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KurtSimmons

So I paid for the Early Bird registration, but I still had to sign the guest book myself AND figure out where in the alphabet I went. I guess the discount is worth it. We'll see who reads this stuff.

I am planning to come back. I now have to decide if it is worth $20 a night to walk across the street. I do remember it costs less to rent a car at the hotel than at the airport. Last year I found a way to get to the airport on a local bus for $1.75. This year I will see if I can figure out a way to do the reverse trip for the same price.

If you did not pick up the link elsewhere I do have a web site about my Chocolate Adventures. That means we will have to have a formal chocolate tasting one of the nights there. Or maybe more than one. I'm sure I can find volunteers. About October we can start planning something. I will see where my adventures have led and what there is we can all share. So far the best idea is for people to bring a favorite chocolate from their neck of the woods.

--Moi. 2006.06.01

Kurt, I am pleased to see that you are returning.

SteveSmith 2006.06.01

I think the following photograph, from the 2005 conference, captures your spirit:

(If you don't like it, delete the URL.)

Been saving that one have you? Many people think that red stuff on my head is another balloon. My brain actually popped and I just wove it into a fancy pattern.

--KurtSimmons 2006.06.01

I am coming off a four year adventure that started with a broken leg and I am looking for a healthier new adventure. My current secret dream is to do a PhD on the Creative Thinking Process based on the television works of MacGyver. To pull that off I think I would need a PhD in Creative Thinking. I am also discovering that universities do not seem too interested in great teaching or great ideas so I think I need to find another venue. Hmmm ... what to do today, what to do?

Favorite Books:

• I am currently indulging Boyd: The fighter pilot who changed the art of war. Between that, his Patterns of Conflict briefing, and his essay on Destruction and Creation I am getting lots of great ideas on creativity and what it takes to maintain a life of creative thinking.
• I heard about this conference via Jerry Weinberg. Of his books I start with Are Your Lights On? After that I like Rethinking Systems Analysis and Design and the Secrets of Consulting tandem. It was only after I read all those that I was able to make it through Introduction to General Systems Thinking.
• Economics: I like the big picture aspects of economic thought. My first choice of books is Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. It really helps my Systems Thinking skills to look at economics that way he does. After that I recommend anything by Thomas Sowell, in particular Basic Economics. (Sowell's Inside American Education is my reference for what is wrong with modern education.)(And yes Jerry, I have read one of Kenneth Boulding's books.)

My other major passion that you will hear me talking about in Phoenix is chocolate. I plan to have a map of Phoenix with all the nearby chocolate shops marked on it. I plan on making chocolate runs in any spare time I have. In particular I look forward to visiting the nearby Bernard C Chocolate shop in Scottsdale.

Ooh, oooh, ooh! I thought of something else. Can I keep adding to my own page? I was thinking I was a conference rookie in general, because I have not paid to go to another conference. Then I read a wiki post about being overwhelmed at the AYE conference and remembered that for the last five years or so I have been a junkie for the Conference on World Affairs that they hold on the lovely Boulder campus each year. I collect great ideas and keep trying to find a way to summarize what I learn at the panels each year. Two types of summaries can be found on my conference pages. And of course the crafty would know my home page is at: http://www.kurtsimmons.com

Hi Kurt! Welcome!

Chocolate hmmm...? And in Scottsdale, no less...? Well, I should have a car and a working GPS most of the week and I'm willing to sacrifice <coughing modestly> some of my free time for a run down to Scottsdale... :-) I've found a couple of decent restaurants in Old Town and... Oh Yeah... I might want to casually drop by a couple of stores just to check out the jewelery. Some really nice Christmas gifts in Old Town Scottsdale stores, you know... :-)

--SuePetersen 2005.10.30

What was that about chocolate? As you no doubt know, this essential foodstuff is a natural antidepressant, containing trace elements of lithium. It is, therefore, a health food, and no doubt conducive to great ideas. You can count me in on any expedition to get really good chocolate! I look forward to meeting you.

--FionaCharles 30-Oct-2005

SherryHeinze 2005.10.30

Yep, that C means Bernard is one of them Callebaut Boys. His factory is in Canada, but I was pleased to see a shop listed in Scottsdale. Having raided their store in Lake Oswego, OR recently, I can attest to the quality of their selection.

Is your leg healed? -- JohannaRothman 2005.10.31

As a friend once said of low calorie Red Bull... What's the point? Actually I have been led to understand some of the low carb chocolate needs. Will the diet allow sugar at all is the big question? Try Dagoba 87% dark bars. 10 grams of carbs and 4 grams of sugars if you eat a whole ounce at once. .4 ounces is good enough for a fix. Want cool trivia? That same one ounce chocolate serving has four grams of fiber!

The leg still has not fully healed, but I can do a little walking on it.

KurtSimmons 2006.09.11