Daily Archives: May 29, 2020

Last year at South By Southwest, author and entrepreneur Rohit Bhargava spoke to a packed auditorium about trends that, though they may not be obvious, are playing a serious role in shaping the future. Each year Bhargava spends untold hours figuring out which trends are going to be the most relevant and impactful, then puts out a book on them as part of his Non-Obvious series.

He was planning to speak about 2020 trends at this years SXSW festivalbut like every other large in-person event, it was canceled. And like every other thing in our lives, the pandemic has turned most of Bhargavas 2020 trends on their heads.

But not all of them. In fact, a select few trends that were already on the rise have been amplified by Covid-19, and now theyre even more significant. In a virtual SXSW session streamed from his home last week, Bhargava talked about these trends, how we can make the most of them, and how to find meaning amid chaos and confusion.

Were in a time of extreme disruptionthat much is obvious. The places were used to going, which are normally full of people, are empty. Were all at home trying to figure out how to pass the time productively. And we all have big questions about how the new normaleven once our states and cities start to reopenis going to change the way we do everything. Will students go back to school in the fall? Will we be working from home indefinitely? Will we always have to wear a face mask to go to the grocery store? Whats safe and what isnt?

Bhargava emphasized that hes not here to predict the future. Rather than being focused on where the world will be 5 to 10 years from now, he said, I focus on trying to observe today to figure out what to do today. Also, tech on its own doesnt intrigue him as much as the human response to tech and how its impacting our lives. Im more interested in how human behavior is evolving, he said.

But how do you figure that out when theres so, so much information coming at us from all sides? The big problem right now is that we just dont know what to believe, and so we dont believe anything, Bhargava said. The world seems untrustworthy and we dont know what to pay attention to.

Parody videos and articles have popped up poking fun at the confusion around coronavirus, but its disconcerting to realize how much misinformation has been flying around, and how little we know about this virus even after two and a half months of lockdowns.

Misinformation is, of course, not a new problem. And its impossible to consume all the information out there to try to figure out whats real. Instead of attempting to digest and make sense of all the news, tweets, memes, podcasts, articles, shares, retweets, and videos out there, Bhargava said, we should devote more time to trying to understand people. How do we become people who understand people? he asked. What motivates them to believe something, what gets them to act, what engages them?

Bhargavas own people-understanding process involves what he calls the haystack method. Rather than searching for a needle in a haystack, he gathers hay (ideas and stories) then uses it to locate and define a needle (a trend). Its really easy to read the same media that reinforces what you already think over and over, he said. But a key part of gathering valuable information is looking for it in places you wouldnt normally think to look. That means taking in media thats targeted to different demographics than those you fall into.

Once you look across a wide variety of channels, common themes emerge. Bhargava groups those themes together and tries to elevate them into a bigger idea; thats where his trends come from.

He defines a non-obvious trend as a unique curated observation of the accelerating present. Were in a moment now where the present is accelerating even faster, he said. Here are the four trends hes pinpointed that have been amplified by the current situationand how we can make the best of them.

Overwhelmed by technology and a sense that life is too complex, people seek out simpler experiences that offer nostalgia and remind them of a more trustworthy time; we revive habits, media, or connections we find comforting or reassuring. This trend was already in place before the pandemic; Bhargava included a variation of it in his 2019 SXSW talk. The breakneck speed of technology made many of us want to slow down and reconsider the role we want our phones and computers to play in our day to day lives.

But now, Bhargava said, revivalism is gaining even more momentum; if the world seemed complex and overwhelming before, that sense has multiplied by an order of magnitude now that were in a global health crisis. Rather than drowning in too much conflicting information, people are consciously cutting back on the amount of news and social media they consume each day (not least because its just. so. depressing.) and seeking out forms of entertainment that were cast aside long ago: books, puzzles, classic video games, board games. Were reconnecting virtually with friends or relatives we havent spoken to in a while. Were trying out old family recipes in the kitchen since we cant go to restaurants.

Its time, Bhargava said, to rediscover the analog; We can do these things outside of technology. Now that weve been forced to find substitutes for many components of our daily routines, maybe well learn that we dont need to be as dependent on our devices as we thought.

The second trend is essentially a more nuanced variation of the first. Tired of technology that isolates us from one another, people are seeking out and placing greater value on physical, authentic, and imperfect experiences delivered by humans. In a time when we cant hug our friends and families or even speak to store clerks without masks and plastic dividers, were craving empathetic, human experiences big-time.

The aforementioned dependence on digital devices as a way to interact with other people seems reprehensible now that we dont even have the in-person option. Before the pandemic we relied on social media to connect us, texting to communicate with each other, like buttons to share our opinions and preferences, and algorithms to streamline and improve our shopping, transit, and other experiences.

While all of that isnt going to go awayand may double down in a world where physical contact is now perceived as dangerouswere realizing how crucial and irreplaceable our human connections are. We need to focus on empathy first, Bhargava said. An empathetic approach (whether in business or simply with our families and friends) is most likely to provide value to people in the current situation. And probably always.

Have you picked up some new skills during lockdown? Tried your hand at some fancy recipes? Learned hard pieces on the guitar or piano? How likely is it that the skills or habits youve picked up will persist after this is all over?

As we consume bite-sized knowledge on demand, Bhargava said, we benefit from learning everything more quickly but risk forgetting the value of mastery and wisdom. Its become really easy to watch a YouTube video to learn just about anything; during the pandemic, views of cooking tutorial videos have skyrocketed, and its likely the same has happened for instructional videos of all types (including how to cut your own or your partners hair!). Since we now have access to information more readily than ever before, we expect to be able to learn things faster. But it still takes a lot of time and dedication to get really good at a skill or become an expert in a given field.

While its great to learn new skills quickly, lets not forget to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. Bhargava recommends finding ways to connect people with knowledge to inspire beliefs, expanding our worldviews and building towards a greater visionwhether for ourselves, our families, or the collective future.

The lines between industries are eroding, leading to a continual disruption of business models, distribution channels, and consumer expectations. This was happening before Covid-19 broke out; Apple was getting into financial services, banks were opening coffee shops, Crayola started making makeup, and Taco Bell opened a hotel (I know right- WHAT?! Its true though).

Now that everything is closed and were confined to our homes, businesses are having to adapt in ways they never imaginedand those that cant adapt are, unfortunately, in trouble. Everything about how we do business is shifting, Bhargava said. And that disruption is happening at an unprecedented pace. Even once the economy opens againwhich for many states in the US is happening this weekwe wont go back to how things were in 2019. The only way forward is to adapt.

We dont know whats coming next, Bhargava said. But we know that people who can adapt best are non-obvious thinkers who pay attention to whats happening and try to continue to change.

Image Credit: Rohit Bhargava by Brian Smale

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4 Non-Obvious Trends That Matter During This Pandemic - Singularity Hub

Black holes remain one of the most mysterious entities in the universe, with scientists knowing little about them, and what is on the inside. Their ability to completely deconstruct the laws of physics remain both baffling and mesmerising.

Black holes completely break the laws of physics with their singularity at the centre, which is a one-dimensional point where gravity becomes infinite and space and time become curved.

The only other point in nature where a singularity existed is at the Big Bang.

What is inside a back hole is a mystery, but one expert believes that if you were to get close to the event horizon the point of no return where the clutches of the black holes gravity becomes to powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape you would be burned alive in the accretion disc.

The friction generated by these discs as they are pushed and shoved by the extreme gravitational force is so large that it can produce a tremendous amount of energy, depending on the size of the black hole.

According to astrophysicist Paul Stutter, getting close to the accretion disc would burn you to a crisp.

He wrote for Live Science: "Indeed, lots of stuff in the universe finds itself orbiting around black holes. Once these foolhardy adventurers get caught in the black hole's gravitational embrace, they begin the journey toward the end.

"As material falls toward the black hole, it tends to get squeezed into a razor-thin band known as an accretion disk.

"That disk spins and spins, with heat, friction, and magnetic and electric forces energizing it, causing the material to glow brightly.

READ MORE:Scientists stunned by rogue black holes moving through galaxy

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Black hole: THIS is what would happen if you got close to a black hole - Express.co.uk

Although the coronavirus pandemic has dominated recent headlines, climate change hasnt gone away. Many experts are calling for a green economic recovery that directs investments into low-carbon energy sources and technologies.

Buildings account for 40 percent of total energy consumption in the US, compared to 32 percent for industry and 28 percent for transportation. States and cities with ambitious climate action plans are working to reduce emissions from the building sector to zero. This means maximizing energy efficiency to reduce building energy use, and then supplying the remaining energy needs with electricity generated by carbon-free sources.

My colleagues and I study the best ways to rapidly reduce carbon emissions from the building sector. In recent years, construction designs have advanced dramatically. Net zero energy buildings, which produce the energy they need on site from renewable sources, increasingly are the default choice. But to speed the transition to zero carbon emissions, I believe the US must think bigger and focus on designing or redeveloping entire communities that are zero energy.

Tackling energy use in buildings at the district level provides economies of scale. Architects can deploy large heat pumps and other equipment to serve multiple buildings on a staggered schedule across the day. Districts that bring homes, places of work, restaurants, recreation centers, and other services together in walkable communities also significantly reduce the energy needed for transportation. In my view, this growing movement will play an increasingly important role in helping the US and the world address the climate crisis.

Heating and cooling are the biggest energy uses in buildings. District design strategies can address these loads more efficiently.

District heating has long been used in Europe, as well as on some US college and other campuses. These systems typically have a central plant that burns natural gas to heat water, which then is circulated to the various buildings.

To achieve zero carbon emissions, the latest strategy uses a design known as an ambient temperature loop that simultaneously and efficiently both heats and cools different buildings. This concept was first developed for the Whistler Olympic Village in British Columbia.

In a typical ambient loop system, a pump circulates water through an uninsulated pipe network buried below the frost line. At this depth, the soil temperature is near that of the yearly average air temperature for that location. As water moves through the pipe, it warms or cools toward this temperature.

Heat pumps at individual buildings or other points along the ambient loop add or extract heat from the loop. They can also move heat between deep geothermal wells and the circulating water.

The loop also circulates through a central plant that keeps it in an optimum temperature range for maximum heat pump performance. The plant can use cooling towers or wastewater to remove heat. It can add heat via renewable sources, such as solar thermal collectors, renewable fuel or heat pumps powered by renewable electricity.

One example of a potentially zero-energy district currently being developed, the National Western Center, is a multi-use campus currently under construction in Denver to house the annual National Western Stock Show and other public events focused on food and agriculture.

A six-foot-diameter pipe carrying the citys wastewater runs underground through the property before delivering the water to a treatment plant. The water temperature stays within a narrow range of 61 to 77 degrees F throughout the year.

The wastewater pipe and a heat exchanger transfer heat to and from an ambient loop circulating water throughout the district. The system provides heat in winter and absorbs heat in the summer via heat recovery chillers, which are heat pumps that can simultaneously provide heating and cooling. This strategy serves individual buildings at very high efficiency.

Electricity used to operate the heat pumps, lighting and other equipment will come from on-site photovoltaics and wind- and solar-generated electricity imported from off-site.

Another district that will minimize carbon emissions is the Whisper Valley Community, under construction in Austin, Texas. This 2,000-acre multi-use development includes 7,500 all-electric houses, 2 million square feet of commercial space, two schools, and a 600-acre park. Its design has already received a green building award.

Whisper Valley will run on an integrated energy system that includes an extensive ambient loop network heated and cooled by heat pumps and geothermal wells located at each house. Each homeowner has the option to include a 5-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic array to operate the heat pump and energy-efficient appliances, including heat pump water heaters and inductive stovetops. According to the developer, Whisper Valleys economy of scale allows for a median sale price $50,000 below that of typical Austin houses.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and other project partners are developing an open source software development kit called URBANopt that models elements of zero energy districts, such as building efficiency/demand flexibility strategies, rooftop photovoltaic arrays, ambient loop district thermal systems. The software can be integrated into other computer models to aid in the design of zero energy communities. NREL engineers have been engaging with high-performance district projects across the country, such as the National Western Center, to help inform and guide the development of the URBANopt platform.

The projects Ive described are new construction. Its harder to achieve net zero energy in existing buildings or communities economically, but there are ways to do it. It makes sense to apply those efficiency measures that are the most cost-effective to retrofit, convert building heating and cooling systems to electricity and provide the electricity with solar photovoltaics.

Utilities are increasingly offering time-of-use rate schedules, which charge more for power use during high demand periods. Emerging home energy management systems will allow home owners to heat water, charge home batteries and electric vehicles and run other appliances at times when electricity prices are lowest. Whether were talking about new or existing buildings, I see sustainable zero energy communities powered by renewable energy as the wave of the future as we tackle the climate change crisis.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image Credit: Denys NevozhaionUnsplash

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Buildings Consume Lots of EnergyHere's How to Design Whole Communities That Give Back as Much as They Take - Singularity Hub

SAN DIEGO, May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --MVPvets, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists and prepares transitioning military veterans for meaningful employment in life science companies, announced the appointment of new Chairman of its Board of Directors, Capt. Derek Herrera, USMC (Ret.). Herrera has been actively involved as an MVPvets board member since early 2019. He succeeds outgoing Chairman Michael R. Minogue, the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abiomed, who has provided leadership as the co-founder of MVPvets since 2012 and will continue to serve as a board member.

Derek Herrera, Founder of Spinal Singularity, Michael R. Minogue, Abiomed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Alex Gorsky, J&J Chairman, Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer all U.S.military academy graduates and CEOs in the medical device field, discuss MVPvets at the MedTech Conference in 2018. (PRNewsfoto/MVPvets)

Herrera is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served as a Marine Infantry and Special Operations Officer for eight years. In 2014, he was medically retired following an injury sustained during combat operations in Afghanistan. Since his injury, he has earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and founded a medical device company, Spinal Singularity. Herrera started Spinal Singularity to develop devices that improve the quality of life for people with spinal injuries. He also serves as President of the Board for the Marine Raider Foundation and Board Member of the American Technion Society Western Region.

"I am thrilled to find new ways to support transitioning military veterans. As I left the military I found meaning and purpose in the medical device industry. I am so excited to help veterans make meaningful connections to explore industries that are focused on improving patients' lives," said Herrera.

"Derek is an inspiration to so many communities, especially military veterans re-careering into the medical device industry," said Michael R. Minogue, MVPvets co-founder and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abiomed. "We are proud to have such a passionate leader and entrepreneur help further the mission of MVPvets, which is now more important than ever for our transitioning veterans."

"Mike is without a doubt leaving big shoes to fill as outgoing chairman of MVPvets, and there's no question that Derek is the right choice to fill them," President and CEO of AdvaMed Scott Whitaker said. "MVPvets does such a terrific job connecting those who have served and sacrificed for our country with an industry whose number one priority is saving and improving lives. Thanks to Mike's leadership, so many veterans have found meaning and purpose in our patient-centered medtech community. I know we'll be able to say the same about Derek's time as chairman."

Herrera is joined on the MVPvets leadership team by Victoria Hathaway, who joins as operations manager. Hathaway has spent her career in higher education helping graduate students across colleges and universities achieve their educational and professional goals. Previously, she worked to increase access to postgraduate education for military veterans as Assistant Director of Diversity Recruitment. She graduated from the Student Affairs Program at the UCLA Graduate School of Education. She also serves as a volunteer for a veteran-focused nonprofit organization.

"My career has been spent recruiting, supporting, and celebrating student veterans, and I now have the privilege of helping military veterans secure meaningful employment opportunities in a rapidly emerging industry," said Hathaway.

Story continues

"Victoria's background in education, with a focus on veterans, will help fulfill the mission of MVPvets," said Minogue. "We are thrilled to have Victoria join the MVPvets team and look forward to her help expanding the impact our program has on the lives of veterans."

Together, Herrera and Hathaway will help lead the organization in its mission to connect military veterans with engaged mentors and careers in the medical device and life science industries.

MVPvets is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization connecting life science companies with talented veterans ready to serve a purpose, with a broad bandwidth of skills, and an extraordinary focus on achieving goals. MVPvets' network has grown to nearly 100 life science and medical device companies, hundreds of mentors, and thousands of veterans. For more information, visit http://www.mvpvets.org. MVPvets is endorsed by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).

AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit http://www.advamed.org.

Media Contact:Victoria Hathaway205 809 6050240343@email4pr.com

SOURCE MVPvets

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Retired USMC Captain, Derek Herrera, to Take Chairman Role for MVPvets, a Nonprofit That Helps Military Veterans Find Careers in Medical Device and...

Jerry Coyne and his Darwinist/materialist/atheist brethren make public assertions that are nonsense on their face: they claim to be mindless meat machines, they deny the indisputable evidence for intelligent design in biology and for teleology in all of nature, they deny the obvious evidence for the supernatural in cosmological singularities such as black holes and the singularity at the origin of the Big Bang, and they deny the manifest corruption of modern science by materialism and arrogance and egotism. Materialists tout determinism and deny free will, despite the fact that determinism in physics has been quite decisively refuted and the fact that free will is well supported by neuroscience and that denial of free will negates the ability to make a truth claim of any sort (if a materialists opinion is forced by chemical reactions, theres no reason to think it corresponds to truth. Chemistry is not a propositional and can be neither true nor false). Atheists deny the existence of God because of evil in nature, without realizing that the recognition of evil presupposes an objective moral standard that can only be grounded in a Mind outside of man.

Darwinism/materialism/atheism (the three are nearly always found together) is beset with self-refuting non-sequiturs. This triad is not even a genuine ideological perspective as much as it is an incoherent mistake. Yet, ironically, many who tout it are quite intelligent people.

Playwright David Mamet noted a characteristic in politics that applies broadly to flawed belief systems. It struck me as a key to understanding the philosophical perspective of those who deny free will, design in nature, Gods existence, and the like. Mamet originally applied it to a particular political philosophy, but I apply Mamets principle to Darwinists et al:

in order for [Darwinists, atheists, materialists, etc.] to continue their illogical belief systems they have to pretend not to know a lot of things.

The pretense not to know things is at the root of Darwinist/atheist/materialist ideology. It was stated with astonishing candor by Harvard biologist Richard Lewontin, one of the past centurys leading Darwinists:

Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism.

It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated.

Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door

Lewontins confession is a remarkable invocation of Mamets principle: in order to maintain the Darwinist/materialist ideology, atheists have to pretend not to know a lot of things.

The fundamental reason that Darwinists have vented such fury at the intelligent design movement even to the point that a prominent scientific journal openly advocates government censorship of ID is that ID has forced Darwinists and other atheist and materialist ideologues to publicly explain themselves, and that has made their pretense that there is no design in nature so much harder to pull off.

Photo: David Mamet, by David Shankbone / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

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Lewontin's Confession and Mamet's Principle - Discovery Institute

Attempting to predict and prepare for the future can be an arduous and alarming task for any entrepreneur or business. It may seem as though the risks are more prevalent than the opportunities, and its easy to get hung up on what could go wrong. Its also difficult to break out of existing paradigms and imagine how things could be different.

One antidote to this self-defeating thinking style is to engage the power of science fiction. Sci-fi is an incredible way to free up the imagination and construct alternative futures. At Singularity University (SU), my colleagues and I use a science fiction visioning exercise to get our clients to start thinking exponentially. Specifically, we have our program attendees create their own sci-fi in the form of comic books.

We begin by asking our clients to consider a current problem theyre working on, and we use sci-fi to project that problem into the future to see if theyre thinking about it in a big enough way. We construct a narrative of how the organization might change in the future. We consider how exponential technologies and trends will impact the future of the organization, and how they could possibly reposition themselves to create an ideal outcome that speaks to their mission and purpose.

It works remarkably well, so I advise you to try it for yourself.

Inviting people to create sci-fi narratives allows them to break out of the thought patterns that are holding them back. One of the big challenges of thinking about the future is that nobody really knows what it will look like. Using sci-fi tools, we can visualize possible futures and then decide which one is aligned with their organizations visions, strategies, and goals.

Constructing a narrative around a companys future vision isnt just an imaginative exercise; it has real implications for the way that organization communicates its values. This is the narrative that draws new talent into the company and draws innovation out of current team members. Story is an effective way to do that because our brains are wired for story. We can communicate highly complex ideas through story and narrative, making them memorable and compelling.

To do this, we use what we call a future-back approach: we imagine possible futures fifteen years out and then work backwards to now, to figure out the next steps we need to start executing on today to make our desired future a reality. As Alan Kay says, the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Even if we dont know exactly what is going to happen, once we start to visualize and create what that future might be like, we take the first step in making our visions come true.

After conducting dozens of sci-fi sessions, weve settled on a four-part framework that guides people to access and share ideas and insights that would otherwise be unexpressed. Lets walk through that framework

We start with a deep dive into exponential technologies to understand what current capabilities are being developed. Then we imagine possible futures: what might the world be like in fifteen years? How do we write the stories of characters who would live in that future? What are the business models, products, and services that make their lives possible in that future?

Sci-fi sessions dont just connect us with a fantastical future. We want to know what real people will experience in the future. In one comic book, readers meet Tulsi, a woman working to rebuild a Central American city severely damaged by an earthquake.

Another story followed Drule, a robot dog that served as a nanny for a single mother in a story set in 2030. We saw a character named Rhoda overcome Alzheimers disease through brain implants, and at 101 years old, we found her traveling the world as a journalist, keeping strong and active with the aid of a powerful exo-suit that also held her cargo including a portable home.

Its important to think about the character development of a human living in this futuristic world. What real, human problems do they face? What are the stories of how they might overcome some of those challenges in the future?

As we tap into these challenges through fiction, we can begin to trace these narratives back to their real-world applications.

An essential part of the work we do at SU is to address what we call Grand Global Challenges (GGCs). These GGCs describe major tests of humanity in areas such as food, water, shelter, and health.

As we facilitate the sci-fi exercises, we try to fold in impact to align with our Grand Global Challenges. We craft a problem statement and then look at it from a series of five questions:

We fill in the answers with all of the assumptions about this problem. We consider the ramifications it will have in the future, through the lens of the impact it has on our characters lives and by proxy, on our futures.

The third step of crafting sci-fi narratives is to apply the STEEP framework, imagining the future from the following perspectives:

What will each of these factors look like in fifteen years? Imagine how each of these areas will be impacted by technological advancements. Will Mars be colonized? Will telemedicine be common? Do we think major climate change will happen? Will climate change be reversed?

How are these factors interrelated? What will be the most defining characteristics of the world in fifteen years? These questions focus on the world at large, not just one specific business.

If youre going to try this activity, you can write down your predictions and thoughts on your own, but an even better option is to discuss your ideas with others to gain multiple perspectives. When we do this exercise in our sessions, we have participants talk through their ideas in groups, and their conversations allow individuals to think about future implications in a deeper way than they could alone.

Finally, we turn our focus back to the individual characters weve developed. Considering their future world and the challenges they face, we consider: what are their human needs, fears, and pain points? Who are their friends and family? What are their lives like?

We write a story around that character, following the Pixar formula of storytelling:

Hopefully, the way Ive described this exercise doesnt sound hard and stressful. It sounds fun. Its an opportunity to free up your imagination and come up with ideas that you would probably never think of if you were sitting in a dour brainstorming session about the future of your business.

If you see the potential of this approach, I invite you to take action: write your own future narrative, using the Pixar formula if you find it helpful. Give yourself permission to come up with crazy ideas. Free your mind, because its difficult to think about the future in our current constraints of reality. Bring together other people in your organization and do this together.

Remember: youre an agent of change to create this future, and its up to you to imagine the future that you would like to see and create the solutions you want to be part of. Constructing sci-fi narratives is a fascinating and fruitful way to do that.

Did you know we have anonline conferenceabout product design coming up?SPRINTwill cover how designers and product owners can stay ahead of the curve in these unprecedented times.

Published May 28, 2020 09:33 UTC

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How to supercharge your teams brainstorming sessions with sci-fi narratives - The Next Web

On August 14, Robby Krieger, legendary guitarist of The Doors, will release The Ritual Begins at Sundown, a new album that he has been previewing in recent weeks with a handful of mind-bending instrumental tracks (when not informing Doors fans how to play some of the bands classic songs in a YouTube tutorial series, that is).

The latest is Hot Head, premiered on Thursday. The jammy composition, paired with the visual psychedelics in the video below, will help you relax for a few minutes:

The Ritual Begins at Sundown will be the ninth solo album from Robby Krieger and the first since 2010s Singularity. The album pairs Krieger with longtime pal/colleague Arthur Barrow, who among his lengthy list of credits worked alongside Frank Zappa in the 1970s and 80s.

The album also features contributions from other Zappa alumni Jock Ellis (Trombone), Sal Marquez (Trumpet) and Tommy Mars (Keys) as well as AeB Bryne (Flute), Vince Denim (Sax), Chuck Manning (Sax), Joel Wackerman (Drums) and Joel Taylor (Drums).

Heres The Drift, which was released previously:

And Slide Home:

More on the record, per a press release:

The album really is a return to friends with his relationship with Barrow and Sal Marquez dating all the way back to his first solo album. After The Doors I started becoming interested in Jazz and started hanging out with a guy called Sal Marquez, he says. So we put this band together and that was the first Robby Krieger band and we played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go with Don Preston, Zappas keyboard player. Arthur Barrow who was a huge Zappa fan this was before he worked with Frank he decided that, after graduating from North Texas State music school that he was gonna come out to LA and try to get into Franks band, which was pretty brash of him, he laughs. He started hanging out with Don and with Zappa, Don was in my band so we decided to put Arthur in charge of the mixing at the Whiskey for our shows, thats when I first met him in the 70s.

The Ritual Begins at Sundownwill feature 10 tracks, all of them instrumental, recorded at Kriegers own Horse Latitudes Studio in Los Angeles Krieger and the Zappa alumni even tackle the Zappa track Chungas Revenge, in addition to the other nine original compositions on the album.

Heres the track listing:

1. What Was That?2. Slide Home3. The Drift4. Chungas Revenge5. Hot Head6. Yes, The River Knows7. The Hitch8. Dr. Noir9. Biancas Dream10. Screen Junkies

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Robby Krieger of the Doors Premieres Trippy New Song 'Hot Head' - Rock Cellar Magazine

The League of Legends patch 10.11 update is here. Riot Games seems dead set in ushering in the ADC meta, buffing pretty much all marksmen and even giving buffs to ADCs that work in solo lanes. Following this, Zeal is getting major buffs this and next patch, and I would bet well see a whole lot more play to Yasuo, Graves, and Quinn following patch 10.12 and beyond.

Without further ado, lets get into the changes.

Volibears rework hits the live servers, and we have an in-depth analysis about how to use his new kit.

Fiddlesticks will take an extra second longer to pose as his effigy. His Terrify (Q) passive will now terrify targets as long as he is posing as an effigy. Bountiful Harvest (W) will have its damage reduction to minions decreased from 60% to 40%.

Gangplank will have his base attack speed ratio increased from 0.658 to 0.69.

Graves will have the first shot AD ratio of his End of the Line (Q) reduced from 100% bonus attack damage to 80%.

Hecarims Rampage (Q) will have its base damage increased from 55/95/135/175/215 to 60/102/144/186/228. Alongside this, Rampage damage reduction to minions is increased from 33.3% to 40%.

Jannas Zephyr (W) will have its damage decreased from 55/90/125/160/195 to 55/85/115/145/175.

Kaisas Icathian Rain (Q) will have its damage ratio increased from 35% bonus attack damage to 40% bonus attack damage. Killer Instinct (R) will have its range increased from 1500/2000/2500 to 1500/2250/3000.

Luxs Lucent Singularity (E) will have its detonation slow duration increased from 0.25 seconds to 1 second.

Syndra will have her Scatter the Weak (E) cooldown increased from 16/15/14/13/12 seconds to 18/17/16/15/14 seconds.

Talon will have his Noxian Diplomacy (Q) mana cost increased from 30 mana to 40 mana. Alongside this, the heal on kill will be decreased from 20-71 based on level to 10-70 based on level.

The marksmen played in solo lanes before patch 10.11 will be getting updates to alter their performance outside of the bot lane.

Lucians passive Lightslinger will have the critical strike of his second shot increased from 75% to 100%.

Kalistas Sentinel (W) will have its bonus soul-marked magic damage increased from 10/12/14/16/18% of the targets max health to 14/15/16/17/18% of the targets max health.

Alongside this, Sentinel will no longer cost mana.

Vaynes Tumble (Q) will have its bonus basic attack damage increased from 50/55/60/65/70% of total attack damage to 60/65/70/75/80% of total attack damage.

Tristanas base attack speed ratio will be increased from 0.656 to 0.679.

WithLeague of Legends patch 10.11, the marksman role is getting an overall buff to its performance down bot lane. The following will be changed for each marksman:

All Zeal items will be getting a buff inLeague of Legends patch 10.11 and 10.12. For patch 10.11, all Zeal items will have their movement speed increased by 2%. This isnt that significant of a change, but following in patch 10.12, Riot Games is planning on buffing their attack speed further.

This will bring about a major shift in the meta, favoring more towards ADCs. With these futureLeague of Legends changes, it will also work as indirect buffs to Yasuo in the mid lane, Graves in the jungle, and Quinn in the top lane.

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League of Legends patch 10.11 update: The beginning of the ADC meta - PC Invasion