Mike Riversdale

Two topics here, one factual, the other a little more fuzzy (!) Iceland has a thriving beer industry and the bar scene in Reykjavik reminded me very strongly of Wellington - cool bars with a large variety of local brews. It wasn't always so, in fact it was only in 1989 that beer was allowed in Iceland, I know! In Iceland, Beer Day (Icelandic: Bjórdagurinn) is celebrated every year on March 1, honoring the elimination of the 74-year prohibition of beer. Prohibition lasted from January 1, 1915 to March 1, 1989. [source: Beer Day (Iceland) ]  They certainly get amongst it, I love this quote from Kormákur Geirharðsson ( Ölstofan bar owner) in  The Reykjavik Grapevine : I remember a lot of drinking and a lot of pissing all night long and the next days, and it [was] not stopping. This was the day Icelanders took the step to try to become civilized.  March 1st, not only is it St David's Day but it's also Icelandic Beer Day, love it. So, all that beer has got to mean there'

Bloody good question, glad you asked, "Where are all the places in the UK that start with 'aber'?". Luckily Dr Robin Wilson (freelancer in Remote Sensing, GIS, Data Science and Python) has the tool for you ! "Pardon, where all the places in the UK that end in 'pool' as well as those that start with 'aber'?", Mr Wilson has you covered . "What about ...?", ok Mr Wilson has you covered for all eventualities . How about you get yaself over to his website and you can answer all the questions you have for yourself, enjoy.

After many seconds of easy travel down the lane we join our intrepid traveller as he discovers the famous/notorious Turf pub nestled within the quirky Oxford buildings. What a time, what a place, what an adventure!

Anyone who knows me knows that Albert Einstein is a hero of mine . Yes he had a great physics brain and, building upon the work before him and with help from his first wife , he changed everything we know and think about the universe. He also took the fame platform he was given and tried to make the world a better place for everyone else. And I do like these 7 "rules" that Ethan Seigel has gleaned from the way Einstein lived his life. I think I'm well on the way to putting them into action, need to think more about fascinating things. Rule #1: Expend your efforts on the things that matter. This is currently proving to be both very difficult and extremely easy. I'd say that things that matter do not have to entail $. Rule #2: Do things you love, even if you’re terrible at them. Oh god yes. I love singing, but think I'm awful at it and it's a nightmare for people to hear. I'm pretty bad at dancing as well and get very self conscious and embarrassed when I

With a sense of ending our gentleman adventurer strides backwards in time down the lane.

This video, 3 signs that you’ve hit clinical burnout and should seek hel p, compliments the post simply entitled, Stop! , where I give a little background on my own life burnout and how stopping was the simplest act that both saved me and changed everything about me.

Just 2 New albums up on the site: Bodleian Old Library (Oxford, UK) A glorious view of all the statue faces and the whole inner courtyard James Taylor concert A few videos as well as photos at his gig at the Wellington TSB Centre

Between the buildings our keen adventurer strides forth with confidence down the lane.

"Hey look, here's a skinny lane, I wonder what's at the end. Let's go down!"

I know who it looks like, but who is it really? You can see who it looks like, can't you? One of the many stone heads around the Bodleian Old Library court  (Oxford, England) that watch from beside the doors. This one, come on you can see who it looks like surely, is to the right of the door that leads to/from the Clarendon Quad. I'd love to know when it was carved and who it really is, coz it can't be ... well, it can't be can it!

Hmmm, this phone box  is not the best look for a visitor to the city of Oxford.

Nah, surely having personal results is a good thing, it helps us manage the information overload ... no? Well, yes, if it's done with transparency ... big "if". The key is to know on what basis item A is allowed into your view and why item B isn't. Actually, even knowing item B exists is probably the first step. Back in 2011 Eli Pariser talks directly to the Larry, Sergey, and Zuckerberg's of the world asking for them to give us the control and transparency that we need to enjoy what the Internet/Web promised. We never got it eh, and look what happened, we all chose sides and it's messy, dangerous, and very very siloed. As Siouxsie Wiles asked back in 2020: So please, before sharing something, ask yourself these questions: How does this make me feel? Why am I sharing this? Do I know if it’s true? Where did it come from? Whose agenda might I be supporting by sharing it? Yup, this post came out of a historical Pocket save of a Siouxsie Wiles post,  Now let’s