Late Thursday afternoon, I found out that one of my uncles had passed away. When I called cousin (his daughter) to see how things were going, I learned that he was still on a breathing machine, but not yet disconnected. So he was dead, and yet not dead. My uncle and I were not that close, partially due to a language barrier, and part to geographic distance. As we talked, my cousin and I reflected on the fact that we've reached that age where our parents and their siblings are starting to depart this life.

This part of my family is back on the east coast, which means a longer trip out (next weekend) to attend the services and other proceedings. I haven't been back east in quite some time, so I'm looking forward to the chance to see some family, but wishing it were a different occasion.

It's hard to write about death. I feel progressively sad, it is sinking in over the days, as I contemplate the meaning of it. I'm grateful that he lived a long life, that he'd been very happy in recent months, and that he passed relatively quickly and without pain. I can't help but think ahead to the day when it's one of my parents and not one of my cousins. I believe my uncle has gone on to a better place, to live in the presence of his Maker, and that someday I will see him again. That doesn't diminish the pain of his absence from our lives until we meet each other again.

beat me to IT Conversations ;-). The IT Conversations audio for Julie's BloggerCon session is now available.

Many folks at BloggerCon were unable to attend this session, so here's your chance to find out what happened. It won't be the same as being there and participating, but it's much better than nothing. I found the recording fascinating in a number of ways:

1. I've never seen (or heard) Julie moderate a discussion before, so it was interesting to hear the way that she chose to organize the session, flow from one topic to another, and make sure that everyone got a chance to speak. She spoke just enough to keep the conversation going. When she came home, she told me that the session could have run without her. The discussion was rich, but I also think that her telling of her own stories at key points helped it continue to flow
2. I really enjoyed the topic material. Julie and I talk about some of the issues that were raised during the course of the session. I could easily imagine going out for a long dinner with the people in the room and staying up late to keep one talking, revealing, and discovering. When I talk to people about blogging, one way that I describe it is that its about "finding your tribe", that set of people with whom you probably have a natural resonance. These people are spread all over the world, which means that the likelihood of your meeting them in real life is small.

A few quotes stuck out to me:
Lisa Williams

You can't share what you don't own

Lisa also talked about the way that her blogging has changed her expectations of the kinds of people/organizations that she can work for. I agree with this, although in my case, it also has a lot to do with the kind of working environment that I've found at OSAF, one of the best (if not the best) of my career.

??? (Shimon Rura?)

Its a system of listening

This one is so striking because mostly we talk about blogging as a system for talking or expressing. We are about voice and style. Looking at the blogosphere as a system for/of listening is a really interesting idea. Implications everywhere.

I'm curious to find out more about Jerry Michalski's knowledge of dialoging techniques. I guess I'm also going to have to look inside his Brain. Sounds like a good idea for a Chandler parcel someday.