Month: February 2020

The professional development (pre-)conference

I’m writing this ‘blog article from my hotel room in Rochester, NY, the night before SQL Saturday #953. As is tradition at most SQL Saturdays that I attend, I went to the speaker’s dinner tonight. It’s always a wonderful time getting together with #SQLFamily, and tonight was no exception.

An interesting conversation came up between me, Deborah Melkin, Andy Yun, Jen McCown, and Elizabeth Noble: how feasible would a professional development pre-conference session be? Jen mentioned the idea of a “career direction” pre-con. I don’t remember everything else that we discussed (I was pretty tired), but a few thoughts were tossed about, and I’m intrigued with the idea.

Matt Cushing and I have talked in the past about doing a joint presentation. I told him about our conversation, and mentioned the idea of putting together a networking pre-con (we both do presentations about networking). He seemed pretty intrigued. And if that wasn’t enough, Paresh Motiwala told me that I should set aside May 16 on my calendar — apparently, he is planning on a “Professional Development Saturday” conference for that date!

As someone who presents about professional development topics, I am highly intrigued and encouraged by these conversations. The big takeaway for me is that professional development topics are taken very seriously by technical professionals, and are not necessarily the “ugly stepchild” of technical conferences.

I’m looking forward to seeing where these conversations end up going. Perhaps you’ll see me and others doing professional development conferences and pre-cons sometime soon. Stay tuned!

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Reminder: SQL Saturday, Rochester NY, this Saturday, Feb.29 #SQLSaturday #SQLSat953 #SQLSatRoc

Reminder: I’m speaking in Rochester this Saturday!

Welcome to Ray Kim's 'blog

Image result for rochester institute of technology

The other day, I received emails from the organizers for SQL Saturday Rochester (hi, Andy!) saying that I should spread the word about their upcoming event on Leap Day, February 29 (a week from this Saturday). Okay, I will oblige!

I will be speaking at Rochester SQL Saturday on February 29. The event takes place at Golisano Hall on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology. This will be my third time speaking at Rochester SQL Saturday!

I will be doing two talks on February 29.

Additionally, there are several other great…

View original post 46 more words

The sports venues that I’ve visited

I enjoy attending sporting events. My previous post got me thinking about the sports venues that I’ve visited, and I thought it’d be fun to compile that list!

A few caveats: I only list venues (along with their home teams and/or events) in which I’ve actually seen a game. For example, I’ve set foot in Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, but I didn’t actually see a game there, so it’s not on my list.

I don’t list opposing teams. I’ve been to so many events that I don’t remember them all. Also, for “home” arenas in which I’ve seen large numbers of games, they’d be too many to list, anyway.

I also denote any arenas that are homes to “my teams.” While I live two hours away from Syracuse, I still consider the Carrier Dome as my “home” arena. Geographically, Siena and UAlbany are only minutes away from me, and I do root for the home team in those arenas, but they’re not necessarily “my” teams or home arenas.

I only consider organized professional (major or minor league) and NCAA (any division) teams or events. Organized non-professional or collegiate events (e.g. Little League World Series, Olympic games, etc.) count too, although I’ve never been to one. The pickup game of touch football in the public park doesn’t count.

These are listed in no particular order, although I try to list my “home” arenas, places I’ve visited more often, and places geographically close to me first.

I mark arenas that either no longer exist or are no longer used for that sport with an asterisk (*).

All games are regular season games, unless denoted.

I have never been to an NBA, NHL, or major soccer game, which is why you don’t see them listed.

So without further ado, here’s that list.

Arenas I’ve visited

Baseball

  • Yankee Stadium (new), Bronx, NY — NY Yankees (home arena), ALDS
  • Yankee Stadium* (old), Bronx, NY — NY Yankees (home arena)
  • Joseph Bruno Stadium, Troy, NY — Tri-City ValleyCats (home arena)
  • Heritage Park*, Colonie, NY — Albany-Colonie Yankees (home arena), Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, NCAA Div-III tournament regional
  • Robison Field, Troy, NY — RPI Engineers (home arena)
  • Fenway Park, Boston, MA — Boston Red Sox
  • Shea Stadium*, Queens, NY — NY Mets
  • Citi Field, Queens, NY — NY Mets
  • Kingdome*, Seattle, WA — Seattle Mariners
  • Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park), Seattle WA — Seattle Mariners
  • Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Orioles, All-Star Game
  • SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), Toronto, ON — Toronto Blue Jays
  • MacArthur Stadium*, Syracuse, NY — Syracuse Chiefs
  • Alliance Bank Stadium (now NBT Stadium), Syracuse, NY — Syracuse Chiefs
  • Olympic Stadium*, Montreal, PQ — Montreal Expos
  • Veterans Stadium*, Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia Phillies
  • Tiger Stadium*, Detroit, MI — Detroit Tigers
  • Coors Field, Denver, CO — Colorado Rockies
  • Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL — Tampa Bay Rays
  • Damaschke Field*, Oneonta, NY — Oneonta Yankees
  • East Field*, Glens Falls, NY — Glens Falls Redbirds, Adirondack Lumberjacks
  • Stade Canac, Quebec City, PQ — Quebec Capitales
  • Dwyer Stadium, Batavia, NY — Batavia Trojans
  • Silver Stadium*, Rochester, NY — Rochester Red Wings

Places where I’ve never seen a game, but are on my wish list: Wrigley Field, Chicago; Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles; Oracle Park, San Francisco; Kaufmann Stadium, Kansas City; Petco Park, San Diego; Nationals Field, Washington DC; PNC Park, Pittsburgh; any Nippon Professional League game in Japan

College football

  • Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY — Syracuse Orange (home arena)
  • ECAV Stadium, Troy, NY — RPI Engineers (home arena)
  • ’86 Field*, Troy, NY — RPI Engineers (home arena)
  • Bob Ford Field, Albany, NY — UAlbany Great Danes
  • Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA — Boston College Eagles
  • Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD — Navy Midshipmen
  • Michie Stadium, West Point, NY — Army Black Knights
  • Veterans Stadium*, Philadelphia, PA — Temple Owls
  • Yale Bowl, New Haven, CT — Yale Bulldogs
  • Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ — Syracuse Orange
  • Giants Stadium*, East Rutherford, NJ — Syracuse Orange
  • Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH — Ohio State Buckeyes
  • Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA — Sugar Bowl
  • Pontiac Silverdome*, Pontiac, MI — Cherry Bowl
  • Tampa Stadium*, Tampa, FL — Hall of Fame (now Outback) Bowl
  • Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ — Fiesta Bowl
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY — Pinstripe Bowl
  • Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL — Camping World Bowl
  • Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now TIAA Field), Jacksonville, FL — Gator Bowl
  • Fenway Park, Boston, MA — Fenway Gridiron Classic

Places where I’ve never seen a game, but are on my wish list: Harvard Stadium, Harvard; Memorial Stadium, Clemson; Beaver Stadium, Penn State; Rose Bowl, UCLA; Michigan Stadium, Michigan; Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame

College basketball

  • Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY — Syracuse Orange (home arena), NCAA tournament
  • Manley Field House*, Syracuse, NY — Syracuse Orange (women — home arena)
  • RPI Armory*, Troy, NY — RPI Engineers (home arena)
  • Times-Union Center, Albany, NY — Siena Saints, MAAC tournament
  • Alumni Recreation Center*, Loudonville, NY — Siena Saints
  • SEFCU Arena, Albany, NY — UAlbany Great Danes, America East tournament
  • Pittsburgh Civic Arena*, Pittsburgh, PA — Pitt Panthers
  • Lundholm Gymnasium, Durham, NH — UNH Wildcats
  • Case Gym, Boston, MA — Boston University Terriers
  • Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome*, Minneapolis, MN — NCAA tournament
  • Reunion Arena*, Dallas, TX — NCAA tournament
  • Madison Square Garden, New York, NY — St. John’s Red Storm, Big East Tournament, NIT Preseason Tournament
  • Barclays Arena, Brooklyn, NY — preseason tournament

Places where I’ve never seen a game, but are on my wish list: The Palestra, Penn; Allen Field House, Kansas; Pauley Pavilion, UCLA; Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke

RPI has a new arena: ECAV (East Campus Athletic Village) Arena. I have yet to see a game there.

College hockey

  • Houston Field House, Troy, NY — RPI Engineers (home arena)
  • Messa Rink, Schenectady, NY — Union Dutchmen
  • Times-Union Center, Albany, NY — Mayor’s Cup/Capital Skate Classic, NCAA tournament
  • Glens Falls Civic Center*, Glens Falls, NY — Mayor’s Cup/Capital Skate Classic
  • Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY — Cornell Big Red
  • Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY — Colgate Raiders
  • Tate Rink, West Point, NY — Army Black Knights
  • Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA — Harvard Crimson
  • Yale Ice Arena, New Haven, CT — Yale Bulldogs
  • Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH — Dartmouth Big Green
  • Olympic Ice Arena, Lake Placid, NY — ECAC tournament
  • Walter Brown Arena*, Boston, MA — Boston University Terriers
  • Cumberland County Civic Center (now Cross Insurance Arena), Portland, ME — Maine Black Bears
  • Hartford Civic Center (now XL Center), Hartford, CT — I don’t remember the event, but it was four teams: RPI, Maine, Colgate, and I don’t remember who the fourth team was.
  • Madison Square Garden, New York, NY — Rivalry On Ice (Yale vs. Harvard)

Places where I’ve never seen a game, but are on my wish list: Alfond Arena, Maine; Hobey Baker Rink, Princeton; Matthews Arena, Northeastern

AHL Hockey

  • Times-Union Center*, Albany, NY — Albany River Rats, Albany Devils

NFL Football

  • Giants Stadium*, East Rutherford, NJ — NY Giants (home arena)
  • Rich Stadium (now New Era Field), Orchard Park, NY — Buffalo Bills
  • Sullivan Stadium*, Foxborough, MA — New England Patriots
  • Veterans Stadium*, Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia Eagles

Although I’ve been to Met Life Stadium, it was for a Syracuse game. I have yet to see the Giants there.

CFL Football

  • Landsdowne Stadium*, Ottawa, ON — Ottawa Roughriders

Arena Football

  • Times-Union Center*, Albany, NY — Albany Firebirds

Wow, I’ve attended a lot of sporting events!

Anyway, this was a fun exercise, and a neat list to put together. I’m hoping to add to it!

On the NCAA basketball road

I like to read articles and surf the web during my lunch breaks. Today, I stumbled across an article about a guy who’s on a mission to visit all 350+ men’s college basketball venues. He even has a ‘blog in which he writes about his travels.

I became interested in this ‘blog for several reasons. I am an alumnus of an NCAA Division I power conference basketball school. I am a college basketball fan, and a sports fan in general. I was a pep band member in college, so that fandom tends to be amplified. I enjoy visiting and exploring sports venues. And I love to travel (although I don’t always have the time or money to do so).

I became curious about his ‘blog. I did a quick skim of his impressions about my “home” arena. I also have two Division I basketball schools within fifteen minutes of my home (Siena and UAlbany), so when I have a chance, I’ll have to read those as well. His ‘blog looks interesting, so I’ll have to read through it some more when time allows!

I applaud the gentleman’s efforts. While I’m not as ambitious as he is to try attending 350 basketball arenas, I do enjoy catching games whenever I can (I recently caught a St. John’s game at Madison Square Garden during a weekend getaway down in New York). I will confess to having a pipe dream of attending games in all thirty Major League Baseball stadiums. (So far, I’ve made it to Yankee Stadium [both old and new], Citi Field, Shea Stadium, Fenway Park, Camden Yards, SkyDome/Rogers Centre, Olympic Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Veterans Stadium, Kingdome, Safeco Field [or whatever they call it now — T-Mobile park, or whatever it is], Tropicana Field, and Coors Field. Whew! I think that’s all of them!)

Everyone needs to go out and experience life. One of my ways of doing it is attending sporting events. Whatever it is you enjoy, go out there and enjoy life!

Coming up: SQL Saturday, Rochester NY, Feb.29 #SQLSaturday #SQLSat953 #SQLSatRoc

Image result for rochester institute of technology

The other day, I received emails from the organizers for SQL Saturday Rochester (hi, Andy!) saying that I should spread the word about their upcoming event on Leap Day, February 29 (a week from this Saturday). Okay, I will oblige!

I will be speaking at Rochester SQL Saturday on February 29. The event takes place at Golisano Hall on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology. This will be my third time speaking at Rochester SQL Saturday!

I will be doing two talks on February 29.

Additionally, there are several other great presentations given by many wonderful speakers throughout the day! Check out the schedule to give them a look!

SQL Saturday is always a good time. Come out, learn from industry professionals, and take advantage of the networking opportunities! See you in Rochester on Leap Day!

How often should I ‘blog?

It seems like I haven’t been writing as many ‘blog articles as I’d like this month. There have been a number of reasons — among them, I’ve been sick, I’ve been busy, and so on, but that thought, in and of itself, got me thinking, and it actually gave me a ‘blog article idea. (It’s funny how ideas come about, sometimes.)

Last month, when I did my ‘blogging virtual presentation (if you missed it, you can view the recording of it here), I had a great question come up: how often should someone ‘blog?

To be honest, there really are no hard or fast rules as to how often you should ‘blog. I’ve known people who write maybe one article every few months. I know that Greg Moore tries to write an article each week. On the other hand, Steve Jones usually puts out at least two articles per day (when he’s not on sabbatical). For me, personally, I try to write at least one article each month, with a general target of ten articles a month. It doesn’t always happen; if you look at my archive (on the right side column of my ‘blog), you’ll notice that November and December of 2016 are skipped. That’s because I didn’t write anything those two months. By contrast, if you look at my article counts in 2019, I averaged a little over 13 articles each month. I guess 2019 was a good year for ‘blog articles.

There’s a balance to maintain when trying to be a prolific ‘blog article writer. For starters, there’s a matter of coming up with things to write about. A lot of ideas just come to me, but there are also times when we struggle to come up with ideas. Writer’s block is a common thing. There’s also a matter of finding time to write, and balancing it with other things in your life — work, family, activities, and so on. I’ll pretty much jot things down as soon as they come to me — as I’ve learned, any time I have an idea, I either take care of it right away, or write it down. And there’s nothing that says you have to write a complete article in one sitting; you can always jot your thoughts down and come back to it later. (Of course, sometimes, “later” might not be for a couple of years, by which time your idea has become irrelevant or obsolete.)

I’ve also noticed from my WordPress analytics that there seems to be a correlation between how many articles I write and how much traffic my ‘blog gets, which, of course, makes sense. If you don’t write anything, nobody will read what you (don’t) write. (Duh!) The more you write, the more people will read.

I’ll toss out a question that I ask in my ‘blogging presentation: what do you want to get out of your ‘blog? That will likely dictate how often you should ‘blog. But ultimately, how often you ‘blog is up to you. As Tom Lehrer once said, life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it.

No cold calls!!!

This is something that is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’ve written about this before. Because it keeps happening, I’m writing about this again.

I often get requests to connect from people I don’t know. I will only connect with people with whom I have some kind of established relationship. It’s so bad that I put this note prominently at the top of my LinkedIn profile.

If you want to connect with me, please indicate how we’re connected; otherwise, I will ignore or delete your request. I do NOT accept unsolicited connect requests from people I don’t know.

I especially hold a strong contempt for spam recruiters. For starters, I once had a bad experience with a spam recruiter. There are also many documented cases about spam recruiters being bad for professional development. And their queries are often downright insulting to me. They make absolutely no attempt to get to know me or what I want; all they do is look for buzzwords in my LinkedIn profile or resume. Any connect request I receive from a recruiter I’ve never heard of gets deleted immediately.

Granted, just because I don’t know you doesn’t mean I won’t connect with you. However, you need to give me a reason as to why I should connect with you. It doesn’t have to be much — even something as simple as, “I enjoyed (meeting/talking/listening/whatever) to you at (user group/activity/party/whatever). Can we connect?” is enough for me to at least acknowledge you.

There are a number of people who think that just because we have friends or groups in common that they can just connect with me. The fact is, if I don’t know who you are, and you don’t tell me how we’re connected, I will not connect with you. Just because we’re part of the same user group doesn’t mean I will connect with you. Several user groups and activities I’m in often have numbers of people whom I don’t know. You need to tell me we’re in the same user group. Do not make me have to work to figure out who you are.

I am very particular about this, especially in this day and age of identity theft and data security. It’s one thing to be asked a favor, but it’s quite another to be taken advantage of. There is a difference.

Networking is about relationships. Tell me what our relationship is, and I’ll be happy to connect with you, even if I don’t know you. But if you send me an unsolicited connect request with absolutely no indication as to how we’re connected, chances are I will delete or ignore your request. Don’t send me a cold-call connect request with no explanation as to how we’re connected and expect me to connect with you.

Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 2/6/2020)

I’ve had some updates to my speaking schedule, so I figured this would be a good time to update my speaking schedule.

I am confirmed to be speaking at the following two events.

I’ve also submitted presentations to the following events, but they are not confirmed (and I might not get confirmation for at least a few weeks, if not longer).

Additionally, SQL Saturday Boston is listed for October 3, but the event is not yet live. I intend to apply once it is. I will also likely apply to speak at PASS Summit once speaker submissions are open. I will also apply to SQL Saturday events within easy driving distance of my home, such as New York City and Providence, RI.

Hopefully, I’ll see you at an event near you sometime soon!

February CASSUG Monthly Meeting @CASSUG_Albany #SQLUserGroup #SQLFamily

Greetings, data enthusiasts!

Our next CASSUG monthly meeting is on Monday, February 10!

Our February speaker is Taiob Ali! He will present his topic titled “New features in Management Studio — Performance Troubleshooting made easier.” For additional information and to RSVP, go to our Meetup event page at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/267111330/

Additionally, Greg Moore will present a lightning talk about PowerShell!

Thanks to our sponsors, Datto, Capital Tech Search, and CommerceHub, for making this event possible!

Hope to see you there!