Blog Archives
Sunday Funday
Today has not been much fun for me as I’ve been working on a deployment all weekend for our enterprise content management system. This deployment was necessary for two reasons: we have a deadline and I will be busy for the rest of the weekends in May.
However I did miss sending my girls off to their high school prom, but it was unavoidable and it is the sacrifice I had to make. Instead this weekend I am living vicariously through my #SQLFamily and my physical family through Facebook and Twitter.
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend. If not go out and have some fun, it’s not too late to spend some time with those you love. Enjoy!
PASS Summit 2012, Join Me!
With only a week before SQL Rally in Dallas, there has been quite a bit of excitement and commentary in the twitterverse and blogosphere. However, I cannot attend due to other commitments. With all the excitement in the air, I cannot contain my excitement for the PASS Summit in November. I have never been able to attend the Summit in the past and I am not 100% sure that I will be able to attend this year, but the planets are lining up and there is a glimmer of hope for my first Summit conference. Sitting by last year and watching all of the action from the sidelines just about drove me nuts. Here it is six months away and I have already scoped out the hotels in the area, looked around via Google’s man on the street, and my wife is even thinking about tagging along (I think just so she can see those flying fish at the market, no wait that is just me).
I have been to Seattle once before in my youth for the National Mu Alpha Theta math competition. It was there that my skills in advanced math were not as worldly as I thought, even though I placed (no I can’t remember but I think third place) in the state of Florida. But, many schools from Florida and Alabama dominated the competition awards, interesting as I am sure most of the world does not think of Alabama and Florida as math powerhouses but in the late 80s when those respective states were battling neck and neck for last place in education those two states were advanced math geniuses, but I digress.
I know I won’t be able to take another tour of the King Dome and I wonder what else has changed since grunge and coffee took over that beautiful and friendly city some 25 years ago. I wonder if I should ask someone at the hotel if I could walk to Mt. Ranier and have them laugh at me just for old times sake. I am also excited about riding the monorail on the awesome two block journey. Do they still have the theme park at the needle? Maybe I can cross another item off my bucket list: touring Forks and seeing all of the Twilight scenery in person (really just kidding on that one LOL).
Don’t get me wrong, I want to see SQLChicken do his gorilla impression and participate in SQLKaraoke. I want to soak up all that is SQLAwesomeness and bask in the MCM and MVP glory that is PASS Summit 2012. Won’t you join me?
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!
Goals Updated
We are almost a month into the new year and so far I am on track to complete my stated goals for the year. However, I know one item that will not be completed due to a constraint by VMWare to end testing on the VCP certification this month. Normally you have one year from the date of attendance in the VMWare course to sit for the test before you have to take the class again. That date for me was in March and given my current projects I will not be able to be prepared to sit for that exam by the end of the month. This is not a big deal because VMWare is not my primary career focus, it was just something I thought I could add to my resume.
It appears that I am going to be able to take Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp’s Immersion training at the end of February, which is an incredible opportunity. Hopefully I will get to meet some other people in the #SQLFamily there.
The one goal that I am proudest of thus far is this blog. I thought it would be difficult to find something to write about everyday, however I have been able to keep writing everyday. It is getting easier every day. I am also trying to do one technical article each week. I will post updates as we go on this journey together. Enjoy!
Saturday SQL Schoolhouse
SQL Schoolhouse!
In our second installment of the Saturday SQL Schoolhouse, I wanted to share with you one of the most amazing resources I have ever discovered thanks to the fine folks at SQL Skills: the SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) Readiness Videos. These videos are amazing and contain such SQL superstars as Brent Ozar (blog : twitter), Paul Randal (blog : twitter), and Kimberly L. Tripp (blog : twitter). Enjoy!
MCITP: Moving Forward!
Yesterday I attended a Brent Ozar PLF webinar with Kendra Little (blog : twitter). The webinar, Anatomy of the SQL Server Database: Settings and Secrets, was great, as per usual. What transpired at the end of the training was magical. As you know, if you have been reading my blog, I have been contemplating moving forward to pursuing my MCITP for SQL Server 2008. Kendra made an announcement that Brandon Leach (twitter) was forming an MCITP study group of like-minded professionals to get together online and help each other out. Hey that is exactly what I have been looking for! My #SQLFamily is really an amazing group of people, and I wish I had discovered them years ago while banging my head against the wall upgrading SQL 6.5 to 7 and then on to 2000. At the time, I was an accidental DBA. Those days have long passed, thanks to my MCTS. MCITP: Here I Come!
Enjoy!
SQL Swampland 