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Showing posts from 2012

Stuff I'll never do as a boss, again.

I've been reading a lot about building good corporate culture and trying to retain employees and recruit new team members.  I've been away from the team lead position for about 6 months but have been consulting with large organizations.  I've come up with a short list of things I'll never do and will probably do as a boss.  You might not agree but I hope as a member on a team I lead you will appreciate some of them. I'll never pressure you to give to the United Way or other charity because your employer said so.  I will try to work out schedules if you are donating your time and it doesn't really interfere with anything. I'll never ask you to do something I wouldn't do.  I will ask you to do something because you are better at it than I am. I'll never pressure you into after work social events.  Not everybody likes free football tickets. I might spread the word about a cool user group topic that is coming up though.  You really don't want th

Very busy months for SQL Saturday in September and October

If you’ve never attended the free 1 day seminar called SQL Saturday than the next few months give you plenty of chances.  Some Saturdays there are events in 3 or 4 different cities at once.  Even if you are outside the US, there is probably a SQL Saturday each year within a few hours drive or flight.    SQL Saturday is for beginners and seasoned professionals.  There are always multiple rooms with speakers presenting at the same time.  I suggest using Schedule Builder feature of the SQL Saturday website once you’ve registered for the event nearest you.   I’ve been attending and sharing my experiences at SQL Saturdays for years now.  Each event is top notch and very organized.  The list of speakers are the best SQL experts in the world.   I’m next speaking at SQL Saturday #149 in Minnesota September 29th.  I’ve had the privilege to speak in Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, New York City, and Kansas City.  I’ve also attended Louisville a few times.   You should check

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

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I downloaded the developer preview months ago and put it on an old laptop.  It was fun but really testy.  A few weeks ago I purchased a Acer Iconia Tab W500 from the Microsoft Store for $399.  It’s a 1 GHz dual core tablet with a 32GB SSD.  It came with Windows 7 on it.  I put the developer preview on it, much better but prone to crashes.     This morning I downloaded the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.  It’s even better.  I’m actually in love with it.  It takes some getting used to with the way the settings menu and apps work together.  Performance is awesome.  I’ve gotten about 6 hours out of the battery.  With 7, battery life was about 3 hours.   What I want:   Office 15 Better People Tile Better Reader   I have tons of motivation to work on cool Metro apps now though so you’ll see more from me about Windows 8.