Pre-Ramble:  Last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine ran a story about highlighters and how they have evolved into the school/office staple that we know and love today.

(You know I totally highlighted that article in preparation for this post … )

“Before the highlighter, attentive readers relied on a combination of underlining and marginal notes.”

Actually, when I review a document for pertinent points, I employ the triple-threat of information organization – highlighting, underlining AND written notes in the margin.  Well, and, as every Word processor knows, along with an underline and “comments” function, there is an electronic equivalent of the highlighter - available in a rainbow of different colors.

Like so many innovations, the snappy neon highlighter is the result of a series of contributing discoveries. It all started with the invention of a felt-tipped pen that delivered water-based ink in a smooth uniform line.  The next iterations were: translucent ink; ink that wouldn’t bleed through paper; and finally, a formula for the eerie fluorescent colors that dominate the current text-marking industry.

“Just as important as the ink’s smooth, even application was its color: see-through yellow and pink, which both drew the eye and neatly delineated a piece of text without obscuring it.”

High points – As a concept articulation specialist and writer, my work is all about taking information from a wide variety of sources and synthesizing it, boiling it down into its most meaningful sound bites.  The function of the highlighter is critical to this endeavor … it transforms the flat terrain of a body of text into a topographical view … bringing out important ranges of information … the high points.

The Take-Away:  Two things: 1) Innovations, particularly those that are so subtle and useful as to be ubiquitous, are fascinating; 2)  All input is not created equal.  Moving through the barrage of our complicated, uber-information-overload world, you need a way to separate the important/meaningful stuff from the mediocre and useless drivel.  To highlight the concept of the highlighter is to recognize that its value is greater than physical neon trails of ink.  A mental highlighter in your day-pack can help you keep top-of-mind the awareness that you can tag the interesting, important, inspiring stuff that comes your way and let the rest of the noise and clutter recede into the background.

Post-Note:  Along a visually similar line, I wish that the Minnesota skies had not been so cloudy these past few nights so we could get a better look at the spectacular auroral lights (sample shown below) that have been stirred up by a recent series of solar flares.

“NASA says the outburst sparked an M3.2-class solar flare, as well as a stream of electrically charged particles that is due to interact with Earth’s magnetic field on Saturday. M-class flares are capable of causing brief radio blackouts near the poles as well as minor radiation storms, but it’s unlikely that this one will disrupt communication or power transmission networks.  As the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle in 2013 or so, we can expect to see more powerful solar outbursts … “Viewers can be on the lookout for increased aurora.”

Does that look like a giant green highlighter flourish, or what?!

Pre-Ramble:  As the world watches, the saga of stricken cruise liner the Costa Concordia takes another unfathomable turn …

In what we can only assume are words from the mouth of SNL ‘s pathological liar Jon Lovitz, cowardly Capt. Francesco Schettino explains today’s rationale for the fact that he was seen in a lifeboat rowing away from the sinking ship as panicked passengers remained behind …

” … I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion.  Suddenly, since the ship was [tipped] at a 60 to 70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the [life] boats.  That’s how I found myself there.”

Seriously?! … Did he seriously think anyone would buy that?

The Take-Away:  Seriously pathetic.

Pre-Ramble:  Over the weekend, the front page of our Pioneer Press featured two stories: one, the continuing story of young local hockey player, Jack Jablonski, who suffered a devastating injury in a high school hockey game, and the other, a story about the uber-goofy Red Bull Crashed Ice event that was held across town on the frozen steps of the breathtakingly beautiful and historic St. Paul Cathedral (shown at right).

Cowabunga!  The “ice-cross downhill world championship” event was enthusiastically embraced by “athletes” from all over the world, combining elements of motocross, snowboarding, in-line skating, downhill skiing, BMX biking, gymnastics and hockey.

“Skaters begin atop a three-story ramp … hurtling themselves through a zigzagging 1,300 foot chute of jumps, drops and hairpin turns … reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.”

“U.S. amateur contestants, predominantly from Minnesota, crashed one after the other down the course … despite a requirement to wear full hockey pads, bones were broken, bodies bruised, and faces bloodied … ‘The course is insane,’ said Joey Velasquez of Bloomington ‘ … the ice conditions are terrible’ …” (Pioneer Press)

“David Kron, a snow-boarder, water-skier and hockey player, broke his neck and back on a dirt bike in 2007, but is eager to try his mettle … ” (WSJ)

On one level, the Crashed Ice event was a curious and exciting spectacle, particularly at night when the entire length of course was lit up in brightly colored lights and fans filled the air with waves of cheers and squeals and the nerve-jangling sound of clanking cowbells. It was different; it was cool; it was crazy.  It brought a hip-happening vibe to the oft characterized as beyond-boring-and-conservative City of Saint Paul.

On another level though, the mentality that makes Crashed Ice so different and cool, so appealing — the explosive speed, contact, challenge, aggressiveness, competitiveness — are some of the very forces that put Jack Jablonski in the hospital and likely in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

“Mike and Leslie Jablonski, awed by the international outpouring of support and encouragement for Jack, seized the spotlight to advocate for changes in the sport’s [hockey's] conflicting ethos of skill and violence, hoping to create a safer environment for amateur players.”

The Take-Away:  I get the difference between the two situations … celebrating the pursuit of extreme/goofy/potentially dangerous sports among consenting adults vs. fostering safety for youth in organized sports.  The juxtaposition of the two just struck me as ironic.

I hope the Crashed Ice experience met the expectations of participants and fans, and more so, I hope that Jack’s condition continues to improve and that the hockey community revises its rules to prevent the kind of cheap, unnecessary and unsportsmanlike behavior that led to his injury.

Pre-Ramble:  I just love it when unrelated news stories overlap in a meaningful way.

Story #1: Recent studies have shown that cardiac arrests in marathon and half-marathon runners have become more common over the past decade.  A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine however, reports that this increase is likely due to the dramatic increase in the overall number of people running marathons and half-marathons.

“In 2000, fewer than 1 million people participated in marathon and half-marathon events … By 2010, the number had more than doubled to about 2 million.”

Never mind that a staggering number of people (insane people) are capable of dragging themselves along a 26 mile course in a single afternoon, I believe that Story #2 provides an alternate explanation for the up-tick in cardiac events associated with running.

Story #2: Today’s WSJ reports that an estimated 92,400 Krispy Kreme doughnuts will be consumed over the course of the 8th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge which will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina on February 4th.

“The Krispy Kreme Challenge is a student-organized charity race benefiting the NC Children’s hospital. Starting as a competition between a few friends, it has grown to include over 7500 runners and raise $122,000 for the N.C. Children’s Hospital in 2011.

To complete the Krispy Kreme Challenge competitors begin at the NC State Belltower, run 2.5 miles to the Krispy Kreme store on Peace Street, eat 1 dozen doughnuts, and run 2.5 miles back to the Belltower-all in under an hour. Participants can also sign up as Casual Runners, who are not required to eat all of the doughnuts, or Supporters, who do not run in the race but do receive a race T-shirt.”

FYI: For those of you in training for the event, one dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts has 2,400 calories, 144 grams of fat, 120 grams of sugar, and 1,140 milligrams of sodium — !

The Take-Away:  Paramedics will be distributing race packets containing a combination race number/bib, participant’s t-shirt (size XXL), and a personal defibrillator kit.

Pre-Ramble:  The other night we had to put down our much beloved dog, Daisy.

Loyal friend, companion and muse, … all these years I thought I was taking care of her, when actually, she was taking care of me.

The Take-Away:  As my daughters reflected so perfectly,

“Daisy, you were so loved – you will be so missed.”