User:Lancer Kind/sandbox

Lance "Lancer" Kind is an American science fiction author and computer scientist known for his contributions to the world of speculative fiction and IT. With a penchant for dramatic storytelling, Kind has made a lasting impact on the literary landscape, captivating readers with his works of science fiction and applying creativity to Agile coaching and technical uplift.

His writing has imprinted the pages of numerous publications, including: ROCKETS & ROBOTS, Argosy Magazine, Crimson Fog magazine, MaLa, and Expat Lit. He has also written screenplays for the films Miss Wisenheimer and the Aliens, and The Xenophobes, both produced by Epistrophy Pictures.

Biography
Lance "Lancer" Kind, often referred to simply as Lancer, was born in Montana in 1970. In 1993 he graduated with honors and received a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Montana School of Technology where he was an active member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) chapter and represented the college in the 1993 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. In 1995 he graduated with high honors with a Masters of Science in Computer Science from Montana State University and competed in the 1994 ACM programming contest. He has lived in Colorado, Seattle, China, and nearly a year in India. He moved to Texas in 2020. He is host of podcasts SciFi Thoughts, Agile Thoughts, and 敏捷理念 (the mandarin edition for Agile Thoughts).

Technology Career
After completing his education, Kind worked as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP) in the late 1990s to mid 2000s. At HP, he was awarded five "Drive the Future" awards, received three software patents, and was significantly influenced by learning eXtreme Programming (XP) from Kent Beck in 2000. In 2001, he co-authored a paper Automatic Mock Object Generation published in Addison & Wesley's Extreme Programming Perspectives. From 2003 onwards, Kind transitioned into computer consulting, working for firms like SolutionsIQ, EPAM, LeadingAgile, and as a freelance consultant based in Seattle and China. Leveraging his XP expertise, he assisted clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to startups in improving their software delivery by leading XP teams, providing coaching, and training for teams and leadership. He has spoken at agile conferences in China, India, and the USA. In 2013, Kind received a COO Excellence award from Societe Generale Global Service Organization and an appreciation award from Lean India Summit. In 2009, Kind moved to China to work with clients in the Asia-Pacific region including Singapore, Hong Kong and India. During these international consulting years, he mentored teams in implementing agile practices. He returned to Seattle in 2017 and that year launched Agile Thoughts podcast and its mandarin edition 敏捷理念. In 2018, he also launched SciFi Thoughts podcast. He currently resides north of Houston.

Kind has published works related to agile software development including the business novel Agile Noir available in the ACM Digital Library and on Amazon, as well as the comic series Scrum Noir following the adventures of Ace, a hard boiled Agile consultant. Kind is currently working on a thriller, Agile Grande, about learning the tools to scale agile practices within a large organization.

Kind works as a software developer, architect, and consultant helping teams improve delivery of value to the business. He maintains blogs about software development and Agile such as Confessions of an Agile Coach, and AgileNoir.biz. He also hosts Agile Thoughts and 敏捷理念 (the Mandarin edition of Agile Thoughts).

Literary Career
Alongside his technology career, Kind pursued creative writing from an early stage. In 2003, he attended the Clarion Writers Workshop. His published works span short stories, anthologies, novels, comics, and screenplays:

Short Stories/Anthologies:

 * Morning Star City (2022) Rockets & Robots (ISBN
 * Love Finger (2021) Otherworld Hearts (ISBN
 * Katie Fang (2014) Expat Lit 02 (ISBN
 * Parsec Hiccup (2014) Argosy Magazine Volume 1: Fantastic Frontiers
 * Get the Girl? (October 2013) Spinetinglers
 * Caveman Noir (October 2012) Crimson Fog magazine
 * Better Than God (2010) Malicious Deviance
 * Bit Storm (2010) Daily Science Fiction
 * Get the Girl? (June 2010) MaLa
 * Memory's Victims (2009) The Book of the Exodi
 * Moss Memiors (2007) Ruins Terra, Hadley Rille Books
 * KanjiKiss (2008) Speculative Realms

Novels/Novelettes:

 * Agile Noir (KDP print 2017, ACM Digital Library, India print edition on Pothi.com, Mandarin edition on WeiDian)
 * Honolulu Hottie (Kindle, 2010)
 * Caveman Funk (Kindle, 2013)
 * Bit Storm (Kindle, 2013)
 * Memories Victims (Kindle/Nook, 2013)

Comics:

 * SCRUM NOIR: A Silo to Hell! episode 1 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: A Silo to Hell! episode 2 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: A Silo to Hell! episode 3 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: A Silo to Hell! (Scrum Noir MEGA Digest Book 1) (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: Mad Dog Mary episode 1 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: Mad Dog Mary episode 2 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: Mad Dog Mary episode 3 (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: Mad Dog Mary (Scrum Noir MEGA Digest Book 2) (Kindle, 2014)
 * SCRUM NOIR: Bad Boys of Scrum (Scrum Noir MEGA Digest Book 3) (Kindle, 2014)

Screenplays:
Kind co-wrote the following screenplays with Hal Dace.
 * "Miss Wisenheimer and The Aliens" (2016) Epistrophy Pictures
 * "The Xenophobes" (2024) Epistrophy Pictures

Awards:
Kind was a Rising Star at the 2008 World Science Fiction Convention in Denver and received Honorable Mentions from the L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future contest in Q3 2008 and Q1 2009. His short story "Get the Girl?" won the Spintinglers contest in 2013. He is currently working on the thriller novel "Agile Grande" about scaling agile practices in organizations. Computer Science Career