I’m always looking for opportunities. I learned that from my father, who never let an opportunity go unnoticed. Opportunities may seem rare but that’s not true. They’re common. They’re flying all over the place. The issue is that we miss them because we’re too distracted, or when we spot them we’re too afraid to grab…

I remember a discussion on one of the OpenSolaris mailing lists long ago when kernel developer Bryan Cantrill said that ideas are expressed in code and that the implementation itself was the idea. I love that! His statement was probably in response to some meandering thread where people were just talking in circles and not…

From 2017 to 2020 I traveled to conferences around the world and streamed hundreds of interviews with developers from Oracle and the FOSS community. There were several of us on the developer marketing team back then who had full streaming kits and we were all crazy busy all the time. Nothing I’ve done recently compares…

Meeting Linus Torvalds at the Open Source Summit in Tokyo in June 2018. I’ve crossed paths with Linus Torvalds at many events throughout the years, but this was the first time I actually met him and spoke with him. I waited until after his keynote and walked up to the stage, along with dozens of…

Last week I took some vacation time from work and went down to Bangalore to present a session on FOSS communities at Open Source India. It was such a wonderful experience, wow! India is electric. If you want to meet thousands of CS students and talk about Java, go to India! I have a lot…

During my time in Open Source community development, I’ve repeatedly faced the same annoying question coming from business managers: “What’s the business value of Open Source?” Or sometimes the question goes unstated but whenever you talk about community development operations in a meeting the room goes quiet as if what you’re saying has little value.…

Throughout 2018 and 2020, I was the Scrum Master at 4 week-long events in the United States and India called Oracle Code Innovate. Great program. During those years, I witnessed something really remarkable happen when Oracle engineers and customer developers came together for three intensive days to hack on cloud projects. Ideas transformed into working…

I remember in the early 2000s at Sun Microsystems we gathered hundreds of engineers in the auditorium on the Santa Clara campus for a day of sessions on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Back then Sun was quietly engaging FOSS community leaders at conferences and also inviting high profile developers to campus for conversations…

Since 2017 I’ve interviewed hundreds of developers via audio, video, and live streams at events on a variety of topics including Java, Linux, Oracle Database, MySQL, AI/ML, Developer Tools, Oracle Cloud, and Open Source. For the last five years I’ve focused exclusively on Java.  Libsyn Audio | Podcast Video | Highlights on X | Abstracts, Quotes, Transcripts | Photos Most of my interviews these days take place via Zoom…

In recent years I’ve been rebuilding my memory. I’m determined to master raw, blatant, repetitive memorization — which is the very thing I was told when I was young to not do as a part of learning. You know, because “you can always look it up,” right? And now we have AI, so we’re good.…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Mattias Karlsson: I think it’s Brilliant Conversation with Mattias Karlsson, Java Champion and prominent developer in the Java community who was also honored with the Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition at Jfokus in February 2024. “I was shocked and honored — very humbled!” Mattias said about being recognized for his lifetime of achievements in the Java community by…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Venkat Subramaniam: I Teach Because I Learn Jim Grisanzio from Oracle Java Developer Relations talks with Venkat Subramaniam who was recognized with the Java Community Lifetime Achievement honors by Oracle’s Sharat Chander at Devoxx UK in May 2024. Venkat is a Java Champion, author, speaker, founder of Agile Developer, co-founder of…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Bruno Souza: My Greatest Pride is the Community Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Bruno Souza, who is a Java Champion, leader of the SouJava User Group in Brazil, and a member of the JCP Executive Committee. Bruno received the first Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition in October 2022…

Since 2022, Oracle’s Java Developer Relations team has been celebrating the contributions of Java community members through a special Java Community Lifetime Achievement Recognition. These prestigious honors recognize individuals whose lifelong dedication to Java has advanced the technology and strengthened the community globally. Java Community Lifetime Achievement Recognition This unique program is led by Sharat…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Trisha Gee: It’s all about Relationships and People Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Trisha Gee, an author, a Java Champion, and a Developer Advocate at Gradle. In February 2025 at Jfokus in Stockholm Trisha received the Java Community Lifetime Achievement Award from Sharat Chander from Oracle Java Developer…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Cay Horstmann: Java Still Vibrant After 30 Years Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Cay Horstmann, a professor, author, and Java Champion. In April 2025 in Cologne, Germany at JCON Cay received the Java Community Lifetime Achievement recognition from Sharat Chander on the Oracle Java Developer Relations Team. This…

Duke’s Corner Java Podcast: Heinz Kabutz: Really Life Changing! Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Heinz Kabutz from the Island of Crete in Greece. Heinz has a PhD in Computer Science, publishes the The JavaSpecialists’ Newsletter, and runs the JCrete Unconference. Heinz is also a Java Champion and a teacher, and he cares…