I've already stated that this year's Freedom Summit was the best pro-freedom get-together I've yet attended. Part of it was undoubtedly the fun trips down and back; part of it was also being solo. I was able to do what I wanted, without needing to interrupt interesting conversations to go snolf-hunting, tend to disputes, and so forth. That was highly enjoyable in and of itself, but was made more so by the varied, stimulating individuals I encountered over the course of the Summit. I'll only mention individuals by name who were speakers, or whom I know has already publicized her or his attendance.

The first person I met was Kirsten, who rescued me from my inability to follow directions. We went out for a late dinner, and ended up talking enthusiastically -- and practically nonstop -- about all manner of things. She'd arranged to interview me for her Poddy Talk program, so meeting up was inevitable, but the good time wasn't.

The next day I was down at the conference site bright and early, feeding my coffee addiction and hoping to catch sight of some friends I knew to expect. I was very well rewarded by the unexpected sight of a dear friend I've known since the first LRT conclave. Shortly after, one of his frequent companions arrived. Both were accompanied by lovely women -- one already a cherished friend. It was great to see each of them so happy. Even better, the presence of their female friends didn't prohibit getting squeezes from them.

After Jim Bovard's solid kickoff presentation, Kirsten and I met up to do the interview. It was a lot of fun. Kirsten's good at interviewing, and has a nice voice for it. The interview went a lot like our conversation of the previous night, except for me doing more of the talking. She reported being pleased with the raw result, and told me it would be available in January. Kirsten gave me a bag full of cool swag for doing the interview, too; I'm still chuckling over some of the stuff. We arrived back at the Summit in time to hear most of Chris Heward's interesting presentation on government-sponsored science. I spent almost all the time between his presentation -- which has me seriously considering becoming a vegetarian -- and the dinner talking with a wide variety of folks. They included a friend from Utah, several new acquaintances, and the foursome I'd met up with that morning. I enjoyed speaking with everyone I met.

I generally am not good at small talk and the like that's expected at a group dinner, but sitting amongst old friends and a few new ones made for a comfortable, delightful dinner. David Friedman's talk was very interesting, and the Q&A session afterward noteworthy for his exuberant recitation of a lengthy portion of a Rudyard Kipling poem, the name of which has escaped me. I've moved reading David's books higher up my lengthy list.

Sunday began with an unnerving presentation by Stuart Krone, on how technology is taking more user choice and privacy away from us. I didn't catch it all, as a kiss atop my head from Butler Shaffer was a happy distraction. So was a chance meeting with Jim Bovard, which turned into a wide-ranging and fun conversation. Stu did confirm one thing that CASPIAN founder Katherine Albrecht has been taken to task for claiming -- that RFID tags are readable, and fairly easily, at greater distances than many seem to think. I wasn't able to delve too deeply into conversation with him, though, as I was the next speaker up. I think my talk went well, despite being short on time and needing to skip some points and elaborations I'd intended to make. I also had no time for questions from the audience. Fortunately, many people made the effort to find and talk with me afterward. Unfortunately, that meant I missed all of George Smith's talk. I didn't get to meet him, either, which was my only real regret from the Summit.

Jane Shaffer -- Butler's wife -- was the final speaker; her subject was raising libertarian children. She made several good points, then turned the mic over to the audience, allowing anyone interested to share their success stories or memories from their own childhood. That led to some good information and exchanges, including David Friedman offering a clear distinction between homeschooling and unschooling, and showing how the latter can work very well. I'd met Jane the night before, but as it was at the end of the dinner we didn't talk much; I'd hoped to speak with her after her presentation, but she was predictably mobbed. Somewhat surprisingly, so was I -- it took me over an hour to talk with folks, say my goodbyes, and fold myself into my little red rocket for the trip home.

I met many more people than I've indicated here, including several folks I'd met online, from places like the LRT discussion list or The Claire Files forum. Everyone, even those who voiced disagreement with something I said in my presentation, was civil and courteous, listening to my response rather than venting and leaving. I saw no libertarian assholery -- a remarkable thing, considering that at one point a group of us (including several anarchists) were regaled by a chap on the importance of the county sheriff.

If pressed to distill highlights, I'd say these pass the bar, in addition to those already mentioned: all my time with Kirsten; multiple fun conversations with a feline-monikered gent; forging a possibility that a dormant project may come to life again (how appropriate that it happened in Phoenix!); meeting Charles Heller; and -- cliché alert -- heading off into the sunset Sunday afternoon, happy that I had provided value to the Freedom Summit, and even happier at all that I had received.