Playing in the sandbox is important for documentation

While working on a user guide, I realized that I had administrative rights to the application I was trying to document. That was all well and good, except that I was trying to write a non-admin user guide, and I needed to know how someone who didn't have admin rights saw the application. Fortunately, one …

Bragging about your accomplishments

It's true that bragging about what you do -- boasting, talking smack, and strutting around like a peacock -- generally tends to be frowned upon. However, I was thinking about a situation this morning where, professionally, it is appropriate to brag about what you do. Yesterday, I picked up a new LinkedIn contact. The person …

When you make it hard for your customers to respond

This morning, I had an issue with my LinkedIn account. I was trying to reply to a message, and I kept getting "Send failed." That was all I got -- there were no error codes, additional information, or symptoms. I poked around LinkedIn's Help section, and came across this page for dealing with messaging problems. …

Business cards: the most important networking tool

At Albany SQL Saturday this year, I will be doing a lightning talk about what may very well be the most important item you could have for networking. This article outlines what I intend to discuss. Why do I consider business cards -- such innocuous little items -- to be the most important item for …

Who has the final say on a service issue?

I recently registered for Homecoming Weekend at the old alma mater. For me, it's a reunion year ending in zero, so this year is of particular interest to me. (No, I won't say which one it is. All I'll say is, I'm getting old!) While going through my own information on the Homecoming web site, …

A SQL Saturday travel primer for first-time speakers

Are you a first-time SQL Saturday speaker? Congratulations! Are you traveling to speak at your first SQL Saturday? Congratulations, again! You're nervous, you say? That's certainly understandable. Traveling for the first time to speak someplace you've never been can be daunting, but as I wrote previously, you need to step out of your comfort zone …

Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 6/17/2019)

It's been a fun year for SQL Saturday so far! I've spoken at three SQL Saturdays and two user group meetings so far this year, and more speaking engagements are on the horizon. As of today, I am only confirmed to speak at one SQL Saturday, but it's a big one. SQL Saturday #855, Albany, …

Major League Baseball in Troy, NY

A friend of mine pointed out that a Wikipedia article about the Troy Trojans baseball team cited me as a reference! The article was actually a project for a Writing for Publication class that I took in grad school. It was later republished as a feature article in a baseball preview issue published by The …

Don’t like reading terms and conditions? It’s not just you

During my lunch break, I came across this article in the New York Times. It talks about privacy policies for a number of companies -- and the vast majority of them are nearly incomprehensible. According to the metrics in the article, comprehending privacy policies requires a minimum of a college degree -- and even then, …

SQL Saturday Virginia Beach — the debrief

My wife and I arrived home in Troy, NY around 10 pm last night after driving all day from Norfolk, VA. Despite the lengthy drive home from Virginia, it was, nevertheless, a fun and fruitful trip! First, Greg Moore, who also attended SQL Saturday #839, summed up his assessment of the event in his article …