Archives for July 2012

Come See Me. I’ll Probably Be Just Down the Street Soon!

July 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Even though I've recently changed jobs, I'll still be speaking at a lot of SQL events across the country and internationally.  There are still a few trips that I've yet to finalize, in particular with the fine folks in Houston, run by my friend Nancy Hidy (blog | twitter), and my friends in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, run by my friend Mark Ginnebaugh (blog | twitter).  Also, do to some missed deadlines, it looks like I won't be speaking at the Nordic SQL Rally this fall. My bad!  On the other hand, you can see when checking my roster, that I hardly have time to catch my breath with this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Conferences, Cool Technologies, Databases, Nashville SQL Server Users Group, PASS, Presentations, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , ,

High-Availability White Papers and Resources for SQL Server

July 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I was just telling the good people of Charlotte about how they (and how YOU) need to read all things by Paul Randal (blog | twitter), except for all of his cheesy romance novels like Caress and Conquer written under the nom de plum of Connie Mason. There's lots more good stuff from Paul, just not romantic. This is a 'so-last-version' whitepaper describing  five common high-availability and disaster-recovery architectures deployed by customers, along with a case study of each. Although the white paper is specific to SQL Server 2008 R2 and isn't updated for AlwaysOn features, it's still … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Cool Technologies, Databases, On-Line Resources, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Dylan Turns 21

July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Happy birthday, Dylan. Now, put that bottle down and let's go have an adult beverage!But keep the outfit on - those boots and diaper are the bomb! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dylan Kline

Happy Birthday Emily

July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It's hard to believe that Emmy Tay Fwine is nineteen now.  Happy birthday, dear child! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emily Kline

Independence Day 2012!

July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It's been a long time since I just kicked-back and enjoyed the summer as anything other than just "the hot as Hades" time for work.So this year marked a dramatic departure from more of the same by actually heading downtown to watch Nashville's awesome (4th biggest in the USA) fireworks display.Another thing that was really great about this year's Independence Day was that we totally dodged all traffic!  Amazing, eh?  The last time I took the family downtown for fireworks, I think that we spent 42 hours trapped in traffic and had to eat the weakest members of the tribe to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

New Developments at SQLServerPedia.com

July 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

What's Going on at SQLServerPedia.com? Since the news broke that I was leaving Quest, I've gotten a lot of questions about the future of SQLServerPedia.com (SSP).  For those of you who don't know, SSP is a very popular community wiki and blog aggregator with nearly one hundred bloggers actively syndicating their content on the site.  Quest actively supports SSP as a non-commercial community entity and I was its former editor-in-chief.  The good news is that SSP is not going anywhere.  If you write for a blog that appears on SSP, don't change a thing.  (Ok, change one thing.  Start adding more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On-Line Resources, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , ,

The Next Chapter: Inspiring and Motivating

July 16, 2012 by 19 Comments

I’d like to start this post first by thanking everyone who sent well wishes, both public and private, about my decision to move on from Quest Software.  It was very uplifting and encouraging to hear from you! So, again, the question of “Where am I off to?”  The answer is SQL Sentry.  I’m joining them as Director of Engineering Services, with a focus on technical sales and marketing, as well as a heavy dose of R&D design work.  (Read the press release here). In case you haven’t encountered SQL Sentry before, they’re a small Southern company concentrating on the SQL Server market.  In … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion, Professional Development, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , ,

A Fond Farewell to Quest Software

July 11, 2012 by 17 Comments

The week of the 4th of July is a happy week for Americans.  Most families get out for a parade, a fireworks display, a picnic in the park, a movie where Will Smith puts the beat down on a bunch of aliens, or an afternoon at the pool or lake.  We celebrate the contributions of our service men and women. We honor veterans. We drink a lot of beer.  We reflect on the founding of our nation and the meaning of “Independence Day”. My own reflections over the Independence Day holiday took me in a new and rather unexpected direction.  After ten-and-a-half immensely rewarding years at Quest Software, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Challenges, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , ,

One Week Until Louisville!

July 11, 2012 by 1 Comment

Louisville has a special place in my heart because it was my brother's home for more than 15 years. I spent a lot of time on I-65 traveling from my home town of Huntsville, AL to visit my bro in Louisville and New Albany, after he bought a place on the north side of the mighty Ohio River. It's always felt like a home away from home, even long after he moved on. SQL Saturday 122 is just around the corner and I'll be speaking both in a full day, pre-conference seminar plus a couple sessions at the SQL Saturday itself. Leadership Skills for the IT Professional My pre-con is all about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, PASS, Presentations, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication

I have seen the Awesome

July 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I've witnessed something truly remarkable.  Frankly, I'm in awe.My wife you spent the last several days cleaning every aspect of the fridge - with a fricken STEAM CLEANER! It's cleaner than new. During this same period of time, she also:- Polished the leather furniture- Cleaned under the couches and furniture.- Vacuumed and dusted the air ducts and returns.- Installed new air filters in the ducts.- Cleaned the shower and tub, again, with the supernatural steam cleaner.- Rearrange gear in the 130 attic.And, most amazingly, she seems to be enjoying herself.  Like I said, it's the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized