If... revisited

If...

At the suggestion of an anonymous contributor, I took another stab at the word cloud version of Rudyard Kipling's famous inspirational poem. Common words, such as "if," are included in this version. I made lowercase every instance of "and." Otherwise both "and" and "And" were too prominent. I threw in a few extra instances of "If" to make that titular word appear bigger. Maybe I should have simply cut out all the common words except If.

Like word clouds? Think you can do better? Give it a whack and share the results!

A great tool for making word clouds is here: http://www.wordle.net/

Grab the text here: http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/10/if.html

If...

Rudyard Kipling 

If...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: 

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same; 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools: 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much; 

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! 

-- Rudyard Kipling 

Rudyard Kipling was aged 30 when he wrote his famous poem in 1895. About 80 years later, I can remember my Grandfather reciting Kipling's poem to me when I was a young teen. Granddad was passing some wisdom along to me: just 15 little traits to master on the path to manhood, that's all...

Of course, the traits are not so easily mastered. The lesson I took away is that life is a struggle to fulfill lofty ambitions.

In response, I sketched a kid standing in front of a 40-foot high sculpture of the letters I and F, with the caption: "Now, that's a Mighty Big IF."

"That's a mighty big IF." was my Grandfather's second favorite comeback. The only thing I recall hearing him say more often: "Measure Twice, Cut Once."

Now that I am getting a little older myself and my own kids are in their teens, I understand that my Granddad was not just passing along some words of wisdom. He knew his struggle would not last forever. He was passing along his own hopes and dreams to future generations.

Rudyard Kipling

Kipling was relatively young when he wrote If... Look how wistful and wizened he appears in this image from later in his life.

The world seems so limitless when we are kids....

"If" as a word cloud http://www.wordle.net/create.
Interestingly, common words are automatically excluded.
No ands, buts, or ... ifs.

Interview with Jeff Hancock – Co-founder of DC Brau

First of all, I am strongly pro-beer. But you already knew that, right? I think you are also aware that I am into LOCAL, especially world-class local.

It's my pleasure to shine a little light now and then on DC Brau, the brewery created by Jeff Hancock and Brandon Skall.

I enjoyed reading this informative interview with Jeff Hancock – co-founder of DC Brau, which appeared in the blog lyrics, libations, and life

'Style Rookie' Tavi Gevinson

15-year old Tavi Gevinson

One of the many reasons I like NPR is the variety of intelligent programming they offer. (Frequent readers of my blog will attest to the fact that I like a lot of different things.) The content on NPR is not only varied but  in-depth and timely.

An example is a recent program highlighting Tavi Gevinson, a brilliant and fascinating young lady who calls herself the Style Rookie. Her fashion sense has earned this remarkable young lady an international following.

• Tavi has her own Wiki page 
• I really enjoyed Tavi's lively personality in this YouTube video 
• Here is Tavi's blog which she started 4 years ago at age 11 
• Tavi's Tumblr site 
• Here is a recent interview with Tavi which appeared in the  New York Magazine 
• Here is a link to Tavi's most recent project, Rookie, a magazine for teen-aged girls 
• Finally, here is a link to the event that launched this homage: Tavi Gevinson plays Not My Job with Peter Segal on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

A toast:

• Here's to a young lady with a style all her own, and the courage to pursue it. 
• And here's to the curious people who pay attention to just how wonderful the world can be.  
• And here's to NPR and blogs and e-magazines that are creating the connections.

I listen to and support National Public Radio on my local member station, WAMU 88.5 FM, broadcasting from nearby American University.

This post is dedicated to my pal, Blue Lou, for two reasons: (a) today is his birthday, and (b) his daughter blogs about fashion. Lou, if your daughter is not already a Tavi fan, here is a chance for the birthday boy to earn some Dad points. (We can never have enough of those, right?) My gift to you is a gift you can give to her. Cheers, my friend!

(x, why?): Coffee Logic

As a math-lover, would-be teacher, and Dad to two teen-agers, the idea of using simple cartoons to teach math and logic really appeals to me. This cartoon is an example of the comedy stylings of one Christopher J. Burke, a math teacher and cartoonist.

Please see the original here: (x, why?) #596: Coffee Logic - Wed, May 18, 2011. Also visit Chris' blog where you may read discussions of this cartoon and post comments about it. You may also enjoy flipping through the hundreds of cartoons available for your perusal, as did I.

More on that in a future post.

Like many new fans, I  was introduced to Chris' work by Mike at Spiked Math. I re-posted Mike's cartoon last week: http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/10/friday-humor-three-logicians-walk-into.html. Mike referred viewers to Chris, and Chris reported a huge spike in readership as a result.

Mike used a beer bar scenario instead of a coffee shop scenario, but his comic has a similar punchline, based on the same logic. A question is posed to the group about the group in such a way that the assumed group response is Yes. The first individual to respond cannot know what the rest will say, so logically he cannot say Yes for the group. He can say No if he himself would say No because that No would also be true for the group. If he wants to say Yes for himself, he must say I don't know. If he says I don't know, the next person has the same dilemma. The uncertainty about the group's position decreases with each successive responder. After a string of I don't knows, the last responder can answer either Yes or No with certainty.

What makes the joke funny to me is that most people ignore logic in daily life. Real life is full of uncertainty. Mathematicians, logicians, and computer programmers are good at reducing uncertainty to a series of binary decisions--but most of us just simply do not think that way. Next time you're out with friends at a bar or coffee shop, watch what really happens in this scenario! Now that you are in on the logic, you may just chuckle quietly to yourself and enjoy the inside joke.
 

Skulls, flames, and flaming skulls--and skulls with wings

Artist David Uhl's ballpoint pen drawing appears on pg 35 of HOG Magazine, Issue 12 

The imagery in this captivating drawing speaks to the human spirit so clearly as to require few if any words.  The skull represents mortality. Flames of hell threaten to consume that mortal in eternal damnation. Then comes the breath of Freedom in the form of a roaring Harley-Davidson Road King. With a mighty V-Twin engine the warhorse fights fire with fire as flames propel the mortal from death's grip, if only momentarily. Astride his warhorse the mortal flies with wings of an eagle above the howling winds of the open road. It's a good day to ride.


Visit Uhl Studios, Golden, Colorado for Harley-Davidson Art, Vintage Motorcycle and Aviation Paintings, and Designer Apparel.

Social Media Case Study Proves the ROI of Emily

I am a huge fan of he United Services Organization (USO). I was absolutely captivated by a recent story appearing in the Measurement Standard about how the USO used social media to greatly increase donations.

Here's an excerpt:

In March of 2009, they [USO] hired Emily Hall ... to manage their social media outreach. At the time, my company [The Measurement Standard] was measuring the USO’s media coverage in both traditional and social media. One of the things we tracked was the nature of the conversations. We would look at every mention and decide whether it was expressing support or merely making an observation...

After Em arrived, the first thing we noticed was a distinct shift in the nature of the conversations. For months they had been mostly observational, for instance, “I’m near the USO room at the airport,” or, “Just noticed that XYZ was at the USO last night.” But shortly after Em began her social media efforts, the majority of conversations were expressions of support  for the USO, mostly related to her outreach on Facebook and a “Support USO Friday” campaign.

The Measurement Standard has developed some interesting qualitative standards for categorizing and analyzing comments made in social media. They have cataloged 27 different types of conversations.

This research is interesting for anyone looking to quantify ROI of social media or for ethnographic researchers looking to classify conversations that take place in the Ethernet.

Hit tap: Mark