[tlug] Congratulations on 20 years of changing the world

[craig oda <craig@example.com>]

Congratulations to all members of TLUG on the 20th anniversary of your group.  By keeping alive the dream of sharing information and ideas, you've changed the world.

Isolated in Tokyo, TLUG was born from a shared belief that Linux, open source, and the Internet would one day unite the world.  This feeling was captured in the common phrase, "Linux is cool."  Using Linux made us feel passionate about the technology and the culture behind it.  Applying kernel patches and recompiling the kernel every few days made us feel that we were on the frontier. Seeing beautiful Japanese characters printed on A4 paper became a delight. We shared information freely and in small ways, we created the future together.

Amid the feeling that the international tech community was changing into something wonderful, we drank beer, ate at izakayas, and most importantly, laughed with our friends.  Twenty years later, I realize that it is the laughter and friendships that I remember most vividly.

Despite your great efforts, Japan still needs to engage more fully with the global software entrepreneur movement.  I hope that TLUG will help guide more Japanese programmers into the vibrant, international software scene.  The technology went global.  It's time for the people to do the same, drink beer in more cities around the world, and have fun with people from all over the world.  

I am sorry to miss the 20th reunion in person, but I will try and skype in.  Feel free to add me to your Skype list for the party.  My handle is craigoda

Regards,

Craig (former TLUGer and still a believer)
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Craig Oda

skype: craigoda

Palo Alto, CA, in the heart of Silicon Valley