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Shining Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude’s Friend

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My friend Vernon Lun, the Idea Dude, made this weekly column fill with light. Not only was he

“Touched by the stories I read, inspired by the words of giants, I wanted the world to know these stories, these words. And most of all, these people. Ordinary people, like you and me but so special because they gave us gifts through their blogs every day. The gifts? their voices, their thoughts, their hearts.”

but he touched our thoughts and hearts as well with what he wrote.

That’s some act to follow.

Do any of us know our value?

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I met Vern talking about SOBCon07. and as I come to know the man, The Idea Dude, I stand in awe of his humility. Vern says, We never think of what it is about ourselves that make us remarkable, Does he know he is talking about himself?

I hear his heart shine in his words.

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I turn around and in my mind’s eye I see Rodney Rumford late at Open Comment Night with a new idea he bringing to life. The pictures tell Rodney’s story. I wonder does he know that’s it’s his joy that makes him so attractive?

Life twinkles in his eyes.

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And driving in a red Ferrari are Glenda and Mike, while Chris, and Tim, and Joe throw Klondike bars and wait patiently for a chance to hit the dance floor.

How do they make sun shine when they want to?

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And Char, and Marti, and Becky, and Susan, and Connie, and AnnOhio doing cartwheels. They add the rainbow colors in the way they tease.

No need for a Second Life when the first one glitters so.

So, it’s as you said, Vern, “It is really just the end of the beginning.”

You started something brightly shining, and shining dots are a wonder!
The dots will be here with your initials on every one . . .

May the dots be with all of us!

Liz Strauss, Friend of the Idea Dude

Dot . Dot . Dot .

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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2007 has been the Year of the Blog for me. My passion to promote blogs and bloggers was the catalyst for the TheGoodBlogs. My mission was really very simple. Touched by the stories I read, inspired by the words of giants, I wanted the world to know these stories, these words. And most of all, these people. Ordinary people, like you and me but so special because they gave us gifts through their blogs every day. The gifts? their voices, their thoughts, their hearts.

Then I met Liz. Who can refuse the most simplest of invitations. Can we talk? From that conversation, I was drawn into a much larger community, SOBCON, the conference that taught us that blogging is about bloggers, relationships and conversations. Hope to see you there this year!.

Undoubtedly the highlight for me would be receiving the keys to this blog. It wasn’t about sharing a soapbox, it was about sharing a warm cozy living room where the best conversations could be found. Right here, every Sunday, we connected dots. Each dot, a blogger, connected with others through words of wisdom, joy, sadness and every other emotion possible. I felt like a treasure hunter, delighting in every gem I found, eager to share each one with you.

Alas this will be the last connecting dots post for a while. Is this the end? Hopefully not, but it is a pause as I need to step back to figure out where the next part of this journey should take.

Successful-blog remains one of my favorite blogs just as Liz will always be one favorite bloggers. This blog like its host has become a constant in my blogging life. So you’ll see me in the comments and open-mic night. Why? because this is where my friends hang out, where the conversation is always great, where the laughter is infectious, where the hearts are bigger and the brains are smarter… and where I know I belong.

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

A Song of Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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A blog is a chain
Isabella inspired this week’s ponderings. She graciously translated a song and this verse opened its wings with a roar.

my song is a chain
without beginning, without an end,
and every link contains
the song of everyone else.

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A blog is an opportunity for dialogue. The blog post is merely the catalyst, the light in the window that invites us in. So is the blog not like Isabella’s song, a chain without beginning or end and every link contains the song of everyone else? A conversation with no end, with many threads leading in and leading out.

A blog is a mirror
Here’s another translation, this time, lovingly done by Bhaswati.

I saw my reflection
In your eyes.
You revealed yourself to me
By emerging from within me.

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Often we reflect upon each other’s writings and sometimes our thinking is born in the posts of others? It is a blessing, to have access a million thoughts in the hopes that one will inspire. Then while searching for one, we find ten. A cry of hope emerges and with it the epiphany that we are not alone.

As my good friend Liz says on this very blog. Sometimes I think that everything I know has been set to music somewhere.

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

Dots of Wonder and Light

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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This week’s dots are about children. Ergo, it is about intelligence, curiosity, wonderment, humour, determination and everything they do so naturally. They are the best dots.

Dream like an 8 year old

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Matt over at The Digital Perm started me on this theme. He says, That is why kids just rock. Everything is possible.

Be curious like a child

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Pam reminds us that we need to regain our child-like perspective As adults we get so lost in day to day adult issues. We forget to pause for the wonderful moments in life. She says, When my son was just toddler I remember him picking up leaves and investigating them as if they were the coolest things ever.
Ever spend an afternoon with a 5 year old. The most common word you’re likely to hear is “why?”. They are like sponges, for them there is no limit, there is no sky. They want to know. Why? Just because.

Impossible is not a word

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Christina tells us in the most beautiful way of her child learning to jump. You’ve got to appreciate her determination. She doesn’t understand why she can’t get off the floor, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

Laugh longer, laugh often

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Michele reminds us that children laugh more than we do. Did you know children laugh about 400 times a day, while adults laugh on average only 15 times a day?

This week it snowed in the city. I thought of sludge, ice and traffic jams. For my 13 year-old, the first thing that came to her mind that resulted a smile so wide, it warmed my heart the whole day long?

Snowballs!

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

The Importance of Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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Can you imagine a life without blogs?

Life would go on, there is no doubt but I would imagine it would be with a heart a little less warmer, a mind a little less inspired, a life with one less dimension and a lifetime with one less connection…

It makes us smarter, quicker

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Mike says it makes him smarter – quicker. It amazes me the number of technical issues I have solved in the last 12 months simply because someone else had faced the same struggle and taken the time to share it. The access to collective wisdom has made me smarter, quicker.

Getting to the heart of the onion

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Loz describes reading a personal blog is like being invited into someone’s house. Each post on a blog is another room, and as we read them a little more of the writer is revealed….if we keep going we will one day get to it’s heart.

A lens to another life

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For Sean it is a lens to a world he would not have known, But sometimes blogging exposing me to a world I couldn’t see any other way. And these moments move me and cause me to pause.

The blogosphere is living cosmos

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Kent takes us through the blog lifecycle. He is amazed at how many blogs live and die in a twinkling of an eye. He ends his post with this hope. What I do know is that all legitimate bloggers, regardless of our motivation for blogging, have a vested interest in nurturing the blogosphere and encouraging the creation and continued existence of legitimate blogs by people we don’t know yet who have a lot to say, a lot to share, and a lot to teach us.

It is my hope also.
May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

Remembering Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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Remember when? reminiscing is something we often do. Sometimes it is with a friend, walking back together to a special point in time. Sometimes it is in solitude to replay a fond farewell, a sad passing or a victorious moment. Reflection stirs our souls, brings a sigh, a smile, a tear. We look to the mirror of our past to draw inspiration, strength and comfort.

Remember because memories last beyond our lifetimes

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Crushed by Insoc tells us We need to KNOW what humanity remembers… Because with the coming of speech, comes the ability of man to remember beyond his own lifetime.

Surely our blogs are a manifestation of that speech, their existence will help us all remember this world beyond our lifetimes.

Memories are relived in unexpected ways

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For Ruth, each recipe made me think of a special moment from my childhood. The inspiration for her present comes from memories of the past. I remember the scent of whatever was cooking that clung to her apron when my grandmother hugged me…I can’t recall ever hearing my grandmother speak. Obviously I did, but all the other images are so much more powerful.

Memories offer painted pictures, the smell of the sea or a freshly picked flower, the sound of a train, a few chords from old song, the warmth of a hug, one seemingly ordinary moment can send us on an extraordinary journey to the past.

Try to remember to never forget,

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Julie reminds her 5-year old To cherish the little things, little but not insignificant. Like chalk drawings, carousals, kisses, laughs and hugs. She says, When I look back, I recall most clearly the unexpected hilarity, the joy found in what would normally be mundane.

We are the sum of our experiences…

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. . . says Wolfgang, adding that Memories, especially painful ones, help us to refine ourselves.

We often forget that our memories from our past can influence our future. We can choose to take the unhappiest ones to justify why we should be unkind, horrid or mean, or we can choose to take the brightest ones to inspire us to best that we can be.

What memories will you reflect upon today?

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude