Pre-Ramble:  I just love it when my favorite things randomly intersect. In this case, my best skill set (developing concept maps that articulate the overarching dynamics of an organization, project or process) and my life-long love of bacon.

Concept Map + Bacon = The Bacon Matrix  (shown below)

Snap-shot – The Concept Maps that I create as part of my strategic planning and grantwriting work, take complex problems and dynamics, boil them down into their basic parts, and present them in the context of their primary influences … on one page. … It’s a super-relevant snap-shot of the “current state” nestled into the context of past and projected factors.

Bacon mania – According to wikipedia, “bacon is a cured meat usually made from side, back or belly cuts of pork.” It’s smoked, boiled, fried, baked or grilled, and frequently used as a minor ingredient to flavor other dishes. Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon related items have become very popular including chocolate-covered bacon, bacon ice cream, bacon bubble gum, bacon salt, maple bacon donuts, bacon soda, baconnaise, bacon band-aids, a bacon air-freshener (an oxymoron if there ever was one), and apparently, a bacon alarm clock that wakes people up with the smell of cooking bacon is in the works (cruel and unusual punishment, if there is, in fact, no actual warm, sizzily bacon to be had upon waking).

The Take-Away:  … Sure, it’s loaded with fat and sodium, but you have to admit that a little bit of bacon transforms pretty much anything into a yummy, high-quality experience. (Except for that new bacon soda, which I do not even want to read about, let alone sample.)

Well, and except for that divergent part about cooking bacon in no pants, it’s fun to refresh the bacon vibe with this little peek into the bacon decision-tree.  Note: This fun, cluttered graphic was not created by me (I’d give credit, if I could find it) … it’s purely tongue-in-cheek. (The Concept Maps that I develop for my clients are, of course, a concise, meaningful and invaluable tool.)

Pre-Ramble:  So, I was thinking that I would send my beloved readers some Valentine’s Day love …

Nothing says “I love you!” like a big, digital, sparkling, heart-shaped Ruby …

Well, okay, maybe a just-hot-out-of-the-oven molten lava chocolate cupcake and a dozen long-stemmed red roses, … but hey!

The Take-Away:  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Pre-Ramble:  Scootch over Dave ‘n’ Jay … there’s a new kid in town.  Jimmy Fallon has been sitting behind the late night desk at NBC for a few years now and has been pretty good.  Over the past several weeks - particularly in his on-the-road Super Bowl shows - Jimmy has really stepped up his game.

As a sort-of-night-owl, I check in with the funny guys fairly often … hear their take on the day’s news, count down through the Top Ten, or to listen in on an interview with some actor types.  Fallon’s visit to the White House last week, to engage in some friendly competition with Michelle Obama and her Let’s Move campaign, was first rate – funny and heartfelt – a brilliant bit that showcases Jimmy’s new cred as a big time media utility player.

So, in case you aren’t up on Let’s Move,

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping kids become more physically active.

 Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children.

Bring it!  Mixed in with the spirited banter and hi-jinx were some real displays of athleticism.  In addition to some mean hoola-hooping, the First Lady can do a bunch of real push-ups – !  (For those of you who aren’t entirely impressed with this, drop and give me 10 … See?  Not so easy, eh?! … Check it out at this link.)

The Take-Away:  The Let’s Move campaign is a very important initiative, we need our kids to be healthy and fit. The best part of the fitness challenge though, was to see the First Lady of the United States all sneakered-up and playfully running around in the hallowed halls of the White House. And Fallon was an excellent foil, dropping to the ground in the final inches of a potato sack race in a tremendous act of sportsmanship (and photo-ops-manship).  The whole thing was just plain fun.

Parting Question:  If given the opportunity, could you hit the President of the United States with a dodge ball?

Pre-Ramble: Unless you’ve been sequestered in a media-proof bunker for the past several weeks, you are undoubtedly aware that Super Bowl XLVI is happening today … “The drama … The spectacle … The glory … The despair … “ … No shred of hype has been left unhurled.

In today’s contest, New England’s Tom Brady goes arm-to-arm with New York Giant’s QB Eli Manning … “offensive guru” Tom Coughlin and “defensive mastermind” Bill Belichick match wits … ” … the Giants must pressure Brady with a varied pass rush … Gronkowski is battling a high left ankle sprain … ” … blah, blah, blah, …

Beyond all of that stat-posturing is the important stuff:

• The Vince Lombardi Trophy (shown at right), which is awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl, was created by legendary jeweler Tiffany & Co.
• John Mara, co-owner of the NY Giants is the father of Rooney Mara, Academy Award nominee for Best Actress in the English language version of “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo“
• Laugh-out-loud-hilarious ads include a petty competition between Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno (Acura NSX), and, revive Baby-Boomer icon Matthew Broderick (Honda) as elusive high school slacker Ferris Bueller
• Middle-aged Material Girl, Madonna told an “assembled throng” in Indianapolis, ‘This is a Midwesterner girl’s dream to be performing at the Super Bowl half time show.”  Note: This has to be the only time in her life that this uber-arrogant singer has ever claimed any affiliation with/affection for her Midwestern roots … (she grew up 5 miles from my childhood hood in a suburb of Detriot)
• The Roman numbers that mark this year’s Super Bowl (XLVI) totally remind me of a sweet Louis Vuitton handbag

The Take-Away:  Please pass the chicken wings …

Pre-Ramble:  Step aside Super Bowl hotshots and prognosticating rodents, there’s a much bigger deal casting a shadow across the land today … Facebook Inc. has filed for an initial public offering that could value the social networking company at between $75 billion and $100 billion ( … that’s billion with a “b”).

Facebook has grown 88% since 2010 and currently has a staggering 845 million users worldwide — !  Twenty-seven-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, part of the elite upper echelon of hoodies-n-flip-flops tech-start-up moguls, could personally rake in over $28 billion on the deal.

The Take-Away:  For those of you playing at home, that could buy more than Punxsutawney’s weight (4-9 lbs.) in Super Bowl rings with ample money left over for shagbark hickory (a woodchuck favorite) and beer.

Post-Note:  Facebook has its own Facebook page on Facebook … It currently features a ranking of the site’s most talked about topics for 2011 and has 60,353,196 “likes.”

Post-Post-Note:  Mark and Phil - separated at birth?

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.”