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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Leadership and Failure

How Do People Learn? There’s ample debate about whether people learn from mistakes. Don’t believe me? Search and see for yourself. There are compelling arguments for  both learning from our mistakes and not learning from them. In engineering and software, I think we learn from our mistakes. I can hear you thinking, “Why do you think …
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Bad Presentations

In just a few short weeks I am attending the PASS Summit 2018 in Seattle. Whenever I attend an event like the Summit or SQL Saturday I attempt to attend presentations of interest to me. I love learning new stuff! Good and Less-Good Most of the presentations I attend are good. Some are really good. They …
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