While Katie had an absolute ball, I got the worst sunburn I'd had in years. Isn't she cute?!? … [Read more...]
Emily Turns 18
July 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
At first, she was all "I don't need no schoolin'!" But that didn't last long.And then she was all, "I wanna be just like my dad!" But that didn't last long.And then she was all, "I'm the biggest girl, so I'm the boss of you!" But that didn't last long.And then she was like, "Look out world, here I come!" And THAT did last a long, long time. … [Read more...]
Is There Such a Thing as Easy ETL?
June 30, 2011 by 1 Comment
E.T.L. That's Extract - Transform - Load. That doesn't sound like a lot of work when all you need to get loaded is a simple Access database or an Excel spreadsheet. In a situation like that, the process is so simple, all you really need to focus on is the L in ETL. There's not a whole lot of E.T. to process, despite how wonderful that movie is. [pun intended] But as soon as your data loading process involves some difficult or sophisticated cleansing or transformations, it gets really, really hard. The other cross-thread that had really caught my interest lately is the USA federal … [Read more...]
Togetherness Is Always Special
June 28, 2011 by 2 Comments
I always enjoy getting to spend time with Ray. It's really rather ironic that although I work from home, it still sort'a feels like a job. We get to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. We have coffee in the morning together. But once the work starts, it feels like separation.I wonder if the old farmers in the field with the farm wives in the kitchen felt that way about their work? When the ol' farm wives looked up from their sink of dishes, which they had to wash by hand, out to the north forty and see their husbands behind a horse drawn plow, did they smile? Did they feel … [Read more...]
Anna Gets Baptised
June 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Of all the things a Christian father wishes and strives to achieve for his children, a strong spiritual foundation is first and foremost. From that foundation, it seems like most every other good thing can flow. Anna appears in this video about 1/2 way through.Picnic, Baptism & Hail Storm of June 2011 from Friendship Community Church on Vimeo. … [Read more...]
Wednesday Quest: Toad and Policy-Based Management
June 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Did you know that Toad for SQL Server has some nice features for users of policy-based management (PBM)? Importing Policies For example, Toad can import policies into a PBM server, so that you don’t have to manually create them every time. You can import policies that you have exported from other servers, and you can also import the Microsoft Best Practice Policies. (Read about the concept HERE). The Microsoft policies are a great place to start learning what you can do with PBM, by simply importing them and inspecting their various configurations. They are installed by default and … [Read more...]
May 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Polishing some slides before b'fast with @LadyRuna and the SQLRally! … [Read more...]
