Prince dying was a shock. I used his energy to fuel my own creativity. I had forgotten the extent to which I did that. But it's all around me. 

In 1982, he wrote 1999. A beautiful bit of art. What a great way to project yourself into the future. Create a gorgeous song, one that everyone would dance to even if it wasn't provocative in a way that everyone alive could appreciate. A lot of art goes over people's heads, but most people alive in 1982 figured they might be around for the new millennium and what would that be like? Prince answered the question. It'll be a party. Why? Because that's what life is. And parties, like life, weren't meant to last.

1999 is also the name of the product that I'm slowly maturing, with users and people running servers. Learning from the experience, so we get a little time to refine, fix and document, to prepare for more people to use it and more people to run servers. 

Why is it called 1999? Because the future that Prince envisioned in 1982 was also in many ways the future that I envisioned then. Ideas that are communicated. That was my thing. 1999 was the year that started going big. When it was no longer a curiosity that just a few people took part in, but an idea that would eventually move every aspect of how people with ideas communicate. 

Back in 1982 I didn't know that 1999 would be the year.

He picked the year. And thus gave me the name of my product. And as it's coming to life, his life ends.

I don't want to make a big deal about this. 

But it is kind of shaking me a bit. ;-)