Mike Riversdale

"Slow The *@#% Down", sage advice for almost all circumstances - go on then, you come up with a time when it's not appropriate 😜👍

It's no secret I shall be #PartyVoteGreen and likely to be Labour Paul Eagle for my Rongotai electorate. I shall also be Yes for both referenda. Now that's that out of the way you should of course ignore it and do what you feel is right. First of all I would urge you to VOTE! Make sure you're enrolled and your details are up-to-date:  https://vote.nz/enrolling/enrol-or-update/enrol-or-update-online/ Done that, no really I can wait, off you go, check your details ... Ok, good. This year from Wednesday 30th September (overseas) / Saturday 3rd October (in NZ) to 7pm on Saturday 17th October you get to vote on one or more of the following: The makeup of Parliament Party vote Your local MP Cannabis legalisation and control referendum End of Life Choice referendum You can vote via post, look out for your voting papers later this month, or in person at many voting booths around Aotearoa New Zealand . That's who (YOU!), when, where, how, and I shall assume you know why. If you ...

I have a stack of photo albums that I've shared and one collection is called, "Views of the world" . And boy oh boy this one collection contains so so many gloriously diverse albums. There's places, obviously - Monmouth, London, the UK in general, Stockholm, Sydney, Brisbane and all over Australia. There also Berlin, Moscow, Ubud, Beijing, and Hawai'i. But then there's things like bars of the world, sunsets and sunrises, mountains and volcanoes, rainbows, and even The Universe. I hope you enjoy dipping in and out of the albums 👍 https://www.mikeriversdale.co.nz/photos/views-of-the-world

Yesterday I wrote how difficult I was finding choosing from a stack of early morning sunrises over Lake Tutira , this is my second (and last) go - by all means show me what you'd do .

It's an ongoing joke with my friends that I take MANY photos. Take these scene for instance, a stunning morning sunrise over calm misty water. I have put all my shots into the album  Which one would you use and how would you edit it? and would love others to take a crack at it Rajs approach is to line up the 'perfect' shot (editing in this mind as he does so) whereas I take a shit tonne from all angles and cull later. Even after a culling I am still overwhelmed by choice. Which one would you use and how would you edit it?

Both Raj and I still rate the Silicon Mahia Techweek 2017 event as one of the best. After a long drive to Mahia we had a minds blown by Dr Rosie Bosworth

SH5 from Taupo to the East Coast is long but gorgeous, especially when during a glorious summers dawn.

Early start and the road view from Taupo to Mahia doesn't disappoint.

We're not #StayHomeNZ* and yet low level background stress is now a common part of my life. Seems to be prevalent amongst my friends and across the country as a whole - how are you doing? @MicheleACourt seems to be thinking similar,  “Lockdown II – The Resurgence” and Self-Care : Binge watching this second series is a new kind of exhausting, and I’m having to work harder to look after myself – no more Covid-19 Drinking Games at three in the afternoon for starters. In case it helps anyone else, this is the stuff I’m doing now to dial down my anxiety, and to make me feel safe. Lots of it will be specific to me, but it might resonate with you. Almost none of it costs money, and most of it can be done at Level 3 Lockdown. I wholeheartedly recommend you read the full article, it will help. It was with this in mind, and knowing that my happy place is sharing information, I updated my COVID19 in NZ  page and added Michèles page to the FREE things to do online document. A small and s...

https://www.mikeriversdale.co.nz/photos/miramar-peninsula Photos of not just the seven but walks, beaches, and lighthouses. Maupuia Miramar Karaka Bays Seatoun Strathmore Park Breaker Bay Moa Point

Over the years I have posted a number of humorous spam emails I've received . With Gmail now filtering away every single one of those I only see them when I clear out the InBox which, tbh, is very very rarely. Today a piece spam email caught my eye - its subject was made up on just one word, a very VERY old password of mine. I've long been working on the assumption that my old passwords have been collated and distributed alongside millions of others. In 2019 I spent a week closing old accounts, changing passwords to unique gobbledygook, and ensuring I have them all stored in my password manager. Oh, and for everything I could I turned on 2FA. You should do the same otherwise you will get some spam like the following and it will do more than intrigue you, you will be in a world of pain even without the mythical video of your web visits. Delete all old accounts (a good but maybe old help:  How to delete your accounts from any website: From Amazon to Facebook ) Change all passw...

AoNZ and its Windows XP vibe.

I'm assuming irony, but maybe not.

Inside this gorgeous building the Tauranga powerhouse that is Pascale Hyboud-Peron, co-founder of Venture Centre , was running a Mashup for teens. The newly opened building, especially in the setting sun, was just so beautiful.

Classic shots, quirky angles, hidden parts, and all things that make Wellington Wellington. https://www.mikeriversdale.co.nz/photos/wellington-views

The Access Granted  2017 Techweek road trip  reached a glorious sunny Tauranga early and sitting in the Croucher BREW bar* we watched endless kids do wheelies up and down the waterfront. Is this still a Tauranga thing? * no longer open

Imagine if such a place existed for marijuana, there would be outrage.

Our second 2017 Techweek venue was the AR/VR Garage (still going?) where we had been billed slightly more than Raj & I expected and arrived to an expectant audience waiting for us to entertain them ... we worked out way through it and took everyone on a tour including their green screen. I'm gonna try to place myself in different places around the universe using the power of my computerphone :)

I am a big advocate for drawing at the workplace, and so was someone at the GridAKL.

We'd picked up the Access Granted tour car and we're heading into Auckland city for our first Techweek recording and who should we see but podcast alumni Michelle Dickinson aka Nanogirl . I love seeing smiling friends in strange places , and we knew it was going to be a fun trip !

Staring at the Miramar hills as I took off from Wellington Airport was a common view for a long time. Not so much nowadays.

Consider who's voices you let into your life. Those voices can be positive, challenging, or even grating and you will, with a moment's thought, know the intent behind them. When the intent is to help someone else gain power I am very very wary. When others amplify that intent, give it oxygen, I have little time for the messenger but even less still for the message. When the messenger has been duped to pass on the message I get annoyed. A while ago I mentioned that I am no-ones footsoldier meaning, amongst much more, that I am not here to pass on others intent that I don't hold truck with. Sharing, retweeting messages is an obvious no. Talking about those messages is also a no. The message is NOT to be passed on even I do want to say, "Hey all, look at this eejit and what he's saying", or, "Fuck, what a fucking evil witch she is by saying this thing" as the intent of the message I am repeating is not one I hold any truck with.  Nope, not pas...

If one is to fly one needs to be dressed for such an occasion.

Back in May 2017 Raj Khushal and I were two years into the Access Granted podcast run and wanted to expand out of Wellington. We did this big time by doing a #Techweek 2017 North Island road trip over a long but immensely fun week. (many thanks to Fuelled and Goldings Free Dive for their sponsorship) It's interesting to note that out of this roadtrip the TechweekTV series was born as in now in it's third year - very different to how we envisaged it though.

Bret & Jemaine from Flight Of The Conchords playing card .. or poster? I don't know where or why either.

A lot happens in a year, especially if that year is 2020. Exactly one year ago today I last visited my gorgeous Dad at Ysbyty’r Tri Chwm in Ebbw Vale (Wales) where his dementia was being assessed. One year ago. I miss him. I want to give him a hug and hear his voice. At least he's safe and sound in the Monmouth care home.

From the Mt Vic lookout the view to Wellington city is always a stunner. Everyone in and around it can make a difference and remember to #BeKind

There is so much in this that screams WELLINGTON!  Find the 10 "This has to be Wellington" items, and list them below to be in to win ...

There is everything 1920s Metropolis chic about this train, it's gorgeous. And it looks best in colour. (Sorry about the music dirge, mute the video as there no actual train sounds or commentary)

Not quite sure where this blue building is, somewhere in Wellington.

A shocking pin up photo where nothing is left to the imagination and it's all in disgraceful closeup detail and full colour.

The rainbow came and went in a giant spalooossssh of the wave.

Walking The Esplanade in Island Bay - nice eh.

As part of my #IveNeverSeenStarWars I recently got to watch Footloose (1984) . It happens to be a mates favourite movie and she has been quietly letting me know that she was shocked and horrified that I'd never seen it. One winters evening we stocked up on beer, pizza, nibbles, and I loaded up Footloose on the harddrive. Now, I have another mate who is a self-confessed hoarder of things. He has a spreadsheet of his t-shirts. He's much better than he was, or so he claims 😜 This mate also has a tonne of movies downloaded and I took the opportunity, pre-COVID, to make a backup for him of a select few, including Footloose . So, we kick off the movie and ... hang on, this doesn't seem right. "Is this is it?", I ask my Footloose fanatic friend. "Um, no, not how I recall it starting ...", she replied confused. It was Footloose (2011) , The Remake and OMG it was awful. Well, the opening scene was, we stopped watching and deleted it pretty damn smartish. Watc...

Name painting

Fascinating video on how Aotearoa New Zealand has got bigger and could become an even bigger player on the Pacific gameboard alongside China's growing influence. Fascinating indeed.

Save the bees:  https://www.otago.ac.nz/socialinsectlab/Bees.html

A goat pokes it tongue out. Because.

From the moment I first glimpsed Rita Angus and Central Otago I have been drawn to her use of strong colour and form. ♥️

My notes from a James Shaw ( Green Party co-leader, NZ MP - @JamesPEShaw ) speech-ette I've just heard ... We're taking 2 17 decades of discretionary money from future generations to spend on getting us though the current #COVID19nz. This is money that future generations WON'T have to help them get through their own crises. We do however already know a lot of the crises they will face, #ClimateChange, #Housing, shrinking #biodiversity ... Some of the current spend is spent on the now only, ie the wage subsidy, there's nothing in this that will help directly with the future crises. However, much of the rest we are spending for now can also tackle future crises. We take their $ and spend on resolving their crises not just our own. But where, this is the choice WE have. We need to make the calls now for them as well. James Shaw, Greens MP and a coincidental NZ High Commission slogan [Update] Seems it's SEVENTEEN years of spending not two.

Best hash browns in Wellington?

These Disney 'instructional' cartoons were the delight of my childhood and felt it a truly special Saturday morning if one was shown on TV. There are 10 original "Goofy: How To ..." cartoons: Play Baseball Swim Fish Be A Sailor Play Football Play Golf Ride A Horse Be A Detective Sleep Dance Prior to the "How to" there were two similar 'instructional' style cartoons, equally as fun: Goofy: The Art of Skiing Goofy: The Art of Self Defense Those in bold are available here in AoNZ on the Disney+ service.

Scissor Sisters, brilliant band, fantastic music and they've just released their full 2007 O2 gig - enjoy!

Sometimes you book a holiday home or even a bach for a long weekend and it's way more than you expected. This happened in April 2017 when we stayed at The Brown Cow in Ohau ending up with albums of photos.

Alex Horne, Mark Watson, and Tim Key are all UK comedians and longtime mates. Sometime ago they created a silly game and during the (UK) lockdown they brought it back, playing over Zoom, and uploading each game to YouTube. Here are the rules, enjoy your own game with mates. Rules of the Game No More Jockeys is, traditionally, a two player game. A coin is tossed, and the winner decides which player begins. The first player names a person - usually a well known person or celebrity - followed by a category into which that person fits. This category is then eliminated ie. no other person named in the game from this point can fit into this category. For example. Jacinda Ardern, No More Policians. The opponent must now name a person who does not fit into that category, followed by a category into which his new person does fit. This category is then eliminated, too. The first player must then name another person, who fits into neither of these categories, followed by a new category into which...

They grow 'em big in Aotearoa 😜 3D Praying Mantis in situ - Google search on your mobile and get one yourself

🎶 Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things 🎶