I'm enjoying a relaxing Saturday morning and I'm doing a bit of reading on ESPN. I see the article about Kobe reaching another scoring milestone and decide to give it a read. I'm admittedly a Lakers fan; I have been since I first watched Byron Scott knocking down outside shots. So naturally, I enjoy reading up on the Lakers and what their players are doing. It's a normal sports article talking about Kobe's scoring, and I begin to yawn, and then I see this:
Bryant visited Olajuwon over the summer to learn more about low-post play, and the Houston Rockets' famed center provided Kobe with even more skills to keep knocking down scoring marks.
Now that caught my attention. Here is a guy who just won the NBA championship... again. He's won a scoring title. He's considered the greatest closer in the game. Yes, even over Bron Bron. Don't believe me? go back and watch the end of the gold medal game against China. We were going to lose. And Kobe took over. Everybody, including Lebron, deferred to Kobe. And USA won. USA won because when Kobe gets that glint in his eye, nobody can stop him. He has too many offensive options. And if he happens to get hot as he's taking over a game? It's over and over in a hurry. He can beat you inside. He can beat you outside. He can beat in the low post or driving the paint. He can beat you when you're sleeping in your bed and he's two zones away watching Lionel Messi light it up on the pitch. So if anyone doesn't need to worry about his offensive game, it's Kobe. But Kobe obviously didn't rest on his laurels. He went and visited Hakeen "The Dream" Olajuwon to work on low-post play. Olajuwon had that post-up fade away jump shot no one could stop. He could up and under on a spin move that was equally unstoppable. It was all part of his "Dream Shake" package. And that's who Kobe went to learn from.
And that reminded me that I can never stop learning. There's always more to do. There's always more to understand. If Kobe can go to Olajuwon, I can go to the top folks in whatever field or endeavor I'm working on, whether it be SQL Server, the Bible, flute, cooking, chess, or something else. Speaking of chess, I'll end on another guy who hasn't stopped, Victor Korchnoi. At the age of 78 he won the Swiss Chess Championship. He continues to play well at grandmaster levels, despite his advanced age. That's an inspiration to keep pushing hard to grow and do better if there ever was one.
Given everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks, this is not surprising to those who have kept up with my family's most recent struggle. I had one more big decision to make from a professional side of things and that was whether or not to still attend and present at SQL Connections. With Kimberly's physical recovery time being at least two weeks, that was an easy decision to make. I will be staying at home, tending to my beloved bride, as she heals physically. The emotional healing for both of us is going to take much longer, but the warmth and love from our family, friends, church, and the wonderful SQL Server community has helped that process tremendously. Many of your comments have brought tears to our eyes as we have read them. Thank you.
One of the reasons I love our SQL Server community is because of the caring I've seen within it. It transcends a common love for a particular technology to manifest itself in compassion and caring for one another. And that makes me very glad and very humble to be a part of it. We have a truly great and wonderful community.
This year I was really looking forward to going to the PASS Summit. It's worth every penny in the knowledge you'll gain and the networking opportunities you'll encounter. You know, a lot hasn't been said on the later, but let me throw my two cents worth in here (since we're talking about pennies). The friends I have made and the relationships I have expanded on through the one PASS Summit I was able to attend have been extremely rewarding to me personally. I tweeted about how I consider a few folks my unofficial mentors in Steve Jones and Andy Warren. Being able to meet them and really get to know them at the PASS Summit was the main highlight of that conference for me. It's where I learned a lot more about them personally, where they come from, what their backgrounds are, and that time spent, along with other opportunities over the years, has been the reason I so value their wisdom and advice. But I've met and built relationships with other folks, too, through that conference and you know, if you were to sum up the hours I've spent talking, trading emails, getting technical advice, bouncing ideas, etc. off at a regular consultant's bill rate, I've come out way ahead. It's not about bill rates for me, don't get me wrong. But a lot of folks are not going to be able sell their manager on "relationships" in a lot of cases. So we need to take something that business uses. So if we're talking about something business can use to understand the benefits of sending its people, that's money. If I added up the bill rate for all those "consulting" hours that no one paid for versus what it costs to go to one conference, travel and accomodations included, business comes out incredibly ahead. Maybe that's another way to approach asking to go to the Summit or any other major conference like TechEd.
So back to what I was saying, I was looking forward to going to the Summit. There are a lot of folks I want to meet in person. There's a lot of stuff I want to learn about. This year was the first year I had a topic selected. And I'm a SQL Server MVP this year, and while I hope I'll be renewed come January, I know that's not a given. Plus, the recent PASS elections and some comments made by folks I respect (Andy Kelly, Adam Machanic, to name two) have made me realize that there PASS is a community and it's a professional organization, but it needs cash flow, too. So I wanted to talk to folks and see how I might help in that regard. Being a gopher and making phone calls and sending emails is something I can do, even if I don't have the business background of some folks. It's a way I can contribute to help PASS get better. And I figured the Summit was a good way to talk face-to-face with the right folks. So there were a lot of things saying, "Go west, young man!" But ultimately, it's about choices and priorities. I blogged about how I was impressed with a statement Brian Moran made. Here's his statement again:
"I’ve learned over the years that there are a lot of things that I can delegate to other people. I can’t delegate being a good husband or father. I prioritize those jobs on a daily basis even when I’m super busy with other professional responsibilities."
I'm of the same mindset. I can't delegate being a proper husband and father. I also won't abdicate or shirk those roles. Yesterday, when my wife and I went for our 20 week ultrasound, they noticed twins. Yeah, we were shocked. So were the nurse and doctor. Nothing previously had indicated twins, including the initial ultrasound and some of the screenings that have been done. As they examined using ultrasound, they could only see one placenta (which likely means identical twins). So that kicked us into "high risk" and we've got a referral working to doctors at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. I make fun of USC all the time due to their repeated futility in college sports, but their high risk pregnancy docs are great. I know, because the previous pregnancy we had to see them for a different matter (which has repeated itself in this pregnancy). The referral appointment may reveal that there are two placentas. And we drop back out of high risk. But it may also mean additional tests and checks, because they weren't able to get all the things they wanted to get on baby B (who was starting a trend of being uncooperative with the doctors... repeating the behavior of our 4 year-old daughter) even though what they were able to get on both, everything looks good. At this point we just don't know. The referral appointment should come in the next week or so, but most likely during the week of the Summit.
So as disappointed as I am, it wasn't a very hard decision as to what to do. I had already thought of this back in June because of a question Brad McGehee asked with regards to SQL Connections, when they were no emotions and no concerns and I could think through it in a coldly logical fashion (like Lori Edwards does). But even without that prior question, we're talking family. We're talking my wife. And that makes it a no-brainer of a choice. I've talked about my faith and that will always be first. But she's next on the pecking list. In fact, my faith says that had better be the way it is in my life. So while I will lament the fact that I can't be at the Summit this year, I won't lose any sleep over making this decision. For those who were looking to meet me, the couple of you out there, I hope we'll meet at other venues soon.
I should be writing a technical post in the next day or so. I've been focusing more on the community and professional development side because that's what is foremost in my mind right now. And that brings me to public speaking. I will admit that I've had a lot of experience being in front of a group of folks. You can go back to my days at The Citadel as a reason for that. My sophomore year, I participated in a group called C.A.D.R.E., which was a take-off of the cadre, the upper-classmen responsible for training the incoming freshmen each year (I did that, too, as a junior). C.A.D.R.E. stood for Citadel Alcohol Drug and Resource Educators and our primary responsibility was to provide education on alcohol and drug prevention. The Citadel had been smacked around with some public incidents where cadets had imbibed and then done something that made the newspaper. Hence the formation of C.A.D.R.E. But we quickly evolved into a drug/alcohol prevention group for the schools around Charleston than so much for The Citadel. I gave one presentation at The Citadel and one more at College of Charleston, but the bulk of my work was out in the public and private schools from 1st grade through 12th. And some of those were hostile crowds, for obvious reasons. But I really learned that speaking in front of a crowd was a learned skill. And because of some personal background having seen alcohol abuse first hand, I wanted to do everything I could to ensure these kids didn't follow down that same destructive path, even if I had only 30 minutes with them. So I forced myself to stay in there, to practice, to understand what it took to reach the various age groups, and to communicate clearly that I cared. As a result, I got better and got better in a hurry.
Since then I've taught Sunday School, led youth group, preached, and a lot of that on at least a several times a week basis. So I'm constantly in practice, if you want to look at it that way. I've got to be. The ministry I feel I've been called to is just as important to me as C.A.D.R.E. was back in my Citadel days. But you know what? I knew I could do better. Enter Toastmasters. Toastmasters has been around for a while (since 1924). And its purpose is to help people overcome their fear of public speaking and to become better at it. My organization has a private Toastmasters club, so I decided one day to join up. I realized quite quickly that there is an organized plan of development both as a speaker (through the Competent Communicator track) and as a meeting facilitator (through the Competent Leader track). To become a Compentent Communicator, you must give ten introductory speeches. Each speech is critiqued by an evaluator. That evaluator's job is to tell you what you did well and give you a suggestion or two (in a gentle, affirming way) for further improvement. For those new to Toastmasters, you should be assigned a mentor who is supposed to help you prep for your first few speeches, assist you in the first several meetings you attend, and get you ready for any roles you may take on at a given meeting. In other words, it's built around training everyone to be better at speaking and interacting in public.
In the SQL Server community there are a lot of smart folks out there. I've run across a few who, in one-on-one interactions, you learn quite a bit about how much they know about a given subject. But they are afraid to get in front of a user group or submit an abstract for something like the PASS Summit to present. If you are one of those people, I would urge you to take a look at Toastmasters. We need your experience in the community. We would love to interact with you and exchange ideas, tips, tricks, and knowledge. You are a valuable resource to others around you. Just as valuable as any of us you see doing presentations all the time. And truth be told, I get nervous before a presentation, too. That's natural. But I believe in what I'm doing, I care about the folks I'm speaking to, and that helps me overcome my fears. The community has been awesome to me, giving me opportunities I would never have dreamed of when I started to get involved with SQL Server a little over ten years ago. And so I feel compelled to give back in any way I can. It's the least I can do for so many folks who have taken the time to help me learn, grow, and gain experience. Hopefully, you feel the same way and you just need a little push in the right direction. Toastmasters can give that push, in a very positive way. So if you've not checked out Toastmasters, hit the site, look for a few clubs near you that fit your schedule and give them a try. At least one (I know several Toastmasters who are members of multiple clubs) should be the right place for you:
Toastmasters International
This past Saturday I was able to participate in the Carolina Code Camp, help just outside Charlotte, NC. I was there for the morning part, spending time with family in Charlotte for the afternoon. So let me go over both the good and the bad, starting with the bad first. There are lessons to be learned in the bad.
The Bad
Let me start by saying that the bad with CarCC had nothing to do with the Code Camp itself. They are just reminders for me as an individual. Hopefully, if they aren't things you've thought of, you can learn vicariously through my mistakes.
The first bad was not taking the time to email some folks beforehand to see if they were going and to try and connect with them before I got there. While code camps, SQL Saturdays, and conferences should be about learning, to a certan extent they should be about networking, too. For instance, ASP.NET MVP Chris Love (who I only know through Twitter) and SQL Server MVP Paul Nielsen were both at Carolina Code Camp. But I missed out on meeting them in person because I didn't get my ducks in a row ahead of time. I'll not make that mistake again. I also missed out on seeing Boyd Evert from the Charleston PASS Chapter and a couple of local developers I used to work with but who have moved on from AgFirst. Next time, I'll do better.
The second bad was not going through my checklist when I was done speaking. I was looking forward to hearing SQL Server MVP Alejandro Mesa present, and since we were in the same room (him right after me), I wanted to clear out the space to give him time to setup so he wouldn't be rushed. As a result, when I was packing my equipment back in my laptop bag, I left my power adapter on one of the tables there. I didn't realize it was missing until after I had gotten back home, almost 2 hours away from the venue, and long after the event had finished up. I ended up ordering a replacement from Dell Saturday night, but for the second order in a row, it looks like it has gotten lost in their system. I've filed a customer support ticket with them, haven't gotten anything back but the automated email, and I don't expect anything different than, "We're sorry, it's us, not you. Can you place the order again and cross your fingers it will actually go through this time?" So I'll probably be running down to an office supply store looking for a universal one because I'm quite fed up with Dell. I used to be a big fan, but the experiences I've had with them over the last two years means I'm likely done with them as a customer until I hear from peers that things have substantially improved.
The Good
The first was finally being able to hear Alejandro present. He's done some other venues, but I've always had a conflict. When you hear him talk and go through the topic, you understand why his presentations have been highly regarded. I enjoyed the talk immensely, learned a few new things, and enjoyed talking with him. If you haven't met Alejandro, you should. He's a humble guy that knows a ton, is very helpful, and cares about his craft and the community.
The second I was able to meet Jeff Schroeder, another active SQL Server type in the area. His presentation was at the same time as mine, but he came to Alejandro's, and we were able to talk a bit afterwards as a group. Jeff's another knowledgeable guy who has seen some interesting vendor packages and had to come up with creative solutions to attack the issues they cause. So I'm going to follow back up with Jeff, because he's a nice guy, knows his stuff, and brings a different perspective because of his experience that I could learn from.
The third was the venue, the Levine Campus at Central Piedmont Community College. They have a very nice setup that was very conducive to a code camp. I was very impressed with the facilities. I think Alejandro indicated they may be trying to do a SQL Server centric activity there, and the college has agreed to lend the space. Apparently there are some very good, community minded folks there in addition to the awesome setup. We would love to have similar access to facilities half that nice here in Columbia, SC.
The fourth good were some of the ideas that were bounced around in a very short time. Alejandro was making a comment about how hard it is to present on query tuning and optimization on an hour, because to understand what you're seeing, you've got to understand the theory. But to make any sort of headway is hard, because there's more than an hour of material in there. Alejandro was only focusing on plan caching and re-use. He said up front that he wasn't touching recompiles because there was simply no time. One of the things I thought about is having a deep dive track or two during the SQL Saturdays. Where you'd get a topic like query tuning and optimization for the morning and another deep dive in the afternoon, maybe on peformance tuning. I think it's something worth approaching Andy Warren about, so I probably will, especially when both Alejandro and Jeff seemed to think it was a good idea. Some topics just need more time.
So that wraps up my experience for Carolina Code Camp 2009. It was a great code camp and I'm looking forward to going back again next year. Hopefully, Midlands PASS will be able to help out in the organization of it in 2010. We'd certainly like to be included along with the .NET user groups.
I'll be doing three talks this week, starting tomorrow (Tuesday).
If you're able to make it out for any of the three talks, I'd love to meet you. Whether your new to the crowd or an old hand in the community, relationships are what make it work.
For Charleston, I'll likely have my family with me. I'm a Citadel graduate and my wife is a College of Charleston and The Citadel Graduate College graduate (she has an M. Ed., which makes her the smartest one in our household), so we get back as a family whenever we can. At some point I'm going to get my oldest son involved in helping with the presentations because he loves doing things with me and he's about the right age to be able to help out. But that will probably be starting next year. I need to start his SQL Server education properly, but that means starting with the idea of set theory and functions and building from there.
And if you can get out to the Carolina Code Camp in Charlotte, you won't be disappointed. Each block is chalk full of great sessions and the only problem you'll have is deciding which session you want to go to the most. There isn't a single block where there isn't at least two sessions I would like to be at, so it looks like I'll have to do some random determination if I can't decide. So come on out, meet others who are in the same field, and start building connections and bonds with others who are passionate about technology.
Jorge Segarra (@SQLChicken) has put together an idea to have on-line basic lessons on SQL Server called SQL University. The idea is to present two to three lessons each week in a somewhat academic manner, one that will hopefully encourage learning. It is targeted at the new or "accidental" SQL Server DBA. In this endeavor he has asked around for others in the community to pitch in and help. I've volunteered to take on Security Week (sounds like Shark Week, a nod to my friend and fellow SQL Server MVP, Frank Kalis, who loves sharks).
Jorge has already gotten the first week of lessons up. In addition, he should be making an annoucement soon as to some of the other faculty members as well as the athetic director so stay tuned here:
SQL University
Cross posted from The Goal Keeping DBA:
This is about a long term goal that I’ve had which isn’t posted on here, and that’s to eventually be a technical trainer in some capacity. The fact of the matter is I love to teach. I learned that when as a sophomore at The Citadel I spent much of second semester that year in public schools around Charleston teaching drug and alcohol prevention and while doing tutoring at Burke High School, also as a cadet. I teach at least twice a week as part of my duties as a junior high youth minister, and every so often I put on a “brown bag lunch” presentation at work, talking about a technical subject. Plus, I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years giving presentations to user groups, both to give back to the community, but also because I just love teaching.
So one day I would love to be a technical trainer in a part time capacity (I think you need some time doing real world work, too, to make you a more effective trainer). And I took my first solid step in that direction by completing a Train the Trainer course at MicroStaff IT that Microsoft recognizes for its Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) certification. We also recorded the presentation (part of the exit requirement for the class) that hopefully is good enough to submit for the second part of the Certified Technical Trainer+ (CTT+) certification from CompTIA. I’ve got other requirements to complete (MCITP for the MCT and a written exam for the CTT+), but the Train the Trainer course was the most difficult because it’s not offered very much and because the cost was completely out of pocket. However, if my goal is to be one day be a technical trainer, it is a worthwhile investment in my career.
On a related note, Pete Mourfield, head of the Augusta Developers Guild, was also taking the class and we got a chance to work together. Pete’s a smart guy and passionate about the developer community. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and learning from him. If you get a chance to get to one of his presentations, even if you’re not a developer, you certainly should. You will definitely take away some useful knowledge. Pete is, as we say in the South, “good people.”
The first meeting of the Charleston PASS Chapter will take place Thursday night, September 17, starting at 6 PM. The first topic will be an intro to SSIS for 2005/2008. You can find more information and register on the web site:
http://charleston.sqlpass.org/
Woo hoo! Charleston, SC is starting up a Professional Association for SQL Server official chapter. It is being started up by Boyd Evert. The site will be here:
Charleston PASS Site
Right now the sample site is still up as it just got turned on, but I expect that to change in the next week or so. I'll be down there for the October 8th meeting to present. So if you're from in and around Charleston, keep checking at the site as it gets updated. I'd love to meet any and all SQL Server types from my old stomping grounds.
I'm reading through Brad McGehee's How to Be an Exceptional DBA and in chapter 4 he talks about having the right skill set. Brad starts right out of the gate talking about formal education. To be a DBA breaking in may be more difficult without a computer-related four year degree, but it can be done. One of the things Brad talks about is that he knows quite a few DBAs who don't have a traditional computer science or information technology degree. I'm one of those. My degrees are in physics and mathematics. And while that may be considered closer than say anthropology or theology, the fact of the matter is that even a computer science degree doesn't strictly prepare one to be DBA.
However, the facts don't lie. Statistics published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the trend is towards more jobs requiring at least a four year college degree. As a junior high youth minister, these types of facts are of interest to me, because one of the things I want to make sure of is that my junior high schoolers know this sort of information so they'll be able to make good choices in high school and hopefully later on in college. If you look at the bottom of page 4, you can see that while the education cluster of "some college" doesn't change in projections from 2006 to 2016, the other two categories do. The number of jobs for high school graduates or less is expected to drop by 1.1% and that number ends up going to bachelor's degree or above. When you consider new jobs as well, though, it swings a bit more in favor of the college degree.
Then I weigh in the experience some of my colleagues without a college degree have had. In a couple of cases, they weren't hired because they missed that "checklist" item. In a couple of other cases, while they were gainfully employed, they were offered a smaller salary because they didn't have the degree. I know of one case where the difference was several thousand dollars a year. So putting these types of situations together with the projections, what can we say? Well, we can't say that you have to have a degree. But what we can say is that if you don't have a degree, it'll be harder, simply because it'll be harder in general. And even if one does get the job, not having the degree may cost one a tangible amount in actual salary.
So if you don't have a four year degree, should you care? I look at a degree much like I do certification: having it can help, but not having it doesn't automatically mean you fail. With that said, I know a couple of friends who, in their thirties, have embarked on the quest to complete their bachelor's degree. While they may be very good at what they do, they want the degree. It may not be for the job. It may be completely for them, to say they accomplished it. And I think that's a better attitude than believing you have to have the degree. If you're doing it for you, the classes mean more to you and you put more into them. When you're just trying to get through them to get the sheepskin, then you do enough to get the grade you want, but the class itself isn't very meaningful. I learned that especially as a dual major once I chose to take coursework outside of my majors. These were classes I wanted to take because I was interested in the subject, not classes I was required to take to complete one of my majors. And I found that I was more willing to put in the time to learn the material. Case in point: I think my favorite class after four years of college was abnormal psychology. Closely on its heels was cognitive psychology. Neither of those were required for graduation. So I lean more towards they why. Why are you doing it? That should be taken into serious consideration before beginning the journey to complete a college degree, whether at the bachelor's level or higher.
2009 PASS Summit Trip Contest:
If you want an opportunity to win an all expenses paid trip to the PASS Summit, check here for more information. There are two ways to win.
24 Hours of PASS:
24 straight hours of live webcasts from SQL Server experts. And it's all free! No training budget? No problem! You can register here.
SQL Server Standard is Returning:
The details of SQL Server Standard's return has been posted by the new editor, Grant Fritchey. Do you have some writing credits under your belt and would like an opportunity to write? Check here for the details.
Keynotes for the 2009 PASS Summit Announced:
If you haven't heard who the keynotes are for this year's Summit, check here at the recent announcement. Based on the information provided, it looks like they'll be speaking to the future of SQL Server and Microsoft's BI platform.
Thanks to Mike Walsh for really getting this started. Active August is similar to Fit February where folks endeavor to make changes in their lifestyle to get in better shape. I didn't join in on the Fit February but I do plan on getting on board for Active August. I need to as I'm still woefully out of shape. My plan:
That's my plan. If you're not extremely active (see Steve Jones) already, how about joining in? Tweet or blog about to help encourage others in the community to try and get in better shape and stick with their plans. August 1 is a Saturday, the perfect day to get started!
We had my organization's semi-annual combined IT and financial meeting this morning. At the end of these meetings awards and certifications are announced. I had earned an award but I wasn't recognized. I'm a bit disappointed, and I can understand why, but I also know that I shouldn't be. Oversights happen and the things I did to earn the award in question I did because I wanted to do them, not because of the award itself. I enjoyed doing those things and in my mind that should be reward enough. So I'm struggling with myself over the fact that I am disappointed.
To put things in perspective, I'm disappointed about not having my name called whereas the guy who was sitting next to me will likely have to pull an all-nighter to facilitate a customer migration to new servers. And this is after he was up working until 1 AM this morning prepping for the move that will happen tonight. Not only that guy, but two other guys I know will be working like crazy. With that sort of reference point, not having my name called is a really silly reason to be sad.
This got me to thinking about how often we let emotions drive us. Some emotion is good. We should feel passionate about what we are doing. I was passionate about doing those things which earned me the award in the first place. That's emotion. I think if we're using emotion to motivate us to do better, that's fine. But when emotion holds us back from our best, that's a different story entirely. I have had a little talk with myself about how it won't help to be disappointed and that if I were in the same position and there was no award, I still would have done those same things and enjoyed doing them.
It also made me realize that I do wish I had a local mentor to talk to, someone I could pull aside to help me see things in their proper perspective. I was able to see things as they are and make corrections, but that's not always going to happen. Andy Warren has written a lot on mentoring and it has spurred my thinking about the importance of mentors, especially lately. I think that's one thing great mentors are able to do: help folks see things in the proper perspective. In IT our work is so involved and it can consume us. So we can lost perspective on its importance in our life. Likewise, we can have situations like mine today. And we can react wrongly and let affect our actions, our mood, our life. There's no real reason to let that continue. But sometimes it really takes another person, someone we trust and someone we know who's looking to help us grow, to get that through our heads.
Early last week, my church suffered a lightning strike that did quite a bit of damage (relatively speaking) to computer and media equipment. I spent a lot of time last week during off hours working the issue along with some other very knowledgable folks. We're not out of the woods yet, but we were up and running and were able to cover a funeral last Friday and worship services on Sunday. In thinking about it all, it brought me back to business/disaster recovery. Since a church is a relatively simple model, I figured I would blog about it to hopefully stir some thoughts for more complex situations and conditions.
Understand What You Need and When You Need it By, Before the Disaster
This one should be self-explanatory, but I've seen cases where it has not been done. I'm the junior high youth pastor at my church and we're not very heavily computerized like some churches. So no one had really considered this thoroughly for us. We carry cell phones if members need to reach us. As long as we have a building with seating, we can hold most of the services we "provide." So our essential recovery is rather limited in scope. But if you're a business of any size, you need to do this before a disaster does hit. In our case we made a quick evaluation of what was critical for services. Getting all of our lighting back was essential. Sound and A/V for the funeral and services was most pressing after that. Establishing network connectivity, especially Internet connectivity for a couple of the systems followed. Everything else was after those key priorities.
Assess the Damage
After the lightning strike, one of the first things we needed to do was assess the damage. Actually, we took a slightly different approach, in that we assessed what "systems" didn't work. Knowing what is damaged tends to be a little trickier, because if you have multiple components/systems in-line, you've got to test 'em to determine what's actually broke. This is what we noted were down:
Once we knew what was down, we started looking at the component parts. For instance, not all the phones were down. So we took the ones that were and tried to connect them to the lines that were working. No dice. When we plugged them in to the power bricks that were working, they were dead. So we knew the phones themselves were history. With respect to networking, the DSL router was fried. It didn't even power up. We had another power cord that was known good with the same power characteristics and that didn't work. The DSL router was also a switch. So I grabbed a known good switch and tried to network the computers. No Internet, but access to printers and the like could be had... except that didn't work, either. I suspected the NICs on those computers, especially after one of the office computers didn't recognize its NIC any longer. However, another did recognize its NIC, but I couldn't get connectivity. I suspected the wiring, especially since I had one component I believe to be good not working when connected to the switch. In any case, you get the idea. We did this for all the components.
Have Your Insurance, Service Provider, and Hardware/Software Reselleres Contact Information Ready
Once we had determined there was some damage, one of the church staff placed a call to the insurance provider to verify the process for submitting a claim. Before we did anything with the equipment, we wanted to know how to proceed. We were able to get the information and start handling the equipment appropriately. The last thing we wanted to do was handle the equipment in such a way that the insurance company could say, "You violated subsection A of your agreement and we won't reimburse." We also contacted the DSL provider and had a new DSL router sent. Part of recovering from a disaster is filing the claims to be able to pay for equipment that has to be replaced. And part of it is understanding where you can get the replacement equipment.
Determine Work-Arounds
We had an action plan on how to proceed with recovering capabilities (we're still executing on it). In one case, the Internet connectivity, once we got the DSL router in, like most nowadays, it had wireless capability. Thankfully, though it looks like our phones/networking got hit by the lightning, once the new router came in, it was apparent that we still had DSL service. I was able to get that connected and running fairly quickly. However, since I'm almost positive the wiring is shot but I can't be sure about the NICs, we ran out and grabbed a couple of USB wireless NICs to install to provide some capability for Internet connectivity within the church. I knew there was a strong signal throughout the top floor because I did a walk around with a laptop and made sure of it. There are plenty of tools out there for this purpose. But a rather simple thing to do is walk around connected and just see if you can hit particular web sites. That's the low tech solution and it works just fine. Because I didn't have my normal security tools on this particular laptop, I went with the low tech option. The USB wireless NICs worked great and we had two systems on-line on the Internet.
Keep a Running List of Unresolved Issues and Reprioritize As Necessary
One of the applications we use for AV was built for two monitors. We were able to determine the second output of the video card had been damaged, which meant we were down to the single monitor. While the second monitor was good, we were able to verify the projector was hit, too. We had a spare projector, but no one had done the research on how to get the application running on a single monitor. We had temporarily used PowerPoint and hand-typed lyrics in, but we wanted to use the app because it handled this and handled it well. So after Sunday morning, we looked at where we were and noted that we still hadn't fully restored that capability. So before evening service we sat down and did that research. While running on a single monitor isn't ideal, it's do-able until we swap out the soundboard computer within the next week.
Determine What Can Be Done to Avoid the Disaster or Respond Better to It (Lessons Learned)
In our particular case, we had surge protectors and the like in place, but we're talking lightning here. Some of it was sufficient based on the exposure of the equipment, but some of it wasn't. We're looking at the building and seeing what else can be done, but there's only so much that can be done in this situation. That's one of the reasons it is smart to carry insurance. But if you have a failure, use it as an opportunity to learn. What could have been done to avoid the situation, if any? Is it reasonable for the business? What was done that could have been done better to recover? Were the recovery procedures satisfactory? Is there something else that needed to be done? Once you've looked at the situation, go back to your recovery plan and make the appropriate changes.
