Author Archives: SQLGator
Milestones, Keeping Them in Perspective
Today is my daughter’s last high school marching band competition. Being my youngest daughter, her senior year has been filled with “lasts” and she has been nostalgic to say the least, probably more so than my other children because she is the youngest. For me this is bittersweet as we will never experience these moments again in our lives but we also know that next year will bring many new “firsts” for her.
In life we have to keep milestones in perspective. I am more excited about her “firsts” than her “lasts” but cannot help but be a little sad at the same time because I know she will leave the nest in a few months and our nest will be empty for the first time in over twenty years. That will be a new “first” for us. A challenge to be sure. Enjoy!
T-9 Days Until the PASS Summit, #SQLKaraoke
With the DATEDIFF script returning 9 today (single digits we are almost there), I have been thinking heavily about the SQLKaraoke events for the PASS Summit 2012. In case you have missed it, there are several opportunities for Karaoke, so much so that there is now a dedicate page, SQLKaraoke.com, and twitter account. Below is a list of Karaoke events that I currently know about:
- The Bush Gardens SQLKaraoke event sponsored by Idera occurs Wednesday night (and every other night, I have heard.
- The Hard Rock SQLKaraoke event sponsored by Pragmatic Works, HP, and Microsoft occurs also on Wednesday night.
- The EMP Rockaraoke event sponsored by PASS and Microsoft occurs on Thursday night.
For the last week or two, I have been running through songs on my iPhone trying to determine which song(s) I should sing. I have very eclectic musical tastes, but I do want to sound good when I sing as well as make a statement about who I am. My compilation will not be posted until after Summit to protect the innocent, namely me.
Haven’t registered for Summit yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
T-10 Days Until the PASS Summit, More Scavenger Hunt Ideas
With the DATEDIFF script returning 10 today, I thought I would continue with yesterday’s blog idea of a scavenger hunt for the PASS Summit 2012. Here is an updated list with new items in bold:
- Get a picture with a Brent Ozar PLF employee (each one counts separately)
- Get a picture with Grant Fritchey
- Get a picture with Steve Jones
- Get a picture with both of the Midnight DBAs (at the same time)
- Get a picture with Buck Woody
- Get a picture with two or more Pragmatic Works’ employees (at the same time)
- Double points if the Midnight DBAs make faces or other gestures such as rabbit ears
- Get a picture with Robert Davis
- Get a picture with Argenis Fernandez
- Get as many pictures as possible with other MCMs
- Get a picture of an MCM or MVP sleeping during a session
- Get a picture of a presenter sleeping during their own session
- Negative points if the person is a Sharepoint MCM or MVP
- Double points if any of these people are in kilts or mullets
- Double points if any of these people are wearing costumes such as StrateSQL’s Unicorn
- Get a picture with five or more MVPs in the shot
- Get a picture with five or more people holding Starbuck’s cups
- Get a picture with a 2012 Summit Presenter
- Get a picture of your tweet popping up on a presenter’s screen while he/she is presenting
- Get a picture singing #SQLKaraoke with any of the people on this list
- Get a picture with an Ambassador giving you directions when you cannot find your session
- Get a picture at a bona-fide tourist location with any of the people on this list
Therefore if you sang a song with five MVPs, had your picture taken during the process, all five of them had their MCMs and were wearing a kilt or mullet during the process you could end up with 12 points unless one of the five were listed specifically on this list which would be an additional point for each person. Sound like fun?
Haven’t registered for Summit yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
T-11 Days Until the PASS Summit, Scavenger Hunt?
With the DATEDIFF script returning 11 today, I thought I would share a fun idea that I had last night while discussing the PASS Summit 2012 on twitter. Several people were discussing that they had a list of people that they wanted to meet up with in Seattle. An idea was hatched, a plan, a scheme…I thought I would take it to the next level and turn this into a scavenger hunt, mainly because I am competitive and I try to make life fun at every turn possible. Maybe we could even get a sponsor, who knows. Here is a starting list:
- Get a picture with a Brent Ozar PLF employee (each one counts seperately)
- Get a picture with Grant Fritchey
- Get a picture with Steve Jones
- Get a picture with both of the Midnight DBAs (at the same time)
- Get a picture with Robert Davis
- Get a picture with Argenis Fernandez
- Get as many pictures as possible with other MCMs
- Double points if any of these people are in kilts or mullets
- Get a picture with five or more MVPs in the shot
- Get a picture with a 2012 Summit Presenter
- Get a picture singing #SQLKaraoke with any of the people on this list
- Get a picture at a bona-fide tourist location with any of the people on this list
Therefore if you sang a song with five MVPs, had your picture taken during the process, all five of them had their MCMs and were wearing a kilt or mullet during the process you could end up with 12 points unless one of the five were listed specifically on this list which would be an additional point for each person. Sound like fun?
Haven’t registered for Summit yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
Write for Life
Often I am asked why I blog daily. The answer is simple, I write for life! What started out as a Blog365 challenge to write a blog post a day every day for a year in order to force myself to write something down daily has turned into a lovely habit. At this point, I cannot imagine a time when I did not blog. I cannot imagine why I did not start this habit a few years ago. But I cannot cry over that, what’s done is done. I am here now and I write for life.
Writing is cathartic, it is somewhat like exercise for the brain. Do you have a few thoughts you would like to share? Start a blog, write for life. Enjoy!
Growing or Dying? Your Choice!
This morning as I return back to my SQL boxes after a week of unrelated vendor training, I ponder the truth from Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now “every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger.” In other words, every minute I work on some other task, my SQL Server skills are diminishing. This is a sad truth mainly because some tasks are inevitable and must be completed. However, we must combat the atrophy with additional training and flexing our proverbial SQL muscles at every opportunity within an adequate life balance, of course.
How can I flex my SQL muscle today? I think I will watch some MCM videos to thoroughly work out the muscles. Enjoy!
T-14 Days Until the PASS Summit,Budget Day
With the DATEDIFF script returning 14 today, I thought I would share how I spent the last hour of my day in preparation for the PASS Summit 2012. Today is budget day, so breakout the spreadsheet. I spent the last hour thinking about my week at the Summit and planning my activities as well as getting a mental image of the amount of money that I need to have available to ensure that I have a great first time experience.
This spreadsheet will help me during the week to ensure that I remain within my projections so that I do not have any surprises art the end of the week when I go to check out of the hotel. It is also a great guideline in case new activities come up within the next two weeks before I arrive in Seattle. I can simply add them into the spreadsheet and either shuffle priorities or make adjustments as needed.
Haven’t registered for Summit yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
Talk the Talk? Then, Walk the Walk!
If you follow my blog regularly, you will no doubt have seen many messages like this one. The clichés sound great and motivational, but there comes a time when you have to put or shut up.
Part of the reason that I blog about these subjects is to hold myself accountable. I find it quite easy to crawl back into my introverted shell and stay in my comfort zone. But as more and more people read the blog and follow me on twitter, I find it harder to procrastinate and avoid taking chances. I have spent years cultivating a plan of caution and self-conservation. This year I have broken those chains, have you? Why not?
Enjoy!
T-16 Days Until the PASS Summit, The Great Karaoke Crisis?
With the DATEDIFF script returning 16 today, I thought I would share a personal crisis that I am having in regards to the PASS Summit 2012. Denny Cherry (b|t) announced during the first timers conference call earlier this week that the #SQLKaraoke event would be held Wednesday night at Bush Gardens around 9:30pm with Idera sponsoring the event. Sounds great, this is the after hours event that I have most wanted to attend because of the #SQLFamily that attends. This seemed like good timing because the Exhibitor reception ends at 915pm. Life is good because now I have dinner plans and an after party to go to, right? Not so fast my friend.
The guys over at Pragmatic Works announced yesterday that they were also throwing a #SQLKaraoke bash along with Microsoft and HP at the Hard Rock Cafe on the same night. Their party is fronted by a live band, which sounds like a real blast. In addition, I have a few friends over at Pragmatic Works and they are from Florida so I see them at all of the SQL Saturdays. Is this normal for Summit, awesome competing events that is? I will attend both, but what a bummer to have to split time at both. It looks like everyone will benefit from this #SQLAwesomeness so this is a good problem to have.
Haven’t registered for Summit yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
T-17 Days Until the PASS Summit, Have You Voted?
With the DATEDIFF script returning 17 today, I thought I would remind everyone to vote in national election before we go to the PASS Summit 2012. Since the election is on Tuesday during the Summit and I will be out-of-town, I will be voting during the early voting period in my hometown. Find out if your voting district allows early voting, if not then make sure you get your absentee ballot in before you leave for the Super Bowl of computer conferences.
Haven’t registered yet? Why not? Come on you know you want to! See you there! Enjoy!
SQL Swampland 