What's going on, Albuquerque?

UPDATED: A far gone lullaby for Marc Orchant

UPDATE 12/9/07: Marc Orchant, one of Albuquerque's most fervent technologists and ceaseless optimists, has passed on.

Here's a note from his friend and colleague, Brad Key:

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It is with great sadness that I write this. After suffering a massive heart attack last week, Marc Orchant died peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family. He leaves a tremendous hole in the technology community both in New Mexico and around the world.

As a member of the NMITSA board, Marc was tireless in promoting IT in education and was always ready and willing to tell a great story. His presentations at NMITSA events over the years were wonderful highlights. He was a critical part of the success of last month's third annual IT Excellence awards, making the connections to bring our keynote, Jeff Barr and one of our national judges, Oliver Starr.

The last words I spoke to Marc were that night, when I thanked him for everything he had done and said to him, "Marc, everything you touch turns to gold." I've attached one of the last photos taken of him - from the event that he was so instrumental in making excellent.

He was truly a brilliant light in a global community, and I already miss him deeply.

Here is a link to Oliver Starr's blog about Marc. http://owstarr.com/marc-orchant-updates-and-information/

- Brad

Brad Key

Chairman - New Mexico IT and Software Association
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12/06/09

You may have heard that a couple of days ago, Albuquerque blogger and DCF groupie Marc Orchant suffered a massive heart attack and is still unconscious. Family and friends remain hopeful as evidenced here where a candle still burns:

Marc Orchant Health Updates & Info

More than just a local blogger and ever faithful supporter of Duke City Fix (thank you, Marc), Marc Orchant is world-renowned for his blog at ZDNet and most recently at BlogNation where his last post on Dec. 1 was a triumphant buh bye to Facebook.

Marc's the kind of guy who evangelizes the innovative, tech-savvy side of Albuquerque to the larger web world. And that world responds. When I ran into him at the Web 2.0 conference last March, for example, he was surrounded by hoards of big idea people smoking with thought. You know the type: Innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs who together burn a collective fire that fuels the rest of us everyday web practitioners.

It's awfully quiet in the (lowercase) blog nation right now, as everyone waits for Marc Orchant to return.

Marc, we're saving a space for you by the fire.

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Comment by MayMay on December 7, 2007 at 12:46pm: oh. let's hope he comes out of his trouble with his werewithall intact!

Comment by Adelita on December 7, 2007 at 7:54pm: My family's thoughts are with the Orchant family!

Comment by Eckleburg and Grumblecake on December 9, 2007 at 7:47pm: All our love to the Orchant family. You'll be missed, Marc!

Comment by andrew on December 10, 2007 at 8:33am: :(

Comment by Roger A. Rubio on December 18, 2007 at 12:03pm: I knew Marc Orchant...he was a former supervisor of mine in a previous life. I'll always remember something he said to me once. "Do you know what the difference is between a Jew and a Christian?" Marc being Jewish, I figured it was okay to say, "No, I don't." He said, "Jews don't need a middleman." It's stuck with me all these years.

I'm so sad it happened so suddenly, I'm so sad he's gone. My thoughts and prayers are with Sue and their kids.