Lancer Kind's Blog

SciFi Thoughts over 300 episodes and in the top 50 Science Fiction podcasts

Thanks to You—We’ve Hit 300 Episodes!

I’m deeply grateful to all the listeners—this year, SciFi Thoughts surpassed 300 episodes! Our tricentennial episode features the inspiring story of how Nigerian author Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki was raised by a library. You can listen to it here.

Also, great news: FeedSpot has recognized SciFi Thoughts as one of the top science fiction podcasts, currently ranking us at #38! That’s just 37 steps away from #1—so if you enjoy the show, please share it with your friends and family. Let’s climb even higher together. Tell them to visit: http://SciFiThoughts.space

You can find SciFi Thoughts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and just about every major podcast platform. I recommend subscribing through a podcast app on your phone so you’ll get each new episode automatically as it goes live.

The Xenophobes

Film previewing in Manhattan Kansas

By working with director Hal Dace and Epistrophy Pictures, I have got my second IMDB credit and I’m super happy! The first one was for the Miss Wisenheimer’s and the Aliens, an animated science fiction movie that as of present time, exists as a short film. The Xenophobes, co-written by myself and director Dace, is a live action film, the filming which started in fall 2021. It was awesome seeing a studio put together and meeting actors, sound and camera crew and the works. I want to thank them all for the efforts they put in. And of course I want to thank the producers and investors that put in the cash to make the production possible.

This Sunday, April 21, the film will be shown in an AMC theater in Manhattan Kansas, near the location where filming happened. If you’re in the area, you can see the film for free at 3PM. Here are the details, and please if you drop in, say “hi!”

Rockets & Robots

I write novels and short stories. Short stories are, well shorter so I can be more experimental. I wrote Morning Star City for a young adult audience so that my kids didn’t need to work so hard to read their Dad’s novels. Morning Star City was published in Rockets & Robots anthology (anthology means a book made from the work of many authors). These stories are design to stretch the minds of young people. They read well for adults too, it’s just that the main characters are youths and the situations are PG-13, so a little less violent or racy. Said another way, these stories are the same style you enjoyed as a youth so go read some contemporary science fiction that you would have loved to read as a kid. The editors of Rockets & Robots are Cheryl Morgan and James Maxey. James is a very accomplished science fiction and fantasy author so it’s an honor to work with him. Tap here to purchase Rockets & Robots on Amazon. I produced a SciFi Thoughts series about Rockets & Robots so you could meet Cheryl, James, and some of the other authors published in this anthology. Tap here to listen to the series.

Tips for buying your first EV

I bought my EV in 2018 and it was a STEAL at $9,500 for a two year old car under warranty with 18,000 miles. I found it on Car Gurus which conveniently allows you to search for electric drive train.

As the range of EVs keeps getting longer, this factor will eventually go away, but currently, range is the most important factor to consider when deciding what to buy. The longer the range, the more “payola” you’ll need to spend on an EV with a big battery (EV trim lines are about the battery size and range). I needed an EV that would get me to work and back, and run some errands. If you’re looking for a road-trip EV, your looking at some big money, and frankly, I’d stick with a combustion engine for those matters. And lets face it, most of us do a road trip about twice a year and renting a dino-fuel car for those rare occasions has worked very well for me.

How much range is enough?

An electric car’s range will vary a little due to weather conditions. In the winter the rang goes down about 10%. In the summer it increases 10%. Fall and Spring will be your baselines. And sometimes you want to take your co-workers for a spin or run some errands after work. So you need more than just for your commute. My suggestion is to have an extra 30% on top of what you need for your commute.

So take the distance from home to the office and multiply by that distance by 3.

Suggested EV Range = distance from home to work X 3

Speaking as someone who’s drive an EV for two years, the above formula has really worked well.

Charge Networks

Charge networks are companies that maintain charging stations around your city. These are the *new* gas stations. When you need to charge your car away from home, you can use their charge stations for a low cost, usually $1-3 dollars and often you get a discount for parking and frequently even premium parking. Payment is taken at the change device by either swiping a credit card or using their smartphone app. Search your workplace or your favorite shopping areas for what charge networks are available. Most malls, Kohls, Fred Meyer, transit centers, translations, Starbucks, and park-and-rides have charge stations. Some of them are free. When is the last time you got free fuel?

Here is a list and map of charging networks in the Seattle area.

This week is NATIONAL Leave your Podcasts a REVIEW day!

Those podcasts you listen to? Payback those producers by leaving them a review which helps them break through the search engine noise. We all want to grow to be BIG podcasts. And of course, I heavily encourage you to leave a review for SciFi Thoughts, Agile Thoughts, and 敏捷理念。They ALL deserve it! Trust me! I hand edit every episode!

And this week is NATIONAL leave your podcast a REVIEW day! I just decided that today. You’re welcome. I mean why not? National leave your podcasts a review day is WAY more cooler than “National Repeat Day”. And June 9th is National Running Day, and what better thing can you do while running than listen to a podcast? So what day this week is National leave your podcasts a review day? It’s the day you open up your phone or computer and take care of business!

So seize the day! It’s time to pay back the karma of all that free content you’ve been enjoying! Give your podcast producers some love in the form of stars! And LOTS of them!

How to leave a glowing review? It depends on how you download your podcast. Let me break it down for you.

Apple Podcast

To leave a review on Apple, you need to use the Apple Podcast player on the phone or computer, and follow these steps:

launch the podcast appsearch for “SciFi Thoughts” or Agile Thoughts, or 敏捷理念。select the showscroll to the area the reviews are and tap on “write a review.”MacOS Podcast playerOther places you get your podcast?

Stitcher and Google Play don’t take reviews. If I missed your favorite podcast aggregator drop me a tweet.

Agile Grande, writing chapter 4

Dear reader, I know you’ve missed me. I haven’t posted since December and that was 2019, a whole year-number away. I’m sitting in my studio seeing the Seattle spring sun chasing the winter blues away. Not that I’ve had time for winter blues. I’ve been busy with various this-es and thats-es and now I’ve started writing chapter 4. The chapter you’ve been waiting for. (Naturally, after 4 you’ll end up waiting for chapter 5 as well.

If you’re a LeanPub reader of Agile Grande, I’ve been especially BeASTLY to you! And if you’re not a LeanPub reader, click here to become one so I can be BeASTLY to you too!

Agile Grande

In chapter 4, we left the story (I’ll keep out spoilers) with Kartar struggling but closer to developing something to help management to overcome their biases. Unfortunately he’s got other problems too because Dharma had to be bailed out of jail and the Chinese Ministry of State Security (the Chinese spy agency) has sent a destroyer and an officer to track down how they’ve been embarrassed by being a party to blowing up America’s new border wall with Mexico. (The American president is quite upset.) MSS has sent their top officer, the beautiful and mysterious Daxian (call her Danni). She is an expert of an ancient systems thinking system called fengshui which she’s uses to hunt down the Party’s most wanted and she is hot on Kartar’s trail.

Unfortunately, dear reader (I’m getting to the BeASTLY part) at the end of chapter 3 Kartar appears to have come to a tragic end in the Arabian Sea.

“So that’s it?” you ask. “The story ends at chapter 3 then?”

Agile Noir

Well, if you know me or have read Agile Noir (another novel where Kartar learned his Agile chops from a Hindu godman, available in the US, India, and China) then you’re going to be certain I’ve got a chapter 5 and a chapter 6 and….

So what’s coming in chapter 4? In it, you’ll learn the following:

Systems thinkingWhole Product FocusAnd the above bullets will happen despite Kartar appearing to be lost at sea, a Chinese destroyer on the hunt for him, and Mr. Cherneski taking apart Kartar’s cross-functional teams back in Long Beach

“So what the hell?” you might ask. “What am I going to do in the meantime while you’re writing chapter 4?”

Calm down. Calm down. Let’s not be hasty with the pointing device. Here is what I can offer you immediately:

The Basics of System Modeling (video)System Modeling the novel Agile Grande and the Market Response (video)A series of interviews with the founders of Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) (Agile Thoughts podcast)Seattle LeSS Meetup (we are doing virtual meetings with Zoom and have had attendees from Canada and Australia)

And later, when I need a break from writing and software engineering, I’ll produce another systems modeling video that shows the entire systems model I used when designing Agile Grande’s story. It’ll be announced here at LancerKind.com when it’s ready.

Your pal,

Lancer Kind

Agile Grande Chapter 3 has been released

Figure from a Visual Capitalist article

Kartar’s being tailed by a very large Russian. The Chinese Ministry of State Security thinks Kartar stole their Semtex to blow up Trump’s wall. Mr. Cherneski is reversing Kartar’s organizational transformation. And Kartar agonizes for a way to overcome his management’s cognitive biases.

The writing of Agile Grande continues:

You can read what’s been written at LeanPub for free. Get a copy now because maybe later I’ll charge a MINT! For the best reading experience, I recommend reading epubs with an iPad using Apple’s Books (Books used to be called iBooks).

More about Chapter 3:

The hero, Kartar, realizes he’ll never get management to stop undoing his organizational change work until he finds a tool to break through preconceived biases. He starts working on an idea that he needs to use a visual system of analysis to switch people’s brains from the slap dash system one thinking to the more rational system two, but he gets interrupted by a large stranger who has followed him from Long Beach California to a container ship in the Arabian Sea.

Mr. Cherneksy, the VP who is making millions by taking advantage of his organization’s complexity, prepares his son, Studebaker, to help him use this new Agile transformation to his advantage. Cherneski also discovers that Kartar’s daughter is dating his son.

And then there is Dharma, Kartar’s daughter. It turns out she is “raising the bar” on the amount of trouble a daughter can bring to her father.

Another complication shows its teeth…Chinese destroyer

The Ministry of State Security watches the news too and they aren’t happy about the negative attention about PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Semtex that found its way to the USA and blew up their president’s favorite infrastructure project: a wall between the US and Mexico. So they’ve put their best dachshund on the job: Daxian. (Pronounced “Dah-she-an”.) This agent, an expert of geomancy, is hot on Kartar’s trail and has a Chinese destroyer at her beck and call.

Daxian isn’t your ordinary MSS officerWhat could go wrong?

Remember Star Wars THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK? When at the end, Luke loses his hand, C3PO gets blow to pieces, and Han Solo gets frozen in carbonate? Chapter 3 is that moment. And by the end of this chapter, you’re going to be left wondering if Kartar will even get a chapter 4.

What’s to come if Kartar lives to see chapter 4?

More about Dharma’s secretsKartar learns to use systems thinking in a social manner that overcomes biasesKartar learns why “whole product focus” is so importantKartar discovers how to solve multi-team agile (systems) problems (critical for enterprises wanting improve their delivery performance)

How to Listen to Podcasts in Style

Podcasting to Radio is like Tivo to being stuck in the 1970s with big three TV networks.  With podcasts you can “stop the show” until you’re ready to continue or even “speed up the action” if the pace is too slow.  It’s like having ala carte cable where you get to pick the show you want to watch, when you want to watch it.  And if you don’t know what to pick, you can type into a search engine, “favorite topic” and podcast and find what you want.

When I’m driving in my car, I’m listening to podcasts. When I’m waiting at the school or bus stop, I’m listening to podcasts. It’s like Youtube, but even better–hands free! I’m free to go jogging, work in the yard, or just chill on the couch with a podcast.

Live long and podcastPodcasting the convenient way

My preferred mode of listening means I’m not attached to my computer but using my smart phone. This way, I’ve always got my listens with me, whether I’m in my car or doing housework. Although iOS comes with a podcast player from Apple, my podcast player of choice is Overcast, which lets me speed up the playback if things aren’t moving at the rate that I like.

After installing any podcast player, your next mission is to use its search capability to find what you like. Just like a web search engine you just need to enter in some keywords like “science fiction” or “SciFi Thoughts.” Crusing in your car? Most cars have a USB port in to which you connect your phone. Common locations for in-vehicle USB ports: glove box and center console—the storage area between the seats.

Smart speakers are another route for listening in home. Here is another article that goes over a number of options.

Many smart TVs or BluRay players have app stores. Go search their app store for “podcast player.”

About Podcast Aggregators

Podcast aggregators send podcasts from the publisher’s site to your device.  Or, you can play the podcast directly on the aggregators webpage. Usually simple searching for “SciFi Thoughts” in your podcast player will get you where you need to go. But if you need more details, you can find SciFi Thoughts at the following links.

Overcast.FM https://overcast.fm/itunes1352868789/...Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/anoi...Player.fm https://player.fm/series/scifi-thoughtsiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/SciFi-Thou...Listen Notes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/...Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcas...

Agile Grande Chapter 2: Continuous Delivery, Endless Dependencies

The writing of Agile Grande continues. For now, you can read for free on LeanPub. Get it now because maybe later I’ll charge a MINT!

I’m quite taken at how fluid and clear the ePub file works on iBook readers (Mac, iPhone, Android, …). I hope your reading experience is enjoyable as well.

So what does Agile Grande have to do with Trump’s border wall? Check out chapters one and two to get in the know. There are systems all around us that are affecting us everyday. If you can’t see the big picture then you’ll be many steps behind.

In this chapter, Kartar ends up working with Studebaker, Mr. Cherneski’s son. Together they discover a lead that points to a problem with order management, a system under Cherneski’s leadership. Through working with Studebaker on a report, Kartar discovers the hairy politics of doing organizational change with a company leadership who is mostly interested in assigning blame. Kartar argues over how to be transparent in a report for the company vice presidents. Studebaker isn’t willing to document anything that could cause controversy. Although Kartar insists on digging deeper into the incident, at the last minute, Cherneski has told Kartar to forget about it and sends him on a trip to a seaport in Dubai.

What’s upcoming for Chapter 3: a shipboard ‘accident’ puts Kartar’s life in danger and a beautiful, mysterious woman hunts Kartar using an ancient form of systems thinking.

I can’t wait to write it!

Lancer

Agile Grande Chapter 1, is live on Leanpub

Chapter one is up for free on Leanpub. Quick! Go download it before I come to my senses!

In chapter one, the story opens with CIA operatives planning how to accept a delivery of something they don’t want anyone to know about. It’s a black operation and although it’s supposed be a milk run, malfunctioning crane automation at the Long Beach sea port almost spills the beans. (Well, something does get spilled but I leave that to you to read about.) A logistics company operates the port and one of their VPs, Mr. Cherneski, gets a call from his darknet customer who expresses displeasure at the near disaster. Our Scrum Master and hero Kartar gets a call too, but it’s from port operations since it’s his teams developing the sea port’s automation. By the end of the chapter, whatever the CIA was smuggling in was used to destroy a portion of the wall between Mexico and the US.

What’s upcoming in Chapter 2: Kartar gets a taste of the politics that happen with organizational change. He is charged with writing a report to get to the bottom of the crane incident at Port of Long Beach Sea Port, and it’s due by end of day.