Mike Riversdale

... and Aussies are welcome New Zealand is now available in Google and ZoomIn flavours. I prefer the ZoomIn local flavour but the appreciate the fuller and richer Google taste.

(hat tip Martha )

Life is a wee bit stressful at the mo' as we come to do the move ... we're definitely gonna need a job fairly quickly on arrival as money isn't our most abundant resource. This was sitting in my Inbox this morning and made me giggle - it's not a reflection of the current situation, yet, but I leave it with you ... [image removed 5-Nov-2024]

Spike Milligan, Roald Dahl, J R R Tolkien and Einstein. Was it by being themselves?

The fog left dew on the spider webs which were quite cool    

No wonder Mr Collins was keen to "put the biff" on Mr McCawe and it all makes sense when we learn that Collins to captain All Blacks . It's always political at any workplace, this time we 'saw' the Wellington branch trying to "muscle in" on the top man from the high performing Christchurch office, fun when it all happens in front of everyone ( !?!? ) Hearty congrats and thanks to the teams, ref and TV camera operators for their work! *"SERIOUS-NESS" ALERT - you have been warned* Congratulations to the Crusaders team and support crew (that's the ones paid by the Canterbury Rugby Union, not the fans ;-) - they thoroughly deserved the win. And my next comment is in no way a reflection on them ... their win wasn't good for rugby. And I agree with the Crusader fans that it's not their fault that they're so dominating and always win, it's the opposition. But the Super 12/14 competition has become much like International rugby -...

Enjoy! (hat tip to Dave Barry , as always)

Kitchen of Love As Fabio says, "My kitchen, is your kitchen"

Finally found out how to upload pictures from the new camera (you connect it and then upload them ... not quite sure why I thought it would be any more complicated). Anywho - here's a sample for ya, just click on a photo and then dive on through the rest (about 100 new) when you're there ...                     And my favourite ... like father, like son!

As I mentioned I am surrounded by a "Red-and-Black Day" here at the Council and I will let you imagine how much fun I'm having. So, I need the God-awful, "Hurricanes! *boom boom boom* Hurricanes! ...." music (!). Can someone send it to me ( christchurch.capers@gmail.com ) or point me to where I can download it ?

There is an accessibility issue with "Web 2.0" sites such as Gmail and probably everything that I use to live my life online . Basically it's a very visual and mouse driven environment. If you have issues seeing or can't use a mouse then these sites are gonna cause you major issues. So what! Well, that was my initial response to Greg this lunch time when he told me ... but I have learnt a few thing over my time and one is that if we go the extra mile to make anything (Web sites, building entrances, lifts/elevators ...) work for everyone then the final product is generally much easier for everyone. Examples: with ramps for wheelchairs next to steps I find myself using the ramp, it's easier. With [alt] tags being used for images on Website I find myself scanning pages as they load and being able to decide whether I stay or go. The article Greg referred to me is: Computerworld: Accessibility Issue Comes to a Head

Interesting posting regarding the death of Wikipedia from Nicholas Carr. I haven't kept up with the internal editing policies at Wikipedia as I'm generally a reader not a contributor but I have to say I thought it was "open for all" ... seems it no longer is. If Wikipedia "management" is now generating red-tape around the authoring process then I have to agree that Wikipedia has changed considerably in its approach and ethos. That's not a bad thing per se, things change and evolve. However the change should be communicated and understood by all that need to (in this case current and future contributors which might be all of us). And, in the true nature of the Interweb all that content will probably flow out of Wikipedia into whatever comes next.

It's a foggy/misty morning here in Christchurch and as I was leaving the house I noticed that I had described it as a "Misty morning" whereas Liz has used the word 'fog'. So, what's the difference? (It's such questions that the Interweb/Googley-knowledge-finder was built to answer)

I've previously mentioned an enhancement to the Google search results with items about Burger King being grouped appropriately (still don't quite know how that happens). This time we were searching for the word "lupus" (work related but not in any serious manner) and Google came up trumps again, this time slightly differently. Along with the standard result set it had a series of "sub-categories". Lupus is a disease and the relevant sub-categories were, "Treatment", "Symptoms", "Test/diagnosis" and the like. Now that's cool. This time I know how it happens, sites are categorising their content in a Google-friendly manner using Google Co-Op and obviously Google is using that as a starting place to group the rest of the Web - nice. Try it for yourself: lupus - Google Search They're also running Co-Op programs for destination destination guides , autos , computer & video games , photo & video equipment , and stere...

MonMouth - and it seems to be about things I know nothing about, maybe things have changed in the old/new home more than I thought!

Whilst some people have too much time at least their not wasting it and are coming up with films backward which has some funny entries. If that's not your bag then please try and tell me what the bloody hell this is (I assume it's from a Microsoft press release over at nvunet ): Microsoft plans to launch a beta of its virtualization hypervisor management console earlier then previously expected. Go on, tell me if it's a piece of hardware (heads-up display in fighter planes) or some software (something the Fish dude out of Star Wars used to control the battles in space). Best headline though is, Scientists build caramel-powered margarine-making fuel cell - wicked! During my school days this would've been the bomb, this would've been cool after school and this is where I would've kept my school books. And finally, I have been kept entertained waiting for my bus of a morning by the cars jumping on their brake lights as they spot the flash of the speed camera i...

Enough of the rugby . Did you all (in New Zealand-land) see the C4 presentation of ' Lindon Puffin's - Figure 8000 '? Here's what Music.net.nz said about it: a 90 minute road movie of Lindon Puffin's tour around NZ. Having fronted glam rock band The Puffins during the late 90's, Lindon has reinvented himself as a solo folk / punk act - this documentary shows beautiful footage of NZ mixed with interviews, live footage, icons & idiots, poetry & porn as Lindon makes his 8000 km journey around the country I'd never stumbled across Mr Puffin ( http://www.lindonpuffin.co.nz/ ) before but thought he rocked as a person, had a cracking view of the country, took me to places I'd not been and totally dissed Waipukurau Council which made me giggle (idiots, they totally deserved it). I liked the way he did it - he had a dream, he made it happen, some of it turned into a nightmare, but, he did it, he got off his ass and made something happen. And he...

My place of work* is having a Red-and-Black Day this Friday in support of the "local boys". Those that dress up can email their names off to be in a draw for some game tickets. I have options. I can forget the whole thing completely, treat it like I treated last Friday (a nothing day as far as I can remember). With a touch of the flu-type thing that's a distinct possibility as the energy levels are low (I blame global warming ... or this Governments lack of investment ... or something). I could go the complete opposite and paint myself head-to-just-below-head in yellow, wear a yellow wig, a suitable top and shout the oppositions chant all day (but I won't as it's bloody awful). I then enter the competition (I see no evidence of how they will actually verify I am in the prescribed colours), win and then not go! I may just make a small contribution to the day by maybe putting a different wallpaper to the PC and try and ensure it's evident as people come to talk ...

The game at Twickenham (November 5th) all good and will be something to watch (hell, I might even get along to see it live if I can get my hands on one of the 80,000 tickets) ... BUT, what's the point if the English clubs don't release the players . I don't get the way it works over there - how can the clubs be so controlling of the players and whether they can play for their international side or not. They're even taking the RFU to court ... I mean, duh! I know what the answer is really - money. But no-one gives a flying shag if Leicester beat Bath (or whoever) on the same day when England will be playing the All Blacks. The majority of rugby fans will be watching the international game, the majority of the fans will care if England beat the All Blacks (they won't) and the majority of the fans know that winning internationals is where its at in the rugby world. So how does it work? Why do these piddling little clubs (on the scale of things) have so much power and u...

Been reading a stack of New Scientist magazines passed on to me via a mate in Wellington (cheers Amanda) and in one was an article regarding ethical decisions and how we make them. The article was mildly interesting but no decision chart was presented so I'm gonna have to make such decisions using the flip of a coin as per normal. They did however kick off the article with an ethical dilemma: A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it on to another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch? Once you've answered that how about this twist: A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, push a large man standing next to you into its path thus stopping the trolley but killing the man. Should you push the man? Same logical outcome as before (either one per...

The world is full of mad people (generally white, male and Christian but not always - Osama etc)) trying to end it all for us, scam us out of our money/freedom/homes (or all three) and generally being beastly to the good and fine people of this planet. But sometimes that madness is put to good deeds such as science, exploration and entertainment with mad people all over the world endeavouring to raise a smile These entertainers are in constant battle with those that think in beige - middle management, financiers and bureaucrats come to mind. And sometimes the battle swings the madmen's way as those with beige decide to loosen the tie, take of the cardigan and swing their hips ... usually for 30 minutes at the works Christmas Do. Well it was one huge Christmas party in Athens last night as mad entertainers stole the show whilst a Finnish metal band won the 51st Eurovision Song Contest . I don't really know what else to say except hearty congratulations to everyone that made this...

I agree! Enter Content Here: Email and Content Management Much like cars/traffic jams and associated heartache, not many of us are the solution but we definitely contribute to the problem.

Apple's New Store is Pure Glass ( slide show , Flickr group , The Gothamist ) Westpac Stadium panorama - 2006 Super 14 Semi-Fianl, Hurricanes v Warratahs: 16-14 On the 'Canes for last night as well - cracking game of rugby, perfect result. As I type the Crusaders have just scored their first try and I can't see the Bulls doing much to stop them doing it many more times. Neither can I see the 'Canes being much of a problem for the Crusaders next week ... well, maybe ...

As the UK trundles out a wireless boost for British cities and the same happens in Central Park (free!) and other areas of the US what is Telecom/Telstra doing in this part of the world, thinking about finally providing a cheaper broadband service, *sheesh* Ever felt that we are missing the boat boys and girls!

Monkey News! Chimpanzee that you f#$%%^^! Is this , in anyway, related to this ?

You know the one - Wellingtonian, runs cross-country or maybe Triathlon or something equally exhausting. Or maybe she's a bike rider ... anywho - is that her?

I love coffee* cards. I love free stuff to be fair but I really love coffee cards. I spend money on something I would anyway, I get a clip/stamp and after a week I get a free coffee ... which I would've spent money on anyway. Of course, the idea of coffee cards isn't for me to have free coffee, I understand that and play along ... because I'm getting free stuff. It's to bring me back to their particular shop selling the delicious brown, bitter and stimulating beverage. Trouble is, it doesn't work. I have, in my pocket, around 10 coffee cards ... some are for places in Wellington (best coffee, best people, best RUGBY TEAM - go the 'Canes!!). I only go to one place - 646 (Columbo Street), which has transformed itself from a dodgy empty coffee place to the best in Christchurch (warm, good music, good read, great service, great coffee - see how car down the list it is :-). So why have I got all the others - I might go back, I might've though I would go back, I m...

Probably ...

Jane and I met whilst working at St Ivel on our "work experience" from college/uni. She was in HR and I in the IT Department. We didn't actually meet until I our leaving do's - somehow I wandered down to have some of her morning tea and she did the same and in some weird way ... we're still friends. Unlike some girls I've "known" (*ahem*) Jane and I never got it on. Despite the fact that we went away to stay in a tent for a long weekend, that it rained and we were both in "wet T-shirts" and that changing out of the wet clothes as the rain hammered down involved getting naked in a very confined space. We didn't then and we didn't ever. We had driven down to the New Forest but before we pitched the tent (as I understand the technical camping term goes) we drove to a hill to watch the clouds be born as the sunset - it was very cool. We fortunately also saw the large black clouds of the storm getting closer and closer. We raced back f...

How does this scan guys and gals? All towards achieving the perfect CV which is all about obtaining the position where I can make the most difference and be financially secure. I have worked within the NZ Public Sector at both a central and local level delivering KM systems whilst introducing the underpinning KM approaches and culture. Within my current role I am heavily involved in developing strong working relationships with all levels of the organisation from elected members down to the day-to-day operational staff as I introduce and promulgate a KM ethos (via principles and underlying practices) relevant to the organisations stated goals. It is my responsibility to champion KM in the organisation and encourage staff to adopt a knowledge sharing and collaborative approach ("one organisation"). I have approached this by education, arranging for hands-on experience and ensuring the organisation cultural aspects are enshrined in the principles ("How we Work Around Here...

Derek (Dad(in-law)) has bought us a car for £600 ( around NZ$1,800 ) - a Ford Mondeo, 1998 (black) which I understand from Wikipedia is THE car of middle England ... I have come so far and yet traveled so little. We've got the movers coming on 6th June to take away the little we are sending over - clothes, toys, books for the kiddiewinkles; music, clothes and odds-and-sods for us. We're also gonna send the cot for Meg and that's probably the biggest item on the list ... oh, the buggy. Money has been sent to the UK (hence the car purchase) and we'll be booking a night in a cheap easy to get to hotel around/near Heathrow for the 13th (July, when we arrive - 7:30pm). Dad has mentioned some nice pub/inn near Windsor Castle but it sounds a bit expensive to me, $90/night - what do you think UK-type people, for one night, 2 x adults, 1 x 3-year-old and a baby? I'm talking with some agencies and, I think, have had the CV forwarded for one London based position. Also had ...

the wellingtonista: The Bacon Sarnie Experience

But I'm not so sure that as Web-based collaboration apps invade the enterprise they will become the be-all-and-end-all (is that how you write that?). I suspect the major vendors will take some convincing before they move to a "piece it together" approach. The major vendors will most likely take/buy the best bits, incorporate into whatever they have and thus giving us the "one solution for all your issues using the very latest Web 2.0 mechanism". What does that mean - same old "one size fits all" but delivered via a browser instead of the Microsoft Windows desktop. Hmmm ...

All those print outs you generate with your monthly reports, your team minutes and your CV updates - don't throw them away without using them one last time. Save them up and, at the end of a furious office-based working wee, have a a paper plane ("paper dart") competition. How to play Give everyone two pieces of pre-loved printer paper (Note bold text will make the paper heavier, be aware) Give everyone 5 minutes to fold their plane; remember to put your name/logo on it (see below for guide) Decide if the winner is: The longest in the air -OR- The furthest from the take-off line Line everyone up Throw the planes Tell everyone that was a practice run Give everyone 2 minutes to fold their plane (see below for guide) Swap the winner to be the other: The longest in the air -OR- The furthest from the take-off line Line everyone up Get everyone to swap planes with someone else Throw the planes Proudly announce the winner and hand over the prize How to make a paper plane Basic ...

We had a roll of colour film and a roll of black-and-white taken by a professional photographer ... well, my niece Jacqui but she's good enough to be a photographer. They were taken a week or so ago at the 'commune' here in Christchurch. I've uploaded them all (of course) for all your delectation: Flickr: Uploaded 15-May-2006

BBC falls for 'expert' cabbie's banter - Britain - Times Online

This article is now at Enterprise 2.0 New Zealand style: Typical issues I help organisations tackle

Whilst the threat of water shortages here means we might not have enough electricity to keep all the bloggers going in the UK it means the water firms make £2bn profit as drought hits UK ... but at least they have (at this early stage in the summer) a real water shortage ;-)

Wow, that Hurricanes game was quite something and I'm glad I made the trek across the garden to watch it. A few stunning line breaks from the Wellington boys and the tries were racking up. But, these were totally against the play and for nearly all of the game it was a case of sterling defence as the Warratahs camped in the 22 plugging away, plugging away, plugg... but getting no where. I have to say the Warratahs weren't very good really and should have won ... HA HA HA HA, which makes it worse for them. And Wendell is rugby history . The only good I can see the Warratahs can take from the game was AND, playing with 14 players made the win (defence) even more satisfying. Now, here's the rub - Piri Wipu was sin-binned for something he didn't do. The ref had "committed himself" (his words) to sending off the next player for whatever offence it happened to be (the 'Canes racked up penalty after penalty in their solid defence - thank god the Warratahs didn...

Off to the game tonight - bit bloody wet and rainy but this is rugby and it is a winter sport. Few beers at the work social club and then a cab to the stadium before a shout and a hotdog whilst the boys cream the opposition. Now, normally I would shout for any NZ over Crusaders, fair enough. I would be ambivalent if an Aussie team were playing against the Crusaders and would lean towards the boys in black-and-red against any SA side. Well, ambivalent against any Aussie side isn't correct. I want everyone to beat the Brumbies. And that's only because I have a dislike of George Gregan that I can't get past. Not a personal one, I hear he's a nice person and I like his coffee. He is, despite last weeks aberration, a clean player and his also bloody good at what he does. No, none of that gets to me - it's the mouth. But, because of last weeks cock-up he;s not playing. But, his shadow lies heavy across the Brumbies and so I'm gonna cheer my little heart out for the ...

For those of you that don't know Tom over at WellUrban you need to know that amongst his regular posting about the ever evolving cityscape he also runs a wee challenge to name a Mystery Bar. He not only puts up strange angled photo's and a few words around ambience (full of hints and clues) but includes a wee Martini review. This gives us an indication of the bar staff's abilities. Well, this week he has stumbled across a real cracker! It was so bad it has circled right round into good. I believe it should be on everybody's after work route. Maybe out of town visitors should have it pointed out to them as a place to visit ... once. Of course I have no idea where you can get a Martini a la Tom but keep an eye on the WellUrban: Mystery bar number 30 page and once it's revealed storm in. Be aware, booking may be advisable.

Tried to visit a recruitment agency site in the UK and the page crashed - read the error and share the blame with me: 500 Internal Server Error : "Internal Server Error The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@evolveconsultinguk.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. Apache/1.3.29 Server at www.evolveconsultinguk.com Port 80"

Yep, the one I will be keeping the seat warm until the end of June. If this is you ... or helps with understanding with what I do ... check out the Seek details The guts of it is: As Knowledge Management Specialist you will be focussed on formulating strategies, processes and polices to champion organisation wide knowledge retention and sharing so that the organisation’s ‘know-how’, information and experience is shared and leveraged inside and (as appropriate) outside the organisation. We can assure that you will experience - Huge challenges, Leading edge technology, Impressive personal development, Diverse career scope and a fast paced, friendly team that's committed to achieving the very best every day - with a bit of fun tossed into the mix! ... Applications Close Monday 29th May 2006 The Christchurch City Council is partnering exclusively with IDPE Consulting with regards to the recruitment and selection for this position. To register your interest for this position please cont...

Love to have comments from anyone and everyone ... thanks CV here!

One more from the scanned in photo's I've put on Flickr. This was take at Wyesham Junior School soccer team in 1977, a key date in my history. Anyone born after 1977 is, as far as I am concerned, from another planet and doesn't get "me" which, as I know, is a huuuuge sweeping generalisation, but there ya go. 1977 was the year I saw Star Wars alongside the rest of the world and was blown away. There has been no other film that has opened my eyes to th... no, that's not true, LOTR1: The Fellowship Of the Ring . Both those films are milestones in cinema making from a purely spectacular way. I also went three times to see Grease ... it was awesome. We danced and sang and threw popcorn. Brilliant. BTW: Have you spotted me in the soccer line-up? Previous Blast From The Past photo>>

Hey hey Wendy - how are ya - good to know you're reading the blog out loud to Conrad , poor sod :-) Liz will be entering stuff sometime soon so be prepared for the "pink blogs". Have a grand day, see ya soon (maybe somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere mon cherie?)

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!* Every cotton picking picture I've ever taken with a digital camera from 1999 is now on Flickr . There are NO more to upload. I now rest. After the resting there will be tagging and the sorting out of sets ... but that can wait until the resting is truly complete. * seemed an appropriate cheer as they own Flickr

I was sooo warm. My toes were warm which is so important to me as I'm Pisces. I wiggled my legs and every part of the bed I could touch was warm. Not too warm, not a hint of cold air coming, perfect. There were some parts of the sheets that weren't as warm as the others but that was OK as it gave me the chance to cool down before shifting back to the perfect warmth. My eyes were shut. My head was not only "on" but it was being held, being supported by the pillow in the perfect position. It too was warm. My face was rosey, I could feel the that the pillow was warm on top and underneath. The top shoulder was covered. The duvet towered above me and was ... warm. There was nothing I needed to do, the sheet was tucked up and over the end of the duvet, nothing was in the slightest nee of reparation. I was warm. I was asleep ... was. Liz had woken me up so I could go and get Meg for a midnight feed. I wasn't concerned. If I hadn't been woken up I wouldn't have ...

TechCrunch » Do More: Online To Do Lists Compared I'm not so sure about their conclusion though as I've cancelled my TaDa (Backpack) account - it was quite nice to use but it was very silo'ed and I couldn't share with other apps ( desktop , calendar ...). Very happy with Remember The Milk as my events are now showing up in my Google Calendar. Not so good at appearing in my 30 Boxes calendar yet - more work at the cutting edge to go.

Great wee article about Hard Drives Of Yore . I recall my first job at St Ivel with a whopping 10Mb and remember thinking of the 20Mb drive in the bosses PC, "How on earth is she gonna use all that?"

Just as Auckland discovers the concept of public transport and what a "bus" and "train" is Wellington powers (sustainably) ahead with new ideas such as Courtenay to airport light rail As always Tom is the man to watch for the future of Wellington city - keep him in your loop.

I know, I know, it's all geek speak and really who cares? Well, RSS is what you know as "feed" (ie, notify me when there's something new on [fill in website name but may I suggest ChCh-Changes ]". Check out my RSS explanation. OPML (Ordinary Persons Management Listy-thing ... or something ) is a way of taking all your RSS/Atom feeds and stick 'em in one list that you can then share around. Up until now sharing had meant saving it to your hard drive, sticking in an email and sending it out .. but the fella that invented RSS, Dave Winer, from the good ole US of A has come up with a better way which TechCrunch » Share Your OPML explains. Why do it at all ... not sure really but, like most new stuff, the world might catch-on and the big boys implement it and we're all suddenly wondering how we lived with out.

It looks like this . I have no idea where the content is as I couldn't differentiate between it and the latest weather forecast or link to every other NZ site. To be fair-er the home page is a lot easier to read ... but how could it not be! But of course it's easy to sit back and throw stones at others ... that's why I do it, it being easy and all that.

This article is now at Enterprise 2.0 New Zealand style: Relevancy ... that's the key word for content

Heard one of opensouls songs on Hidden Treasures (National Radio) and I like, I like a lot. The guy in the wireless said that they'd be duplicating the success of Fat Freddy's ... big call. Anyone tell me about them and are they worth spending the limited dollars purchasing the Kaleidoscope CD ?

Not that the weekend is finished but it feels like it's been a long one for me as I've been 'home alone' with the wee fella for a few days. Well, not quite true as you're never alone on the ' commune ' ;-) Liz has jetted off to Wellington with Meg for a long weekend to catch-up with her mates , say goodbye for a while and generally have a grand old time of things. (I say "jetted" but I giggled inside as she walked over the tarmac towards the propeller equipped plane that would fly them into Wellington) So, Jack and I have been having boy adventures since Friday morning which has included a little rugby on TV as the Hurricanes clawed their way past a battling Reds ( and this all makes it an interesting final weekend), the monthly burger (once a month whether we want it or not), a ride into town on the red bus and generally hanging out and having fun. He's just organised his Gran and two cousins to go off and have a picnic in the lo...

In Internet/Web terms a "mashup" is term given to any website/programme that takes data from one place (say the BBC) and combines it with data/interface from another (say Google). Here's exactly what I mean at BBC News Maps which, using the published API (Application Programming Interface ... geek-speak, don't worry about it) from the BBC and Google, shows you the last UK news over the past 12 hours on a Google Map. Not just a list of headlines anymore but wee flags on a map that let you see WHERE the news is going down. Check it out: http://www.benedictoneill.com/content/newsmap/ And don't forget, this is just one - there are many MANY others combining anything and everything they can get their hands on (your favourite album played as a calendar even alarm was one I noticed ... nice). Check out the John Musser's authoritative Programmableweb for an excellent list of others to play around with. (hat tip to Richard via his also excellent "'Web 2.0...

With the move back to Wellington, New Zealand I am updating all the contact details of the CV - in other words, it's coming ... Getting in touch with Mike Of course the CV leads you to wanting to get in touch via email at christchurch.capers@gmail.com , I will use my personal email address in replying, don't want to encourage spam :-). I'm also contactable via the Web particularly using Instant Messaging; Yahoo! , Google , MSN (thanks to David Vignoni, Icon-King for the "hire me" graphic)

Despite the quirky name (or perhaps because) the Remember The Milk is an excellent site that allows me to quickly add list of things to do, group them, give them due dates and, here's the most important thing for me, share AND publish them out. The sharing comes via others signing up (do I need to say it's free?) and I add them as a contact. This does bring me back to an key issue I have with all these sites I'm using, the constant requirement to re-enter my contacts list. There is just not any other way of sharing contacts though ... as far as I know. In this case it's not too much of a hassle as the only other person I'll be sharing my tasks with is Liz. Getting the list out and onto other sites, notably my calendar ( 30 Boxes ) and my desktop ( Netvibes ), was the key failing for my previous solution, Backpack as it just didn't do it. With Remember The Milk I can publish using either iCal or RSS which is exactly what I want. I've not checked the privac...

Those nasty Klingons (I think) can, so why can't we? Well, no reason because a Cloaking device' idea proposed (BBC) . I would have a cloaking device attached to various doors in the house just to enjoy the fun that would ensue! (idea stolen from Fraser who wanted, in our office refit, to place perspex walls around the place and giggle as people walked into them ... and then move them!)

Now that I've uploaded the vast majority of my photo collection (nearly 10,000) I thought I'd pull out an interesting photo once a week for a giggle. First up is one from Francie's birthday (she's in the front doing things with her hair). The dapper young man in the black shirt with the thin white tie is myself and the guy with his hands on his hips is the reason I've popped this photo up. His name is Dave (surname .... evades me but it's so darned close, ooh I hate that ...) and he taught me around 60% of what I use at work today. None of this is technical and all of it is how to impart information in such a manner that the receiver thinks they've discovered themselves. I have to say I am still practicing. He also has a signature tune that I will never EVER forget. He would wander the St Ivel offices whistling the Magic Moments tune which, once heard, is with you for the rest of the working day. I still hear it and think of him which makes me grin wildly...