"Yesterday, in the early evening, we went out to shoot..."

Yesterday, in the early evening, we went out to shoot the big cherry...

...and our friend came by with a dog and stopped to chat...

...during which we heard a noise from the creek, which turned out to be a beaver...

...so we went back in briefly to change lenses:

In Minnesota, the opposite of "vanity sizing"?

Have you heard of "vanity sizing", or "size inflation"? That's when articles of clothing are (sometimes much!) larger than the nominal sizes indicated on their labels. In most of the USA, clothes are bigger than the labels say. But, not everywhere. In some places, it appears, nominal sizes are ambitious, rather than modest: If you've got a head, a firm named for (but not actually located in) one of the Twin Ports (Duluth, Minnesota & Superior, Wisconsin) wants to sell you a size "XL/2XL" hat, with the caveat that:

"Size XL/2XL fits sizes M, L, and XL (does not fit size 2XL)"

Do these headwear purveyors think their size-M customers will leave their "XL/2XL" hats out, labels visible, so that their friends will think they're smart people with big heads?

Brains, Behavior & Communication

This article, on changing consumer energy behavior based on simple persuasive concepts of social proof and reward, deserves posting at NeuroCooking.

Understanding is good.

Just one sentence from the paper "Blackawton bees", which appeared in Biology Letters, a journal of the Royal Society:

"If bees are like us in some way, then understanding them could help us understand ourselves better."

I like to watch the pretty bikes go by...

I often bike in Rock Creek on the weekends with a friend who is kind and clever and fun but who does have the (possibly testosterone-fueled) proclivity to take any cyclist passing us as a personal challenge, to be met with robust acceleration and chasing-down.

In contrast, I'm generally happy when passed by a serious cyclist on a serious bicycle, because, well, for them to spend big money on their fancy "racing" bike and stuff, and then to not be going faster than me – that would be a little sad, wouldn't it?

Rule number three.

My favorite of Prof. Ron Kikinis's five "rules for (software) tools" for medical imaging research is rule number three:

"I am lazy. I do not like to move the mouse or to type."

"Music is ... "

Listening to a collection of recordings by the late Mr. Buddy Holly, arranged in chronological order, we noticed that an important element in the later work, which was lacking in some of the early recordings, was silence – the quiet between the notes that lets the notes stand out. And this reminded us of Claude Debussy's maxim:

"Music is the space between the notes."

What a relief!

Mark Trail has flown to safety.

Heart, Head, Hand & Complexity

I’ve just started collaborating with Peace Over Violence and saw this fundraising video they did at the end of last year.



It was highly successful: 50% increase from the previous year's annual appeal; doubled the number of donors; and brought in 30% new donors, which they attribute to the viral nature of the video.

It’s a great example of applying my Heart, Head & Hand(TM) framework to video. Emotional connection followed by data (presented graphically, not to diminish or compete with the emotional resonance of the speakers), closing with a strong and compelling ask.

One aspect that I imagine contributed to the success of the video is the acknowledgment of complexity. Note Leona, from 1:03 to 1:26:

A lot of times, and particularly with this case, yes, it had a very great outcome: the person who harmed is now going to go to jail. But the family has to deal with this concept of, 'Okay, but now we have this family member that has to go to jail.' And there's the complexity that's around - particularly in families where the abuse is within the families - separating out what that person did, and that person also being a family member.

Increasingly, I am finding that audiences are deeply appreciating organizations that acknowledge the complexity of their work; they can relate to life not being black and white, and they are happy that someone is stepping up to work in complex spaces.

I've seen this frequently with National Advocates for Pregnant Women, when audience members thank Executive Director Lynn Paltrow after a speech, for "finally, perfectly, capturing the complexity of what I am feeling." And, certainly, some (if not most) great literature presents complex characters in complicated situations.

Chances are, if you are a nonprofit organization, the solutions you are offering to seemingly intractable problems are fairly complex. That's good, and as it should be. Talk about that complexity, because people will, indeed, understand.

I worked with Enterprise Community Partners in engaging wealthy, altruistic, potential donors with the following

Think of when you bought your home. Or think of when you may have built a home, or done a renovation. Think of all the institutions and vendors that were involved. Think of the brokers you may have hired, or the general contractors, to get things done that you didn’t know how to do. Now, imagine if you were attempting to purchase land or property, renovate it or build on it, and wanted to make that property available to scores of families, while making sure those families would be safe, have access to schools and parks, and could afford their homes forever.

...Enterprise is the leader in navigating the financial, political, and social complexities of creating and preserving safe, healthy, and affordable homes. Please join Enterprise in finding big-picture, long-term solutions to some of our nation’s most difficult problems.

The truth is in the grey zone. Acknowledge complexity. Don't ask your donors to work as hard as you, however; make their ability to contribute to your solution easy.

NeuroCooking FlashBack: The Center Center, & the Center Center Center

One year ago, scientists reported the discovery of the brain center dedicated to subserving belief in dedicated brain centers, and the founding of a research center devoted to study of the newly-discovered brain center for brain centers.