Search results matching tags 'Administration' and 'Society'

My Last "Catch-Up" Post for 2010 Content

KKline — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:57:00 GMT

I did a lot of writing in 2010. Unfortunately, I didn't do a good job of keeping all of that writing equally distributed throughout all of the channels where I'm active.

So here are a few more posts from my blog, put on-line during the months of November and December 2010, that I didn't get posted here on SQLBlog.com:

1. It's Time to Upgrade!

So many of my customers and many of you, dear readers, are still on SQL Server 2005. Join Kevin Kline, SQL Server MVP and SQL Server Technology Strategist for Quest Software and Brent Ozar, SQL Server Domain Expert for Quest Software as they introduce the top ten features and capabilities in SQL Server 2008 that they find to be the most exciting and valuable.

2. Dealing with the Micromanaging Boss

This is probably my favorite professional development article of the year. Micromanagers make us feel untrusted and stymied by their constant need for tediously detailed and frequent updates, constant changes to minor details of our work, and overly developed attention to administrative details that really don’t matter in our daily job. But there’s hope! Get all of my career advice on dealing with micromanaging bosses here.

3. [Video] Troubleshooting Memory Pressure on SQL Server

This is a little bit of an older video. But it's still useful info if you're working with SQL Server 2005 or 2000. Check it out here.

4. [DBTA] What the Heck is Microsoft's Database Product Trajectory?

I was once asked what I thought Microsoft's overall product trajectory for SQL Server was, in light of Oracle's rather obvious trajectory of acquiring multiple application vendors who will, in turn, deploy more and more of their applications to the Oracle database platform. You can read all about my thoughts in my monthly column at Database Trends & Application magazine - [READ MORE]

5. Eight Characteristics of Excellent Leaders [Plays Well With Others]

In this installment of my professional development column called Plays Well With Others, I talk about what distinguishes truly great leaders. There's a lively discussion on the topic and I encourage you to take part. Read it here.

6. The Shape of Database Licensing Costs to Come [DBTA]

One fall semester many years ago, I was a university freshman. Actually, I was anything but "fresh." I was dumb enough to think that 8 a.m. was a wonderful time to attend Economics 101. After staying up until the wee hours most every night, the "dismal science" took on more than one meaning as I set my clock just early enough to get to class on time. Along with 30 other very naïve classmates, I staggered into class and did my bleary-eyed best to focus on the lessons at hand. There were lots of Greek compound words and lots of graphs.

I learned, for example, that the word economics derives from the Greek "oikonomikos," which means, approximately, "death by slidedecks" and, specifically, "house" (oikos) and "management" (mikos). I barely survived the experience and never took an 8 a.m. class again. Imagine my surprise, then, when a lesson I'd learned (and promptly forgotten) all those years ago jumped back into my consciousness late last year. - [READ MORE]

7. So You're the Boss Now... [Plays Well with Others]

If you have any ambition at all, you have probably wanted (and possibly gotten) a promotion over your current colleagues. If you've been there before, you know that once friendly relationships can get, well, weird. Read my tips and tricks for how to make the most of this situation in this professional development article.

8. The NoSQL Movement - Hype or Hope?

NoSQL is no fad. And you need to be in the "know", not necessarily in the "No". Gno? Pneu? Too many phonetically similar pronunciations! Read my thoughts on the NoSQL movement on one of Database Trends & Applications magazine's most popular articles of the year. - [READ MORE]

9. Effectiveness and Efficiency at Work [Video]

In this golden oldie (yes, two years constitutes "old"), I present my thoughts on how to be both effective and efficient on the job and in life in general. And if you didn't know that these are different concepts, then you need this video most muchly.

10. What's Your Data Management and Retention Policy? [DBTA]

If managing your corporate data for the long term isn't currently on your mind, it should be, and in several different ways: cost, performance, business continuity, and compliance. [READ MORE]

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Originally Posted on YoutTube November 12, 2008.

Sequels for SQL: Dec 17, 2009

KKline — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:46:00 GMT

In the Sequels for SQL series, I point you to sites where you can go beyond the nose-to-the-grindstone resources that we see every day as SQL Server professionals. (My favorite resource for pan-SQL Server pointers is Steve Jone's Database Weekly email newsletter.) These are the story that comes after and outside (the sequels) of our daily working lives (the other SQL). Let's broaden our horizons together. If you hit on an interesting but overlooked topic, I'd like to hear from you.

SQL Server: We live it. We love it.

When Jimmy May talks, I listen. Not just because he's a personal friend, but also because he knows what's what, if you'll pardon the expression. So when Jimmy says "I believe xPerf will fundamentally change the way I do my job", then I want to know what the heck this free xPerf management tool is and how I can best leverage it. Check out Jimmy's blog entry on xPerf here.

Devices & Gadgets: Usually making our lives better, sometimes not so much.

Ever wonder what's inside one of those tiny USB hard drives? No? Not even a little bit?!? When I started in IT, hard drives where as big as washing machines and cost $60,000 running at speeds in the 100's of RPMs. My how times have changed. Here's a fun hack of a USB hard drive - http://www.dansworkshop.com/electricity-and-electronics/usb-hard-drive-hack.htm.

Futurewatch: Important issues just over the horizon.

There are a lot of standard elements of society being rebranded as the "2.0" version of itself. The 2.0 moniker was first put forward by visionary Tim O'Reilly (blog | twitter), of the eponymous media company. Whenever you see the 2.0 moniker added to the end of something, most famously Web 2.0, then you know that it will include the characteristics of collaboration, interoperability, and user-centered designs. So, whereas the first go at the web in the mid- to late-1990's was about enabling information retrieval such as transforming printed catalogs into on-line catalogs, Web 2.0 enables all of its participants to comment on, review, rate, and otherwise participating with each other in the use of such a catalog. In the last FutureWatch blurb, I pointed out work on Grid 2.0, centered on efforts to update the USA's electricity grid. I'm going to do a much more detailed post in the near future about emerging 2.0 efforts, but one to point out now is Gov 2.0. Under this broad set of initiatives, governments from the lowest to highest levels of responsibility are opening up their public databases for consumption by the public. An example of Gov 2.0 in action comes with the President's SAVE Award, in which the public is invited to vote on their pick for the best money saving tip put forward by federal government workers. Read all about this year's SAVE Award here.

Humor: I haz da funny.

Weird products in Japan have their own name - chindogu. Most of these are crackpot inventions that everyone knows will never see the light of day, such as these these featured here. However, some of these products DO get marketed and, more amazingly, purchased. Check out the product reviews of this totally bizarro chindogu here at Overstock.com.

Professional Development: Because there are two words in "database professional".

There are mountains of great websites with tips on how to be a better speaker. Some day, I'll write a long blog post about my favorite sites for learning how to improve your oration. But if you're in a hurry, and who isn't these days, then this blog post at TechRepublic succinctly sums up the advice you'll find from many other web sites, articles, and blogs.

Society: Important issues to discuss with your friends and family.

One of the most remarkable things about the USA, as a rather biased citizen, is our ability to suck up our pride, admit a mistake, and try to prevent it from happening again. One way that the USA tries to prevent future occurrences is to convene a commission of some kind. I found this analysis by David Leinweber, a Haas Fellow in Finance and Founding Director of the Center for Innovative Financial Technology at UC Berkeley, of the commission studying banking market reform in the USA to be quite intriguing and, frankly, upsetting.

WorldView: If James Bond knows that the world is not enough, then so should I.

I'm always on the lookout for issues related to safe and clean water. If you think people can be grumpy when oil is in short supply, imagine what it's like when there's not enough drinking water for everyone. See how India is dealing with enormous water issues in this revealing article from the Economist. And I'd be interested to hear what our Indian blogger friends thoughts are on this topic, folks like Rushabh Mehta, Jacob Sebastian, and Pinal Dave. (Water issues have remained one of my passions ever since my years working for NASA developing the water recycling systems for the International Space Station, in which we made water of the H20 that passes through the human body re-drinkable. And it tastes good. Incidentally, all of the technology we developed for this project, as with all non-classified government projects, became public domain. ECLSS technology is now used in hundreds of commercial products ranging from household detergents to commercial solvents to filtration systems.)

Thanks!

-Kevin

Twitter @KEKline