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http://pesn.com/2010/10/22/9501713_Next-Gen-Expo--turning_lemon_to_lemonade/
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Next Gen Expo -- turning a lemon to lemonade
Though a great idea (new media for rising generation), the execution of
this event was juvenile, though not a complete waste of time. Highlights
included Howard Bloom, Space Solar, domestic-spy-cam-disabling lasers, and a
screening of a film about Wall Street criminality.
by Sterling
D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
Copyright © 2010
A group photo prior to dinner Saturday
night. See enlarged
version.
Back row, left to right: Danny Schecter, Steven Flinn, Howard
Bloom, Heiko Martens-Scholz, Dr. Feng Hsu, Mark Lipsky, Howard's
assistant, David Brudely, Art Stewart.
Middle row: Gabor George Burt, ?, Steve Zuckerman, ?, Sterling
Allan, ?, Gustav Grob
Front row: ?, ?, Dave Finnigan, John DiNatale, Taryn Hipwell |
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I can now add a new class of things to watch out for. In the exotic free energy sector, we know from experience that most free energy claims are either bogus or fraudulent. An inventor makes a claim about a technology that is going to be a game-changer, overstating key points that entice a trip to check it out; but upon inspection it turns out to be a dud.
I discovered this past weekend that events can be of this ilk as well. But that doesn't mean that good can't come of such events.
Joel Garbon flew me to West Palm Beach to fill in for him at the Next Gen Expo since he had a family matter the ended up preventing him from attending.
Joel was going to be representing the New
Energy Movement and the book he co-authored with Jean
Manning, Breakthrough
Power.
What I thought was going to take place and what actually transpired were drastically different things. The idea of the
"un-conference" and its objectives were great, but the execution was near failing. If the follow-up and idea is to be salvaged, someone else needs to step into the head position, with the present head moving to a supportive role only.
Steve Zuckerman, who organized the event, told us we would be filmed in a Movie studio, simultaneously aired via the web, to then produce segments that could be aired to some 40 million people via cable TV programming. There would be a main room with presentations to a small group of maybe 100-150 people that would be filmed, then a side room with a green screen where individual interviews would take place. Joel had been slated to be part of a panel discussion on renewable energy. It would include a moderator asking questions and fielding questions from the audience.
This sounded like something that would be worth my while to break away and attend in his place; and I looked forward to meeting some movers and shakers who would be there, including Howard Bloom. The latter part was indeed fulfilling. Steve does have a knack for attracting great people, but the execution of the event was not even close to what it had been described to be.
The event did take place in a high-end Movie studio, but the event didn't make use of any of the studio equipment or capabilities or rooms other than the lobby (with a bad echo and people coming and going through loud doors, interrupting the brief recordings) and a large padded room for the main presentations (with a minimalist stage). That night, I commented to my wife that a fitting analogy was of kids sitting in the back seat of a fancy car, pretending like they are driving with a plastic steering wheel.
There was no moderator for the panel discussion, so they asked for a volunteer from the panel, and I agreed to do that, barely knowing the other people in the panel, and not being able to moderate since there was only one microphone, so a couple of the panelists took 10-15 minutes each in their introduction, gobbling up most of the time, despite my attempt to get their attention from down the table, which they ignored, and which would not have looked good on film. I had maybe 3-5 minutes, including posing a question for the panelists, which we didn't get to.
There were maybe 20 people in the audience on average, comprised mostly of other presenters. The screen for PowerPoint presentations was a flat screen TV that could be seen from the front two rows, or closer, in the case of the smaller print. There weren't any time slots for lunch, and there are no restaurants nearby. The "lunch" that was set out comprised of crackers and snacks and a beverage.
As mentioned, the individual filming was done in the lobby, with posters as backdrop, echo from the hard walls, floor, and ceiling; and loud doors that repeatedly disrupted the brief recordings. There were just a few brief questions asked, for a total recording time of about 1-3 minutes for each person.
The people and equipment doing the recording seemed adequate, dealing the best they could with the limitations of the venue that they also expected to be much better. (Apparently there were changes in what rooms were available to us.)
I hope that those people in charge of compiling the video footage that was taken will be able to do a good job in composing something that will strike a cord with the intended audience and that it will actually make it to an audience.
Zuckerman didn't pay for any of the flights, and he botched the room arrangement for me, saying I was going to share the room with one of the presenters; but when I arrived, that person declined when asked by the front desk if that was okay. Joel covered my room expenses, but had been told by Zuckerman that he would only need to cover one of the three nights.
I found Zuckerman to be obnoxious, rude, loud, undisciplined, arrogant, and a "has been" who is trying to be the next "big thing" but is lacking the talent to execute. He would walk into a conversation in progress and without a clue as to the topic interrupt so loud that everyone in the room became the audience for his comment. When concluding one speaker segment and introducing the next, he would take 10-15 minutes, mostly off topic. He's interesting, but inappropriate. The schedule of time was not followed but went far over.
On Sunday morning, we had a brainstorming session that was supposed to take an hour that went two hours. For reasons that were not explained, this session began with a 15 minute beginners' juggling lesson by Dave Finnigan, who, going into the work session, treated the group like they were on the bottom of the bell curve, when they are on the other end of the bell curve. Zuckerman did not even participate but was off somewhere else, talking. As the session was wrapping up, with Finnigan asking whether such an exercise was worth while, Zuckerman came into the room and did the same thing he does with private conversations didn't try to understand what was transpiring and just took over, crashing the session, while drawing attention to himself, praising what a great thing this Next-Gen conference is.
I told Zuckerman via email that he needs to step aside and let someone else carry the baton to make the Next Gen idea materialize. To my surprise, he agreed, and said that was in process. I
also gave him the following four reasons as to why I used the word
"Juvenile" in my description of this story:
- 15 minute beginners juggling class Sunday morning;
- Session with Flannigan, who treated us like we were on the bottom of the bell curve
- 45 minute child's game-building session Sat. night (with Gabor George Burt)
- Being in a Movie Production studio but not using any of the high end rooms or equipment
On the other hand, I will admit that the group activities were good for
fostering a sense of community, and they enhanced networking, breaking down some
social barriers or walls.
Lemonade
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The highlight of the event for me was hearing Howard Bloom's presentation and meeting him in person. His optimism in a time filled with so much that is falling apart was contagious. He thinks the U.S., despite the awful things that are pending, will, after a shakedown, ultimately pull through as a bastion of freedom and uprightness to the world (I'm paraphrasing in interjecting my own world view here).
Describing briefly the various gadgets strapped around his body, he said
(paraphrasing), "The nation that came up with these technologies is not
going away any time soon."
I also got to know a lot about the company, Space Energy. They had a strong presence there with two or three representatives, high-end posters, and a fancy brochure that I read on the flights home during take-off and landing when I couldn't use my laptop.
Their idea is to place photovoltaic arrays up in a geosynchronous orbit that is
also always in line with the sun, to produce continuous power, which is then
transmitted to earth via microwave frequencies.
Gustav Grob, Dr. Feng Hsu, Sterling Allan |
I spent some time talking to their VP of Systems Engineering, Dr. Feng Hsu, formerly with NASA.
I also enjoyed talking to John DiNatale, VP of Engineering and Logistics.
While it's definitely a plausible idea, with all the core technologies already
developed and tested, including energy transmission from space; it has a huge up-front capital
requirement ($300 million for the first demo installation); and it presumes that
other game-changing renewable energy technologies will not come along to render
it obsolete. The primary cost impediment is the cost of launching things
into space using conventional rocketry. If anti-gravity technology could
be made available that slashes the price of transport to orbit, then this technology could become
fundamentally competitive, even with other breakthroughs bringing the price of renewable energy down.
I also enjoyed spending time with several of the other presenters. And I enjoyed most of the other speakers' presentations.
I had breakfast Sunday morning with Steven Flinn, who had given a presentation on the
ManyWorlds technology that he co-developed. If I understand correctly, they take the social networking concept, along with the "group wisdom", and apply it to problem solving. It's a fascinating concept, but very expensive, geared toward huge companies with deep budgets.
On the side, I talked to a guy who explained how hypothetically it would be
quite easy to disable the Orwellian cameras that have sprung up all over the
place. A 50 Watt laser,
aimed at the lens, within a certain angle, will burn the CCD chip, requiring
the unit to be shipped back to the manufacturer for repairs. One would
probably need to purchase a camera to test how far away they could be (possibly
half a mile), and how far out of the field of view. Are the citizens that
fed up with Big Brother?
On Saturday, we watched the excellent documentary: "Plunder: The Crime of our
Time", which dissects the Wall Street train wreck and the role of the media in looking the other way while they sacked the country. Danny Schecter, the producer, was there to introduce the showing and answer questions.
That was another highlight of the event. Here's the trailer from his
film. He asks the question as to why these criminals are getting away with
what their doing and are not having justice served to them.
So attending the conference wasn't a total waste of time. There was some lemonade made from the lemon event. As I looked around, during the conference, it seemed to me that the people were adept at just rolling with what is, and making the best of it. Their patience was commendable.
# # #
Comments
I Agree
On October 22, 2010 12:13 PM Mountain, Dr. Feng Hsu wrote:
Thank you so much for your call this morning and for your feedback on the NextGen event last week. I agree with you fully on your observations.
* * * *
Train Wreck
On October 22, 2010 7:59 PM Mountain, another participant wrote:
I think you were still being a little kind as to the execution of Next-Gen, as I described it to someone as a "total train
wreck" that was so disorganized that my nine year old daughter could have done a thousand times better job!
* * * *
Zuckerman Hospitalized
On October 24, 2010 11:30 AM Mountain, Steve's friend, Bob K. wrote:
Subject: As per Steven Zuckerman (resting in hospital after blackout)
Hello,
I'm writing this letter on behalf of Steven Zuckerman who has asked me to
write this to participants of the Exposition and Conference he produced a week
ago. He has given me access to his email account as I've been staying at his
home for the past week.
Last night, upon walking out of a neighborhood restaurant, he blacked out and
collapsed and has been taken to an area emergency center to be looked at. It
seems, while the full report hasn't come in, that he collapsed due to exhaustion
and will be treated so he recovers fully.
As his friend and confidant, I know how important this project has been to
him, and how frustrated he has been with the state of Florida and their refusal
to accept alternative energy. Also, the passing of his mother on September 3rd
(the day before his birthday) has caused him excruciating emotional pain.
Additionally, his disappointment with the venue for lack of commitment to the
needs of the event (as well as switching from one studio to another) took a
major toll on his health. While he's recovered from a TIA stroke from 3 years
ago, his blood pressure and cholesterol levels have been quite excellent of
late, and therefore he will be going through a series of tests to find the cause
of his blackout and physical collapse.
I hope he feels better soon, and most likely, he will be back to work within
a few weeks and stronger than ever.
Thank you very much.
* * * *
See also
Resources at PESWiki.com
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Page composed by Sterling
D. Allan Oct. 7, 2010
Last updated October 31, 2010
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