2016 PASS Nominating Committee Announced

I was pleased to hear today that I was selected for the 2016 NomCom, along with Joaquin Romero, Erin Stellato, and Thomas LeBlanc. We’ll be working with the Nominations Committee (NomCom) Chair, Thomas LaRock, and Board representative, Tim Ford. It is a solid team and I’m eager to get started. I’ll post occasionally on the […]

Notes from the March 2016 oPASS Meeting

Quick notes: Chinese food instead of pizza (thanks Shawn!) The wine bar is doing some remodeling to make better use of the space we (and presumably others) use by adding a pass through window to the bar area. That’s good, but the downside is the route to the restrooms appears to now require people to […]

SSC Editorial: On Time, or Not

Is being on time important? I think that might be a revealing interview question. The answer might or might not be a deal breaker depending on the hiring manager or the culture, but just hearing how they answer offers some interesting insight into how they see the world. The comments on the editorial seemed mostly in favor […]

Last Day to Submit Your Letter of Interest for the 2016 PASS Nominating Committee

I submitted my letter just a few minutes ago. It’s a template, doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to fill out and send in. I’m curious to see if we have more volunteers this year than in previous years with the streamlined requirements.

Thoughts on the March 17, 2015 PASS Town Hall

I listened to most of the town hall today. The main topic was the just voted on changes to the NomCom selection process, with some related questions and conversation about why someone should serve, requirements, etc. I like the town halls – not as good as in person, but reasonable. Feels like the pattern is […]

Notes from SQLSaturday Tampa 2016

Quick notes: Speaker dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse. Good location, but just a little confined and a little noisy. Perfect location is hard to find! Signs were up and looked good, though I heard a few people still weren’t quite clear to park (it’s a big parking lot). One or two more signs and/or a greeter […]

Notes From the February 2016 OPASS Meeting

I gave my presentation on automating restores. Part philosophy (why you need it) and part tech (one way to do it). Title still needs work, maybe the abstract too, but once we get started it seems to engage people. The biggest thing I’ve noticed from doing this presentation is the…unease?…when PowerShell is brought up. More […]

SSC Editorial: Lessons From Little Green Army Men

This one is about spending time with my daughter – she bought some army men as a toy after a visit to the doctor. It’s also a little bit about diversity because the package of army men was all male. Writing about father/daughter time is easy compared to writing about diversity. I like the story […]

SSC Editorial: Spousal Surcharges

I had to laugh as I write this, the “Spousal Surcharges” title is awfully close to clickbait. The topic is health insurance and the growing trend of employers charging employees a fee if their spouse has the option to get insurance via a different employer and opts out. Whichever side of the issue you agree […]

Comments on Proposed Changes to the NomCom Process

On Friday Thomas LaRock posted Changes to the NomCom Process on the PASS blog for comment prior to the Board voting on the changes at the March meeting. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so before reading my comments. First, some quick background and disclosures. I served on the committee […]

SQLAndy

Month: March 2016