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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://sqlblog.com/utility/FeedStylesheets/rss.xsl" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"><channel><title>Search results matching tags 'Community', 'SQL Community', and 'SQL 2008'</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?o=DateDescending&amp;tag=Community,SQL+Community,SQL+2008&amp;orTags=0</link><description>Search results matching tags 'Community', 'SQL Community', and 'SQL 2008'</description><dc:language>en-US</dc:language><generator>CommunityServer 2.1 SP2 (Build: 61129.1)</generator><item><title>September 12 in San Fran</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2012/09/11/september-12-in-san-fran.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 12 Sep 2012 02:04:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:45151</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>Just a reminder that I will be speaking at the SF UG SQL Server User Group on Sep 12.&amp;nbsp; Here is a &lt;a title="link" href="http://www.meetup.com/The-San-Francisco-SQL-Server-Meetup-Group/events/75363462/" target="_blank"&gt;link&lt;/a&gt; with all of the details.&amp;nbsp; If you are in the area, It would be great to see you!</description></item><item><title>Heading to TechEd in about 6 weeks</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2009/03/27/heading-to-teched-in-about-6-weeks.aspx</link><pubDate>Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:16:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:12976</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;I have been attending Teched every year since 2005.&amp;nbsp;Last year, I really did not like the separation that was "forced" between IT Pro and Dev.&amp;nbsp; I like to attend sessions from both areas - SQL covers both areas.&amp;nbsp; I am glad they combined it this year (as it should be IMHO).&amp;nbsp; Once again, I will be in the TLC area where I LOVE to be.&amp;nbsp;The TLCs (Technical Learning Centers) allow you an opportunity to get questions answered by MSFT and User Experts.&amp;nbsp; They also give away some pretty good SWAG too.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Another reason that I like TechEd is that it allows me to expand my education on areaa of SQL Server that I usally do not have normal contact with.&amp;nbsp; This is another reason that I like the combined version.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;If you are heading to TechEd, please spend some time in the TLCs and say "HI".&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>SQL Server 2008 Firestarter Event - Charlotte, NC on Jan 15</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2009/01/13/sql-server-2008-firestarter-event-charlotte-nc-on-jan-15.aspx</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:54:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:11112</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;If you are in the Charlotte area, please come by for a FREE half-day event.&amp;nbsp; You need to register first though at the following link:&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri size=3&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;A href="http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032400468&amp;amp;Culture=en-US"&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri color=#0000ff size=3&gt;http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032400468&amp;amp;Culture=en-US&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri size=3&gt;&amp;nbsp;Here is what the schedule looks like.....&amp;nbsp; &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;
&lt;TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="MARGIN:auto auto auto -1.15pt;WIDTH:691pt;BORDER-COLLAPSE:collapse;mso-yfti-tbllook:1184;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in;" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 class="MsoNormalTable"&gt;

&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:15pt;mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:15pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:284pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:15pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Room Mt. Kilimanjaro&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:359pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:15pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Room Mt. Everest &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;
&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:32.25pt;mso-yfti-irow:1;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Noon&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:643pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;" colSpan=2&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Lunch and opening remarks by&amp;nbsp; Peter Shire, Charlotte SQL Server User Group President,&amp;nbsp; and Wayne Snyder PASS President&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;
&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:32.25pt;mso-yfti-irow:2;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;1:00 PM&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:284pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;SQL Server 2008: Enabling Consolidation for the Enterprise.&lt;BR&gt;Rick Heiges (SQL Server MVP). Scalability Experts.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:359pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Introduction to Dimensional Modeling. &lt;BR&gt;Wayne Snyder (SQL Server MVP), Rafael Salas (SQL Server MVP). Mariner&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;
&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:32.25pt;mso-yfti-irow:3;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;2:15 PM&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:284pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;T-SQL Improvements And Data Types.&lt;BR&gt;Alejandro Mesa (SQL Server MVP). Bank Of America&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:359pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Accelerating SSAS Design and Performance. &lt;BR&gt;David Botzenhart. Mariner.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;
&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:32.25pt;mso-yfti-irow:4;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;3:30 PM&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:284pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;SQL Server 2008: Policy-Based Management and Auditing. Paul Waters. Ameco&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:359pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Creating More Flexible and Richer Reports.&lt;BR&gt;John Welch (SQL Server MVP). Mariner&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;
&lt;TR style="HEIGHT:32.25pt;mso-yfti-irow:5;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes;"&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:windowtext 1pt solid;WIDTH:48pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;TEXT-ALIGN:center;" align=center&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;4:30 PM&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;
&lt;TD class="" style="BORDER-RIGHT:windowtext 1pt solid;PADDING-RIGHT:5.4pt;BORDER-TOP:#f0f0f0;PADDING-LEFT:5.4pt;PADDING-BOTTOM:0in;BORDER-LEFT:#f0f0f0;WIDTH:643pt;PADDING-TOP:0in;BORDER-BOTTOM:windowtext 1pt solid;HEIGHT:32.25pt;BACKGROUND-COLOR:transparent;" colSpan=2&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="COLOR:black;"&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri&gt;Prizes and networking&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri size=3&gt;&amp;nbsp;Hope to see you there!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT face=Calibri size=3&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>This past Tuesday Night at the Triad SSUG</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/09/18/this-past-tuesday-night-at-the-triad-ssug.aspx</link><pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:46:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:8971</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;This past Tuesday, I was finally able to attend my local user group meeting.&amp;nbsp; My travel schedule never seemed to match up with the meeting dates this year.&amp;nbsp; It was good to see old friends and meet new faces.&amp;nbsp; John Welch, SQL Server MVP, from Mariner presented on SSRS 2008.&amp;nbsp; The audience had some good questions which made for a great presentation.&amp;nbsp; John will be speaking at the PASS Community Summit in November.&amp;nbsp; This was his second time presenting to this group as he lives just over an hour away in Charlotte.&amp;nbsp; With the price of gas, this is even more appreciated by everyone.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I had started up this group back in 2002 and handed over the reigns to a great team in 2004 as I was going to travel quite a bit with a new position with Scalability Experts in 2005.&amp;nbsp; The group now has an elected Board of Directors and have grown ties with local sponsors and other related user groups in the area. I was happy to see the growth and how it has changed.&amp;nbsp; If you haven't attended a local user group meeting in a while, you are missing out on building your own network , learning something new, and probably FREE Pizza.&amp;nbsp; :-)&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>Happy Launch Day!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/02/27/happy-launch-day.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:56:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:5309</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;It's Official, today!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;We have a party for SQL Server 2008 in LA!&amp;nbsp; The product may not be shipping, but that won't stop us from having our party.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Seriously, Today marks the beginning of a more useful Launch than the 2005 launch.&amp;nbsp; What am I saying?&amp;nbsp; The Launch Events will probably be more educational for you this time around because there hasn't been as much focus on having a lot of events on 2008 as of yet.&amp;nbsp; Signup today for a launch event near you!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>In case you did not hear, PASS Call for Speakers is now open!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/02/22/in-case-you-did-not-hear-pass-call-for-speakers-is-now-open.aspx</link><pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:39:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:5203</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;In the latest PASS Community Connector, there is a call&amp;nbsp;for Speakers for this year's summit in Seattle in November.&amp;nbsp; If you have never been to Seattle in November, it really makes you want to learn more about SQL Server in the breakout sessions. ;-)&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; But seriously, it is a great venue to meet other SQL Server professionals and meet the MSFT who actually write the code for SQL Server itself.&amp;nbsp; You know that since MSFT is located in nearby Redmond that the place will be very accessible to MSFT developers and managers.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Also, did you know that the abstracts that are submitted are reviewed/selected by a committee of PASS Volunteers just like you?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Join other industry professionals and help build the SQL Server community as a 2008 PASS Community Summit speaker in Seattle, Washington, November 18-21.&amp;nbsp; Act now and submit an abstract by the &lt;B&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;March 28&lt;SUP&gt;th&lt;/SUP&gt; Deadline&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/B&gt;. &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;All speakers receive:&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;UL&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Complimentary registration to the 2008 PASS Community Summit&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Industry recognition &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Networking opportunities with thousands of attendees &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/LI&gt;&lt;/UL&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Microsoft employees are encouraged to submit presentations using the online submission website.&amp;nbsp; Please note that any Microsoft submissions will be reviewed and abstract status will be determined by Microsoft. &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;For more information, please visit our &lt;A href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001gvAHM6BNOWbYfH5v7VPTHsqodLZCrBfgDqSi9G6SCJeoklJhVI9NkuJKO-1BcrpaUR93rj4dlkqKAwtVmrBhMrfB6KWivrTs-BuAXkkHpYhH7NTjTYbt4lZYdMWu1QGq" target=_blank&gt;Call To Speakers&lt;/A&gt; website at &amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001gvAHM6BNOWbYfH5v7VPTHsqodLZCrBfgDqSi9G6SCJeoklJhVI9NkuJKO-1BcrpaUR93rj4dlkqKAwtVmrBhMrfB6KWivrTs-BuAXkkHpYhH7NTjTYbt4lZYdMWu1QGq" target=_blank&gt;http://calltospeakers.sqlpass.org/&lt;/A&gt; or e-mail any questions to &lt;A href="mailto:calltospeakers@sqlpass.org"&gt;calltospeakers@sqlpass.org&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>3 More Weeks 'til Launch!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/02/06/3-more-weeks-til-launch.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:57:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:4926</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;3 weeks from today, the launch party for SQl Serve 2008 will be on!&amp;nbsp; If you are in Southern California, you will be in the "happening" spot.&amp;nbsp; Enjoy!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Why have a launch without the release of the product?&amp;nbsp; SQL Server 2008 is more of an incremental release.&amp;nbsp; There are some great new features in the product, but the bulk of the change was going from 2000 to 2005.&amp;nbsp; From my point of view, there were many more events and opportunities for education on SQl Server 2005 than 2008.&amp;nbsp; I was at the Launch of SQL Server 2005 in San Francisco.&amp;nbsp; It was a great time, but the content at the launch was not new (at least to me).&amp;nbsp; The content at the launch events over the next few months will most likely be more useful than the content at the 2005 events.&amp;nbsp; If you are like many folks who still have 2000 in your environment and have some servers running 2005, these launch events will be useful.&amp;nbsp; If you haven't seen it already, there will be opportunities in your area to sign-up for a launch event.&amp;nbsp; Another great source of information on SQL Server 2008 will be the local user groups across the nation and worldwide that will be involved in launches.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>Get Ready for SQL Server 2008!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/01/19/get-ready-for-sql-server-2008.aspx</link><pubDate>Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:13:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:4598</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;On Jan. 24, there is a FREE virtual conference focused on SQL Server 2008.&amp;nbsp; This is not just a webcast that you can view online.&amp;nbsp; The sessions are scheduled at specific times with Live Q&amp;amp;A following the session from the speakers.&amp;nbsp; Grab one of your SQL buddies and sign-up to attend virtually on Jan. 24!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Register Here: &lt;A href="http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=157&amp;amp;seid=291&amp;amp;code=sqlevents"&gt;http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=157&amp;amp;seid=291&amp;amp;code=sqlevents&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Drop by the Virtual PASS Booth and say Hello!&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>Try out SQL 2008 without downloading it!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2008/01/09/try-out-sql-2008-without-downloading-it.aspx</link><pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:25:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:4484</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:12pt;COLOR:#000066;FONT-FAMILY:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE:12pt;COLOR:#000066;FONT-FAMILY:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" face=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif color=#000066 size=3&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:12pt;COLOR:#000066;FONT-FAMILY:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE:12pt;COLOR:#000066;FONT-FAMILY:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" face=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif color=#000066 size=3&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;In case you have not heard yet.......&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;SQL Server 2008 CTP5 Beta Now Available for Free in a Secure Hosted Environment!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;PASS, MaximumASP, Dell and Intel have partnered to offer this advance preview...&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Try out real-world data online in a secure, hosted environment - you don't have to download or install a thing - and your feedback will influence the final version!&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Get started today at &lt;A href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PQuFibHtwD98wKo2fMtN85-t7rUNaNQRzFdjp97Bu-73FLJ42NjrChvdo6qPgB4pimhrPIsXGU9j9gMeJrl_fbzjYyp5lHed6rAsIYBFjokm-76aHIXmXQ==" target=_blank&gt;www.sqlserverbeta.com&lt;/A&gt; and discover the powerful functionality of the &lt;B&gt;latest &lt;/B&gt;version of SQL Server 2008 including:&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;UL&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Reporting Services&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Language Integrated Query (LINQ)&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Predictable Query Performance&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Transparent Data Encryption&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Integrated Full Text Search&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Sparse Columns&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Spatial Data Types&lt;/LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;Grouping Sets&lt;/LI&gt;&lt;/UL&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:10pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Verdana','sans-serif';"&gt;Visit &amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001PQuFibHtwD9p2aPMQgaFJdvZZVZ9Iv4cqQ7OzM2BR6xcKY330Xc4Mf7jsWlLZdVFnTzTrCar-jfLQ6UuskvEf2ZG-kHxct9klx0eimjOhOAgQQ5fP0JfQg==" target=_blank&gt;www.sqlserverbeta.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt; today!&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;P class=EC_MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT:78.24pt;TEXT-INDENT:-18pt;LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>PASS is next month!</title><link>http://sqlblog.com/blogs/rick_heiges/archive/2007/08/15/pass-is-next-month.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:45:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">21093a07-8b3d-42db-8cbf-3350fcbf5496:2219</guid><dc:creator>RickHeiges</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;I can't believe it.&amp;nbsp;The PASS COmmunity Summit is only a month away!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Check out the strong SQL Server content at &lt;A href="http://www.sqlpass.org/"&gt;www.sqlpass.org&lt;/A&gt; and register today.&amp;nbsp; BI is a growing part of your business and is also a growing part of the content that you will find in Denver this year.&amp;nbsp; Plus Microsoft will have several sessions on SQL Server 2008.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Pre-cons - One of the most popular events at PASS is the pre-conference sessions that take place on Monday and Tuesday.&amp;nbsp; These sessions take a particular topic and dive deep on it for an entire day.&amp;nbsp; Register early so that you get your first choice.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Speakers - Once again, PASS will feature top speakers fro the SQL Community including names that you know from&amp;nbsp;SQLBLOG.com (Kalen, Andrew, Kevin to name a few) and some soon to be well-known names too.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I hope to see you there!&lt;/P&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>