Every so often something inspirational drops into my virtual lap, which helps lift the cynicism generated by some of the more robust egos floating round the industry. In this case it's the sad, poignant and inspirational final post from Major Andrew Olmsted, who was killed in Irag last week.

What's unusual about his final post, submitted by a friend, is that it was only to be published in the event of his death. The post itself is fairly long and well worth a read. If you don't think you have time, take some, honestly. There's no politics, no ego, just someone who was passionate about what they did, trying to make a difference and showing true humanity, humility and a fine sense of humour in the process.

Perhaps it's not what you'd expect from a US serviceman in Iraq, but it's too easy to stereotype from the soundbites we're fed on the news. The comments left on one of the other blogs he contributed to, show the depth of feeling amongst his community, colleagues and perfect strangers.

Ordinarily, this probably isn't the subject matter I'd delve into, but reading his blog on the Rocky Mountain News website about training the Iraqi army was fascinating. It lifts the lid on daily life in a world that couldn't be more different from mine. Between the hyperbole and the outright negative coverage of all things Internet, it's easy to forget the web can deliver great things without any bleeding edge technology at all.

Judging by Google News, the media will be all over this story, but it's best read first-hand on Major Olmsted's blog, in his own words, without any spin.