Here, There, and Everywhere; Speaking in Fall 2011, Part 1

The last quarter of the year is usually my busiest due to the fantastic PASS Summit and SQLBits events.  The fall looks a little different ... BECAUSE IT WILL BE EVEN BUSIER!  Here's a rundown of where I'll be this fall through mid-October:   BASTA! SQLCON.NET September 26 to 29; Mainz, Germany This big developer and admin conference runs from September 26 to 29 in Mainz, Germany.  I'll be delivering at least one session and hobnobbing with Quest customers, friends, and in a very weird twist, my oldest daughter Emily, who will be in the Rhineland at the exact same time on a … [Read more...]

Free Webcast Series: Patterns and Practices in Database Administration

SSWUG.ORG’s virtual webcasts will prepare the “Accidental DBA” for patterns and practices they will experience in their role as a database administrator. I will provide easy-to-understand insights and realistic examples for professionals who have not had any formal DBA training. By the end of our four-part series, you should have the information needed to get up to speed on database planning, administration and performance tuning basics. Session Descriptions In the first session, you will see what is needed to fulfill the role of a (Database Administrator) DBA by learning more about what … [Read more...]

Leadership, Management, and SQLRally

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...]

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

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...]

SQLBits and Events in Dublin, Koln, and Malmo

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...]

Wednesday Quest: Exciting New Community for Users of Toad for SQL Server

Join the Toad for SQL Server Community! I was just bragging about how Toad for SQL Server keeps getting better.  In that post, I also pointed out a lot of great resources you can put to work immediately on improving your skills with this great tool.  (Incidentally, there's a freeware version without all of the features, but it's still quite useful.  And you can always use the beta product, if you want all of the features and many new features that are undergoing community testing.) One of the reasons that Toad is so good is that it's always been a community-driven product.  Back when I … [Read more...]

Come Aboard. We’re Expecting You

Those of us over a certain age (read - old as dirt) can remember the theme songs to certain TV shows better than we can the National Anthem. Try these lines out and see if you don't immediately remember the tune that goes along with them: Come and knock on our door | We've been waiting for you ... Makin' your way in the world today | Takes everything you've got ... Just some good ol' boys | Never meaning no harm ... Thank you for being a friend | Travel down the road and back again ... So when I got the news that my employer, Quest Software, wanted to send one of the team to an … [Read more...]

Totally Awesome and Totally Free Training SQL Server Training

One of the things that I enjoy about working for Quest Software is that we give back copiously to the community.  From activities and offerings like SQLServerPedia, to our free posters mailed anywhere in North America (and don't forget the free hi-res PDFs for the rest of the world), Don't forget that free DVDs of our virtual conferences featuring me, along with Buck Woody (blog | twitter) and Brent Ozar (blog | twitter) will be mailed anywhere in North America free of charge, now available at this link. Enjoy! -Kevin Twitter at kekline More content at http://KevinEKline.com … [Read more...]

Education and Career Resources from Microsoft and the Community

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...]

Azure, a Beautiful Color, and So Much More…

Windows and SQL Azure Resources Cloud computing is more than just the latest buzz word in the IT trade papers.  It is a remarkable paradigm shift with as much potential to "turn over the apple cart" of IT computing as client-server had for the world of mainframe and minicomputers.  If you're not spending time to learn about cloud computing, in general, and SQL Azure, in particular, then you're missing the boat in a big way.  (Ha! Two big metaphors in one afternoon. My high-school English teacher would be proud.) There are mountains, literally MOUNTAINS, of free and high-quality content … [Read more...]