Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 84

CATS RULE! And, Oh Yeah, An Award

Hmmm, did you ever think you would read a blog posting written by a cat? Consider yourself privileged because it's a rare moment when creatures of an infinitely superior intellect – like those of us of the feline species – condescend to communicate in writing.

An introduction is in order. My name is Muffin and Michael is my pet. Yes, you heard that right. Michael likes to think he is the master in this relationship. But I assure you it is quite the other way around. I simply allow him to...

WIRED, TIRED AND OVER INSPIRED

He's just a little bit wired, he's just a little bit tired, he's simply over inspired, but hey don't you worry, daddy's okay.

Valdi, "Daddy's Okay"

Hmmm, is there such a thing as a moment of peaceful privacy in this wired, hyper-connected and technology mad world we live in?

I am one of those people who need solitude. I'm not quite a loner and I'm a few eccentricities short of qualifying as antisocial. I simply need a healthy dose of alone-time to stay in a state resembling sanity.

The trouble...

MICROWAVE MYSTERY: Where Did Our Micro Minutes Go?

Hmmm, it seems at first blush that we've effectively harnessed the power of technology to free us from many of life's more tedious tasks. So why is, pray tell, that we are still so confounded busy?

I came across an article on the web yesterday titled "Popular Mechanics Best Inventions of the Last 50 Years". Browsing through the list, it quickly became apparent that many of them were designed to make our lives easier and relieve us of time-consuming, mundane tasks. A few examples:

1955: The...

Reebok, Crosby and Joannie Rochette

Hmmm, Reebok is offering a $10,000 reward for the return of Sidney Crosby's stick and glove from the penultimate scene at the Winter Olympics. What's wrong with this picture?

Anyone who watched the gold medal hockey game has a mental image of Sidney Crosby at that moment imprinted on his or her brain. Gloves and stick flung away as he raised in his arms in jubilation.

All Canadians joined in that moment and celebrated with him. It was the crowning achievement in a stellar year for Canada at...

CHANGE CONSPIRACY: The Microsoft Effect

Hmmm, is there a change conspiracy afoot? It seems that every day the world greets me with another wave of change leaving me no choice but to reinvent my comfortable, little corner of the world.

Is our world really surging onward in every shortening cycles of renewal? Or is there an evil mastermind behind it all dreaming up senseless change after change to keep us all dancing to his fiddle tune?

The software industry – Microsoft in particular – are the overlords of this change conspiracy. They ...

2010 Winter Olympics: All The Right Reasons

Hmmm, how will we remember the 2010 Winter Olympics when the flame is extinguished and the athletes scatter to the four corners of the globe again?

It may seem premature to pose that question only one week into the 2010 games. But we've already seen a host of memorable moments each of which could define the Vancouver Olympics.

Certainly a shadow was cast over the event from the start with the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Will the 2010 Games be remembered as the Olympics ...

COOL HOLLOW & DRAGONFLY WALTZ

Hmmm, a moth to a flame. A deep down beckoning in the soul. An urgent whisper like an incantation. The undeniable call of the wild.

The helter-skelter world, which we launch ourselves bravely into each day, exacts a hefty toll. We need a refuge we can escape to where we can rest and rejuvenate our wounded soul.

Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same.  Ralph Waldo Emerson: American essayist, philosopher, and poet

In a world that charges madly on in a race that never seems...

RANDOM ACT OF METAPHOR: A Phosphorescent Sunrise

Hmmm, if my habitual mourning routine had not been interrupted by that striking sunrise, would my day have unfolded differently?

I was winding myself up for another work day. Going through the motions of a routine so well rehearsed I could do it blindfolded. Then I saw it. A narrow band of phosphorescent orange on the horizon doing battle, or so it seemed, with the looming, grey clouds that dominated the skyline.

It look vaguely ominous and, at the same time, outlandishly hopeful. It struck me ...

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Hmmm, suppose you wrenched from a sound sleep at 2:00 in the morning by someone pounding on your door like the fires of hell were raging inside them. How would you react: irritated, worried, afraid, panic stricken?

Try all of the above. I ran the gambit of these reactions when I found myself in that very situation a few nights ago. I suddenly wished I had a large dog with a blood curdling bark to discourage the apparent madman at my apartment doorstep.

The pounding that first disrupted my...

HAITI: 97 Degrees of Separation

Hmmm, how can we fully comprehend the tragedy that Haiti has experienced? Where do we even begin to look?

In the days following the news of the devastating earthquake, I pondered a blog entry on the subject. But I couldn't imagine what point of view I could take that wouldn't already be covered in the steady stream of media reports.

The stories continued to flow day after day and the magnitude of the tragedy began to sink in. So many lives lost. So many other lives changed forever. The time it ...