from the streets of San Francisco

I read this post by a very thoughtful observer - of - the - world, who wrote about the flowering trees being in bloom, and then seeing these tape-measures on the ground (among the flower petals). Read the rest of her post below. It has nothing to do with directly with graphs and charts, but a lot to do with perspectives on data:

FineLine Letterpress

"No tape-measure trees in sight. I think a flock of school children left them here when they returned to the classroom after working in the garden (there is a fantastic garden in the slim unpaved strip next to Grattan School). I did not stop to measure my height, nor the length of my stride (although I was tempted to do both). But it did get me thinking about measurement. And reflecting on the fact that I like data, and I also like accuracy. Sometimes it’s great to guess, but sometimes it is satisfying to know. Maybe also it is reassuring to be able to measure the length of something in this world where many things seems so uncertain and mercurial. One of the things I enjoy during printing is the requirement for precision. I love chance and random beauty, and I also appreciate what can come of careful planning. I love that there can be both perspectives rendered in one scene: the tape can be used to measure carefully, and, look what a lovely pattern the tape has made from being dropped in a carefree manner!"