Mike Riversdale

How to get to photos of lightning, video it and then export the frames.

So, the music to play as you look at this photo is either the Theme From The Monkees , or, the theme for The Magnificent Seven .

Fences, like spacetime, are relative.

The sun 'comes up', the sun 'goes down' each and every day.   Or so it seems to us primitive planet dwellers even though we know we're hurtling around a star. A star that shoots through space and is galactically tied to 100 billion other stars, 1 million+ black holes, and a super massive one at the centre. The sun comes up and we start a new day, full of hope and new beginnings.  Good luck and go well on your day today.

Houghton Bay on the south coast of Wellington has some very big waves coming in, even on a calm day. When the surf is angry it's quite something to watch but I'd never think of going near them. This fella doesn't have my qualms.

Whilst Ruby Wax's book,  I'm Not As Well As I Thought I Was , recalling her experiences of depression and 'madness, is of extremes I can only marvel at it speaks to my fears as I hover around her edges. I am certainly gonna keep up the happy drugs and constantly monitoring of myself - works so far. I'm also gonna read Falling Upward: A Spirituality For The Two Halves Of Life by Richard Rohr, Ruby swears by it and the extracts she shared spoke to me big time.

Whilst in the UK I saw a poor sod with a leave blower tasked with "tidying up the fallen leaves". This was in St James Park, a large expanse of greenery with a lot of trees. And it was very windy.

My hat is off to you Porters Lake (Nova Scotia, Canada) for the magnificent Friday afternoon naming of these three streets . Source: Bits And Pieces  

I don't know who's favourite spectator sport involves a restaurant's toilet, but this place has them covered.

Whilst living in Waitārere Beach I was lucky enough to have an outside fire and I may have filmed it a gazillion times in slowmo. I will endeavour to only post up the very very absolute total best ones after this.

You're facilitating a team meeting, perhaps you're a Scrum Master and need to get a Retro going, or maybe it's a new team and you're still forming before storming. It's very common to hop on t'Internet and search for, "What xxxx are you today?" which becomes your slide 3.  Instead of Beyonce, generic cat, Star Wars character, here's one on Gladys the cat for you to download and use.

Love the city lights bouncing off the low lying cloud.

It looks like a cloud to you, sure, but that's what 'they' want you to think. Of course it's really a small spaceship that shuttles the lizard people from the mothership, or "Moon" as you call it, down to Earth and their offices in the UN, central planetary governments, all right-wing 'freedom' gangs, and, surprisingly, localised versions of KFC due to an ongoing dispute with the original KFC as founded by an interstellar race of cat people.

Why did?

Reflections , they're everywhere!

You are my one and only lover.

The  Lyall Bay View Point and Fishing Pier has wee holes in it so that when a wave crashes into it up spurts up inside and out. Fun eh!

Sound on, the hooves make a great clattering noise.

It was a tunnel. In the middle of the wilderness, days from civilisation there was a  tunnel. Not a nature made tunnel but a tunnel with a smooth road to walk upon, tall purposeful walls shaped by tools, a tunnel that was made by someone. We setup camp close to the entrance but out of the bitter cold wind that howled out of the entrance. On the first morning we sent up Dr Kingly and his assistant, Arthur, to check out the other side of the hill. We watched them clambering the steep edges and disappearing into the thick undergrowth. Whilst the rest of the crew waited we threw stones into the tunnel trying to be the first to get to the end. We shouted obscenities to hear our echoes. We even tied some rope around Jones and sent him in but the poor animal only made it a few yards before hurtling back with what looked like frost on his fur. It was dusk when the two returned and repeated their story over and over to disbelieving colleagues. "There is no tunnel", Dr Kingly insisted

Every child knows how to draw a mountain, a triangle with jagged lines around the top for snow. The best of mountains conforming to our sketches are Mt Fuji (Japan) and Mt Taranaki (Aotearoa New Zealand) .

Whanganui is a very cool place, it's centre city vibe reminds me of Wellington in the late 1990s.

Waitārere Beach is used by all manner of transport methods, horses is by far the coolest.

Gladys lounging around, doing nothing, without a care in the world, as she epitomises what a glorious Sunday afternoon should be.

There's a man on a beach, it's a man on a beach, man on a beach ... 'ere he's a bit comfortable for a man on a beach isn't he ...

Just sand shifting in the wind, sparkling as grains catch the autumnal sun.

Many of my sunset photos are over beaches, harbours, and often include clouds. You know what though, a good clear sky sunset out in the middle of the country can sometimes beat them all hands down. You'll see me marvelling at the darkening colours as I look higher and higher, feeling the universe just a few kilometres away from us all.

The dawn promises a drying day and it delivers. A full washing line is a thing of beauty that deserves a moment's admiration.

There are some sumptuous places around Wellingtontownland to get a coffee, set-up the laptop, and do some tapping pretending you're doing actual work. I'd list the National Library, GFD in the afternoon, Te Papa, and any number of cafés filled with people in suits/dress-ups chatting and pretending they're doing actual work. If you're in Miramar and don't fancy Park Kitchen (it's great), then hop over the road to The Roxy, crossing your fingers it's open, and settle in upstairs. Best chairs, amazing venue, and great food with awesome services. Now we're settled in, let's get into pretending we're doing actual work.

Seems topical that today's daily photo happens to be of a morning mist covered Shelly Bay as the murkiness of the past few years finally lifts from the place .

When I shared this with MSL they smiled, a lot 😁

A photo of moon, that has a blue tint around it. Is this what they mean by a blue moon? 🙄

Two things about these flowers. The first being I love how they all have "landing lights" to guide the insects in to the goodies in the middle. The second aspect, all these flower photos were taken close-up as the wider view is, well, a boring grass verge. Good to get close eh.