(updated 14 October 2010 to include a pointer to my new SQL Server-related blog) Today I received the unhappy news that my current position at Microsoft has been eliminated, effective this Friday. This was not entirely unexpected, but I find that the anticipation of a sad day does precious little...

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 a new Career Campaign to provide learning paths...

This page will serve as a compendium of Pond’s Laws posts. The individual posts which promulgate the laws may be found as follows: Pond's First through Tenth Laws Pond's Eleventh Law Pond's Twelfth Law Pond's Thirteenth Law Pond's Laws of System Design (or, How To Be A Competent Professional...

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 Bit More From Me section to your left (if you...

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 right now to publish this post (the clue lies...

Forty years ago this past Monday, I sat in rapt yet bleary-eyed amazement as a flickering black-and-white picture showed me that people could do anything if they aspire to a shared dream and set their minds to working together to achieve it. As an eight-year-old NASA fanboy, I took for granted that this...

June is definitely milestone season in this neck of the woods. Not only is today the third anniversary of my start with the ITOE Technology Architects group (the artists formerly known as the SQL CoE), but this past Sunday marked my tenth(!) anniversary as a full-time employee at Microsoft.  Throw...

Last week I was tagged by Jorge Segarra (a/k/a @SQLChicken) in a meme started by Chris Shaw , who asked a great question about leaders in one’s career.  In reflecting on my response , it occurred to me that there was only one of the people I listed who it was possible for me to be in touch with...

UPDATED 25 April 2009 to fix the link to Jimmy’s blog As a consequence of my recent ascension to Twitterato-hood (follow me @sqltwit), I’ve made several new SQL friends over the last couple of weeks.  One of those is Jorge Segarra (a/k/a @SQLChicken in the Twitterverse), a SQL DBA and Systems administrator...

And I remember what she said to me How she swore that it never would end I remember how she held me, oh so tight Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then Bob Seger, Against the Wind All you need is love Love is all you need John Lennon and Paul McCartney, All You Need is Love My pal Jimmy May apparently...

I’ve got to say, the title of this post isn’t a sentence I ever saw myself typing..  but that’s before I got Blain Barton ’s email today and followed the link .. Blain’s got all the details, including registration links, but you’re basically invited to join your colleague for Hawaiian pizza (one...

This is a really cool idea.. If you’ve ever considered taking a certification exam but aren’t sure if you’re ready, here’s a fun, risk-free way to practice – Are You Certifiable? , a new on-line game from Microsoft and Fuel Industries. Choose an avatar, select your expertise, and pit yourself against...

In light of the current state of the economy (not to mention recent news in my own back yard (I can still call it that since we continue, against our deeply held wishes, to own a house in Redmond)), I make it a point to count my blessings every day.  A loving and supportive family is primary among...

If you live long enough and lead a certain sort of life, you end up writing a lot of correspondence that you don’t really want to write when you start writing it. If you’re lucky enough, more of those missives relate to happy things happening in peoples’ lives than sad things. If you’re not wanting to...

After battling a failed laptop and Tropical Storm Fay, I'm back up and running at our new digs in Central Florida. I thought some of you might be interested in some pictures of where we've landed. The entrance to our place sits at the junction of of two County Roads (let's call them "4" and "4A",...

It's been a busy six weeks since I last posted here. I've made substantial progress in my recovery from a burst appendix. My stamina is still limited (my sons blazed right by me on a staircase outside Safeco Field this evening ), and I tend to relapse slightly a couple of times a week, usually as...

I'm goin' home And when I wanna go home I'm goin' mobile Well, I'm gonna find a home And we'll see how it feels Goin' mobile Keep me movin' - Goin' Mobile , Pete Townsend ( The Who ) Frequent readers of this space will know that I only break out the classic rock lyrics when the news is fairly significant...

Yesterday was a big day in our household. In addition to our two resident mothers, we also commemorated our eldest son's sixteenth birthday. Earlier in the week, after a delicate negotiation, we agreed on a blended celebration dinner at the Benihana restaurant in downtown Seattle. In addition to being...

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION and FULL DISCLOSURE: I don’t usually pass my blog entries by my boss before I post them, but I rarely blog so directly about the details of my work experiences. For that reason, and because he and our team figure prominently in this story, I have done so in this case. Therefore...

Hey there cousin.. It’s been almost two months since we discussed data warehousing here. I apologize for the long delay since my last correspondence. It’s been a very busy time here; we’ve been preparing the first offering of our four-week SQL Server Microsoft Certified Architect OLTP/Ranger certification...

Don’t it always seem to hit you Right when you think you can lay back easy? -- Front Page News , Bill Payne & Lowell George For the past seven years, I’ve had one of the best jobs somebody in my line of work can have. Those of you who’ve perused the About page know I’ve been a Senior...

Welcome to my new blog. Perhaps I should start off by answering the old Admiral Stockdale question: who am I and why am I here? I'm a Senior Applications Developer in Microsoft's internal IT department. I've been designing and coding PC and mainframe databases since 1979, and I've worked on just about...