Matrix Sequel Has Hacker Cred. Techies seem to enjoy poking fun at various movies that try to show hackers at work - since they always get something (and often everything) wrong in a terrible Hollywood attempt to show hacking to a general audience. So, imagine their surprise to find out that some hacking scenes in the Matrix sequel (no, I still haven't seen it) seems to show real hacking tools being used properly. Considering the Wachowski brothers' attention to detail, I guess it's not that surprising. [Techdirt]

I am al;ways so impressed when a filmmaker does it right. It was no harder to find out what a proer exploit would involve as it would be to simply rig one up. I will definitely be running this movie in slow motion when I get the DVD.  10:22:45 AM    

Matrix: Not Much Neo to Report. The first Matrix film justifiably earned its cult-like status with a beguiling mix of information-age theology, cool special effects and thrilling plot twists. The Matrix: Reloaded, however, lacks the mythic resonance of its predecessor. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News]

Well, it is the middle story of a trilogy. I thought The Two Towers dragged a lot also. The second story of three almost always lacks the excitement of discovery found in the first or the calmness of resolution found in the last. It has to bridge them both without being too boring, etc. This it does nicely by showing some of the conflicts and layering on some more depth to the story. Neo may control all he wants in the Matrix but, at bottom, it is not the real world and Xion is still under physical attack not by a computer but by physical machines. How does being a God in the computer solve that problem, at least directly? That is part of what Reloaded is about (besides having the best freeway fight scene ever). Part of what makes this one interesting is the resolution of this conundrum. Or at least the beginning of the resolution. I expect the last movie will see it to the finish.  9:24:35 AM    

Of course with a character call 'The Merovingian', another called Seraph, a ship called Logos and a ton of other religious overtones mixed in, my wife and I had a great time discussing the film during and after the credits. Not too many movies filled with almost nonstop mayhem actually make you think about the religious implications of the world the movie inhabits.

My wife has been reading reading 'The da Vinci Code', which also brings up all sorts of religious material from the Priory of Sion, Freemasonry, Illuminati etc. in a very nice thriller style. So, I was motivated to ride a manic wave last night into some of the latest material on the Merovingians, the Council of Nicaea, the Gospel of Mary, etc. It was quite fun to read and well worth the trip. I particularly liked the page detailing why Mary Magdalene wrote the Fourth Gospel and was the Beloved Disciple. There is just all sorts of interesting stuff that in earlier times resulted in stake burnings following torture. We really do live in wonderful times.  9:15:15 AM    

Apple offers 'Gift Guide for Dads & Grads'. Apple has posted the "Apple Gift Guide for Dads & Grads," a list of suggested presents for the current crop of high school and college graduates, as well as for Father's Day. Suggested gifts for dads are listed in "At Work in the Home Office" and "At Play" categories. Gifts for grads are broken up into three divisions: "Summer Break," "College Bound," and "Tools for the Real World." [MacCentral]

Just in case anyone was looking for ideas.  8:53:10 AM    

Getting better at supporting informal learning.

Informal Learning ? The Other 80%. I don't know how to emphasize more that this - rather than classroom-based learning - is where we should be focussing our efforts. As Cross writes, "Informal learning has always played a larger role than most people imagined, but it?s becoming increasingly important as workers take responsibility for their own destinies. Formal learning consists of instruction and events imposed by others. When a worker chooses his path to learning independent of others, by definition, that?s informal." This is an outstanding article, clearly documenting the importance of informal learning, defining it, and showing how organizations can make the most of it. By Jay Cross, Internet Time Group, May 8, 2003 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily]

This is just one of many pointers to Jay Cross's excellent piece on why we should be focusing on informal learning. Accomplishing this boils down to an issue of leadership over management. From a management perspective it's easy to see why formal learning dominates, especially in organizational settings. There's stuff you can point to, there's stuff you can measure, and you can put someone in charge. The only problem is that all this activity doesn't make much of a difference.

It takes a huge act of leadership to acknowledge where the real learning takes place and to start figuring out how to better support that learning. First, it takes a huge act of trust in believing that your people can figure out on their own what they need to learn. Second, you need to start helping them get better at doing that figuring out. They may still be under the illusion, perpetuated by your training systems, that they should be looking for classroom courses or looking for their slick e-learning equivalents.

Most of us are products of educational systems that leave us confused about how and when we learn best, partly because those systems are dedicated to preserving themselves. It takes time to develop skill at self-managed learning. It also takes time to learn how to tap into the informal systems that are out there to support you (another of the huge advantages of weblogs, BTW). Some resources I would recommend here would be Ron Gross's books, The Independent Scholar's Handbook and Peak Learning, Peter Vaill's Learning As a Way of Being: Strategies for Survival in a World of Permanent White Water, and Roger Schank's Coloring Outside the Lines : Raising a Smarter Kid by Breaking All the Rules.

My stop is up next, so I'll pick this up in another post later.

[McGee's Musings]

More good material - book choices on Learning versus education

[Robert Paterson's Radio Weblog]

Businesses are great when it comes to explicit information transfer and storage. They can measure it and it allows them to easily calculate ROI but it is only a small part of the process. Tacit information transfers, either in an explicit form or in informal learning systems, are the real 'power boosters' to creativity and innovation. They are also the ones least likely to be found in a database. They require the proper tools, the proper attitude, and the proper culture. They die in an environment where 'knowledge is power.' But where 'power is knowledge' reigns, the generation of knowledge can come from anywhere, come from anyone, come at anytime and is actively supported. But this is very hard to create metrics for, which is why few MBAs seem to really understand. I think this is changing. The really good business schools, such as Stanford or Harvard, are teaching their MBA candidates that the needs of a company whose products are based on the creativity of its personnel (i.e. biotech and high tech, for example) must be run differently. Maybe things will change for the better in the coming years.  8:42:38 AM    

BILL HOBBS HAS MORE on Tennessee's anti-TiVO bill, and on why Tennessee's legislators are so cozy with the cable companies. [InstaPundit.Com]

So many politicians just DO NOT get it. Coupled with the tendency to write overly braod legislation, or, more likely, letting industry write the legislation they put their name on, this ignorance will cause a lot of problems. The cable compnaies will do what they can to kill Tivo. They will have their own recorder but, from what is leaking out, these may not allow any fast forward or commercial skipping. It will be a lesser service but they will use their money to try and make it happen. I am glad that I use a satellite service with an integral Tivo unit. I may be able to hold out for a while.  8:32:35 AM