Mike Riversdale

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...

Wow, Microsoft seem to be hanging on to their AI platform (Azure) by their fingertips - as I've always said, Apple makes great hardware, Google makes great software, Microsoft does neither. “Surfing the edge”: Tim O’Reilly on how humans can thrive with AI by Tim Cooper, December 2, 2025 A society that uses automation to build shareholder value while impoverishing everyone else will not be successful. Plan scenarios and develop a robust AI strategy that can survive in multiple circumstances. Surfing the edge of change today requires balance and responsiveness. How Microsoft Vaporized a Trillion Dollars by Axel Rietschin, Mar 29, 2026 This is an absolutely fascinating and detailed read, if you have any interest in technology, Microsoft, and pulling up the curtain hiding the wizard then this series of posts is for you! This is the first of a series of articles in which you will learn about what may be one of the silliest, most preventable, and most costly mishaps of the 21st century, ...

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.

Wow, what a movie  Anatomy of a Fall  (2023) is. For the past year, Sandra, a German writer, her French husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he committed suicide or was killed. The court scenes are eye opening as the prosecutor hones in on Sandra's life, each moment taking on a face that fits his version of what happened. Is he right though? The French system is slightly different to the one we know in the UK / Australia / AoNZ, fascinating. The acting is top shelf,  Sandra Hüller , alongside Swann Arlaud ,  Antoine Reinartz ,  Milo Machado-Graner , and  Samuel Theis , deserve special mention but the whole cast nail it. Writer/director Justine Triet must be absolutely proud to pieces with what she created Will Sandra be found innocent or guilty and what does that have to do justice? And of cou...

Natalie and I are deeply in love ... lust as well but we're not here to talk about that. Whilst marriage was off the cards for quite a while late last year we decided to make a pledge to each other. To symbolise the pledge before AoNZ friends and family we bought rings, which we both lost and have had to replace, LOL. This is what I said to Nat. What a surprise for you all, Nat and I are gonna do a thing, prepare yourselves. Getting married is a road both of us have travelled, many many times. In fact Nat is only now coming to the end of that particular path, but hasn’t quite stepped off it. So that road isn’t one we’re gonna hop on just yet … ask us in a few years. We do however, really want to do something to express our love for each other, so we’re going to, in front of all of you, Nat's family … in this part of the world. Nat … you … as I write this my heart is thumping so hard, will I be able to find the words of how deep inside me you are? I could just turn this into a m...

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...

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 >

A post about us humans, from the history of us to how we are all thinking about the world today. Ancient DNA Reveals Most Europeans Had Dark Skin Until Just 3,000 Years Ago by Tibi Puiu, November 25, 2025 Reconstruction of the 10,000-year-old “Cheddar Man” from Britain. Credit: Channel 4. By analyzing the genomes of 348 individuals who lived between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago, researchers have uncovered a surprising truth for some: for most of Europe’s history, the majority of its inhabitants had dark skin. Only around 3,000 years ago did lighter skin tones become dominant. The Map of Human History by Keir Clarke, November 22, 2025 The Globe of History is an ambitious new interactive map that attempts to visualize the entire sweep of human history - 6,000 years of wars, inventions, discoveries, philosophers, political upheavals, and more - on a 3D globe. Each historical event is mapped using data derived from Wikipedia, resulting in a global atlas of human events that you ...

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...

Always ask about that fancy new theory someone is dressing up as science: Could we test this? Are the individuals behind this theory updating their claims with new findings? Is this consistent with our broader scientific understanding of the world?