TechEd 2010 – Monday Morning

One of the nice unplanned parts of the trip was walking out the front door of the hotel to realize that there was a TechEd bus stop right across the street at the Intercontinental. Saved the $6 taxi fee (or the .9 mile walk). Arrived early at the convention center around 7:45 am, looked around […]

Teched 2010 – Sunday Part 2

Checkin at TechEd was fast, people were moving through very quickly. Photo ID required, get your badge, and then down to a different set of people to get a backpack and shirt. From there grabbed a taxi back to the hotel, enough walking for the afternoon. Cooled off for a few minutes, went through the […]

TechEd 2010 – Sunday

Flew out of Orlando Sunday morning via Southwest. It was my first time flying SW, I usually go with whoever has the direct flight and don’t any loyalty to any particular airline, not flying enough to pay attention to the miles. The SW boarding process is mildly interesting, not sure it’s faster than the way […]

Authors Needed for the SQL Server Standard

As you may recall we relaunched this late last year, trying to fill a gap in both content on sqlpass.org and in the career progression of writing and participating in the community. We’re looking for detailed articles of 3000-4000 words. We’ve got copy and tech editors, just need you to do the upfront work of […]

TechEd Next Week

I’m flying out early Sunday morning, looking forward to four days at TechEd. It will be a break from the routine and hopefully some good learning, both technically and seeing how MS treats press representatives. Drop me a note on Twitter (@SQLandy) if you’re attending, good to catch up people I see all too rarely!

Notes about Server SSDs

Note: This isn’t a recommendation or endorsement, just notes from some research I’ve done. Please contact your vendor before making purchasing decisions! I’ve had an SSD (solid state drive) in my laptop for a while now. There are times when the performance is downright impressive. SSD’s have been making some inroads into the world of […]

Would You Do Your Hobby For a Living?

Another recent editorial I wrote for SQLServerCentral talks about whether you would be happy doing your hobby for living. For years I considered computers and software a hobby, but for the past ten years or so it’s been a job and as such, less fun than when it was just for fun. I like working, […]

PreCon Sessions at the PASS Summit

My friend Andy Leonard posted yesterday about the process of getting selected for one of the coveted slots as a pre-con speaker, voicing concern about the process. I encourage your to read his post and the replies, in particular the one from Steve Jones. We’ll start at the beginning. Pre-cons are $399 one day classes, […]

Building Better (Different) Habits

For years, ever since I was first required to be on call, I’ve made it a habit to check my email each morning when I get up, seeing if there are problems to solve. Not a bad habit, could even call it diligent, since it’s not a good idea to wait until you walk in […]

Book Review: The Yankee Years

The Yankee Years by Joe Torre ($12 @ Amazon) was a gift, and I enjoyed it more than expected. When it first came out there was a lot of hoopla about it being an expose, and while I guess there is some of that, to me it wasn’t the point of the book or the […]