If at first you don’t succeed…

"Gotta run a little faster, gotta reach for the sky, gotta come a little closer, even if I lose, I gotta try..."-- Kansas, "Inside Of Me" I will confess that the song lyric above is one of my favorites, and probably one of my most overused quoted lyrics.  It isn't the first time I've quoted …

Upcoming speaking engagements

I have a couple of confirmed speaking engagements coming up in the next few months! SQL Saturday #814, December 8: I will be giving two presentations on this day: my talking to non-techies talk and my networking presentation!New England SQL User Group, February 13: I will be speaking in Burlington, MA (same location as Boston …

Speaking in D.C. in December

I got the official word this morning.  I will be speaking in Washington, DC for SQL Saturday #814 on December 8! I will be giving the following two presentations: Whacha just say? Talking technology to non-technical people -- This is my original presentation -- the one that started it all!  I will discuss the art of …

The SQL Yearbook

Earlier this year, Jen McCown announced that she was embarking on a project that she called "the SQL Yearbook."  I decided, what the heck, and told her I'd take part. A little while ago, I got an email from her saying that the project is finished!  (Per her instructions, I also want to make sure …

Election day

"Can I tell you something; got to tell you one thing if you expect the freedom that you say is yours; prove that you deserve it; help us to preserve it, or being free will just be words and nothing more..." -- Kansas, "Can I Tell You" I don't think I can say it any …

How do different cultures use your documentation?

The other day, I sat in a meeting in which we were talking about our product documentation, and someone mentioned something that had never occurred to me. It had to do with who used our product documentation. I found out that native English speakers (for the sake of this article, I'll refer to them as …