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Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Ruminating on issues pertinent to the design and development of sound databases and processes under Microsoft SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005, and SQL Server 2000 (while reserving the right to vent about anything else that's on my mind)
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SQL Server Resources
Michael Rys' blog
Kimberly L. Tripp's blog
Adam Machanic's blog
SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3
Books OnLine For SQL Server 2005 SP1
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SQL Server Customer Advisory Team blog
Tips, Tricks and Advice from the SQL Server Query Processing Team
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How Mark Felt Fooled The FBI
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an American original
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Warren's progeny; a singular talent in his own right
Wolfgang's Vault
Forty years of Bill Graham concerts streaming online!
Pat Metheny on Kenny G
The jazz guitarist editorializes, employing several of George Carlin's seven words in the process
Published Articles
XML To The Max: Get More Power Out Of Your SQL Server
a primer on XML manipulation in SQL Server 2000
XML Programming In SQL Server 2005
a primer on XML manipulation in SQL Server 2005
Other Publications
SQL Q&A - Technet Magazine, Winter 2005
SQL Q&A - Technet Magazine, October 2006
SQL Q&A - Technet Magazine, January 2007
SQL Q&A - Technet Magazine, February 2007
SQL Q&A - Technet Magazine, August 2007
Panel Discussions
SQL PASS 2006: The Growing World of SQL Server: Surviving the Data Avalanche (Nov. 19)
A Bit More From Me
Ward Pond's TechEd Developers 2008 Resource Page
slide decks and demonstration scripts from my TechEd Developers 2008 presentations
The Pond's Laws Home Page
a compendium of the Pond's Laws posts
WardPond.net
my personal web page
zPond's Ponderings
my personal blog (pardon the extraneous character, but these items are alpha sorted)
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Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
More About Our Dad, Thomas Alexander Pond
Posted
Sat, Sep 4 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
We've posted Dad's obituary online at my website . Please stop by and read it. He lived a remarkable life. -wp this copyrighted material was originally posted at http://blogs.technet.com/wardpond . the author and his employer are pleased to provide...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
RIP Thomas Alexander Pond: 1924-2010
Posted
Thu, Sep 2 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
I’ve been down, but not like this before - Paul Barrere (Little Feat), All That You Dream It’s a very disturbing trend in one’s life when so much of one’s writing begins with the three letters which this entry does. It’s...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
RIP Richie Hayward: 1946-2010
Posted
Thu, Aug 12 2010
by
Ward Pond
1
Comments
Sad, sad news today from the worlds of music and friendship: Richie Hayward – founding member, drummer, writer, and singer in the seminal American rock and roll band Little Feat – lost his year-long battle with liver cancer today. He was only...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Two New Corners of the InterWebs -- and They’re Mine!
Posted
Mon, Jul 19 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
A busy weekend here in central Florida, as I established two new personal domains: http://WardPond.net , my personal website, and http://pondsponderings.wordpress.com , my personal blog While you’ve been in no danger of being deluged by personal traffic...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Serving the SQL Server Blogosphere for a Twentieth of a Century!
Posted
Tue, Jun 22 2010
by
Ward Pond
2
Comments
It’s been exactly five years since this blog went live with a questionable Admiral Stockdale reference, and despite an extended hiatus recently to due a confluence of personal and professional issues, your interest in my ponderings continues to a humbling...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Five Things About sp_.. (okay.. Four Things and a Closing Argument)
Posted
Mon, Jun 21 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Celebrating the first day of Summer with the first technical post on the blog since mid-Winter (apologies for my absence).. Jens has a great post regarding the internal behavior of various forms of sp_-named programmability objects. Some SQLRAP-related...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Happy Birthday, Mom v78.05
Posted
Thu, Jun 17 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Today would’ve been my mother’s 83rd birthday if we hadn’t lost her to emphysema on 4 November 2004. I wish I could call her today, but I can’t. Please find time soon, if you’re able, to call your mother and thank her for your life. Such precious...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
MERGE, XML Access, and a CTE: Not So Fast
Posted
Sat, Feb 6 2010
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
A bit of old news, as I return to the blog in earnest after some time away.. Last summer, in the posts Database Programming: What I’ve Learned About SQL Server 2008 (with a little on SQL Server 2005 thrown in) and Database Programming: Why I Like MERGE...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
R.I.P. Robert B. Parker
Posted
Wed, Jan 20 2010
by
Ward Pond
2
Comments
Sad news today from the world of letters with the passing of Robert B. Parker , author of over 50 books, including the thirty-seven which comprise the Spenser series of detective novels. I’ve been an unabashed fan of Parker’s since I read my first Spenser...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Happy Birthday Dad v85.0
Posted
Fri, Dec 4 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Today is my dad’s eighty-fifth birthday. It was my intention to travel to Vermont to surprise him and take him to dinner, but a recent illness renders long-distance travel ill-advised in the short term. So he and I will have to settle for the telephone...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
New Career Campaign From Microsoft Learning
Posted
Mon, Oct 26 2009
by
Ward Pond
2
Comments
UPDATED 27 October 2009 with the correct expiration date for the E-Learning Collections discount (thanks, Lain !). Whether you are currently unemployed, looking for a promotion, or trying to become indispensible in your existing role, Microsoft has launched...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Pond’s Laws Home Page Now Live
Posted
Mon, Oct 26 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Thanks to yet another kick-in-the-pants from Jimmy May (did he play soccer as a youth?) the Pond’s Laws Home Page is now live. Jimmy wanted to find all of Pond’s Laws in one place, and now he (and you) can. There’s also a link to the new page in the A...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Windows 7 Now Available
Posted
Thu, Oct 22 2009
by
Ward Pond
3
Comments
You might have heard about this somewhere else.. but Windows 7 was launched today . I recently got an upgraded laptop from my employer, upon which I installed Windows 7. Both the machine and the software are quite remarkable. First, the machine, so you...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Pond’s Thirteenth Law: Change Won’t Be Cheaper Tomorrow
Posted
Tue, Oct 20 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Herewith, a discussion of the emergence of Pond’s Thirteenth Law (if you need to catch up, here are Laws One through Ten , Eleven , and Twelve , as well as three ruminations on the implications of Pond’s Seventh Law ).. One of the great things about my...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Beta 2 Release for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Available for Download
Posted
Tue, Oct 20 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Exciting news for the developer community: yesterday Microsoft released the second beta for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4. Click here for the download page. If you need it, go get it! -wp this copyrighted material was originally posted...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Mark Your Calendar: Windows 7 Readiness Webcast on October 6
Posted
Tue, Sep 29 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
The following description of a pending webcast arrived in my inbox earlier this week; I thought it might be of interest to some of you as you prepare for the launch of Windows 7: Is Your Organization Ready for Windows 7? October 6, 2009 12:00 PM Eastern...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
A Gift From Jens and Jimmy
Posted
Mon, Sep 28 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Two Microsoft folks frequently featured in this space, Microsoft Certified Masters Jimmy May and Jens Suessmeyer , have joined forces to bring to the world SQLIOSimParser, a tool to parse and interpret the XML output of the Bob Dorr’s SQLIOSim testing...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
SQL Server 2008 R2 August CTP Available for Download
Posted
Mon, Sep 28 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
If you’re interested in the next release of SQL Server, the BI-focused SQL Server 2008 R2, you’ll be pleased to know that the August CTP is available for download here for MSDN and TechNet members. Here’s the skinny from the download page: SQL Server...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Pond’s Twelfth Law: In Your Pursuit of Five Nines, Don’t Practice in Front of the CIO
Posted
Wed, Sep 9 2009
by
Ward Pond
1
Comments
After a long hiatus , Pond’s Laws of System Design (or, How to Be a Competent Professional in an Irrational World) returns. Thanks to Jimmy May for a kick-in-the-pants on this topic several months ago; I hope he’ll understand why I just had to wait until...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Database Programming: A New String Concatenation Contender for SQL Server 2008
Posted
Mon, Sep 7 2009
by
Ward Pond
9
Comments
UPDATED 11:11p 7 September 2009: Based on my latest exchange with Adam (see the comments for this post), compound operators should be avoided for string concatenation due to the ORDER BY bug discused in KB 287515 . The XML variant below is the preferred...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Database Programming: Did You Know IN Can Do This?
Posted
Fri, Sep 4 2009
by
Ward Pond
5
Comments
Courtesy of Jens Suessmeyer comes this little gem purloined from an internal discussion; cut-and-paste this into SQL Server Management Studio and see if you can answer the questions in the comments before you execute the script: -- create and populate...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Download a New Browser and Help Feed the Hungry
Posted
Wed, Sep 2 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
I sure wish I’d known about this sooner.. If you haven’t yet downloaded Internet Explorer 8, here’s a great opportunity to acquire some fantastic software and help out some folks less fortunate than we are in the bargain. If you download Internet Explorer...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Adam Machanic Likes MERGE, Too
Posted
Tue, Aug 25 2009
by
Ward Pond
0
Comments
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s MERGE discussion comes a complementary (and far more detailed) take from Adam Machanic . It’s a nifty technical discussion, under the banner of an outstanding Dr. Strangelove pun. To see some of the true power of...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
Database Programming: Why I Like MERGE
Posted
Mon, Aug 24 2009
by
Ward Pond
2
Comments
In the wake of last month’s post on my new development efforts in SQL Server 2008, several of you have asked me to go into further detail. This post is my first effort to answer those questions; right now, we’ll focus on these two , which relate...
Ward Pond's SQL Server blog
At the Onset of My Fiftieth Year
Posted
Thu, Aug 6 2009
by
Ward Pond
2
Comments
Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook are aware that I’ve spent the last week and a half dealing with my latest round of health issues. I returned home yesterday afternoon following a brief hospitalization for diagnosis and removal of...
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