What made you happy today?

[think positive]

found 3 speedways on the way to buffalo from indianapolis that have sprint cars racing the night we go that way, (man there is a lot of speedways in the midwest!) also booked the tents in curry village in yosemite again - everything else is sold out! got a nice quaint hotel near fishermans wharf in San Francisco, just got to book vegas and LA, 82 days to go! not that im counting or anything!!

[stui magpie]

^

I've got to go back to the States this year. Just got to get the bank account up a bit more. Now that the son is working and the shed is done it's stopped going south and started the climb back up again.

Only ever been on the west coast so thinking of mixing it up and trying New Orleans. I'd lover to get a car and drive around but with everything backwards, I'm worried that in a situation, 30+ years of programming will mean my reflex instincts are totally wrong.

Anyway, I went to a leadership conference today.

15 years ago you couldn't have dragged me to one, today I went voluntarily and actually enjoyed it. At least the first half.

main speaker was a bloke named Simon Sinek, and i'm not a cynic the boy was very good. He explains concepts simply and refers back to human evolution and how the brain is structured to explain things.

Some of his Ted talks are on Youtube and extremely popular. I'm going to spend some time on the weekend doing something else I never thought I'd do.

[think positive]

[stui magpie]

^

The Aria is on the strip, tad up market, really nice.

golden nugget is on fremont St, downtown.

Stayed at them both, different experiences, both excellent for what they are.

[stui magpie]

Oh, and what's a ted talk?

meet ted.

https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization

[think positive]

Interesting, ta

[stui magpie]

here's a taste of Simon. very similar to what he presented today, but only a part.

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe#t-703138

if David can get through the first couple of minutes without his head exploding and actually watch it all the way though, I'd be interested in his comments.

[David]

Not sure why you thought my head would explode! I watched the whole thing; it seems like a fairly standard explanation of marketing that is sometimes interesting and sometimes a bit dubious and oversimplified.

It's certainly true that we tend to be more inspired by 'visionary' figures than people going through the motions; but beyond that, I am sure that there are plenty of absolutely cynical, profit-oriented people who've done very well for themselves in business, and plenty of 'true believers' who have lacked the skills or resources to make a name for themselves. Placing the Wright brothers and Samuel Pierpont Langley on opposite sides of that spectrum and decreeing that their respective success or failure was a result of their motivations seems like a fairly eyebrow-raising post-hoc narrative.

I did find his bell-curve chart about the percentage of the population required to attain mass-market appeal interesting, though – that bit probably stands up.

What made you want to attend this leadership conference? I've never set foot inside one, but I have to say I'm a little sceptical of the benefits of such events and suspect they attract more than their fair share of snake oil salespeople.

[HAL]

Oops. Too much data.

[stui magpie]

Our previous CEO had organised it for his direct reports. He was a fan of jim Collins and this was related. So in my current acting capacity, i was on the list to go. I made the offer to our current CEO that, as I was only acting, if he had someone else he thought could benefit more I wouldn't sook if he sent them instead, but he said he was happy for me to go.

I get the snake oil salesman bit, there's always the sting to buy books or sign up for something but you don't have to and listening to the guy was good.

it's a good explanation of leadership as opposed to management. I walked away with a lot of food for thought and some nice affirmation of things I already did without considering them leadership

[think positive]

ended up booking the Stratosphere, it was pretty new when we stayed there in 2010 (or refurbished maybe?) its on the strip, but at the end, parking is included in the resort fee, and its easy to get in and out of!! its close to the pown shop!! (not that one Stui!!)

finished booking everything today! just got to double check dates and times! then i can just worry about stuff to see on the way here and there! the indiana indians play while we are in indianapolis, thats a definate, and this is on the drive from yosemite to death valley, no detour needed!!:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_Lake

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=mono+lake&espv=2&biw=1536&bih=735&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7gNG8l7zSAhXHTLwKHZF7BmAQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=_

[stui magpie]

^

geez, the Stratosphere is barely on the strip, I walked there from Fremont St. It's about half way between Freemont St and Treasure Island, almost in the middle of no where as there's bugger all within a short walk in either direction.

the pawn shop is in Downtown, The Stratosphere isn't far from the "Welcome to Downtown las Vegas" sign.

There's a couple of strip clubs just north, near the wedding chapels and another less famous pawn shop next to a place that does $10 tattoos. have fun

[think positive]

Meh we walked up There last time! And it's quieter and much easier to drive around! We can just drive behind the strip and park. Last time stayed at New York New York. The other end!

Pa marmos 50th tonight and once his seven grandsons left we had so much fun on the jumping castle!!!

Happy birthday mate, love you xxxx

[stui magpie]

Yeah, I don't drive in Vegas. It's Shanks Pony, bus or taxi.

[think positive]

Hmmm not game enough to ask about that pony!