Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 38

Metaphors of Life Journal: Brain Drain, Caffeine Injections and Big Bang Theory Reruns

Hmmm, how much longer can the gray-matter butterfly run on overdrive?

I do not know who came up with the term multitask, but I wish I could find him so I could kick him in the family jewels. In all fairness, it started out meaning performing two or more tasks simultaneously. But in the last decade, two or more has been multiplied several times for the average worker.

Do more with less is the mantra of the work world these days. Technology is supposed to be the enabler – empowering us to be more efficient and therefore capable of handling more tasks. What the experts conveniently overlook is that the law of diminishing returns applies. The human brain is not designed to play hopscotch between half a dozen or more projects.

My brain and I have regular debates over brain synapse overload starting around 2:00 in the afternoon.

Michael’s Brain: Task load exceeds optimal parameters. Need to shut down and recharge.

Michael: What?! You can’t shut down. We have 2 hours to go before quitting time.

Michael’s Brain: Acknowledged. Reallocating resources. Be advised that intellectual acuity may be negatively affected.

3:00 pm

Michael’s Brain: Entering red zone. Cognitive dissonance may occur.

Michael: Suck it up, big boy. Still got an hour to go.

Michael’s Brain: Accessing emergency reserves. Fuel boost needed. Request caffeine injection.

Michael: Way ahead of you. On my way to the kitchen.

4:00 pm

Michael’s Brain: Processing capability at less than 10%. Shutting down.

Michael: No, no, no! We still have to drive home.

Michael’s Brain: Engaging autopilot. Cannot guarantee accurate processing of sensory stimuli.

Michael: Stop whining! I gave you extra coffee and triple sugar!

5:00 pm. Arriving home.

Michael’s Brain: Running on empty. Request Big Bang Theory reruns and comfort food.

Michael: BBT reruns, yes. But no comfort food. Our digestive system can’t handle it anymore.

Michael’s Brain: Digestive system is a big, sucky, sissy.

Michael: That we can agree on. You’re officially off the clock.

Michael’s Brain: Shutting down. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Our brain can be thought of as a butterfly – constantly cross-pollinating flowers of thought and opening up new vistas. But the degree to which we are now expected to multitask, and the brain drain that results, is aging the butterfly before its time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to watch a Big Bang Theory rerun, if my sleepy brain can muster enough processing power to remember how to use the remote.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Brain Drain, Caffeine Injections and Big Bang Theory Reruns

Hmmm, how much longer can the gray-matter butterfly run on overdrive?

I do not know who came up with the term multitask, but I wish I could find him so I could kick him in the family jewels. In all fairness, it started out meaning performing two or more tasks simultaneously. But in the last decade, two or more has been multiplied several times for the average worker.

Do more with less is the mantra of the work world these days. Technology is supposed to be the enabler – empowering us to be more efficient and therefore capable of handling more tasks. What the experts conveniently overlook is that the law of diminishing returns applies. The human brain is not designed to play hopscotch between half a dozen or more projects.

My brain and I have regular debates over brain synapse overload starting around 2:00 in the afternoon.

Michael’s Brain: Task load exceeds optimal parameters. Need to shut down and recharge.

Michael: What?! You can’t shut down. We have 2 hours to go before quitting time.

Michael’s Brain: Acknowledged. Reallocating resources. Be advised that intellectual acuity may be negatively affected.

3:00 pm

Michael’s Brain: Entering red zone. Cognitive dissonance may occur.

Michael: Suck it up, big boy. Still got an hour to go.

Michael’s Brain: Accessing emergency reserves. Fuel boost needed. Request caffeine injection.

Michael: Way ahead of you. On my way to the kitchen.

4:00 pm

Michael’s Brain: Processing capability at less than 10%. Shutting down.

Michael: No, no, no! We still have to drive home.

Michael’s Brain: Engaging autopilot. Cannot guarantee accurate processing of sensory stimuli.

Michael: Stop whining! I gave you extra coffee and triple sugar!

5:00 pm. Arriving home.

Michael’s Brain: Running on empty. Request Big Bang Theory reruns and comfort food.

Michael: BBT reruns, yes. But no comfort food. Our digestive system can’t handle it anymore.

Michael’s Brain: Digestive system is a big, sucky, sissy.

Michael: That we can agree on. You’re officially off the clock.

Michael’s Brain: Shutting down. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Our brain can be thought of as a butterfly – constantly cross-pollinating flowers of thought and opening up new vistas. But the degree to which we are now expected to multitask, and the brain drain that results, is aging the butterfly before its time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to watch a Big Bang Theory rerun, if my sleepy brain can muster enough processing power to remember how to use the remote.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Random Act of Metaphor: The 200 Million Year Old Wisdom of the Turtle

Hmmm, can we learn contentment from the aged wisdom of the turtle?

Click here to view this post with the photograph embedded https://tinyurl.com/ya3exp6h

My fascination with nature tends toward winged things – birds, butterflies and dragonflies that have the gift and freedom of flight which I cannot help but admire and envy. But occasionally I expand my vision and find inspiration in other creatures.

The photo of a Painted Turtle, adorning the head of this post, was snapped earlier this summer at one of my favourite summer haunts. It looks rather prehistoric with its protective domed shell, clawed feet and piercing eyes. I should not be surprised at this appearance since turtles are one of the oldest living ancestors dating back 200 million years.

Turtles are traditionally seen as the embodiment of the notion that slow and steady wins the race. But they also remind us of the wisdom of taking life as it comes. They do not react to and resist the forces around them, but rather simply accept what is and move on with their life with fortitude and tolerance.

A Painted Turtle regarding me with is prehistoric countenance and nonjudgmental attitude – a random act of metaphor to remind me that wisdom is born of patience and that contentment comes from taking life one day at a time

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Random Act of Metaphor – The 200 Million Year Wisdom of the Turtle

Hmmm, can we learn contentment from the aged wisdom of the turtle?

My fascination with nature tends toward winged things – birds, butterflies and dragonflies that have the gift and freedom of flight which I cannot help but admire and envy. But occasionally I expand my vision and find inspiration in other creatures.

The photo of a Painted Turtle, adorning the head of this post, was snapped earlier this summer at one of my favourite summer haunts. It looks rather prehistoric with its protective domed shell, clawed feet and piercing eyes. I should not be surprised at this appearance since turtles are one of the oldest living ancestors dating back 200 million years.

Turtles are traditionally seen as the embodiment of the notion that slow and steady wins the race. But they also remind us of the wisdom of taking life as it comes. They do not react to and resist the forces around them, but rather simply accept what is and move on with their life with fortitude and tolerance.

A Painted Turtle regarding me with is prehistoric countenance and nonjudgmental attitude – a random act of metaphor to remind me that wisdom is born of patience and that contentment comes from taking life one day at a time

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: Microlearning - An Old Dog Draws His Line in the Sand

Hmmm, have 90 minute lectures morphed into 90 second videos?

I heard a young colleague refer to microlearning in a conversation with a co-worker this week. I was passing the kitchen area at the time and whimsically wondered if it was something that involved a microwave oven. Turns out, in an offbeat kind of way, it does.

I came across the term again later in the week and decided to check it out online. Why? Because it had the sound of another latest/greatest, digital age innovation that would be imposed on me – a digital immigrant, Baby Boomer whose head is close to exploding daily with all the new technologies I am expected to learn and adopt.

Microlearning is a way of teaching and delivering content to learners in small, very specific bursts. The learners control when they are learning. It is specifically designed for Millennials whose attention span, the experts say, averages 90 seconds.

Microlearning is often delivered via video since Millennials prefer video over other mediums. Apparently, 70% of Millennials visit YouTube monthly. Monthly? I am certain that monthly was a misprint. Daily sounds more accurate. Video-watching is fast becoming an addiction.

Let me be clear. I have no objection in principle to the concept of microlearning and of video as the primary channel for it. If it works for Millennials, go for it.

But here is the thing that gets under my skin. I have 4-1/2 years to go until I can retire. (Yes, I am counting the days, hours and minutes.) Chances are good that, before I am able to sail off into the sunset, someone in the organizational learning field will decide that microlearning is the gold standard for everyone.

I am already being compelled to learn through various forms of e-learning such as interactive PowerPoint presentations and recorded webinars. No one bothered to ask me if that kind of learning works for me. For the record, it does not. My brain is not programmed to learn that way and revolts when forced to do so.

I consider myself well educated. I have a college diploma and a university degree and graduated from university summa cum laude. But back then, learning came in the form of lengthy lectures in large halls or by reading weighty tomes. You listened, took notes and read everything on the syllabus. A good attention span was a prerequisite.

I am well aware that life is for the young. Old dogs like me have to adapt as best they can or get out of the way. I would gladly get out of the way if I could afford to do so. Unfortunately, I cannot. I will have to hang in until 4:00 on the last day and hope the farewell cake they order for me is gluten-free and will not self-destruct in 90 seconds if not eaten.

Wikipedia says that microlearning is itself a metaphor for aspects of a variety of learning models, concepts and processes. But I must object. Metaphors are not meant to be shortcuts. They are meant to unlock understanding and unleash our minds to roam free.

In my book (yes, I still read books), microlearning sounds more like an anti-metaphor. I will not be getting on board with it. Consider this my old dog, line in the sand.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Microlearning: An Old Dog Draws His Line in the Sand

Hmmm, have 90 minute lectures morphed into 90 second videos?

I heard a young colleague refer to microlearning in a conversation with a co-worker this week. I was passing the kitchen area at the time and whimsically wondered if it was something that involved a microwave oven. Turns out, in an offbeat kind of way, it does.

I came across the term again later in the week and decided to check it out online. Why? Because it had the sound of another latest/greatest, digital age innovation that would be imposed on me – a digital immigrant, Baby Boomer whose head is close to exploding daily with all the new technologies I am expected to learn and adopt.

Microlearning is a way of teaching and delivering content to learners in small, very specific bursts. The learners control when they are learning. It is specifically designed for Millennials whose attention span, the experts say, averages 90 seconds.

Microlearning is often delivered via video since Millennials prefer video over other mediums. Apparently, 70% of Millennials visit YouTube monthly. Monthly? I am certain that monthly was a misprint. Daily sounds more accurate. Video-watching is fast becoming an addiction.

Let me be clear. I have no objection in principle to the concept of microlearning and of video as the primary channel for it. If it works for Millennials, go for it.

But here is the thing that gets under my skin. I have 4-1/2 years to go until I can retire. (Yes, I am counting the days, hours and minutes.) Chances are good that, before I am able to sail off into the sunset, someone in the organizational learning field will decide that microlearning is the gold standard for everyone.

I am already being compelled to learn through various forms of e-learning such as interactive PowerPoint presentations and recorded webinars. No one bothered to ask me if that kind of learning works for me. For the record, it does not. My brain is not programmed to learn that way and revolts when forced to do so.

I consider myself well educated. I have a college diploma and a university degree and graduated from university summa cum laude. But back then, learning came in the form of lengthy lectures in large halls or by reading weighty tomes. You listened, took notes and read everything on the syllabus. A good attention span was a prerequisite.

I am well aware that life is for the young. Old dogs like me have to adapt as best they can or get out of the way. I would gladly get out of the way if I could afford to do so. Unfortunately, I cannot. I will have to hang in until 4:00 on the last day and hope the farewell cake they order for me is gluten-free and will not self-destruct in 90 seconds if not eaten.

Wikipedia says that microlearning is itself a metaphor for aspects of a variety of learning models, concepts and processes. But I must object. Metaphors are not meant to be shortcuts. They are meant to unlock understanding and unleash our minds to roam free.

In my book (yes, I still read books), microlearning sounds more like an anti-metaphor. I will not be getting on board with it. Consider this my old dog, line in the sand.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: Beware – Old Man Apathy is Spitting Mad

Hmmm, what dark force breeds the horrific acts of violence which are occurring at an alarming rate?

First, a confession. I did not want to blog on this topic. It is a reality I would rather not enter into. But the frequency with which these acts are happening compels me to weigh in.

I will state from the outset that I accept that there is no simple answer. Yes, the accessibility of hand guns enables the perpetrators. I agree with a ban on hand guns. It is a step in the right direction. But as the expression goes: Guns do not kill people. People kill people.

The prevalence of mental health illnesses may also be a factor. You have to be mentally unhinged to perpetrate an act of violence that indiscriminately takes human lives. But it is in no way, shape or form a one-to-one relationship.

An aside: Mental health illness is a complex issue. There are those who suffer from a biochemical imbalance which translates to a lifelong battle. But mental health conditions can also be situationally driven. Life can beat us down and undermine our mental wellbeing. Every one of us is but one misfortune away from losing our grip.

A number of years back, I write a post – titled Old Man Apathy – expressing what I felt was a rising wave of apathy. I was seeing examples of it everywhere I turned. I have reflected further on the issue since then and concluded that it is not a permanent state of mind.

In some cases, fortune turns in our favour and washes away apathy. But apathy that persists over time eventually migrates to something more insidious: despair, anger and even rage. Is it possible that the epidemic of apathy is making that transition increasingly and triggering in the horrific acts we are seeing?

I have also blogged about the increasing survival of the fittest mentality that prevails in our society. Looking out for number one exclusively is infiltrating our thinking. For some, the belief becomes: If I am to succeed, someone else must fail. Personally, I still believe in the power of a win-win attitude. You and I can both succeed if we help one another along the way.

But society tells us in subtle ways that this is a naïve attitude and outdated thinking. We are prodded to go all out to win at any cost. Someone always loses in that battle. Repeated failure breeds apathy as the person with the short end of the stick comes to believe that he/she cannot ever win.

Again, I assert that it is a short leap from anger to despair as the victim comes to believe that the odds are stacked against them. With nothing left to lose, all rules are suspended and the victim lashes out to vent their despair.

Many of us have at one time or another voiced the metaphor: I am so mad I could spit nails! Substitute bullets for nails and the metaphor becomes disconcertingly prophetic.

My plea to all of you: Believe in the countercultural idea of the win-win equation. No, it is not a cure for all ills. But it may just save your life.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Beware: Old Man Apathy is Spitting Mad

Hmmm, what dark force breeds the horrific acts of violence which are occurring at an alarming rate?

First, a confession. I did not want to blog on this topic. It is a reality I would rather not enter into. But the frequency with which these acts are happening compels me to weigh in.

I will state from the outset that I accept that there is no simple answer. Yes, the accessibility of hand guns enables the perpetrators. I agree with a ban on hand guns. It is a step in the right direction. But as the expression goes: Guns do not kill people. People kill people.

The prevalence of mental health illnesses may also be a factor. You have to be mentally unhinged to perpetrate an act of violence that indiscriminately takes human lives. But it is in no way, shape or form a one-to-one relationship.

An aside: Mental health illness is a complex issue. There are those who suffer from a biochemical imbalance which translates to a lifelong battle. But mental health conditions can also be situationally driven. Life can beat us down and undermine our mental wellbeing. Every one of us is but one misfortune away from losing our grip.

A number of years back, I write a post – titled Old Man Apathy – expressing what I felt was a rising wave of apathy. I was seeing examples of it everywhere I turned. I have reflected further on the issue since then and concluded that it is not a permanent state of mind.

In some cases, fortune turns in our favour and washes away apathy. But apathy that persists over time eventually migrates to something more insidious: despair, anger and even rage. Is it possible that the epidemic of apathy is making that transition increasingly and triggering in the horrific acts we are seeing?

I have also blogged about the increasing survival of the fittest mentality that prevails in our society. Looking out for number one exclusively is infiltrating our thinking. For some, the belief becomes: If I am to succeed, someone else must fail. Personally, I still believe in the power of a win-win attitude. You and I can both succeed if we help one another along the way.

But society tells us in subtle ways that this is a naïve attitude and outdated thinking. We are prodded to go all out to win at any cost. Someone always loses in that battle. Repeated failure breeds apathy as the person with the short end of the stick comes to believe that he/she cannot ever win.

Again, I assert that it is a short leap from anger to despair as the victim comes to believe that the odds are stacked against them. With nothing left to lose, all rules are suspended and the victim lashes out to vent their despair.

Many of us have at one time or another voiced the metaphor: I am so mad I could spit nails! Substitute bullets for nails and the metaphor becomes disconcertingly prophetic.

My plea to all of you: Believe in the countercultural idea of the win-win equation. No, it is not a cure for all ills. But it may just save your life.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: Password Mania, Digital Footprints and My Epitaph

Hmmm, are we more real online than in flesh and blood?

I hit the centennial mark today. An auspicious occasion – it’s not every day you reach such a milestone. There really should be a reward of some kind.

No, I am not 100 years old, although there are days when I feel like I may be – and days when I feel like there are 100 reasons I’ll never make it that far.

No, I did not manage to do 100 pushups. I seriously doubt that I could even do 10. My wonky back would spasm before I got half way there.

No, I did not hit the 100 mark on my life list of butterfly species. I have seven species to go to check off that accomplishment which is a few years off.

So what historic 100 did I reach? For the 100th time, I created a user name and password and created an online profile. In this digital era, the price of participation in just about anything is surrendering one’s self to the digital data collectors.

It needs to be noted that at least two-thirds of my online profiles are dormant. Some may have been deactivated for lack of activity. But nothing ever really disappears on the web, so a ghost of me lives on each time.

Occasionally, I have been tempted to create an alias or two to use when I am required yet again to register online. As a writer I am more than capable of inventing alternate versions of myself. But then I would have to remember who I pretended to be that day in order to log in again. My brain does not need more things to remember.

Lord forbid I should have a head injury and experience amnesia! The entire online world would become inaccessible to me because I could not remember my user name or password.

I sometimes wonder about the digital footprint I am leaving. Theoretically, it is possible for someone with advanced digital skills to trace my path across the internet in excruciating detail. It would be a tedious exercise given my unexciting life. But it still might turn up an embarrassing item or two.

The reality is that if you are not online in this day and age, you are considered a dinosaur. Every organization or utility that requires regular payments pushes us to do all transactions online. No invoice to mail. No cheque to deposit. The money simply migrates online from us to them. The miracle of modern technology at work.

I have been outspoken about the fact that I participate in the online world under protest. I am there because I have to be. If I had a choice in the matter, I might well opt out entirely. But the door closed on that option quite some time ago.

It seems to me we are angling toward the day when each of us really only exists as an online metaphor of the flesh and blood person we once were. I am seriously considering requesting that my epitaph read: Logged out for the final time. Offline for eternity.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Password Mania, Digital Footprints and My Epitaph

Hmmm, are we more real online than in flesh and blood?

I hit the centennial mark today. An auspicious occasion – it’s not every day you reach such a milestone. There really should be a reward of some kind.

No, I am not 100 years old, although there are days when I feel like I may be – and days when I feel like there are 100 reasons I’ll never make it that far.

No, I did not manage to do 100 pushups. I seriously doubt that I could even do 10. My wonky back would spasm before I got half way there.

No, I did not hit the 100 mark on my life list of butterfly species. I have seven species to go to check off that accomplishment which is a few years off.

So what historic 100 did I reach? For the 100th time, I created a user name and password and created an online profile. In this digital era, the price of participation in just about anything is surrendering one’s self to the digital data collectors.

It needs to be noted that at least two-thirds of my online profiles are dormant. Some may have been deactivated for lack of activity. But nothing ever really disappears on the web, so a ghost of me lives on each time.

Occasionally, I have been tempted to create an alias or two to use when I am required yet again to register online. As a writer I am more than capable of inventing alternate versions of myself. But then I would have to remember who I pretended to be that day in order to log in again. My brain does not need more things to remember.

Lord forbid I should have a head injury and experience amnesia! The entire online world would become inaccessible to me because I could not remember my user name or password.

I sometimes wonder about the digital footprint I am leaving. Theoretically, it is possible for someone with advanced digital skills to trace my path across the internet in excruciating detail. It would be a tedious exercise given my unexciting life. But it still might turn up an embarrassing item or two.

The reality is that if you are not online in this day and age, you are considered a dinosaur. Every organization or utility that requires regular payments pushes us to do all transactions online. No invoice to mail. No cheque to deposit. The money simply migrates online from us to them. The miracle of modern technology at work.

I have been outspoken about the fact that I participate in the online world under protest. I am there because I have to be. If I had a choice in the matter, I might well opt out entirely. But the door closed on that option quite some time ago.

It seems to me we are angling toward the day when each of us really only exists as an online metaphor of the flesh and blood person we once were. I am seriously considering requesting that my epitaph read: Logged out for the final time. Offline for eternity.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.