Women in Technology: A Quick Observation and a Quick Straw Poll

August 29, 2011 by 6 Comments

A bit of background:  Those aren't grand daughters of the Clampetts in the picture at right.  Those are my three daughters and three stepdaughters, all of whom I want to inherit the world - as little or as much as they want to take hold of.  (I already talked a bit about this in a post on my personal, family blog.  Be warned, it's all boring family photos and such).  Enabling them to have all of the choices and opportunities that are open to my son is a big motivating factor in my life.  So many years ago, when several PASS volunteers wanted to start doing more to build a community of support … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Challenges, Conferences, Ethics, Opinion, PASS, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, TCD blog post, Trends Tagged With:

Upcoming SQLSaturday Events in Omaha and Atlanta!

August 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I've had enough time off from traveling after my surgery to finally travel again.  First on the circuit , set for August 27th, is Omaha, Nebraska and SQL Saturday #91.  As a former Crimson Tide alum, I was stoked about going to the University of Nebraska, our once and future rivals on the Grid Iron.  But after a moment's confusion, I remembered that the Huskers are over in Lincoln, not Omaha.  (May Bear have mercy on my soul.) Almost all of the speakers are friends.  Many are Microsoft MVPs.  So it'll be great to catch up with these fine folks and, I hope, get a chance to meet many … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, Databases, PASS, Presentations, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, TCD blog post Tagged With: ,

Leadership, Management, and SQLRally

April 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Transparency - A Great Leadership Quality I've always appreciated how Andy Warren (blog| twitter) operates in the most transparent manner, especially as it relates to his role as a director for the Professional Association for SQL Server. For example, Andy's latest blog post about prepping for the SQLRally, to kick off in less than 30 days, is insightful and gives you a good idea of the sort of work a strong director for PASS needs to put in.  I also enjoy how Andy more or less thinks out loud and offers you the chance to provide your input.  In that latest blog post, he was mulling different … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, Governance, Interviews, PASS, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Strategies, Video Tagged With: , , , , ,

Funny Things You’ll Hear at the “Leadership for IT Professionals” at the 2011 SQLRally

April 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The 2011 PASS SQLRally is just about one month away and it's high time I highlighted some of the important things you'll be hearing about in my precon seminar Leadership and Team Management Skills for the IT Professional. Just to set the context, many of us IT people got to our lofty career positions because of our keen use of technology.  It takes a lot of smarts to get where we've gotten, but they are a very specific set of smarts that can't always be used in every business setting.  And, since so many of us have topped out in our potential salary as long as we stay in the trenches and the … [Read more...]

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SQLBits and Events in Dublin, Koln, and Malmo

April 5, 2011 by 1 Comment

SQLBITS One of the top highlights of my year is when I get to visit the great cities of Europe and meet with the great IT professionals there.  Last October, I was able to visit several cities in Europe, including my first ever stop in Stockholm and Malmo, Sweden.  Last year's SQLBits event was in the lovely city of York, England. This spring, in fact the next two weeks, I'll be on a whirlwind junket.  In just a few hours, I fly out to London and then drive down to Brighton for a couple days of SQLBits.  SQLBits has a great lineup of speakers and content this spring. I'm looking … [Read more...]

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Back in Atlanta! Wed, Feb 9 2011

February 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I always enjoy spending time with my friends from Atlanta, as well as meeting folks and making new friends. If you live in the Atlanta area, I hope you'll join me on the evening of Wednesday, February 9th, 2011.  Details are at the Atlanta SQL Server user group website. It's common knowledge that I have a terrible memory for many things.  However, one of the few things that my memory is usually really good at is remember names & faces (and remembering stories, but that is another story as well). It's only in the last couple years that I've gotten to know Atlanta-area folks like Aaron … [Read more...]

Filed Under: PASS, Presentations, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , ,

Education and Career Resources from Microsoft and the Community

January 28, 2011 by 1 Comment

Sometimes I'm timely in getting the news out on useful resources.  And, other times, I'm a bit slower on the draw.  As I told friends back at New Year's Day, "As an official member of the Procrastinators Club, welcome to 2008!"  On the other hand, it's always good to remind folks of great resources that are still available and on the shelf.  Why?  Well, the Internet hits us with such a deluge of constantly new material, that we often forget about the old(ish) stuff that's still really useful. Quest vConference for SQL Server One of the most popular teaching sessions I ever engaged … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Databases, On-Line Resources, PASS, Presentations, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, TCD blog post, Tips & Tricks, Video Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Video: Interview – Part 1: Quest Software

December 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Heather Eichman interviews Kevin Kline, the former President of PASS and strategy manager for the SQL Server business unit at Quest Software. Originally Posted on January 24, 2008. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, Interviews, PASS, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Video Tagged With: , ,

DBTA: Growing Like Weeds – Explosive SQL Server Grassroots Growth

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

One thing I really enjoy about the SQL Server community is its vibrancy.  I'll give you details on the SQL Server community's explosive growth in a moment, but let's start by comparing Microsoft SQL Server's user community with those of other significant database platforms. [READ MORE] Posted May 10, 2010 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, DBTA, Opinion, PASS, Professional Development, SQL Server, Trends Tagged With: , ,

Pirates of PASS: Curse of the Elections Process

November 5, 2010 by 1 Comment

Cross posted from Jorge Segarra's blog The last few weeks we’ve watched the drama unfold in regards to the PASS BOD elections. We’ve seen people attack criticize the NomCom, the board, PASS itself, the process and the decision of feeding of Gremlins after midnight. Thankfully the fireworks have died down and we can take a look at everything that has happened and make strides to move forward in a positive (and more importantly) constructive manner. Given that, I’ve been asked by my good friend Kevin Kline (Blog | Twitter) to respond to the following: Many in the community seem to think … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ethics, Governance, Opinion, PASS Tagged With: , ,
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