A Procrastination Tale

Late in the evening of 30 Dec, the temperature in casa de Leonard began dropping. The thermostat continued to report a 68°F setting, our setting for cool-ish to downright cold evenings. When I first checked the in-house temperature a little after midnight, the current temperature read 64°F. By morning, the current temperature had dropped to …
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The John Barker Mentoring Project

John Barker retired from the US Air Force in or around 1975. He returned home to rural Blackstone Virginia, in part to help care for his aging parents. He had experience in electronics as a technician and built a Southwest Technical Products M6800 computer kit. Although I’m not sure this is an accurate image of …
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As 2022 Closes, I am Grateful…

I write this 26 Dec 2022, about half a week before the end of 2022. How was 2022 for me – personally and professionally? This year was pretty good. For that, I am grateful. God is good. Personal I am aware of – and pray regularly about – troubles in the world. Some are closer …
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What If? (Thoughts for 2022)

My favorite variation on the “Expect the best” quote is from Zig Ziglar: One reason this version appeals to me is that it mirrors many sentiments shared by Nassim Taleb (@nntaleb) in his book Antifragile. I write this at the start of 2022 because I, like many of you, have experienced disappointment when expecting general …
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Rest In Peace, Brian Moran (Updated)

Update: Emily, Brian’s daughter, has updated Brian’s Facebook page with information about a memorial service 31 Jul.  It grieves me to share that my friend and brother, Brian Moran, passed away late last week. Brian was a gifted technologist and businessman. He built a career and reputation as a SQL Server expert through articles in …
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Slowly Coming Back, October 2020 Edition

I share a lot. Because I share a lot, many people believe: I am an extrovert; and I share everything. Neither is accurate. I am an introvert with a strong desire to help others. My desire overcomes my introvert nature enough to keep me out there. Truth be told? I’d rather be spending time with …
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T-SQL Tuesday #111 Roundup

Thank You! First, we owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Adam Machanic (blog | @adammachanic | Data Education) for starting T-SQL Tuesday in the first place. Thank you, Adam! Next, we owe a huge shout-out to Steve Jones (blog | @way0utwest | SQL Server Central) for carrying the torch by maintaining tsqltuesday.com. Finally, thank you …
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