3 Concepts for Doors Open Toronto 2012 05/17/2012
My latest DeHaan Services article to promote a Toronto event is "Three Themes for Doors Open Toronto 2012".  "Inside the Portlands Energy Centre" image by George Socka of beachdigital.com After writing and publishing this article, I was concerned that people might think the topic is a "WordPress theme" rather than an organizing principle for deciding which buildings to visit. By the way, "Doors Open Toronto" is an annual event, but there so many buildings are included that it would be difficult to run out of options. Promoting my Toronto Doors Open Article As always, my Xanga blog also promotes my article, although "An Invitation to Toronto's Doors Open 2012" does not add much beyond the link. Writing Tip Originally I planned to go to the nearest easily accessible building to take a photograph for this article. On a whim, I searched Flickr for the keywords and for a "commercial reuse" license. Behold the image already available thanks to George Socka of beachdigital.com! Today's writing tip is to check for existing images before spending the time to make your own. Mr. Socka did a much better job than I could, and saved me time. Add Comment Preview of Statistics to Pick Pollsters 05/14/2012
I developed a spreadsheet to illustrate my "How Statistics May Help Select a Reliable Pollster" article for Decoded Science. The article explains how tricky it is to use statistics to pick which pollsters to believe.  "Poll Accuracy" image by Mike DeHaan By publishing the image here, before it appears in the main article, I establish copyright and ownership. Further Publicity As always, I publicize my articles in DeHaan Services ("Reliable Statistics about Opinion Polls") and in my Xanga blog ("Presidential Pollsters versus Statistics"). Writing Tip on Creating Images Today we present two writing tips about making your own images for online articles. First, consider making a simple spreadsheet to illustrate your point. It's smart to keep it fairly small, so it fits and can be as visible as possible. Add a border so it does not fade into the background of the web page. Second, publish your image in a site that you control, to establish your copyright, before publishing it in someone else's online magazine. You could place it on Flickr, for example, and set precisely the restrictions that you want. Or you could make it open for anyone to re-use or adapt. At the least, you should license it "with attribution" so your name will spread. By the way: read the Terms of Service ('TOS') before you start storing images online. Some people have complained that various sites say that you give up all control over images displayed on their pages. It's not a case of "don't trust that magazine publisher"; rather it is a matter of establishing control so you can use the image yourself in the future. Canadian Emergency Preparedness Week 2012 05/11/2012
My "Did We Ignore Vic Toews Preparing for an Emergency?" article in DeHaan Services was a public service announcement, of sorts.  "Environment Canada with Red Banner Link" image by Mike DeHaan I made the above image to show where I had found the link to the Canadian government's emergency preparedness site. One of the points in my article is that the traditional media did not make me aware of this event. Nor did Vic Toews get his share of the spotlight. ("Vic Who"? Sorry, please just read my article to see why he's associated with getting Canadians ready for emergencies). Shameless Publicity for Emergency Preparedness As usual, I publicized my article in my Xanga blog ("Did Canadians Prepare for Emergencies in 2012?"). Writing Tip: Why I Wrote about Emergency Preparedness My blog post in DeHaan Services is an example of creating an article without developing the expertise in the topic. In this situation, I am not an expert in preparing for emergency situations. Instead, my public service goal was to point at the Canadian government's web site that does indeed have expert advice. The "hook" for the article was that, as far as I knew, the traditional media had missed the story. So today's writing tip is: find a worthwhile topic that others have missed; highlight your find; and point to the resource where the expertise can be found. Kudzu, a Bi-National Invader 05/10/2012
My latest article in Suite 101, "Kudzu Invaded Canada while Under Attack in the United States", reports on two developments for this vine.  "Kudzu Engulfing a House", image by NatalieMaynor This American home is falling victim to a merciless invader. Could Canada be next? Can, should and will the Americans allow another invasive species to retaliate? Learn the basic issues from my kudzu article. Promoting my Kudzu Article As usual, both DeHaan Services ("Kudzu's Foothold in Leamington, Ontario") and my Xanga blog ("Kudzu is No Longer Just for Americans") promote my recent article. Writing Tip, based on Kudzu Today's writing tip suggests that you remain open to surprises as you research a topic. First, "surprising equals informative" in the math of information theory. If you were surprised, it's likely your reader will find the article informative. Second, your surprise can open your relationship with your readers. I had not known that anyone in the USA would think of kudzu as beneficial for anything. My article explains why some do; and that can be the start of soliciting reader engagement. Arranging Marriages by Computer 05/09/2012
Never one to ignore a challenge, I wrote "Computer Algorithm Solves Arranged Marriages via the Hall Theorem" for Decoded Science.  "Bride and Groom" image by epSos.de The challenge was to attract a large number of comments, presumably without saying "Please, please, please make comments" in the actual article. Perhaps the topic of "arranged marriage" is controversial enough for comments. I couldn't think of anything very controversial in my niches of mathematics and computing theory. Publicity for Arranged Marriages As always, my article is also mentioned in DeHaan Services ("Computers for Arranged Marriages") and in my Xanga blog ("Impersonally Arranged Marriages"). Writing Tip I had actually noticed an article about this kind of computer program, but had not really considered writing about it from this angle until the contest was announced. Today's writing tip is that one must notice much, but select and write pointedly for a topic. This article uses "arranged marriage" to introduce and develop the broader mathematical topic of Hall's Theorem. Will people read it simply because they have preconceived notions about families planning their children's betrothals? Perhaps; but then they might also learn about math! Preview of Turing and the Halting Problem 04/22/2012
My latest Decoded Science article, "Turing Machines and the Halting Problem", was just published. It continues my "math theory" series about the Turing machine.  "Diagonal Halting Problem" image by Mike DeHaan My usual practice is to use my Blog of Writing to preview any images that I create for articles at sites operated by other people. This pins the copyright to me, greedy and small-minded as I am. Here, in all its glory, is yet another spreadsheet created for one of my Decoded Science articles. Further Publicity for Turing's Halting Problem As always, my article is also promoted in DeHaan Services ("Two Views of the Halting Problem") and in my Xanga blog ("Turing's Halting Problem"). Writing Tip Today has a new writing tip for online articles. After writing several articles about Turing machines, I wondered how I could find a new image or photograph to headline this installment. I'd already used everything I could find under the appropriate Creative Commons license. Then I realized that the word "halt" has meaning outside of computing. Read the article to see what I did find for the opening and closing images. The writing tip is to be as creative or imaginative as possible when illustrating your article. Yes, keep it on topic...but take liberties if appropriate. Those of us who write, blog or publish reference material may need to find our own articles quickly. May I recommend using a personal directory site? The DeHaan Directory is an Example of a Personal Directory Site  "DeHaan Directory" image by Mike DeHaan In fact, I recommend and provide an example of a personal directory site: my own "DeHaan Directory". This is a free WordPress.org blog site. You could also set up a free site on Blogger or here on Weebly. The trick is to decide how you want to organize the site. If you only blog on one site, and if you're happy with the site's "category" and "tag" structure, then you may not need a directory at all. Otherwise, if you have a lot of articles, consider making a big list. Don't worry about using a lot of description; your titles should do most of that work for you. I wanted to link to every "online magazine" article, simply as part of my search engine optimization (SEO) process. I use one page per magazine site, because that is simple and manageable. I have to admit that I sometimes write a mini-article to publicize specific posts. If you visit the site, pay more attention to the "list" pages. Those are the ones that I use for reference. As you can see from the image of my DeHaan Directory site, this free WordPress theme allows me to set up multiple pages and sub-pages. I have one for each online magazine, such as Decoded Science, Environmental Graffiti, and Suite 101. In addition, it has pages for my DeHaan Services, DeHaan Fitness and Weight Control, Squidoo, Weebly and Wizzley sites or articles. This gives me quick and easy access to my articles on demand. Just this afternoon, someone wanted to contact the Toronto Buskerfest but couldn't open their site. (I'm guessing it was a Flash problem, but that's not my concern). I could then jump into my DeHaan Services list of Toronto articles, find Buskerfest, and link to my article. Its reference link allowed me to find their current contact information. Writing Tip Today's writing tip is simple. Let's assume that you write reference material, or even that you want to reference your own articles quickly and easily. A quick, simple and cheap way to do this is to build an article directory site on a free blogging platform. If necessary, expand it to one page per magazine site. Update the list each time you write a new article. Keep your personal directory site simple and up to date. Preview of a New Cubic Root 02/06/2012
My new article for Decoded Science, "Potential New Algorithm to Calculate the Cube Root of a Number", reviews a claim of a new, improved algorithm to calculate the cubic root of a number. This story has a fascinating sub-text: will a reputable mathematics journal, or a professional mathematician, review and critique Mr. Nirbhay Singh Nahar's work? On the home front: before publishing and promoting that article, I had staked my copyright claim to my original artwork by publishing it here.  "y equals x cubed" image by Mike DeHaan Magnificently created in Excell, my illustration depicts the root of "y = x^3". Self Promotion As is my custom, I also promote my article in DeHaan Services ("Possible New Solution for Cubic Roots") and in my Xanga blog ("Nahar Touts a Better Cube Root Function"). Writing Tip Some sites publish the article with the title that the author provides. That title usually becomes part of the URL and may become a hidden "tag"; both are used by search engines. Some sites, or their editors, change the title. Presumably the goal is either to pique the interest of a human reader, or to better align with Internet searches. Even if the title is changed, however, if you enter the article into the site's online editor, your original title becomes part of the URL and any hidden tags. My first writing tip today is: try hard to craft your title both for human interest and for search engines. My second writing tip is: trust your editor if the title is changed. Mind and Soul, Mennonites and Lutherans 02/03/2012
My latest article in Suite 101 is "The Origins of the 2010 Lutheran and Mennonite Reconciliation". It's in their "Mind and Soul" category, but you can find it directly with the above link.  "Martin Luther" image by CTSWyneken Martin Luther and Menno Simons were somewhat alike, but vehemently disagreed with each other. My article explains how that feud started, and how events led to the 2010 reconciliation. (Updated 2012-02-04): As I had hoped, this article is now "featured" on the Mind and Soul topic page in Suite 101, and also on their main page. Note that "now" is a temporary word, especially because writers submit great new articles frequently. Still, it's nice to get the recognition. See my writing tip, below! As always, I also publicize my article in DeHaan Services ("Why the Lutherans and Mennonites Reconciled") and in my Xanga blog ("Reconciliation between Lutherans and Mennonites"). Writing Tip Today's writing tip explains why I chose this topic. First, the Topic Editors at Suite 101 sometimes post requests for articles in their topics. Often this means that a good article has an above-average chance of being featured in that topic. Second, I have contributed articles in this area. Third, this happens to be an interesting topic: personalities clashed; life or death decisions were made. So the writing tip is to track what your readers or editors want; know your own strengths; and deliver when the two mesh. My latest DeHaan Services article, "To Untangle Two Toronto Triathlons in 2012", is a guide to the two triathlon events that will be held in Toronto in the summer of 2012.  "North West Triathlon" image by (The contributor of this photo is David Hawgood) While following up on "Prepare for the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Event" yesterday, I learned that there is another triathlon in Toronto. It has a different date, venue, organizer, and set of distances. It seemed that the least I could do was to share this with my readers, who might otherwise be as confused as I was when I first found the references. As always, I also publicize my article in my Xanga blog ("Two Toronto Triathlons in 2012"). Writing Tip This writing tip might be new (to this blog). Follow up on previous news items. Pay special attention to your popular articles, since people are still reading them. Also follow up if you had written about a topic ahead of time. I had only expected to be able to add a few words to my older article, and only if the organizers had released any new information. My specific goal was to pass along "where to register for the race", since I had not learned that back in October. Here is an example of a different opportunity to follow up. Suppose you had written about "flu shots" early in the season. You could follow up with "vaccination rates went up/down or held steady", as well as "health officials report more/fewer/similar# of cases of influenza". You're creative about your topics. Be creative in finding ways to keep your readers informed about the aftermath. To use a sports metaphor: don't just swing, follow through. | Author:
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