Category Archives: Random Musings
Please Help My Relay for Life Team
My Reason to Relay
I am participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life because I want to make a meaningful difference in the fight against cancer.
Almost everyone has been touched by cancer, myself included, either through their own personal battle or through someone they love.
Every day, the American Cancer Society is helping us stay well by preventing cancer or finding it at its earliest, most treatable stages. They assist families in finding the best resources to help their friend or loved one deal with a diagnosis and their journey to get well. The American Cancer Society is also rallying communities (like ours!) through events like Relay For Life, to fight back and find cures for this disease.
Please join my team or make a donation to help the American Cancer Society create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together, we can help make sure that cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life!
Thank you!
Consequences…We All Face Them
When dealing with my teenagers, I’ve realized that the hardest concept for them to comprehend is consequences. For example, they have done something wrong and I am going to take away their cell phone to which they reply: “You can’t do that because I need my phone, what happens if I get into an accident.”
They are right, we should take away the car as well. If you do not learn that there are consequences to the choices you make, then how will you ever be a responsible adult?
Parenting is a difficult job for children. Parenting for teenagers is almost near impossible on some days. Do not get me wrong, my teens are great kids who make good grades, but even good kids can be snotheads thanks to all those hormones.
Mom, if you are reading this blog, I apologize for all the trouble I put you through, and stop laughing please.
Enjoy!
Professing My Love For All Things Awesome!
With today being my anniversary to my lovely bride, Elizabeth aka @SumterGatorGirl aka the Princess Bride, I found it prophetic to wax lyrical about all the things I love. How does a SQL geek, go about doing such a thing? With a table of course!
Thought you should’ve been higher on the list? I can be bought, especially with SWAG! Enjoy!
Writing, More Fun Than I Thought
After spending many hours writing recently, in addition to the this blog, I am finding that technical writing is more fun than I would have imagined. For years, I loathed creating documentation and presenting technical writing. It always seems so dry. Couldn’t someone spice it up with a tawdry love affair or double homicide in the middle of the data pump? That is a technical manual that I couldn’t put down.
To be honest, I have secretly always wanted to be a writer, at least since high school. I have even sat down several times and started to write a novel only to get frustrated and give up after a few weeks. When blogging came along, I was excited but had nothing to write about. Now with this year and forcing myself to blog everyday, I have found that writing is getting easier and more enjoyable. Let us see where this road will take me.
Enjoy!
Happy Easter
Happy Easter! I seriously hope that you are not working today! Take the day off, walk away from the computer, go outside and breathe in the spring fresh air. Spend the day with your family and savor the blessings that you have. There is plenty of time for work tomorrow! Enjoy!
SWAG, I Love It, I Want Some More of It!
SWAG, also known as the “Stuff We All Get”, has been a tradition at trade shows, conferences, SQL Saturdays, User Group meetings, and meetings with sales reps for many, many years and yet I still get excited about these silly little trinkets.
My house is full of SQL Server shirts and vendor shirts. My office is also full of silly stickers, magnets, pens, patches, notepads, SQL Server stamped items such as the one shown, my favorite Idera duck, the great Red Gate USB lava lamp that everyone tries to steal off of my desk, and of course the Quest Software red and blue lit flashing, bouncing ball that mesmerizes my co-workers.
This is a serious addiction, I almost knocked someone down trying to get a cool VMWare umbrella a couple of months ago as it slipped out of my grasp. Everyone else enjoys it too, but does it really have any effect on our decision-making. Not mine! But if you want to send me some more in an effort to change my mind, please feel free! Enjoy!
Monday, Monday (Can’t Trust That Day?)
Generally, I enjoy the brisk challenge of Mondays. On most Mondays, however, I do feel that the weekend and time with my family and/or hobbies went by way too fast. Who doesn’t want more time with their family? It can be a difficult balancing game when you enjoy your career. Don’t get me wrong, family always comes first but you should be working towards personal growth and learning if you work in the IT field, otherwise you will be left behind.
This Monday, however, I am somewhat less energized due to a weekend chock full of education and writing for an upcoming project (more details to follow at a later date). So needless to say, I need same cafe con leche this morning as I try to shift my brain into focus. So please forgive me for this less than stellar blog post, I will get some sleep tonight and be raring to go tomorrow. Thanks for understanding. Enjoy!
Sick today
I must not have recharged enough yesterday for I was sick today. You have to take care of your body or it will not cooperate. I needed the rest and relaxation, should be raring to go tomorrow!
Recharging
There are some days when you just need to recharge. Today was one of those days. It was great to sleep in and recharge, and then spend the day relaxing and watching the new Coppola restoration versions of Godfather I and II, two of the greatest movies ever made. Every now and again you need a day to recharge your batteries to restore your drive and enthusiasm. Today was that for me. Enjoy!
“Many thoughts to blog about, have I!”
“Many thoughts to blog about, have I!” spoken in my best Yoda impersonation that I could muster this morning. Spinning the wheel at the list…next up, backup strategy. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!
Yesterday, I was tasked with re-evaluating our existing backup strategy and determining if we are getting the most out of our existing strategy. At the same time, I need to determine if compression will interfere or be enhanced by the DataDomain deduplication process. We are also licensed for Red Gate SQL Backup Pro as well as HyperBac we just have not had enough time to implement those solutions. Any comments on this would be greatly appreciated.
Enjoy!
SQL Swampland 