Conferences and Classes

Next week at the PASS Summit, I’m presenting a session called “Yes, I’m Actually Using The Cloud.” I’ll be talking about what’s out there, why I use it, and why you might want to use it too. Brendan Cournoyer of SearchSQLServer.com interviewed me recently about the topic and asked questions like: For those who are…

In this session at the PASS Summit in Seattle, I’ll talk about the options for SQL Server in the cloud today and how I’m using them for my projects.  I’ll talk about how to choose the right cloud-based solution for your needs, and I’ll do a live demo of working with SQL Server in the…

I don’t reread blog posts after I’ve read ’em once.  If there weren’t comments when I first read the blog post, I’m not likely to go back to check later to find out what’s going on. However, I published one post recently that you might want to reread.  I interviewed Matt Morollo about why he’s…

The PASS Board of Directors election starts on October 12th, and we’ve got four really well-qualified candidates to choose from: Brian Moran (Twitter) Jeremiah Peschka (Blog – Twitter) Matt Morollo (Twitter) Tom LaRock (Blog – Twitter) You can read their bios at the PASS Candidate List, and they’re good, but I wanted more. I emailed…

If you groan when you read the words “social networking,” you’re in the right place. I’m a practical guy.  If a tool doesn’t help me get my job done better/faster/cheaper, I’m not interested in screwing around with it.  Today, I’m going to explain how some social media tools help me, and why I don’t bother…

The PASS Board of Directors election starts on October 12th, and we’ve got four really well-qualified candidates to choose from: Brian Moran Jeremiah Peschka (Blog – Twitter) Matt Morollo (Twitter) Tom LaRock (Blog – Twitter) You can read their bios at the PASS Candidate List, and they’re good, but I wanted more.  I emailed each…

The PASS Board of Directors election starts on October 12th, and we’ve got four really well-qualified candidates to choose from: Brian Moran (Twitter) Jeremiah Peschka (Blog – Twitter) Matt Morollo (Twitter) Tom LaRock (Blog – Twitter) You can read their bios at the PASS Candidate List, and they’re good, but I wanted more.  I emailed…

The PASS Virtualization Virtual Chapter is working with virtualization vendors to build an FAQ, and we’re going to hand it out at the PASS Summit in November.  We’re also working on a unique Q&A panel event talking about SQL Server & virtualization – more on that shortly. We’ve put together a one-page (well, one long…

I’m giving a presentation on Disaster Recovery Planning 101 at the PASS Summit in Seattle.  At past summits, I’ve struggled to pick good sessions to attend.  What’s the speaker’s real agenda?  Are they a decent speaker?  Can I see a short 3-4 minute preview of the material? This year I’m trying an experiment.  I’m recording…

The PASS Board of Directors election starts on October 12th, and we’ve got four really well-qualified candidates to choose from: Brian Moran Jeremiah Peschka (Blog – Twitter) Matt Morollo (Twitter) Tom LaRock (Blog – Twitter) You can read their bios at the PASS Candidate List, and they’re good, but I wanted more.  I emailed each…

I just got asked for advice on what it takes for geeks to rise up through the ranks of your company and become a manager. I’m probably the worst person to ask.  Check out my wacko career path: 1992 – Went to college determined to learn economics and preach capitalism to the newly freed Russian…

Having problems getting in with your links?  Here’s the links for the rest of the day: 24 Hours of PASS: Session 17 (PD) – Building a Better Blog (Steve Jones) – Noon EST 24 Hours of PASS: Session 18 (Dev) – Building Flexible Data Services for the Web Using the ADO .NET Data Services Framework…

I never attended a Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) meeting until I went to my first nation-wide summit in Denver in 2007.  I lived in an area (South Florida) that didn’t have a PASS presence, and I was just going to the PASS Summit for the SQL Server training. I thought the PASS Board…

Woohoo!  I’m presenting three sessions at the PASS Summit in Seattle this year.  I’m doing one with Jason Massie (Twitter – Blog) on Social Computing for the Database Professional (I don’t have the abstract handy for that one), and these two: Session: Yes, I’m Actually Using The Cloud Security in the Cloud There’s a lot…

I went to my first Professional Association for SQL Server Summit in 2007. I’d gone to a few local SQL gatherings, talked to other area DBAs, and worked on some pretty cool projects.  I really liked what I was doing, and I thought I was doing a decent job.  I knew I wasn’t a rocket…

I got an awesome group of responses for the initial PASS Virtualization Virtual Chapter.  I wish I could have taken everybody, but you know what happens when you have a committee with too many people: nothing gets done.  (Come to think of it, nothing gets done on committees period…) Meet the Hypervisors, also known as…

The Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) has several sub-groups for specialized groups of people: Application Developers – people who code applications that store data in SQL Server. Auditing and Compliance – people who need to secure their SQL Servers and be compliant with regulations. Business Intelligence – people who write reports, design cubes, and…

Kendal Van Dyke is a Senior SQL Server DBA from Florida, and he’s been blogging since last year.  He’s syndicated at SQLServerPedia, and his recent series on RAID performance is a must-read.  I’ve talked back and forth with him a lot lately, and I figured I’d try something new: a virtual interview.  I emailed Kendal…

PASS is on the ball this year!  They’ve got the web site and spiffy logo up and running for the 2009 Summit in Seattle. PASS Summit 2009 Logo Looking through the site, one change jumps out at me: the schedule this year will be Tuesday through Thursday, with pre-conferences running on Monday and Friday.  In…