Occasionally I'm asked how I come up with ideas for my blog to maintain the just about one a day tempo. The answer isn't complicated, I come across an idea or two every day, then I just add that idea to my todo list and revisit when I need material.… Read more

I thought this was a great talk and interesting to watch. If you build software, I’d check it out

He has some interesting ideas and comments and I like his very practical approach. Read more

Obviously, right?

I managed to knock my Blackberry Curve off the bar and into a bowl of water in the sink. Sinking feeling. After a day of drying it would power back on, but only show a JVM-102 error. Found some instructions via Google on how to fix; download a… Read more

Microsoft's free SQL Server Health & History tool (SQLH2) has had a minor update and can now be used with SQL Server 2008.

You can now download it at: http://www.codeplex.com/sqlh2

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Recently I posted about Managing My Todo List and I had a question via email about what notepad I was using - good to know I'm not the only one that sweats the details. For the past few months I've been using a Journalbooks 91340 that I was given by… Read more

I know, another non-technical blog post. But this one is career-related as well.

In high school I was introduced to William Faulkner, one of the greats in American literature. The president of the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics then, Dr. Lee Cox co-taught my 1st semester Special… Read more

SQL Server and Sybase are geared up to send information to applications over two distinct channels, the results in one channel that we all know and use that is dedicated to the processing of result sets, and both messages and errors in the other..

Messages were once used a lot… Read more

 I posted Do You Understand Microsoft Licenses about a week ago, and today happened to run across a note about some MS exams that seem to target the question:

• Exam 70-671: Designing and Providing Microsoft Volume Licensing Solutions to Small and Medium Organizations
• Exam 70-672: Designing and Providing Microsoft Volume…

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Late in getting this one out there, but it's interesting to see people's responses. Especially to my story.

As a kid we hear stories that we can do anything if we work hard enough. 35 years later, bum shoulder, bad joints, I realize that talent affects a lot of what… Read more

I suspect final preparations will stretch all the way through next Saturday morning, but at this point we've done most of the prep work that can be done in advance. I thought I'd share with you some of the work we've been doing and just overall progress on the event. Read more

I first ran across these words as a Citadel cadet. Now those who know of my days at El Cid know that I was far from a model cadet. I spent a lot of time just beating or ignoring the system. Part of it were some significant issues going on… Read more

I’ve thought this for a long time: you need to run your business as a business, not an investment. Too often it seems that public companies, and many startups, are run like an investment, someone seeking to maximize a stock price (or a selling price) by making short term decisions.… Read more

I have two speaking engagements for the week of October 19:

South Florida SQL Server User Group - West Palm Beach - October 23, 2008

http://www.gcsqlgroup.com/

I'll be giving a presentation called Fortress SQL Server, which looks at how to best utilitize SQL Server security features. The audience is… Read more

Why, when you can help others, that's when! 

In my role as a senior Moderator with the MSDN SQL Forums, I am often asked "How do I become a Moderator on the Forums?"

I am quite appreciative and heartened when folks indicate, and then demonstrate, their interest in helping others. Volunteering to assist… Read more

I've had a bunch of writings based on finances over the last couple weeks, and I've tried to spread them out so as not to overwhlem or bore people. Some people don't care and others are so deep they probably think I'm not looking at it enough. And this isn't… Read more

I've just recently acquired a new laptop and my resolution is to install no software on it that I'm not previously experienced with or have first tested on a virtual image. Why? I'm completely tired of watching the lastest and greatest hardware take minutes to boot as it gets junked… Read more

As I travel and visit DBAs from around the United States, I am always surprised at the job titles DBA have. Rarely is their official job title "DBA." Some are Data Analysts, Data Architects, System Administrators, IT Specialists, Developers, and on the rare occasion, Database Administrator.

So, for fun, I… Read more

I was teaching a private class recently that had both DBA's and network types in the room, one of the items that came up for discussion was about the 'correct number of drive letters' that should be used. The DBA's had set up separate drives for:

• Master & MSDB
• TempDB

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Every week, there are dozen of free educational events to attend throughout the United States. The sad part is that many people don't attend because they don't know about them. Unfortunately, there is still no single source listing all of the available free technical events you can attend, but there… Read more

I've always been very concerned about where I work. Well, maybe not always, since early in my career I took jobs just to make more money or get ahead, but once I had kids, when I was about 30, I really started to pay more attention to how I could… Read more