Notice the bluetooth ear piece fashion faux pas? Yes, she's truly a geek. I'm happy to report that Barbie is now a cognizeti, a digerati, ... yes even an IT Professional! This year's new Barbie is Computer Engineer Barbie. Several months back, I encouraged all my friends and followers on Twitter to vote for the IT job for Barbie in Mattel's ...

In my regular professional development column for the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), Plays Well With Others, check out my latest post on dealing with micromanagers.Those TPS reports are due at 3:30 pm sharp, Mister!If you've ever dealt with a manager who questioned your every move, hijacked meetings, nit-picked over ...

David Straithairn as the great Edward R. Murrow in the 2005 film ''Good Night and Good Luck''Journalists are important.  In my opinion, they're very important. The best journalists, like Old Testament prophets, speak truth to power and reveal the ugly dirt behind the pretty and public veneer of society.  Their very presence foils ...

Everybody enjoys a little free training now and then. I've got mountains of free training in the works. Some of it is in-person and local while some are in webcast format. Please join me as you're able! Tomorrow - Wednesday! Wed, Feb 10, 2010 12 pm (noon) MST - PASS DBA Virtual Chapter; Top 10 Administration Mistakes on SQL ...

A HAPPY RETIREMENT January 1st, 2010 marked a very special day for me.  It was the first time in the past ten years in which I had no official PASS responsibility at the HQ level.  (I'm still serving in the local PASS chapter here in Nashville, along with the awesomeness that is DrSQL (blog | twitter) and the whackness that is Joe ...

Whiners and Whingers Get Wedgies Yes, I deserve a Wedgie There I was, just a couple weeks back, whining that I wasn't getting tagged by friends when a new meme comes out.  Sure enough, when my friend, Paul Randal (blog | twitter), starts a new meme with me as one of the first handful of people tagged, it's taken me a full ten days to ...

NOT A WHINER I've been really intrigued by a meme making the rounds of the blogsphere concerning goals for the coming year and picking a theme word, rather than the usual New Year's resolution. Et tu, BrentO?As with all memes, they start with a blogger picking the topic of discussion (in this case, Tara Hunt at HPC) and was picked up by my ...

Before I jump onto the Goals and Themeword meme started by my buddy, Thomas LaRock (blog | twitter), I decided I'd spend a few minutes looking back on both the year 2009. (From a personal standpoint, the 00's were my most difficult decade yet.  Major problems of every stripe beset me on all sides and with alarming frequency throughout ...

If you're a SQL Server professional who hasn't been to the website of the Professional Association for SQL Server, you're doing yourself a disservice.  Membership is free and, in addition to all of the technical resources that it provides, it connects you to a world of networking opportunities with other like-minded professionals.  ...

Brent Ozar and I had an interview with Jeff James over at SQL Server Magazine.  The topic was virtualization, where Brent and I were able to riff extensively on the topic.  I encourage you to take a look here. And if you haven't already checked it out, look at Brent's excellent blog.  Here's a good place to start:  ...