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Hmmm, will you gaze into these lenses and open your mind for a moment?

Excuse me, please. Over here, over there and all around you. Do you see me?

My name is Father Forest Ecosystem. I see you but all too often you do not see me as I am. You see the individual parts but not how these parts fit together, an intricate puzzle to form the whole, and how your presence can disturb the balance. So I have donned these eyeglasses to draw your attention. Creating a portal of sorts between your existence and mine.

What am I? I am a distinct bubble of life made up of plants, animals and other organisms as well as weather and landscape. I contain biotic (living) as well as abiotic (nonliving) parts. All are equally important and indivisible.

I am a very intricate and complex place. Every living and nonliving thing within me provides a resource that helps the survival of something else. Think of me as a chain where every plant and animal, large and small, is an essential link.

I am incredibly dynamic. I change constantly as I adapt to what happens within me and around me. I work unrelentingly to protect the balance that underlies my existence. I am resilient but there are limits to my power to adapt.

I must tell you that you – human beings – are my biggest challenge often without knowing it. Your footprint has the potential to impact me for better or for worse – all too often for the worse in these point-of-no-return times in which we find ourselves.

I need you to look back through these lenses appearing unexpectedly in front of you. Look long and look hard at the many parts that make up and define me. I have several layers.

Look up and see my canopy where the tall trees compete for sunlight. My canopy provides shade and creates a microclimate that influences temperature and humidity. Creatures live here that you may never see.

Look at eye level and see my understory – shrubs, small trees, vines and saplings of the canopy trees. Creatures live here that you may or may not see depending upon how perceptive you are.

Look down and see my floor made up of organic residues – leaves, branches, bark, stems – in various stages of decomposition feeding that which lies above it. Small creatures eke out a living here too.

I welcome you into my realm for your pleasure. But I must reiterate that I need you to look back through these lenses in front of you. I need you to see the complexity of my being and the delicate interdependence that defines me. I need you to understand that I provide resources you cannot live without.

I cannot exist without your respect and reverence. Nor can you exist without what I give back to you. But alarm bells are ringing. I implore you to hear and pay heed to them while there is still time. We are in this thing called life together. Tread lightly and respectfully within me. The welfare of both of us hangs in the balance.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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.

Tags:   ecosystem · environment · forest canopy · forest floor · forest understory · interdependence · metaphorNo Comments.

Hmmm, could the inventor of the telephone have imagined the invasive species his invention would become?

Canadian Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention of the telephone back in the 1870’s. (There were earlier pioneers in the field but Bell was the first to file a patent.) I wonder if he had any notion of the metamorphosis his invention would undergo over the years.

The cause of my musing is the steps the Ontario government is taking to battle the distractions cell phones represent to students. Back in April, the province announced that students up to grade six , must put their cellphones away for the entire school day. Kids from grades 7-12 are only be able to use their phone in between classes or during lunch – not during class time.

A brief foray into cell phone history for context on how we arrived at this dilemma:

In April 1973, Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first ever cellphone call on the streets of New York. His invention was a brick-sized device weighing over four pounds!

In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x, the first commercially available handheld mobile phone was released. Some sources now report that there are more cell phones than people in the world.

On July 1, 1985, in Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square, mayor Art Eggleton made the first cellular call across the Cantel system to Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau. It was the first cellular call in Canada.

Back to the issue at hand. School boards are now grappling with how to put the province’s new directives into action. As is always the case with guidelines, translating them into effective and defensible actions is no easy task. Students are not likely to be cooperative given that their cell phones give them access to social media which is a mainstay of their lives.

I do not envy educators who must now instruct students to put the devices out of sight. Students who fail to comply, and to turn over their cell phone to the teacher, get sent to the principal’s office who in turn has to consider a range of options to address the student’s behavior. It is a significant new burden for educators at all levels.

My how the times have changed in one generation. Back in my secondary schools days, the technological advancement principals were dealing with was the availability of pocket calculators. They were allowed in schools but could not be used during exams. I bought one, with money earned at a part-time job, simply because it was a cool thing to have.

Quite frankly, the bigger issue for school principals, from a distraction viewpoint, was the miniskirt fashion trend. Girls were sometimes sent home from school because their skirt was too short. They were admittedly a significant source of distraction for adolescent boys!

Bell’s invention and the doors it opened is the technological equivalent of the caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis. Over the years, Bell’s caterpillar has morphed many times over into a WiFi butterfly – an invasive species that gives educators nightmares as they try to keep students focused on their learning.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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

Tags:   Alexander Graham Bell · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · School cell phone banNo Comments.

Hmmm, what has five eyes, lives only a week and escapes your notice unless you look for it?

This post is the first in a series I will be developing over time. The metaphorical theme is nature as a quilt – an intricate tapestry of ecosystems interwoven like patches in a quilt and dependent upon one another.

I am launching this series with Ichneumonid Wasps because they fascinate me – and because they can be quite striking like the Genus Cratichneumon sample at the head of this post.

What is so special about Ichneumonid Wasps?

They are notable for their sheer number. There are roughly 26,000 species identified to date. But experts estimate that there are at least 60,000 species worldwide while some believe there may be as many as 100,000. There are 2,500 Ichneumonid Wasps in Canada. I have laid eyes on 37 of them so I have lots yet to find.

What do they look like?

They superficially resemble other wasps with a slender waist, two pairs of wings, a pair of large compound eyes on the side of the head and three simple yes on top of the head. You have to watch closely to spot them as they are small – ranging from a few millimetres to a few centimetres in length.

How long do they live and where?

Live is very short if you are an Ichneumonid Wasp – 7 to 10 days only as adults. They overwinter in cocoons as mature larvae. Larvae hatch from eggs inserted into tunnels in tree bark and live as parasites inside caterpillars and other insects.

Revisions (2)

Where do they fit in the quilt?

The parasitism pressure exerted by Ichneumonid Wasps helps to regulate many invertebrate populations. In turn, they are a food source for birds, dragonflies, robber flies, frogs, spiders and mantises.

Ichneumonid Wasps are found in all continents except Antarctica and in virtually all terrestrial habitats. One more fascinating patch in the quilt of nature stitched together by threads of interdependence and natural balance.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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.

Tags:   Ichneumonid Wasp · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · Nature · nature as a quiltNo Comments.

Hmmm, does David really stand a chance against the online platform Goliaths in the digital advertising war?

Another casualty of the digital advertising war occurred this week as 900 CHML in Hamilton went off the air. The news came abruptly via a somber, on-air announcement at precisely noon on Wednesday. But the writing was on the wall as commercial advertising breaks on Wednesday morning were ominous dead air.

My father routinely listened to the talk radio shows on 900 CHML so he feels the loss keenly as do many others in the city in which the station has been a mainstay for nearly a century.

Owner Corus Entertainment attributed the decision to “shift of advertising revenues to unregulated foreign platforms combined with the difficult regulatory and competitive landscape”. Foreign refers to tech giants like Meta who are the Goliath in the ongoing David and Goliath arm wrestle for advertising dollars.

The demise of 900 CHML is unfortunately just the latest toll in the ongoing death knell for Canadian media. Bell Media announced earlier this year that it was ending multiple television newscasts and making other programming cuts after its parent company put 45 of its 103 regional radio stations up for sale.

Both Corus Entertainment and Bell Media have blamed the federal government for being too slow with regulatory supports that they maintain are necessary to level the playing field. The feds have put in place two pieces of legislation:

Bill C-18: The Online News Act, meant to force tech giants to compensate Canadian news outlets for their content. The feds are in a standoff with Meta over Bill C-18. Meta continues to block Canadian news links on its platform.

Note: Ottawa capped the amount of money broadcast media can get from Google’s $100 million annual payments at $30 million with the remainder to go to print and digital news outlets.

Bill C-11: An update to the Broadcasting Act requiring digital platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and Tiktok to contribute and promote Canadian content.

All of these developments are part of the digital transformation tsunami that is sweeping across the media world. Corus Entertainment has indicated they are “applying new workflows and ways of working, using the latest server-based technology that will enable us to pave the way forward”. I will leave you to interpret that technical jargon on your own.

My layman’s take on the matter is that the battle is already lost. The notion of protecting borders and keeping advertising revenue at home is pretty much a non sequitur in the new environment.

Government regulations amount to a sling shot and stone aimed at the tech giants. It worked for David in the biblical battle of David and Goliath. But the Goliaths of the digital world brush aside the regulatory stones with disdain and carry on as they please.

And so we bid a fond farewell to 900 CHML – another casuality in the digital advertising war.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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

Tags:   900 CHML · Corus Entertainment · Meta · metaphor · Michael Robert DyetNo Comments.

Hmmm, how do we navigate the not-so brave new world of fake news?

Chances are you have one of these reactions several times a week if you spend time on a social media platform like Facebook. You scan your feed for something relevant, your eye stops on a particular post and you think: That can’t be true. I don’t believe it. OR Oh my God, how can that happen! Hopefully it is the first of those two reactions.

Welcome to the era of fake news. There is a whole industry driving the development. Multiple on-line tools, many of them free, enable you to plug in a fake news story, a fake image and a fake author and even get a fake URL. All that remains is to share the story on the internet.

Deep fake technology is an enabler of this insidious practice. A deep fake is media that is digitally altered to replace a person’s face or body with that of another. I can guarantee that you see at least one deep fake image every time you log on to a social media platform. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are a must-have resource in the tool kit of those who practice this art.

The creators of fake news often do it to make money by running ads. Outrageous stories and distorted images make great clickbait and generate profits because many people cannot resist sharing the weird news. But fake news can be more than a nuisance.

There was no small amount of fake news generated during the 2017 U.S. election. Some of it was apparently tracked back to teenagers in Macedonia. The teenagers determined that the more hyper-partisan the news they created, the more people clicked on and circulated it, and the more money they made. It is believed that this fake news may have influenced people’s opinions on the candidates.

Regulating fake news is well nigh impossible. In the U.S., under the Communications Decency Act, social media sites that host political information including deepfakes are legally immune from prosecution. What is required of them is limited to statements in their terms of use.

There have been calls to hold AI platforms legally responsible for disinformation which may result in guardrails on creating it. But that would amount to little more than putting a band-aid on the problem. Big Tech, such as Microsoft and Intel, have introduced deep fake detection tools. How effective these tools will be remains to be seen.

So what can we do to avoid being taken in by fake news? It comes down to the same strategies we employ to prevent falling victim to the endless scams that operate today.

Consider the source. It is a known and reputable entity? If not, and even it seems to be, cross-check the information on multiple reliable sources to see if it holds water. And, of course, exercise a healthy degree of skepticism. It if sounds too good or too bad or too ridiculous to be true, it most probably is not true.

Fake news arguably falls under the infodemic metaphor that references fast, wide-spreading false information. That term came to be associated with false information about the coronavirus pandemic. But these days it can be expanded to include the explosion of fake news in all forms and the harmful effects of it. Reader beware is the new catchphrase of our times.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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

Tags:   clickbait · deep fake · fake news · infodemic · metaphor · Michae Robert DyetComments Off on The Fake News Infodemic: Reader Beware

Hmmm, is the drone scandal symptomatic of a bigger fall from grace for the Olympics?

Oh, for the good old days when an Olympic scandal was as simple as an athlete caught doping. Remember Ben Johnson? I was on a train with friends traveling through England in 1988 when the news broke about Johnson being stripped of his gold medal. Welcome to the technological age. Doping has taken a back seat to spying using drones.

If you have not paid attention to the news, coaches for the defending gold medal champion Canadian Women’s Soccer team were caught using a drone to spy on the New Zealand team. The resulting punishment was harsh. A 200,000 Swiss francs fine. One-year bans for head coach Bev Priestman and her assistant coach. An unprecedented six-point deduction for the team in the Group A standings.

Priestman has since spilled the beans on how widespread the practice has become. Internal e-mails attributed to her indicate that illicit scouting “can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it”. She also implied that the men’s senior national team may have employed a similar scouting tactic.

There was a time when the Olympics were a pure expression of the best in amateur sports. Athletes training for years, sacrificing other life pleasures and giving their all to represent their country and come home with a prized medal.

But the new reality is not so virtuous. In some team sports, such as basketball and hockey, professional athletes now compete at the Olympics. While it is entertaining to watch the very best compete, it arguably betrays the Olympic culture when some of the athletes competing have million dollar annual salaries.

In case you did not know, the Canadian Olympic Committee Athlete Excellence Fund provides athletes with performance awards of $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 for winning Olympic gold, silver or bronze medals. These amounts pale by comparison with the endorsement contracts gold medal winners can secure.

Note: I do feel for the athletes on the Canadian Women’s Soccer team. The punishment handed out for their coaches and the governing body has trickled down to their level quite unjustly. They are courageously battling on to pursue their Olympic dream as are many of the dedicated and untainted athletes at the games.

I do not know how much Olympic coaches earn. But it is a safe bet that coaching a team or group of athletes to Olympic gold medals can be a stepping stone to job coaching a professional team with a six or seven figure salary.

The coaches for the Canadian Women’s Soccer team have clearly fumbled the ball in their efforts to lead the team to another medal. But I am inclined to believe the ball has also been fumbled at the highest levels of the Olympic’s governance.

The Olympics have lost their sheen as the epitome of all that is noble and pure about amateur sport’s competitions.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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.

Tags:   Bev Priestman · Canadian Women's Soccer Team · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · Olympic drone scandal · OlympicsComments Off on Olympics: Fumbling the Ball

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

Ambrose Pierce, American Journalist, 1842 – 1914

Hmmm, is P.T. Barnum about to lose his title as the greatest showman in U.S. history?

The quotation at the head of this post does a rather good job of summarizing the current state of politics. The fact that it dates back to an earlier era tells me that not much has changed in the last century. It is why I frequently tell myself not to try and make sense of what goes on in political circles.

But then along comes the U.S. presidential race. It is a wild, off the charts cataclysm that is so dysfunctional it is impossible to look away. It gets more voyeuristically fascinating with every passing day.

A quick review of some of the lowlights:

Biden and Trump go toe-to-toe in the debate. Biden has frequent mental lapses and loses badly. Democrats call for him to step aside. He vows to stay in the fight but gets diagnosed with COVID. I cannot help but wonder if that was an invented diagnoses to keep him out of the public eye while Democrats pushed him to throw in the towel.

An attempt is made to assassinate Donald Trump. Ear patches become a fashion accessory at the Republican Convention. Trump wins the nomination and selects Senator J.D. Vance, who was once a fierce Trump critic, as his running mate. Vance, whose main qualification is that he is a millennial and helps average out Trumps age, naturally accepts.

Biden flips the script and announces he is stepping aside. He endorses Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place in the race. Harris raises a bucketload of money overnight and positions herself to win the nomination.

Trump’s sons claim that Biden or the Democratic Party had something to do with orchestrating the Trump assassination attempt. Republican Senator Andy Ogles files articles of impeachment against Harris over her handling of the southern border issue and for allegedly covering up Biden’s cognitive decline.

On the final night of the Republican Convention, after gaining the nomination, Trump gives a rambling 90 minute speech, complete with a weird stage whisper, that makes Republican convention representatives wonder if they made a mistake voting for him.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle comes under fire for the failure to protect Trump and is pressed to step aside. She refuses. She is summoned to appear before Congress where she is eviscerated, accused of ducking questions and of being dishonest. She subsequently resigns.

P.T. Barnum, creator of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, is referred to as the greatest showman in U.S. history. But he may have to surrender that title collectively to the players in the U.S. presidential race who are staging a three-ring circus the likes of which we have never seen.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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.

Tags:   Donald Trump · Joe Biden · Kimberly Cheatle · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · P.T. Barnum · U.S. Presidential raceComments Off on The Presidential Race Three-Ring Circus

Hmmm, are the subtexts as influential and long-lasting as the act itself?

First let me state that I am loathe to post about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. We have already been bombarded by reports as the media shark engages in its usual, blood-in-the-water feeding frenzy. Social media platforms are cluttered with wild speculations about the event being a publicity stunt or false flag operation.

But in these situations, I feel compelled to draw attention to the subtexts and how they influence or even overshadow the event itself.

Subtext #1: The assassination attempt will undoubtedly strengthen backing for Trump among his base of support. The Republicans will do their utmost to keep the matter on the front page as long as possible for this purpose.

To that end, delegates and supporters at the Republican National Convention wore versions of the Trump ear bandage, made of anything from cotton pads to tape to folded pieces of paper, theoretically as a form of support. They really have no shame on the matter.

Subtext #2: Strange as it may sound, Joe Biden (if he stays in the race) will benefit from the happening. His poor performance in the debate and the question of his mental acuity was the hot-button story until the shots were fired. The attempted assassination has kicked that issue to the background and the Democrats I am certain are pleased about that.

Subtext #3: Someone will ultimately have to – please excuse the bad pun – take the bullet for the failure to properly protect Trump. Several investigations are underway and already reports are emerging of how badly things went wrong. One timeline, which may or may not be accurate, that has hit the media already:

• 5:15 pm: Crooks first identified as a person of interest
• 5:30 pm: Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder
• 5:52 pm: Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service
• 6:02 pm: Trump takes the stage
• 6:12 pm: Crooks fires first shots

Secret Service Agency Director Kimberly Cheatle is the most likely candidate for the sacrificial lamb to take the brunt of the blame as the many of those implicated – again, please pardon the pun – duck for cover. She has already been subpoenaed to testify before Congress.

Subtext #4: Gun possession is constitutionally protected in the United States. Gun control opponents insist that it would prevent law abiding citizens from defending themselves against armed criminals. But Matthew Crook’s actions, using an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, are as strong a case as you will ever find for the counter argument.

Subtext #5: One attendee at the Trump rally was killed and two others were critically wounded by the shots Matthew Crooks fired. Sadly, they will be considered collateral damage when the matter is recorded in history books.

A final question to ponder: If Donald Trump does go on to once again be elected as President of the United States, how will history judge this event as a factor in his victory?

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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

Tags:   Donald Trump · Kimberly Cheatle · Matthew Crooks · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · Trump assassination attemptComments Off on Trump Assassination Attempt: The Subtext

Hmmm, if you look a little closer at that leaf, you may be surprised at the battles being waged there.

Nothing brings me more joy than exploring nature in all her glory. Truth be told, on many days I would rather be communing with nature and her many creatures rather than with fellow humans. Sorry if that offends you but it is the truth.

If you follow my posts, you may know that I have becoming enamored with insects in the last couple of years. This summer I have taken a particular shine to Robber Flies like the Bee Mimic Robber Fly at the head this post. Confession: This post has no purpose other than to indulge my fascination, showcase a few Robber Flies and share a few facts about them.

Robber Flies are also called Assassin Flies because they prey on other insects – waiting in ambush and often catching their prey in flight as the Bee Mimic Robber Fly above had just done when I snapped this photo.

Robber Flies are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis which they use to stab their prey and inject enzymes which paralyze it. The Common Micropanther shown above may well have been zeroing in on a meal.

Robber Flies feed on a wide variety of insects including other flies, beetles, butterflies and moths, bees, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, Ichneumon wasps and spiders. The Snow Bladetail shown above was likely in stealth, ambush mode.

Best not to try and handle these ferocious critters as they will defend themselves and can inflict painful bites. They sometimes mimic bees as the Eastern Yellow-backed Laphria shown above does. But I am told their bite is a match for any sting.

There are many apt analogies for nature. But Robber Flies argue for the battlefield metaphor. There are countless mini battles being fought every minute which are necessary for the delicate balance that holds it all together. It is a fly-eat-fly world however soothing and peaceful its effect on us.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ 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

Tags:   Bee Mimic Robber Fly · Common Micropanther · Eastern Yellow-backed · metaphor · Michae Robert Dyet · Robber Fly · Snow BladetailComments Off on Robber Flies: On Nature’s Battlefield

Hmmm, will the Ford government’s appeal to the lowest common denominator be its ultimate downfall?

The prospect of a dry summer has taken on new meaning in Ontario. Normally that would refer to hot weather and a scarcity of rain. But now it refers to the limited availability of liquor as 9,000 LCBO workers have walked off the job in the first strike in the history of the LCBO.

At stake is the Ford government’s decision to open up Ontario’s alcohol retail market to the private sector. The Ford government rhetoric machine is already ramped up to full capacity to muddy the waters and demonize OPSEU.

A “government source” was quoted as follows on the eve of the strike: If there’s no deal tonight, it’s because OPSEU has been almost exclusively focused on discussing the sale of ready-to-drink beverages and nothing else (i.e. wages, benefits, job security).

The Ford government has tried to create the impression that it is a one-issue debate in the hopes of simplifying the matter in the public’s eye thereby winning their support. It is a quite blatantly deceptive message.

OPSEU has been clear all along that it is the larger issue of opening up Ontario’s alcohol retail market to the private sector thereby putting LCBO jobs (and profits which help fund healthcare) at risk while benefiting private retailers including grocery chains and big box stores. In short, the Ford government is once again favouring big business over Joe Average Citizen.

The LCBO workforce is already at a distinct disadvantage. The union has stated that 70 per cent of LCBO workers are “casual” which means they have no guaranteed hours, benefits or sick pay. The LCBO has countered that “at least 50 percent of casual employees are guaranteed at least 1,000 hours per year”. So the other 50 percent are shit out of luck?

The “government source” went on to proclaim that: The government was elected twice on the commitment to expand the sale of alcoholic beverages to convenience and grocery stores, and the government is delivering on that promise.”

Really? The Ford government was elected exclusively on the basis of giving easier access to booze? And they are proud of that fact? It is a sad commentary on our political system if that in fact is true.

It does not take a genius to figure out that opening up alcohol retailing to big business will result in fewer workers at the LCBO and likely fewer LCBO stories. Not to mention even bigger profits for grocery chains who are already under fire for large hikes in grocery prices that have made it difficult for some people to put food on the table.

The political Bread and Circuses metaphor – the satisfaction of shallow or immediate desires of the populace at the expense of good policy – has never been more relevant. It is the hallmark of the Ford government. The LCBO strike is yet another in the saga of Doug Ford fiascos.

It may well be a dry summer in terms of alcoholic beverages. That development will be one more nail in the coffin of the Ford government as it stumbles over its own attempts to appeal to the lowest common denominator of voter interest.

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

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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Tags:   bread and circuses · Doug Ford · Ford government · LCBO strike · metaphor · Michae Robert DyetComments Off on LCBO Strike: Another Ford Fiasco