Mike Riversdale

I love this picture of the land before Wellington airport was built - been looking for such a view for quite some years, and finally here it is. My thanks go to Stephen Cook and his fascinating personal history and research into the "Miramar Gasworks Tramway" . If you're hankering form some more Miramarian history then look no further than Barry Cash's " Postcards from Miramar " blog which has such beauties as this one of Wonderland And then you'll want to show off how proud you are to be a Miramarian Order your "Proud to be a Miramarian" t-shirt and wear it full in the knowledge that CBD-ers are already jealous.

Ok, before we start ... I've been ill, the brain was working at full capacity. I don't know what Dave's excuse is :-) The first tweet was sent from Little Beer Quarter after I checked the calendar wondering if I'm in the right place ... no, I've just bought a beer in the wrong bar: I call Dave and leave a voicemail message (it's common for people not to get coverage in the downstairs of Hashigo Zake), "I'm on my way, so sorry". So I sink the pint and rush down the streets, avoiding the downpour, to Hashigo Zake . Bloody hell, it's packed - Dominic (owner and old mate) tells me that his bar is so full due to an end of year SOBA event. Look around but no Dave to be seen and so I check the calendar one more time:   I go upstairs to get some "fresh air" and a regrouping of the internal forces ... did I say I was ill. And then the tweet that made me laugh out loud so hard that I think I scared a small child: :-) Well it wen...

Just one of the treasures that Courtney Johnston shared at the NDF (National Digital Forum) Conference held in Wellington - and I believe Courtney was a guiding light in the organisation of this year's event. Whilst I encourge you to check out all her links make sure you take a few minutes (4 in fact) to sit back, slow down and remember those that did their wee bit and smile at the end because it is, indeed, very cool! A Grand Mother from Candy Elsmore on Vimeo . Oh, and having seen a large percentage drop in Kiwis voting at last weeks National Election the video is one teeny weeny reminder to all that there is always a legacy to remember when (not) doing so.

I love the concept and if you want to all chip in and get me one that would be humbling and most awesome :-) Hello Little Printer, available 2012 from BERG on Vimeo .

I feel sorry for her, she is gonna be hounded by the British media now until they find her and all her family to be hung out to dry. However, she should know better ... her poor kiddie though, poor sod. I hope he survives and in later life looks back on it all and smiles and says, "And that's why I'm work for the UN"

View pictures, read, laugh and pass on. A snippet: ... It’s mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird. Read the full letter at The Telegraph (UK)

As seen over on G+ where I also found this awesome scientific abstract that will make you smile.

We edge ever closer to the Marvel/DC world ...

Tee hee

The preliminary count of the gold coins collected at the games, toys, plants, beer, raffle, books, silent auction, clothes, craft, cakes, deli, cafe, bric-a-brac, face painting, hairdressing, sumo wrestling, food (of all sorts), coffee and the rest is ... is ... well, the total dollars collected is not for me to say. However, for the record it was the worse weather the fair has experienced in quite some years, that's to say it was slightly overcast and we had a good 30 seconds of almost rain. And so, here's the sights you missed but I'm afraid you'll have to come along next year for the sounds, smells and tastes ...

It's all coming together for your entertainment and amusement. See you all at Worser Bay School ( 168 Seatoun Heights Road ), 11am-2pm. And the weather forecast is for AWESOME (as seems to always be the case with the fair) And many thanks to Gasworks, Roxy, Weta Workshop, InterIslander and many more for the incredible silent auction items.

Facebook allows me to keep in touch with some of my younger family members back in the UK (think children of distant cousins) and man alive they make me laugh, for instance wee rant the other day: you fuckin skanky bitch just because you dont like the fact we are gettin close and whateva you say wont change our friendship because he wont believe two shits that comes out you bullshittin mouth jus because i got there before you done me you have to ruin it for me just because your single dont mean everyone else has to be as well you fuckin skank :@ My response of: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA - classy She came back with: i know right.....we are okii now thoughh xx By posting this I'm interested how easy you guys could find out who this is about - let me know.

What can I say - Wales lost to France in the Rugby World Cup semi-final by 1 point. Despite the referee killing the game for me with the red card so early in the first half I am amazed by the Welsh team/squad and how they still, with 14 players, managed to take it to the French side. Yes they lost by missing kicks, yes they could've gone for a drop goal right at the end but really, 14 players against 15 just made the game far too tough. I don't care what the French do in the final I even don't care if the All Blacks win/lose against Australia later today. For me the Rugby World Cup has ended and everything from now on is a mere sideshow that I shall observe from the sidelines. Oh, and please don't try and engage me in some sort of SkyTV-esque discussion on Welsh game percentages, referees, competition guidelines and rule books and the like - I don't fucking care. Thank you to all the Welsh players, you made the competition special.

This made me laugh and laugh and laugh - thanks Dad for sharing Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this: Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer. The effects of the Tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety...?? WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home... I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. ...

As you know the ever awesome Worser Bay School Fair is coming soon(ish) (Sunday 6 November, 11am-2pm, 168 Seatoun Height Road, Miramar) and they have just released a special T-Shirt that ALL Miramarians (it's official ) need to have! I quote from their latest press release (well, email from the office): These have been designed as an ongoing fundraiser for Worser Bay School but they will be released at a special price for school families to order ready to wear for the School Fair. The T-shirts are a quality 100% cotton blue unisex t-shirt with the logo "I'm proud to be called a Miramarian" (logo design as attached). They are available in: Adult sizes: S, M, L, XL and 2XL or Youth sizes: YXS, YS, YM, YL The T-shirts will sell for $30 at the School Fair but if you place an order before 4pm on Thursday 20th October 2011 they will be just $25. You are able to pay by cash or cheque (made out to Worser Bay Home and School) to the school office at the beginning...

And excellent post from Jason Grigsby helping me prepare for my IgniteWelli presentation - How to Give a Successful Ignite Presentation The two (out of quite a number) points I'm focussing on are: Improv Editing. — Ignite is as more about editing than presenting. When you stumble, you have to make up time somewhere. You have to be comfortable changing the script to make up time or fill time. Know Your Key Moments. Use Them as Anchors — Whether it is a joke that you’ve planned or a poignant moment when you want to move the audience, know where they are in the slides and as you practice improvisational editing, make sure you edit in a way that keep those key moments intact. FREE IgniteWelli - http://www.ignitewellington.co.nz/ What : Ignite Wellington #4 When : Tuesday 8 November, 2011 Time : Arrive from 6pm for the Ignite Contest, speakers at 7:30 pm until approx 9:30 pm Where : Paramount Theatre, 25 Courtenay Place, Wellington

Pop it into your diary. Worser Bay School Fair 2011 Come celebrate Miramar's Independence! The Worser Bay School Fair Sunday 6 November 11am-2pm 168 Seatoun Height Road, Miramar Rain or Shine

FREE IgniteWelli - http://www.ignitewellington.co.nz/ What : Ignite Wellington #4 When : Tuesday 8 November, 2011 Time : Arrive from 6pm for the Ignite Contest, speakers at 7:30 pm until approx 9:30 pm Where : Paramount Theatre, 25 Courtenay Place, Wellington

Get along.

A quick post to let you know that The Gasworks Bar & Restaurant: ... opens early next week ... has a website:  http://www.thegasworks.co.nz/ ... has menus: Breakfast menu (pdf) Lunch menu (pdf) Dinner menu (pdf) ... photos on Facebook of how close they are They also,  want you in the Union! Reap the benefits of the collective! You deserve great value for your commitment, and out Union Card is your ticket to tremendous deals.. Free Meal for your birthday Earn Gas Workers $'s to spend at the Gasworks Union Members only Speciality Nights Invites to Union Member Events Regular updates on what is happening at the Gasworks Sign-up here: http://www.thegasworks.co.nz/union.php Oh, and just so we're all clear - no, it is NOT a Monteiths bar , hope that's clear now!

I thought it would be popular and boy have I had a lot of requests to share it once I had it ... well, the awesome Ben from Gasworks shared this with me last week. Thoughts? (leave a comment here or on their Gasworks Facebook page ) The House Specialty! At the Gasworks we take our Steak very seriously! All of our steaks come from the premier beef ranks of New Zealand’s best farms. They have all been wet aged for a minimum of 21 days which helps to ensure the beef is more tender than non aged beef. All of our beef is free of antibiotics, and hormone growth promotants and all of our beef can be traced from the plate back to the actual paddock on the farm. Step 1: Choose your CUT Primestar Aged Grass Fed Scotch Fillet Primestar 300g $31.90 Of Aberdeen Angus heritage and farmed on the Central North Island. This free range beef is aged minimum 21 days. The soft texture and gentle marbling make the scotch fillet an excellent choice. Primestar Aged Grass Fed Eye Fillet 200g $34....

Favourite quote: Martin Snedden is a cricketer, move on. Catch Jed and the Alternative Rugby Commentary all during the World Cup no matter where you are in the world: http://www.arcrugby.co.nz/

One drop-goal and we ... Wales ... Wales rugby team ... as I say, "we", would have won the game. From the moment Liz and I said goodbye to the kidsitter (Jack and Meg are not babies :-) and got ourselves into the cab I could tell it was going to be an awesome night. We caught up with many people at The Royal (old 'Paris') on Lambton Quay, people we hadn't seen for ages, people I'd watched a game with the day before and people that I knew from Twitter but not that well. The pub was a sea of red with a smattering of green - perfect kick off. When we headed to the stadium though it was clear there were many MANY more South Africans than Welsh - never mind, we could always be louder than the Sou--- hmmmm, maybe not. Our seats were awesome, covered, 22 yard line and just perfect to watch the game. And after a few shuffles around we were seated amongst others I knew thanks to the tickets from @RugbyWorldCup - many MANY thanks. The game. Well, what can I say ...

Thanks to Vince for sharing a link to the original Excel version of the now open and editable Google spreadsheet below. Open to edit at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmA5t73fv7_pdEdwaHFzc0U4WGp5MXlvQ0tqLXMyeXc&hl=en_GB (don't forget the free iCal match schedule for your Outlook, Google, iPhone, Android and everything else calendar) Open spreadsheet to edit ...

As you know Miramar is about to get it's very own DECENT pub, Gasworks - but what will it be like? So here's my thoughts on what we can expect. Oh, and yes, I have been talking with the guys opening it and even had a few free beers (Heinken, ugh) at a Friday BBQ - just so you know. Location - 11 Tauhinu Road OK, let's get this out of the way right now. No, it's not in the Miramar CBD amongst the shops, The Roxy and the like. But really, this is Miramar folks, it's about 4 minutes walk away and to be honest if your only reason for not going is because "it's not close enough" then you need to pull ya head out ya ass (whilst you sit in your $30 taxi on the way into town). 11 Tauhinu Road is on the corner of the "shopping precinct". Now, that "shopping precinct" has been crying out for some love and attention for a long time (since it opened) and has a local reputation of being boring, down-trodden and generally no reason to...

Love it - a flashmob / haka-mob in Auckland over the weekend. From above ... From on the ground ...

Mike and the Welsh flag at the Rugby World Cup event - Originally uploaded by Mike Riversdale Think I have all my bases covered in this one picture - Welsh flag, All Blacks top and RWC stuff ... that's me in a nutshell

Here's the very simple list of 4 places to get EVERYTHING Rugby World Cup 2011. Tying it all together is the tag which I strongly recommend you use in your tweets, pho to sharing and everything else online as they are actively tracking and re-sharing the good stuff: #RWC2011 1: Facebook Where over a million have 'Liked' their page: http://www.facebook.com/rugbyworldcup/ 2: Twitter This will be used for the up-to-date info during the comp: http://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup They have also created a number of useful Twitter lists: http://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup/rwc-2011-teams http://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup/rugbyplayers 3: YouTube Exclusive match highlights at half-time and full time PLUS behind the scenes over the matches and festivities around New Zealand: http://www.youtube.com/rugbyworldcup 4: Flickr All the photos they and everyone else takes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rugbyworldcup And if you want to share your photos pop them into their public group: ...

It snowed in Miramar! It snowed in Wellington CBD, it's snowed in Auckland. It snowed. And it flashed and banged in the sky. The power has flickered on and off. And we have all giggled and squealed at some point during the day. What an amazing time, and we're only half way through so who knows what we'll wake up to tomorrow. Snow on Cuba Mall in central Wellington (HD) from Ro Tierney on Vimeo .

And it's been awesome! I love this country ... well, to be honest I love the city of Wellington and even more specifically the suburb of Miramar as it evolves into the best wee spot of land to live in. Happy 6th Citizenship Anniversary to Karen as well! AND, it transpires that Liz and I have been together for 10 whole earth years as well ... my, what a week of celebrations.

... so what about this ...

If I can I will see you, her, him and everyone else at the Wellington gig: Thursday October 6th, The Garden Club [ 13 Dixon Street ] ANIKA AND BARNABY WELCOME SPRING! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – jump outta the winter blues this spring when Anika Moa and Barnaby Weir strap on their guitars, strumming and humming through your town this September and October on their first accoustic tour together. Bouncing like new born lambs through daffodils Anika and Barnaby take their mischevious, but light hearted show through vineyards, halls, theatres, cellars and cinemas of New Zealand collaborating on new, familiar, and sometimes surprising material. Anika will be releasing a CD of NZ artists covering songs from her recent Gold Album, Love In Motion. Artists include Street Chant, Julia Deans & Cairo Knife Fight, to name a few. Barnaby, while not only making a name for himself in The Black Seeds also released his debut solo album Tarot Card Rock earlier this year which met w...

During the upcoming Rugby World Cup, as part of the REAL NZ Festival (the cultural arm of the rugger), Wellington company Storybox has teamed up with NZ On Screen.com (excellent website if you haven't checked it out) to create two massive container installations on the Wellington and Auckland waterfronts. And we're looking for volunteer hosts to be rostered on site during the six week period. I [ Anna D ] thought you may know of some keen beans, preferably NZ film and TV buffs who are enthusiastic, approachable and good at dealing with the public. You may have come across a super intern recently, perhaps know a young person or have a friend who wants something a little extra on their CV, or maybe know someone with an exceptional screen knowledge that just needs sharing. If you could pass on this picture we would be most grateful. People can get in touch directly with Mark Westerby mark@storybox.co.nz . Do come and check out the project during REAL too. It's pretty...

We, in Miramar, have a world class cinema ( The Roxy ), kick ass restaurants ( Coco , La Boca Loca , Cafe Polo , The Larder ) and enough petrol stations to never be worried about the car. BUT, we do not have a pub ... let me clarify, we do not have a pub you'd be seen dead in unless you were so desperate to watch a rugby game . On the Peninsula we have 2 pubs. The Strathmore Local is a good local pub - it's nicely laid out, has a few beers on tap over and above the standard DB sugary shit, nice pub food and the Riversdale's have been known to spend a nice family afternoon there. It is not, however, walking distance from us in the thriving hub of Miramar and, to be honest, not where Liz and I feel like going for a night out without the kids. Then there is The Cutting. It's one major plus is that it is local to me. It is within walking distance. I am able to wander down and back without having to pay for a cab. It isn't too far away. It is one of the crappie...

Very clever and poignant video passed on by my Dad, enjoy.

So I txt out "Need a smile, got a joke?" to a bunch of friends on the way home today as it's been a strange few days. Flat, that's the only way I can describe it really - post-everything blues, waiting for the next stage, wandering what now ... all that. And here's the funny-as responses that made me laugh out loud on the bus. (aren't people awesome!) ... Got a joke? Me running :-) What do you get when you cross a mean dog and a computer? A mega-bite While reading the newspaper Walter came across an article about a beautiful acrrwss and model who married a boxer who was noted for his IQ. "I'll never understand," he said to his wife, "why the biggest jerks get the most attractive wives." His wife replid, "Why thank you, dear" Why did the koala fall out of the tree? He was dead. Why did the elephant fall out of the tree? It was sellotaped to the koala. My girlfriend thinks I'm a stalker. Well technically ...

Stuff (the online version of a lot of the New Zealand newspapers) has a headline, " Parents asked to cover $3m deficit ", which in itself I wouldn't have really taken a lot of notice of. BUT, it popped into view via my Google Reader and specifically through my Google News 'miramar' feed - so this is local to me. It was immediately local when I clicked open to see the head teacher Amanda smiling up at me ... this was MY kid's kindy they're talking about - FUCK! In a nutshell it seems that the Government has cut $4million from the Kindergarten budget which would need to be made up somewhere else. That won't happen (IMHO). And so the prosepect of the Miramar Central Kindy shutting is now all too real. This is the kindy that gave both Jack and Meg the BEST (and I cannot stress how forcefully I typed "BEST" - "B E S T", you getting this?) ... the BEST start to their school life anyone could have hoped for. Amanda and her team work in...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ... for EVERY parent out there ...

I'd just returned from Sydney and was house-sitting in Petone when one Saturday in April 2001 I decided to take my camera down to Jackson Street and take a few photos as I wandered up and down it. I hope it's a little wander down memory lane for those of your living in Petone - I'd love to know how much (if at all) it's changed ...