 30 mins from Wellington at any one time UK/Sweden for a month: Cons Is it really enough time? Might miss out on opportunities Living in Christhcurch for 2 more years Sweden for the weddin

Download this Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and start filling in the names of the bands you know. Why? Better than waiting for Pop Quiz to come back, more useful than trawling the Web for porn, you'll get more information than reading NZ newspapers and it's fun. http://www.openomy.com/download/mike_riversdale/bands_quiz.xls Enjoy! How many have you got?

What does that name mean to you? Are you "in" with the latest podcast buzz? Ok, how about, "I could eat a knob at night!" - seems like a fairly random phrase but did you know it's about to become the latest 'thing'! Go on, Google both Karl Pilkington and/or "I could eat a knob at night", you know you want to ...

Who killed Cock Robin?

Then the film, What the bleep do we know!? isn't the one for you as it won't give you the answer to all of life's mysteries. It will, however, get you thinking about life - why do you think you're here, what are you doing with this existence, what else is out there and how does it all hang together. This film rocked! It had me thinking for hours afterwards. So, what the 'bleep' is this film - here's what the website synopsis for the directors extended cut: The original storyline, which follows the journey of professional photographer Amanda (played by Academy Award winning actress, Marlee Matlin ) as she comes to understand the sources of her depression and slowly change her life, is slimmed down to make room for more in-depth interviews with sixteen of the world’s top physicists, engineers, physicians, biologists, researchers, journalists and mystics, who talk about consciousness, psi research, physics, biology, emotion and addictions. The scientists are

... well, maybe just make money ... actually even that's tricky - BUT, you have the opportunity: --------------- FROM: Tom Kelly, thomas.kelly@touchdowntv.com It's that time of year again.....time to play Virtual Super 1 4 ……… S ome cheeky cyber-monkey managed to nick the name V irtualSuper14, no doubt in the hope they could make squillions selling it back to Telecom NZ , but it appears Telecom didn't take the bait, so, this year, if you want to get registered and play Virtual Super 14 then follow the link to: http://www.telecomvirtualrugby .co.nz/ Most of you have played before, some may not have. Its the s ame rules as always – predict the winning team and margin for the Super 1 4 matches each week and the 3 top scores at the end of the season will share the money from the prize pool. To confirm your entry in this years Virtual Super 14 Comp you will need to email me your Player Name by 10th Feb, PLUS , cough up $20 entry fee which will go into

Some sort of 'cute baby' type competition to find the new face of Calpol (whatever that baby-type product is). So, vote for HENRY on page 480 . Henry looks like this, go on make my mate, Nikki, a very happy mum:

Me and my bag ... The rest of the Jamaican Netball team with our view ... The things you see ... and the people you actually know! And all of my Seven's photo's are up on Flickr Also check out: All Flickr 'sevens' photos Margaritanitz 'sevens' tee foto moto 'sevens' enderby49 'Sevens Parade' GIALIAT 'sevens' jig o'dance 'sevens' David Farrar's photos Pete The Swede 'sevens' Scoop: Wellington Sevens Fans Attempt To Steal The Show Rosie and Deborah 'sevens'

Join the Telecom Virtual Rugby Home and add me to your mates list, Miramar Mike . First game is this Friday, Hurricanes v Blues in Auckland! And shame about the wacking the English gave the Welsh as well - let's hope the English are building for a false dawn :-). Check out all the results and fixtures that matter

Sitting here in my netball skirt (holding up well considering, good work Jacqui) I gather myself for the second and even crazier Sevens Rugby day. The sun is blazing down, the one yellow top is a tad icky but not too shabby and it's the Fidels brekkie that's gonna get me through the afternoon. First NZ game is around 3pm! Off we go ...

The pictures are coming, suffice to say we all looked FABULOUS! Noteworthy points: Drinking hard and fast early leaves you high and dry later on (not us, but the young 'uns ... I will be shouting at the hungover ones tomorrow, ha ha ha - I am evil and take no prisoners) The pink, Mrs Pitt , handbag was my best buy Balloon boobs vibrate from the speakers You squeeze mine, I will squeeze yours People around your core gang are also your best mates Friday is only day one Guys love boobs ... even if they're obviously not real Rugby does and can happen, but who cares Netball type skirts are just the best when it is hot Speights at $5 per plastic bottle is taking the piss, but what are you to do! Walking around the stadium is the best show in the world 85% of people are in 'costume', were you?

TICKET SOLD! Due to a very happy circumstance we have one ticket for the Sevens tomorrow , Saturday (finals day) . If you want the ticket leave a comment (name, contact details and monetary offer) and we'll get back to you ASAP. Probably best to try and get in before 1pm today as we'll be away to the first day by then. If you can also get into the Jamaican Netballer spirit of things as well I'm sure the price will reflect your effort accordingly. The ticket is Platinum Covered, Aisle 28, Row P Here's the stadium plan for ya, we're on the half way line - this is a tip top seat! And the happy circumstance - one of our Jamaican Netballing party is pregnant! And as you all know it's a tiring thing growing a baby so one day in full netball costume is an awesome effort and no point be silly about it :-) Congrats from us to you both Amanda and Tim

(hat tip to Wanda ) Not sure what this says about me and the blog - I like talking about myself by the looks of it.

This article is now at Enterprise 2.0 New Zealand style: Are you one of them or one of the other?

OhGizmo! » Indiana Jones Animated GIF What else can I say ... probably need to ask why!

If you saw the movie Supersize Me then you'll know one of the key reasons behind taking McDonalds to court over the "bad food" (or whatever the actual legal term is) was that McDonalds were the only one of the fast food corporations that actively and aggressively targeted kids with its advertising strategy. I s'pose the thinking is that kids can't make the connection between "bad food" and later life issues. But. I was walking through The Warehouse the other day looking for a set of keys for Jack (short story for another day) and I happened to notice in the toy section that for a few dollars you can buy a Subway plastic toy 'food set'. If that's not targeting kids then what is. As for "bad food" at Subway, I'm sure if you (like me and most others) have all the cheese, meats and sauces you're not gonna lose much weight like the dude on TV tells ya. [Update] Wow, I've got my finger on the worldwide pulse - thanks M