My daughter Emily tagged me on her blog. Now, I have to respond to her tagging me and then tag 6 other people. And since she got tagged by her mom, I'm sure that her mom and all of her mom's blogging friends aren't available for me to tag. Ugh!Alright- the rules are we must list 6 weird things about ourselves, then tag 6 more people. Each player has to clearly state the rules and then leave a comment on each person's blog, telling them that they've been tagged and to read your blog. Here are my 6 weird things:1. I used to be able to blow air out of my tear ducts. When underwater, I could blow … [Read more...]

I can't believe it, but somehow I forgot to post pictures of things that the kids and I have been up to during October. So here are some pictures of things we've been up to.It was another beautiful fall day in late October when Lakeview Elementary hosted their annual fall festival. We did the usual festival stuff, such as jumping in all of the inflatable play areas and eating lots of fair food. There were lots of games to play and friends to hang out with. I even managed to talk Katie into doing the cake walk. She's normally very shy about that sort of thing. (Of course, I didn't have to talk … [Read more...]

I don't usually post this sort of thing, but these pictures are truly amazing. http://home.att.net/~hideaway_fun/442/planet.htmTake a look and let me know what you think.-Kev … [Read more...]

I've been to Amsterdam a couple times now and I have to say that it's one of my favorite cities in Europe. The weather isn't particularly cooperative much of the time. But both times I've been, the weather has been really nice.The city is surprisingly small and navigable by foot without any problems. The famous canals were mostly just landmarks for me, but many people in Amsterdam use water taxis and even own boats.The city is full of beautiful old churches. However, it's ironic that in a city full of churches AND where there is a national, sanctioned church that very few people actually go to … [Read more...]

Unlike some of my techie book writing friends (e.g. Kalen Delaney, Itzik Ben Gan, or Brian Knight), I do NOT have groupies.I admit I'm a little bit jealous. Doesn't everyone want to have groupies - at least one or two - even if it's just your spouse and kids? But while I have no groupies, I do have a lot of fans and that is really gratifying. I didn't realize how many fans I had until Quest Software held a book signing for me at the PASS Summit two weeks ago.We were giving away my most recent book, "Database Benchmarking" published by Rampant Press. I was really impressed with how long the … [Read more...]

You Are 50% WeirdNormal enough to know that you're weird...But too damn weird to do anything about it!How Weird Are You? … [Read more...]

OK, I confess. I was intimidated as could be to know that I was meeting Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft. The previous day, I'd delivered the kickoff address to 2500 people without a flinch. But meeting Ballmer had me quite unnerved. I mean, this is a guy who speaks to kings and presidents of countries all the time. But, when the moment finally came, I found him to be both really nice and really down to earth.Ballmer wowed the socks of our audience and, I think, made a very positive impression on the attendees. He's also got a lot of guts. After his address, he actually took questions from … [Read more...]

One of the few benefits I get as the president of PASS is a great suite at the hotel where we host our conference. Since we bring in a couple million dollars worth of business, you'd think it was the least they could do, right? In case you were wondering what the Presidential Suite looks like at a major hotel, just think of a very nicely furnished full size apartment. This one happened to have a baby grand piano and huge entertainment system along with really nice Broyhill furniture. The suite had a full dining room, a small kitchenette (no appliances besides a small fridge), and a full … [Read more...]

The PASS Board, hard at work - from left to right, Randy Dyess, Christoph Stotz, Joe Webb, Rushabh Mehta, Wayne Snyder, and Neil Buchwalter. It's been my honor to serve on the board of directors for the Professional Association for SQL Server (www.sqlpass.org) since its inception in 1999. Back then, I was a mid-level technology manager at Deloitte focusing on database administration for SQL Server databases. Try to explain that one to your grandma. Trust me, you'll only get a blank stare.Me and John Stoiber, PASS Executive DirectorOver the years, I rose through the ranks of PASS starting with … [Read more...]