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Mike Riversdale

Dawn Fires Up

By Mike Riversdale / Friday, April 08, 2022

Driving up SH2 on an early Hutt morning.

Lower Hutt, New Zealand

#sunrise

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33,000 BBC Sound Effects To Download

The BBC , as an institution, is quite the amazing thing. I understand that people in the UK who pay for it aren't quite so in love as they were back in the day, which I still find a bit weird but hey I'm not there. Of course the BBC is much much more than merely the daily news and over it's prodigious lifetime has been called upon to create some quite bonkers soundscapes for it's radio and TV shows. Well, we can all now benefit from this work with over 33,000 sound effects available for download. Here ya go, the BBC sound effects list filtered by "comedy" .

The Difference Between One Million And One Billion

It's feels like a billion is just a bit bigger than a million. Obviously it's bigger but it fits on the same scale as a million, surely. It doesn't. A billion is so so so much bigger than a million. I've trawled the internet finding graphics and videos that show the VAST difference between one million and one billion. Oh, and just to finish with a different misconception about space starting with the classic opening line from the great Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy : “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Climate Change, A Timeline

I think most people are at the, "Oops", stage. However, there's a vocal minority at the, "OK, climate change is real, we're just not convinced it's caused by humans". If they live in Florida they're probably shifting along a bit towards, "Oops". [source: David Ho, @davidho@mastodon.world ]

W. C. Fields quotes

The office has all been moved around - new desks (with starter handles to raise and lower them), new high(er) speed network and ... the same old work. At least I have a differing view of the world, my team (well, the team I'm a part of not "my" team) is a lot closer - finally - and it's like an office from the 80's ... or even a classroom. But I still have time to move the crap off the PC : ------ Any man who hates dogs and loves whiskey can't be all bad. Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??! Who stole the cork from my breakfast? Now don't say you can't swear off drinking, it's easy. I've done it a thousand times. Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit, no use being a damn fool about things. Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they alwa

I Love A Good Insult

Two of my favourite songs ever are insults to someone, Resurrection by Stone Roses, and Fuck You by Lily Allen. Here's my top 10 insults from Classic Insults , 30 Smart Comebacks And Insults Said By Historical Figures , 22 of the best insults in classical music , and The Best 7 Insults In History . “ Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” – Moses Hadas “ I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one. ” -George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill. “ Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one. ” – Winston Churchill, in response “ He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up. ” – Paul Keating “ He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination. ” – Andrew Lang “ I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I’m afraid this wasn’t it. ” – Groucho Marx The exchange between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, “ If you