I'd Love One Of These For The Clear Nights

· Sunday, October 18, 2026 · Mike Riversdale

The reviews are very good #JustSaying

DWARF mini Smart Telescope and a Mini Hydraulic Tripod

A compact, portable smart telescope ideal for birdwatching, scenic viewing, and beginner astrophotography PLUS (extra) a lightweight, stable tripod designed for the DWARF series.

Comments

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...

Rugby World Cup 2011 Fixture iCal Calendar

2026/7 UPDATE: You'll be looking for this I imagine: Rugby World Cup 2027 Fixture iCal Calendar The calendar has now morphed into the ongoing International Rugby Fixtures iCal Calendar ...

The Difference Between One Million And One Billion

It 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.” < 64: Always get explicit consent 66: Ask that question >

Dunning-Kruger Effect Memes And Cartoons

The Dunning-Kruger effect : when people overestimate their skills because they don't know enough to see their own lack of knowledge or ability. I have trawled the Web finding the finest of funnies, by all means share them when you feel the need.

"Right Wing" Comedians

Too many people comfortably plump themselves into an army of one type or another . Surrounded by those that sound like you, listen to you intently whilst nodding, and echo your thoughts on why the fight is a good fight and that the other side are such bad terrible people. I used to be more like that than I am nowadays ... hmmmm, aren't we humans meant to become more conservative and reactionary as we age, strange Mike. These thoughts have me thinking of two UK comedians that have been tagged as "right wing", which is putting them into an army for the benefit of someone but, I suspect, not them. First up, Simon Evans who makes me laugh when he's talking about his family, kids, and life in Brighton. He then hit my ears big time with: Simon Evans Goes to Market , has had six seasons, delighting audiences with his witty and insightful take on the comedically unpromising territory of economics, all of which prove among the most popular downloads on the Sounds App. On the...

5 Common Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them

I want to run through something important but often overlooked in our daily conversations, debates, and even our own thinking: logical fallacies . Understanding logical fallacies is like having a mental toolkit for spotting weak arguments, manipulation, and plain old fuzzy thinking. It's about sharpening your critical thinking skills and navigating the complex landscape of information and persuasion we encounter every day. In this "long read," we're going to break down five common logical fallacies (with another five in a follow-up post ), look at where they came from (or how they were identified), explore their potential downsides, and, most importantly, provide actionable strategies for spotting them and adjusting our own thinking. The Cheat Sheet Alright, here is the [tl;dr] "too long; didn't read and can't wait" version of all ten fallacies at a glance for those of us who need the shorthand to get back to the rugby or the...

Do We Live Better Than Medieval Royalty?

[UPDATED] Listen to an audio summary of this post and all the outbound links, created using "AI", enjoy. It's an almost common phrase, "We live better than a king of old!" Ok, let's do some a lot of searching and see if that's true in any sense at all BUT first ... Some definitions ... "We all" Almost exclusively this is white, middle-class / middle-level, in the top 10-15%, sort of people. Also, European or of European descent, i.e. those that think being a medieval king is a thing to emulate. "live" Doing our general stuff but not one-off things like wars, marriages, and deaths. Think of it as the life we live on a Tuesday afternoon. "better" Hmmm, I think this is a combination of ease, ability, availability, and cost. "Medieval" The medieval period , also known as the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages, began around 476 A.D. and ended between 1400 and 1450. The term was first used by 15th-century scholars to descri...

How Long Could Aotearoa New Zealand Survive Being Cut Off?

A drunken and wrong argument from me with a patient and honest mate left me thinking, "How long could Aotearoa New Zealand actually last if the boats, planes, and Internet couldn't arrive?" Let's imagine Aotearoa New Zealand suddenly and unexpectedly cut off from the rest of the world, you can choose your disaster of choice, limited nuclear war ( global and we're all fucked anyway ), a massive weather something, zombie outbreak overseas, or Winston Peters drops his trousers and does a dump on the main UN Assemble table and no-one wants to play with us anymore. The reason isn't important but what is, suddenly and for the foreseeable future, is that we are no longer connected - the event has happened! Note: I don't have access to any insider information that say the Government hopefully has, so this is all gonna be a bit 'finger in the sky' using stuff I find on the Web and it'll be an exercise in averages, "sort of"s and even my own ...

"Why do journalists ask stupid questions?"

Back during the first AoNZ 2020 lockdown Paul Brislen, comms person and NZ Twitter personality, answered a question that a lot were asking. His answer goes a long way to also answering why I ask seemingly simple questions in meetings, especially when asking the the definition of an acronym that I already know. As is the nature of Twitter Pauls answer was a thread over 12 tweets, I've pulled them all together. "Why do journalists ask stupid questions?" by @paulbrislen, Apr 8 2020 There's a bit of misunderstanding out there about why journalists ask stupid questions - I think stemming from the press conferences and seeing the sausage get made. I'd like to address that if I may. Sometimes journalists ask stupid questions because they're stupid. This is usually not the case but can happen. Usually they ask stupid questions to get the ANSWER to the stupid question on tape or film or on record. This is important. They need to get it on the record because it often d...

Who Are The Boyles?

My original surname was Boyle. ( here's why it changed all those years ago) Your Grandad, Derek Boyle, spent a good few years tracking the family tree, it's a thing old people do I s'pose 👴 But where did the name "Boyle" come from? The history that we were told includes Ireland after a surname trip across the water from Scotland post the "De Boylé" family entering England from Normandy in 1066 and heading up north. "Hah, you're originally French!" we jokingly taunted our slightly anti-French Cockney father. But this is just the family story we told each other, who knows if it's true at all, let's find out. If you search "Boyle family name" then it's all about the Irish Boyles, the O'Boyles The Irish surname Boyle comes from the Irish Gaelic Ó Baoighill, possibly derived from the earlier Irish word "baigell," which meant "having profitable pledges." [ source: House of Names, Boyle ] The Irish s...