Learning Paths

There's a lot of air up there.  We don't want it to be too crowded, but I think we should put an emphasis on rich communication tools, like wireless internet.

Unless you live in the wilds and rarely log on to your Facebook account, you've probably been accosted by propaganda on California's Proposition 8.  Prop 8, which will be voted on November 4th by California residents would add this text to the State's constitution:

Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

One line.  One sentence.  One definition of marriage.  This little addition has caused some pretty serious debate.  As well as some ugly comments, like this:

I'm using Wil Wheaton as an example, because he's generally a libral person and California resident that I respect (also, he's an intelligent person that can defend himself...)  But, his comment about bigotry (I think) is unfounded and is at the root of the problem with this entire Proposition 8 debate.  You see, saying 'Yes' on Proposition 8 is not bigotry, it's freedom of speech as equal to saying 'No' to proposition 8.  Just as firmly as I believe Marriage is only between a man and a woman, others can believe it's between anyone.  The reason I'm asking people to say 'Yes' to Prop 8. is because of presidence.

The problem with presidence, that seldom understood legal term that 'narrow minded' people tend to forget, is that it can drasticly change the direction of the country and our lives.  We can't just think about the current situation, but the possibility of litigation further down the road.  One of the initial impacts of 'gay marriage' is adoption law.  Currently, in California, there are several criteria the social worker reviews and weights when considering adoptive custody. Currently, heterosexual couples are favored over homosexual couples because a heterosexual couple can state (and prove) a length of marriage.  Now, I'm sure this sounds awful ("you don't want gay people to adopt?!?"), but I'm not saying what's wrong or right, I'm looking at how making one change extends influence on other decisions.  And, as for whether it's right or wrong for homosexuals to adopt... well, consider for a moment your life and how it might be different if your parents were gay.  This will probably reveal whether you believe homosexuality is behaviorial or genetic; and there is no scientific evidence either way (and we know what most Christians, Jews, and Muslim believe; we also know what atheists believe--who's beliefs are wrong?).

It does surprise me when people turn this into a Civil Rights issue.  Even those most acquanted with bigotry divorce the idea that homosexual marriage is a civil rights issue.  The truth is, it is not.  Homosexuality is, despite the back and forth scientific reports, a life choice.  Marriage is a priviledge; a priviledge between a man and a woman to have children and raise them together in a home.  We don't allow incorporated business to list themselve as corporations (in the strict legal sense) because they have different rights under the law?  They are different types of businesses.  They share some rights, but they are different.  And, I'm sorry, but two men or two women can not sustain life organically.  They are a different type of business.

If the only word you recognize in the title is Wal-Mart, this post is for you.  Not long ago I got an email from Wal-Mart informing me that the music I purchased from their music store a couple years ago was going to stop working.  Now, let's stop and think about this.  When is the last time you bought an appliance or home furnishing that suddenly stopped working through no fault of your own or mechanical break down.  My music files are perfectly good.  My computer runs perfectly fine.  I've backed-up my files to ensure against this.  But, beyond all my care, Wal-Mart is going to flip a switch and my music stops working.

Now, for the time, Wal-Mart has reversed their decision, but that doesn't mean this problem could happen again.  Heck, all it would take is a fire/tornado/earthquake at their server and my files stop working.  DRM is evil.  Something will have to change.

XKCD put it best... 

Now, I don't support pirating.  I don't believe it's right.  But DRM does place the world in a strange position.

A couple weeks ago a good friend from high school asked me about my job.  My standard answer with most people is, "I'm an instructional designer; I create training programs".  I add the last bit because people hear 'designer' and they thing Graphic Design, which is fine because I happen to do a good deal of that with my particular work, but it's not generally what an Instructional Designer does.

Part of my first class at Boise State entailed answering the question, "what is Instructional and Performance Technology?"  It's really difficult to explain, at least when you compare it to "I'm a lawyer" or "I'm a doctor".  Even though those fields are just as wide and varied as Instructional Design (ID) and Human Performance Technology (HPT), the entry point of "I'm an Instructional Designer" is pretty tough to comprehend.  So, what I'm going to do is start sharing examples of Instructional Design.  Unfortunately, most of these will either be video, web sites, or documents; but I'll talk about different presentation models as they come available.  Once I can give some examples, I'll see if I can put together some posts explaining the 'backend' of ID.

So, to start off, here is an example of one of my training presentations.  This one is a basic tutorial for TechSmith's SnagIt.  SnagIt is the product I work on the most.  Currently I've been localizing the original material and getting it ready to release in other markets (we just released German). Here's one of the videos from the English release:

These guys seemed to be pretty indie when I first heard them on KEXP's song of the day.  No one knew about them a couple years ago; now they're sponsored by Nokia and on a Honda tour.  Please, please Panic! at the Disco, don't turn into the next corporate Black Eyed Peas band.

If you do anything visual for your profession, chances are Adobe's products affect you.  I practically live in the Adobe Suite (now, isn't that a fun play on words) and I can tell you there are things that I would like changed in the service and design.

I'm not sure on the whole back story, but someone put up a site called Dear Adobe where you can post a gripe and vote through a love/hate on other gripes.  Now we just need to get Adobe to listen.

It's surprising how little surprises me.  Even after 10 years I feel that most of my friends from High School are about the same.  They're, of course, in better places and working harder with kids and other activities, but they're good honest people that are trying hard... just like they were 10 years ago.

It makes me thinkg about the groups that my children will have contact with.  They will be attached to the internet more than I am or ever will be.  They will have contact with their friends where ever they go and will probably never consider hoggin' the phone (most likely they'll have their own) or forgetting to write a friend (will email exist as we know it?  I used stamps back in the day and I'm not that old).  What I hope doesn't change is the quality of interaction my boys select.  Because, no matter how you connect, the other part of the connection is the significant variable.  It's not internet, or texting, or video that's 'questionable' or influential; it's the person on the other side.

Some how I was very lucky and connected with the greatest.  GoT-Wolves!

Yeah, I know, I already posted a couple of times about this.  But I really think it needs to have more attention.  Granted the third act is pretty weak (did you run out of gas guys?), the first two parts easily make up for it.

And, you know what would be cool?  A Pre-quel.  Yeah, how did Dr. Horrible even get on the road towards the Evil League of Evil?  I want to know.  Heck, I'm sure others are curious too.  Anyway, here's the whole thing from Hulu.com.

A.J. Jacobs does these life experiments for a living.  It makes me wonder, "how often do I take time to expirement with my faith and life?"  While don't I completely agree with Jacobs' implimentation; I do respect the cause.