2018 is almost over, and it's been an incredibly busy year for me. I've done more speaking and community activities this year than ever before, and had something big going on almost every month! In this, my final post of 2018, I thought I'd take a look back at some of the highlights. January I started off the year with …

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I was going through some papers the other day and came across my undergraduate transcript, something I haven't laid eyes on in probably a decade. Reading through it was a humbling trip down memory lane. In the 12 years since I've graduated, I clearly remember (more like mis-remember) doing better in some courses than I …

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I think one of the reasons I like computers is that they're so much easier to deal with than people. They're predictable, emotions never get in the way, and there's always a logical explanation for everything if you dig deep enough. All that being said, I am grateful for my hobbies that don't involve sitting in front …

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Yours truly, age 4, at the Illinois Railway Museum I've loved trains ever since I was a little kid. I have no clue why – it goes back as long as I can remember. From an early age, my parents fed this fascination by taking my brother and I to the Illinois Railway Museum. It's an awesome place – the largest railway …

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This month's T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by…ME! I asked everyone to share stories of how they came to love presenting, and I have not one but two tales of my own. They both took place at about the same time: my freshman year at the University of Illinois. I can't remember which one came first, so you get to read both! …

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Warning Hi there! If you're stumbling across this page because you have recently been bitten by a cat (and I get many comments and emails telling me this is the case) PLEASE SEEK MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY! Really. As you will read below, time is of the essence. So please PLEASE go see a physician, or to urgent …

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Earlier this month Michelle and I visited friends in Virginia, and one of the places we checked out was Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s primary home and plantation. I highly recommend going there if you’re ever in the area. It was very informative on many levels, but my favorite takeaway was learning what a geek …

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Happy New Year to all! At the start of 2011, I laid out some goals for the year and did an update on them back in July. Now that it's 2012 it's a great time to take a look at what I accomplished (and fell short on) last year and also set some new targets. My 2011 goals were as follows: Speak More – I spoke at two SQL …

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A while back, honorary SQL geek Sarah Sjolander (blog | twitter) posted her bucket list after watching the movie of the same name. I have yet to see that movie, but thought I'd share my own personal bucket list that (until now) resided only in my head. These items are listed in descending order of the possibility of …

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Back in January, Paul Randal (Blog | Twitter) started a wonderful blog meme that asked you to write about 3 events in your life that brought you to where you are today. I had the pleasure of reading many excellent posts written by people that I really look up to. I wanted to participate, but I didn’t have a blog back …

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