The past few years, I've participated in my school's alumni band as the basketball team played early season tournament games in New York City. I didn't do so this year, because the games were scheduled around Thanksgiving. The logistics involved with my schedule, which included travel to and from New York City, were just too … Continue reading Life highlights
Month: November 2019
Don’t tell me how to build the clock! Just tell me what time it is!
I felt a need to reblog this article, because this still continues to be an ongoing frustration. I’m reminded of this every time someone (the same person to whom I refer in my original article) feels a need to explain everything in his status update.
Why do people, especially technologists, insist on including every last detail about what they’re doing?
People don’t want detail! They just want the high level overview!
Why don’t these people understand that?
This article’s title comes from something that a former manager used to tell me all the time — often enough that he seemed very fond of saying it. Nevertheless, it’s an important message. This is not the first time I’ve written about this issue, but it’s something that occurs all too frequently. It is a problem in technical and business communication, and the issue is something that bears repeating.
I was reminded of this during our daily status update meeting this morning. The gist of this regularly scheduled meeting is that everyone has a short time — usually no more than a minute, if that — to provide a brief update of what they have going on. The key word here is brief.
One person proceeded to go into detail about some of the projects he had going (he has a tendency to do so). He’s been pretty good…
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Want to learn something new? Get off your butt, and go get it!
A few weeks ago, Monica Rathbun wrote a 'blog article about pursuing education or learning opportunities. It had been shared and retweeted a number of times by a number of people. I had meant to do the same, but it came out right around the same time that my father-in-law passed away, so the timing … Continue reading Want to learn something new? Get off your butt, and go get it!
Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 11/19/2019)
Now that PASS Summit is over, I am not scheduled to speak at any more events. Greg did ask me to do a lightning talk about my experience at PASS Summit at our next local user group meeting, but other than that, I'm pretty much finished for 2019. This isn't to say I haven't submitted … Continue reading Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 11/19/2019)
#PASSSummit — the debrief, and impressions from a first-time speaker and attendee
A week ago last Saturday, just before noontime, I returned home to Albany after departing Seattle the night before, and traveling across the country on a redeye flight. To say I was tired was an understatement; indeed, after my wife picked me up at the airport and brought me home, I went straight upstairs to … Continue reading #PASSSummit — the debrief, and impressions from a first-time speaker and attendee
Getting back in the saddle
I'm getting back into the swing of things after being offline for a week and a half! My first PASS Summit was an absolute blast! I have a 'blog article in the works about my PASS Summit experience, so stay tuned! I'm spending time getting caught up on emails and schedules. I walked into my … Continue reading Getting back in the saddle
Monthly CASSUG Meeting — November 2019
Greetings, data enthusiasts! Our November speaker is Michelle Gutzait! Her presentation topic is TBA. For additional information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/265691374/ Thanks to our sponsors, Datto, Capital Tech Search, and CommerceHub, for making this event possible! Additionally, we will have our annual Holiday party at Brown's Brewing on December 9! Those of … Continue reading Monthly CASSUG Meeting — November 2019
#PASSSummit — Under 24 hours to departure
It is now less than twenty-four hours before I depart for Seattle and PASS Summit! I still need to pack. From my quick little poll from last week, it looks like I'll wear my fraternity hat, and I'll pack lots of orange shirts! And don't worry, Yankees haters; my baseball jersey is staying home. Last … Continue reading #PASSSummit — Under 24 hours to departure
#PASSSummit — Little things
A tweet by Matt Cushing got me thinking about something that I figured I should plan for my upcoming PASS Summit trip: what should I pack? And no, I'm not talking about my poll asking you what to wear. When I arrived at work this morning, temps were somewhere in the forties, and a strong … Continue reading #PASSSummit — Little things
Welcome to Ray Kim's 'blog 