Greetings, friends.

I find that I am very generous with my usage of the term "friend", perhaps more than most people. A lot of my time is spent in online communities, and many of the people who I consider my friends I have never met in person, or even heard their voice. The majority of these people I might never meet in person.

Part of this viewpoint undoubtedly stems from my growing up overseas. I grew up in an environment where people were always coming and going. This sort of environment doesn't permit long-winded lead times in friendships: the period that most people would refer to someone else as an "acquaintance" as opposed to a "friend". Life's too short to not have friends.

Two years ago I took a trip to San Francisco to visit one of my high school friends from China. While there I had the opportunity to meet up with some of my other online friends. There's something so strange about meeting up with someone who you've only ever communicated digitally with. Yet at the same time, it felt just as familiar as meeting up with my high school friend.

On Thursday I learned that one of my online friends, Jerold Haas, died last year. I took some time to reflect on our friendship.

Life's too short to not have friends.

Your friend,

Marshall