I have never been really good at telling people ‘No.’ Let me clarify that – I have never been really good at telling people I work with ‘No.’ This trait put me in an interesting position recently when both @BrentO and @CHasker Instant Messaged me at work. Apparently I was the lucky guy to run Quest’s new Wiki/Blog site, OraDBPedia. If you are plugged into the wacky world of SQL Server, then you know all…
I travel quite frequently for my job. Number one on my list of ‘must have things’ on the road is a Navigation device. This used to be my trusty Garmin, but now thanks to my new Android device, I have Google Maps. There have been times and places where I don’t have the device available – either the GPS satellites cannot be acquired or i’m in D.C. where the accuracy of the positioning seems artificially…
One of the downsides to moving off the Apple technology platform for your mobile device is not being able to use iTunes to mange your media content on said mobile device. Enter doubleTwist! I have received two recommendations to try out the program after bemoaning the ‘drag and drop’ methodology of synching content to my new Android device. It is interesting to note that the Verizon reps are being trained to push people to doubleTwist.…
I had to check out Brent’s LinkedIn account to see just how long he had been at Quest. Wow, 2.25 years. It was only about a year ago that I became aware of Brent’s presence. I actually can’t remember if I stumbled across his blog first or heard his name mentioned in a conference call. Ahhh, as I type this, I now recall how I ‘met’ Brent. Via Twitter. @BetsyLM had compiled a list of…
Tradeshows, user groups, conferences, seminars are all used by vendors to meet with customers and hopefully increase the chance of a sale in the near future. I have been working these types of events since 1999. In that time, I have never seen a vendor resort to playing a feature length movie on the big screen in order to draw customers into their booth. For the past 2 hours I have been watching Avatar in…
This is not a volley in the RDMBS wars. This is a quick cheat sheet for getting started using Toad for SQL Server if you are already used to using Toad for Oracle. Pages not Windows Toad for Oracle is a classic Windows application that utilizes a classic MDI presentation. Toad for SQL Server uses ‘Document Tabs’ for each ‘Window’ you have open in the application. Object Explorer vs Schema Browser Of course a ‘Schema’…
Time. I finally have some ‘free’ time. I have chosen to spend this time wisely. Instead of being reactive to e-mails, phone calls, IMs, tweets, pokes, etc, I am going to get serious about my book. The book has been inside my head for several years now, and I feel comfortable enough with the story to put it into words. My goal is to have it available freely to any and all people who need…
The circle of people I follow in the IT world have recently been blogging about their travel habits. It’s no accident – companies are investing large amounts of money in business travel now. Hopefully if you meet someone face to face, they will listen to you next time you randomly call and ask for their attention in some matter. Yes, I know, that’s a bit blunt, but you’re naive to think a vendor is coming…
You know the drill: an email from your manager is inviting you to attend a dog-and-pony show for the latest widget some company has added to their best software product ever. The invite goes into your calendar and don’t think about it again until your screen starts flashing 5 minutes prior to start time. So, you head over to the conference room/LiveMeeting/WebEx/GoToMeeting, sit down, and prepare to zone out for the next hour or so.…
My friends, family, and colleagues are frequently asking me why I do Twitter. Or to be honest, when I ask if they are on Twitter, their response is less than enthusiastic. In fact, the most frequent response I get is either Rolling of the eyes, OR “I don’t need to tell people what I had for lunch yesterday.” I originally signed on to Twitter because I was morbidly curious. You can only hear something about…