Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • The Khan Academy

    It’s completely unrelated to work, though there is a computer science section at The Kahn Academy.

    I can’t take credit for this, that goes to Andy Warren (LinkedIn | Blog | @sqlandy) for turning me onto the Khan Academy. It’s similar to what we built at SQL Share, but much broader in scope, and much more successful. Hopefully we’ll rectify that at some point.

    It’s almost an online learning site with a series of videos on a variety of topics. It was built with the idea that we can provide a free, high quality education to anyone that can view the videos. Students can sign up and pace themselves through the classes. Parents, coaches, teachers, can watch students and build a course with a series of steps.

    Or you can do what I did, just watch a few videos. I saw some algebra ones that I might show my kids when they need math help, and I started going through the calculus ones, as a brush up on my skills. I loved math in school and thought I’d play around with some of the topics and exercises.

    Check it out and see what you think.

  • Steve Jobs 1955-2011

    It sucks getting older. There are any number of reminders of that fact on a regular basis as I move through my 40s. A kid in college, the aches and pains from moving my body too quickly, the paunch that I struggle to keep under control, and the most annoying might be having to get up most nights to go to the bathroom when I should be sleeping.

    One of the saddest reminders, however, is the all too regular passing of someone we admire, someone we know, someone we love. I haven’t had much death in my life to this point, fortunately. I lost a friend, a former boss, while away at college. A good friend, only slightly older was killed earlier this year. And I lost someone I admired yesterday.

    I never met Steve Jobs. Never saw him speak in person, never worked at Apple, and rarely used their computers. However Steve Jobs was one of the few people that I wanted on my “what three people I would invite to dinner” list. Apple has always been a “cool” company to me, one that transcended the engineering efficiency of so many technology companies to build something that you could use, but more importantly, you wanted to use.

    The comparison that came to mind this morning as I lay in bed, thoughts churning about both my day and the loss of someone I admired was the same one that Dave Winer wrote about in his memorial post: Frank Lloyd Wright.

    pastyou2The design, the clean, clear lines, the lack of anything extra was both elegant and insanely frustrating at times. However also genius, and reminiscent of not a better way to do things, but of the future.

    That’s what Steve Jobs brought with both design and form in the Macintosh, the NeXt, Toy Story, the iPod, the iPhone, the Air, and the iPad.

    The future.

    apple_20111006

  • Build Your Own Event at the PASS Summit

    There’s a bunch of stuff scheduled for the PASS Summit next week. You can see some of the events on the After Hours page, but there are a few other events happening during the week as well. Most are private, which is fine for the people that get invited, but what about everyone else?

    There are well over 1,000 people coming to the Summit, and the majority of them won’t get invited to private vendor parties, or many other events. However outside of the Gameworks party on Thur night, I have a feeling many of them will end up being “that guy”, spending the evenings alone or even working.

    Andy Warren and I have started a few events that are relatively open to anyone. We have our Monday Night Networking event, which is full right because of capacity limits. We also started the SQLServerCentral party, which I run and is open if you have a ticket.

    However we think you can start your own event. If you want to go see a band in Seattle, then wouldn’t you want to see if anyone else wants to go with you? Maybe share a cab? Perhaps you’re interested in a workout at a local dojo, or you want to attend the Underground Tour (which is very cool).

    If you want to do something, and would like to network, have a little company from people that similar interests, we’d like you to do two things:

    1. Create an event at EventBrite. It’s free if you aren’t charging. Just tell people what you event will cost and let them pay their own way. Put a limit on the number of guests, if it’s appropriate.
    2. Post your event at http://passsummitevents.info/. MVP/MCM Denny Cherry (blog | @mrdenny) has set up the site to track what’s happening at the Summit.

     

    That’s it. Post your event and let people sign up.

    If you are looking for something to do, check out the page at http://passsummitevents.info/ and see if there’s something you’re interested in. The site will tweet your event, but feel free to publicize it around.

    A week at a conference should be a lot of fun, packed with plenty of events for everyone. I hope we can get people to build their own get togethers, for anything from tasting beer at the Tap House to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory to taking a tour of the Museum of Flight.

    Whatever interests you, set something up or look for people that have a similar interest at http://passsummitevents.info/.

  • Networking for your career

    The more I learn about building a better career, and the more I talk to people that get new jobs or have success in business, the more I believe that networking is one of the most important things you can do for your career. It just seems to work better, be more reliable, and more effective than any other career improvement strategy. Even blogging, which I think really helps, isn’t as effective as having someone that’s willing to recommend you.

    I never really knew how to go about networking, but a few years ago I attended Don Gabor’s seminar at the PASS Summit and it was well worth my money. I learned a lot and have practiced some of his techniques since then. I’ve even purchased a few of his books, which contain even more information on how to better network and work with others.

    If you’re attending the 2011 PASS Summit, you can see Don’s Networking to Build Business Contacts seminar on Tuesday, Oct 11, from 3-5pm. It doesn’t interfere with the other pre-cons, and if you’re going to be in town, take this seminar. You will learn some practical tips and exercises you can use to build more contacts, grow your network, and hopefully use it to advance your career at some point. Even if you don’t need a job, at some point you will and the time to build a network is before you need it. If you’ve already registered, call PASS to add this seminar to your registration, or do it on site.

    Don has become a friend over the last few years, and was helpful in working on The Mentoring Experiment with me. I find him very insightful and experienced in the world of business and interpersonal interactions and a very interesting person. If you get the chance to sit and talk with Don, take it.