Last week's International Oracle User Group Committee (IOUC) Summit at Oracle HQ was a high point of the past year, for a number of reasons:

• A "quorum" of Java User Group leaders, several Java Champions among them, were in attendance (Bert Breeman, Stephan Janssen, Dan Sline, Stephen Chin, Bruno Souza, Van Riper, and others), and it was great to get face time with them. Their guidance and advice about JavaOne and other things are always much appreciated.


• Mix in some Oracle ACE Directors (Debra Lilley, Dan Morgan, Sten Vesterli, and others), and you really have the making of a dynamic group. Stephan describes it best: "We (the JUG Leaders) discovered that behind the more formal dress code the ACE directors are actually as crazy as we are." (See link below for more.)


• Thanks to Bert's (NLJug) kindness, I am now the proud owner of a bonafide, straight-from-the-NL cheese shoe. How the heck did he get this through security?