SQLDiva

NJSQL Business Intelligence Saturday this Saturday (10/4)

Melissa — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:50:00 GMT

NJSQL Business Intelligence Saturday

Registration Required

Microsoft’s Business Intelligence has evolved over the past year to provide a full vendor solution. Let’s embrace it and take some time to learn more about this powerful suite of tools used to create business intelligence solutions. Please join the NJ SQL Server User Group for this free event.

Date:

Saturday, October 4^th

Location:

NJ Microsoft Office

194 Wood Avenue South (Prudential Building), Sixth Floor
Iselin, NJ 08830

Registration Link: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=131668

Agenda:

8:30am - 9:00am: Registration / Breakfast

9:00am - 9:15am: Event Kick-Off

9:15am   - 10:15am: Microsoft’s Vision for Business Intelligence (Mark Kromer)
10:15am - 10:30am:  Break
10:30am - 11:30am:  SQL Server Reporting Services (Kevin Goff)

11:30am - 11:45am: Wrap-up, Evaluation Form Submission & Raffle

For additional information regarding this event, please refer to the NJ SQL Server User Group website (see link below).

Information Link: http://njsql.org/blogs/user_group_news/pages/NJSQLBISaturdayOctober4th2008.aspx

August 19th NJ SQL Server User Group Meeting: SQL Server Service Broker in the Real World with Denny Cherry

Melissa — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Date: Tuesday, August 19th

Sponsor: Quest

Refreshments: Pizza/Soda

Give-A-Ways: TBD

Topic: SQL Server Service Broker in the Real World (SQL 2005+)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 include a fantastic feature that few people understand or use. That feature is the Microsoft SQL Server Service Broker. In this session we'll dig into how to configure the service broker for not only intra-database message queuing, but database to database queuing as well as server to server database queuing. We will also dig into a real life scenario where the SQL Server Service Broker was used to do ETL from an OLTP database to an OLAP database in near real time for near real time reporting.

Presenter: Denny Cherry (BIO: http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/sql-server/about)

Denny's Blog: http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/sql-server/

Redmond Magazine April, 2008(Cover Story): The New Face of User Groups

Melissa — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:11:00 GMT

The current issue of Redmond Magazine includes a cover story on "The New Face of User Groups". This 4+ page article goes through the history of User Groups and illustrates why they are so vibrant and required in today environment. For some time, I’ve wanted to blog about the reason why user groups are needed and what they provide to their attendees. But, this article has already done it. Thanks, Redmond Magazine!!!

Enjoy!!!
SQLDiva

Redmond Magazine Article: http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?EditorialsID=2439

NJSQL April 15th Meeting: An overview of SSIS with Jay Krishnaswamy

Melissa — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:07:00 GMT

On April 15th, the NJ SQL Server User Group will host New Jersey based author Jay Krishnaswamy(See details below). One of my goals for the NJSQL group is to grow the SQL Server Community in New Jersey. It's awesome to be able to host all types of presenters at the NJSQL meetings, but it's important to encourage New Jersey bases folks to present at a NJSQL meetings.

If you are a New Jersey based SQL Server Professional who is thinking about becoming a speaker, please contact me.

SQLDiva

NJ SQLServer User Group: www.njsql.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: Tuesday, April 15th

Sponsor: Microsoft

Refreshments: Pizza/Soda

Give-A-Ways: TBD

Topic: An overview of SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)

Presenter: Jay Krishnaswamy

Dr. Jay Krishnaswamy is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore writes on database and web development related topics to several computer programming related web sites. Before working in the IT industry as a Microsoft Certified Trainer and a Siebel Certified consultant he taught and worked at several institutes of technology and universities in India, Australia, Brazil and the USA. His book on SQL Server Integration Services was published by Packt Publishers, Birmingham, UK.

Overview:
This session will allow beginners to get a jump start on the SQL Server Integration Services concepts using Visual Studio 2005. The emphasis of this talk will be mostly on the Microsoft wizardry that puts rapid application development on a stable platform

Aspire, Succeed, Inspire and then Give Back....

Melissa — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:19:00 GMT

I recently attended an Association for Women in Computing meeting. I was introduced to this group back around the holidays, but regular meeting weren’t scheduled to begin until March. As a women involved in the technology industry for many years, it’s difficult to find situations where the number of females out number the number of men in a room. So, I was very excited to attend the meeting, but I didn’t really have any expectations beyond that.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the room was the constant buzz of conversation. It’s not like men don’t talk, but this was different. I hadn’t realized that when I enter a new situation that includes mostly males, I tend to do a lot of talking because of gaps in the conversation. Wow!! So, for once I could sit back and use my listening skills and relax. One brave guy even opted to attend the meeting. This really gave me perspective on what it’s like to be the only male/female in the room. Interesting stuff!!!

I think that I will remember this meeting for the rest of years because of the impactful, inspiring and altruistic speaker that was featured at this event. The speaker, Susan Lutz is the Founder and CEO of both ETSec, Inc and TrustELI, Inc.

Before the event, I hadn’t taken the time to read through the speaker’s bio. When I first met Susan, she appeared to be a polished professional woman who seemed similar enough to most women in the room. She opened her speech with a coloring book drawing that her daughter had completed years ago that included the words ‘Don’t Quit’ (or something similar) and cited how that simple coloring exercise had inspired her in her own professional endeavors. Earlier in my career, I had often added inspiring poems or saying to be own cube, but after feeling the pain of outsourcing and other company costing savings programs, I had stripped by cube walls of this sort of stuff.

It was amazing to hear Susan talk about her multi-disciplinary experience in strategic selling, marketing, strategy planning, forecasting Next Generation Technology, profit and loss, and technology solution implementation to both ETSec and TrustELI. She also spoke about her expertise in global systems integration and her extensive experience in telecom have been in demand around the world - including Singapore, the Philippines, London and New York. I was very inspired by her ability to gain such a variety experiences and to become so successful in the business and technical world.

The next part of her speech sent chills through my body and placed tears in my eyes. Susan and her husband Richard are also founders of The Angel Ball Foundation; a non-profit organization which grants Adults who are Terminally Ill their final Dream. It seems like there are many organizations out there that cater to sick children, but not many for adults. Sadly, I know that it’s only a matter of time before a family member or friend may require help from this organization.

It’s been a week or so since the Association for Women in Computing meeting and I am stilling carrying a bit of that meeting with me as I walk through my daily tasks. I’ve even started adding some inspiring poems and sayings back to my cube walls. And I’ve put more effort into becoming a stronger women in a mostly man's world. Who knows, maybe someday I can create an organization to help people or lead kids in the direction of pursuing careers in the area of technology.

Coding is good, but Enjoy your Journey….

SQLDiva

Local User Group Websites (NJ/NY/CT/PA/DE)

Melissa — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:50:00 GMT

I attended the NYC Microsoft Heroes Happen Here Launch event on 3/4/08. My role in attending this event was to represent PASS and the local user groups at the Community User Group Table. As the day went on, it became more apparent to me that folks are having a difficult time finding the websites of the local user groups. Peter Laudati (NY/NJ/CT Developer Evalgelist) does a great job of blogging about the monthly events scheduled for the local user groups (http://blogs.msdn.com/peterlau/), but selfishly I wanted to capture just the user group websites for me (and of course for you...).

Enjoy!!!

SQLDiva

New Jersey

New York

Connecticut

Pennsylvania

Delaware

SQL Server 2005 SP3 - Your Vote is Needed!!!

Melissa — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:40:00 GMT

The current "buzz" about SQL Server is the upcoming release of SQL Server 2008 and all the new features that will help to revolutize the way data is used. This is awesome and it's great that Microsoft is sticking with their promise to release new versions of the product every 2-3 years. But, I feel it's just as important for Microsoft to focus on the quality of the current version that is being used on production systems today.

SQLDiva

Verbage from connect.microsoft.com: Since Service Pack 2 was relelased, numerous bugs have been fixed. They are available in cumulative update packages (6 to date). However, Microsoft recommends customers not to install these cumulative updates unless affected by one of the fixed bugs. That creates a dilemma for SQL Server administrators. You do not want to install a package if Microsoft recommends against it, but you also want to take pro-active action so that you can squash the bug BEFORE it affects you.

See Comments on this topic from other folks like you: http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/Validation.aspx?FeedbackID=326575

Vote Here for SQL Server 2005 SP3 ==>>

http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=326575

2008 PASS Community Summit Call to Speakers

Melissa — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:29:00 GMT

Join other industry professionals and help build the SQL Server community as a 2008 PASS Community Summit speaker in Seattle, Washington, November 18-21. Act now and submit an abstract by the March 28^th Deadline.

All speakers receive:

Complimentary registration to the 2008 PASS Community Summit
Industry recognition
Networking opportunities with thousands of attendees

Microsoft employees are encouraged to submit presentations using the online submission website. Please note that any Microsoft submissions will be reviewed and abstract status will be determined by Microsoft.

For more information, please visit our Call To Speakers website at http://calltospeakers.sqlpass.org/ or e-mail any questions to calltospeakers@sqlpass.org.

Nissan Murano: “Haunted” Window Feature

Melissa — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:40:00 GMT

I leased a Nissan Murano about a year ago and I absolutely love this car. I really enjoy driving it and the seats are very comfortable for everyone. But, the car does have one interesting feature.

The morning after I purchased the vehicle, I approached the Murano and found that both front windows were all the way down. So, I chalked it up to ‘User Error’ and never thought about it again.

This past Friday, we had an ice/rain storm that lasted most of the day. In the evening, my husband and I went out (in his car) and when we returned, the front windows of the Murano were down. It’s a good thing that the rain subsided a few minutes after we left to go out. I retraced every step that I had taken earlier in the evening over and over again and couldn’t determine how the windows had been lowered.

That was until….Our 12 year-old daughter found the link below. It appears that Key Fob is designed to activate the lowering of the front windows when the ‘Unlock’ button is depressed for 5 seconds.

Well, I have to say that this “Feature” isn’t a desired one during cold, wet northeast winters…. I hope you find this blog entry before you find your windows down!!!

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/showthread.php?pagenumber=1&s=&threadid=8322

SQLDiva

RIP: Ken Henderson, 1966 - 2008

Melissa — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:31:00 GMT

It is with great sadness that I report that at the young age of 41, Ken Henderson passed away on January, 27th.

I’ve read many of Ken’s “Gurus Guide to SQL” books and spent many hours, sometimes even years reading and re-reading them.

Many of us hope to leave a ‘mark’ on this earth and through his many books; I believe that Ken has successfully done this.

Ken Henderson will truly be missed in the SQL Server Community. This is so sad....

Ken's Books on Amazon.Com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-8888029-6567367?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ken+henderson+SQL

Ken's Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/khen1234/default.aspx

SQLDiva

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 - Releasing in Q3

Melissa — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Last Friday, a Microsoft Blog (http://blogs.technet.com/dataplatforminsider/archive/2008/01/25/microsoft-sql-server-2008-roadmap-clarification.aspx) announced that SQL Server 2008 will not be released until the 3rd Quarter of 2008.

This news isn't unexpected and I'm sure a lot of SQL Server Professionals out there will enjoy having their "2008 Summer Vacation" to get up to speed with SQL Server 2008. Enjoy the extra time!!!

SQLDiva

Where's Waldo... Wait.... Where are all the Women in Technology?

Melissa — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:37:00 GMT

Welcome to the Dynamic Innovative Vivacious Amazing Women in Technology Blog!!!!

Over the past few years, I have attended many technical events and have found that the attendees of these events consist of only 5-10% women. While it's really cool to be surrounded by men and never to wait in line to use the restroom, I keep on wondering where all the Women In Technology are. Is there a larger percentage of Women In Technology and they just don't attend these types of events? Or is 5-10% an accurate percentage? An InfoWorld article from January of 2007 indicated that "women accounted for 16.6 percent of all network and computer systems administrator positions in 2006". So, I was close....

January, 2007 InfoWorld Article: http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/29/05FEwomentech_1.html

SQLDiva

SQL Server 2008 Local Launch Dates Announced and Learning Portal!!!

Melissa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:20:00 GMT

Event Dates and Registration are now available for the local launchs of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008!!!

Follow this URL to register: http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/register/default.mspx

Local Launch Event Dates (as of 1/14/08)

March 4: New York, NY
March 6: Harrisburg, PA
March 13: Edison, NJ (Register soon)
April 3:     Philadelphia, PA
April 17:   Hartford, CT
April 29:   Long Island, NY
May 13:   Albany, NY (Register soon)
May 15:   Rochester, NY

For additional resources on SQL Server 2008, the SQL Server 2008 Learning Portal is available.

Follow this URL for the SQL Server 2008 Learning Portal: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/sql/2008/default.mspx

SQLDiva

January 15th NJ SQL Server User Group Meeting: Designing OLAP Cubes

Melissa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:11:00 GMT

Date: Tuesday, January 15th

Sponsor: Microsoft

Refreshments: Pizza/Soda

Give-A-Ways: Analysis Services 2005 Book

Presenter: Kevin Goff

Topic: Designing OLAP Cubes in SQL Server Analysis Services

Overview: This presentation will cover the basics of designing an OLAP database in
SSAS 2005. It will cover the following:

1) The most important question....why use OLAP?
2) The basics of designing a cube, and building fact tables and dimensions.
3) Building dimension hierarchies, including Date hierarchies.
4) Brief overview of MDX (needed for any special querying of the OLAP
database).
5) Creating custom calculated members and named sets for the cube (used
for reporting tools like Reporting Services, Excel, and even PPS).

For more information on the NJ SQL Server User Group, please go to www.njsql.org.

SQLDiva

Philly.Net Code Camp 2008.1: What an Awesome Day!!!

Melissa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:07:00 GMT

I had the distinct honor of attending the Philly.Net Code Camp on Saturday, January 12^th at DeVry University in Fort Washington, PA. It was a long day, but it was well worth it for the following reasons:

#1: Content

The Philly.Net guys really know how to run code camps. I’ve attended some of their Code Camps in the Malvern, PA Microsoft and they were great. But, these guys really outdid themselves by putting together a code camp with 50+ sessions and 8 tracks. I was especially pleased by the DBA and Business Intelligence tracks. The food, coordination and swag were great, but the content was over the top!!! Thanks Philly.Net!!!

#2: Facility

I was really impressed with the facility. The classrooms were spacious and clean and it was awesome to have a large community area for everyone to meet up (Cafeteria). I’ve attended other events at universities where a large community area was not available. A large community area really makes a difference. Thanks DeVry University!!!

#3: Community

Over 300+ people attended the Code Camp. I don’t think I’ve seen so many technical people together in the local area since the SQL Server 2005 Launch events. It was such a joy to be able to meet up with so many of my friends and prior co-workers. Additionally, it was great to see so many women at this event. A few of us started talking about starting up some type of Women in Technology Group. Email me if you have any interest in a NY/NJ/CT/PA Women in Technology Group.

SQLDiva

Philly.Net Code Camp on 1/12/08: Lots of SQL Server and Business Intelligence Sessions!!!

Melissa — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Philly.Net is sponsoring a Code Camp on Saturday, January 12th in Fort Washington, PA at DeVry University. This code camp features 48 sessions and 8 tracks including a SQL Server and Business Intelligence track. Registration for this Code Camp opened on 12/15/07, so don't delay on registering for a spot to attend!!!

Info/Registration Link: http://www.phillydotnet.org/Meetings/MeetingEmails/2008/January122008/tabid/603/Default.aspx

SQLDiva

Happy Halloween!!!

Melissa — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:55:00 GMT

I work on the Finance MIS Team for a Real Estate Conglomerate and we had a costume contest today.

Our team dressed up as a Report Wizard, Database Diva(SQLDiva) and a Data Detective.

It was kind of geeky... Well, a lot geeky... But, we had fun!!!

SQLDiva

Cute SQL WebComic

Melissa — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 20:23:00 GMT

I came across this cute SQL WebComic. It's kind of cheesy, but I thought it was funny.

http://xkcd.com/327/

Enjoy!!!

SQLDiva

Peter & Bill MSDN Roadshow: 10/16 12:30pm-5pm at the Hilton in Parsippany, NJ

Melissa — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 20:21:00 GMT

Next Tuesday, Bill Zack & Peter Laudati (NY/NJ/CT Microsoft Developer Evangelist) will be hosting the first MSDN Roadshow in Parsippany, NJ. This will be a free half day event from 1-5pm at the Parsippany Hilton. Detailed information available at the link below.

Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Welcome Time: 12:30 PM

Time: 1pm - 5pm

Location: Hilton Parsippany Hotel, One Hilton Court, Parsippanny, New Jersey

The following topics will be covered: Silverlight, LINQ and Windows Communication Foundation

Registration Link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032352500&Culture=en-US

SQLDiva

October 16th SQL Server User Group Meeting: Best development and deployment practices for SQL 2000 and 2005

Melissa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:08:00 GMT

Date: Tuesday, October 16th

Sponsor: SQLFarms

Refreshments: Pizza/Soda

Give-A-Ways: SQL Farms will be giving away 1-user license (full unlimited license) for each attendee in the users group session (limit 1-per company) - a ~$5K value each.

Topic: Best development and deployment practices for SQL 2000 and 2005

In this session we will dive into best SQL and T-SQL coding practices, optimizing code for collaboration and optimization, and cover the topics listed below.

Best DDL and Schema design
Understanding the SQL server DDL architecture
Design considerations for tables and view
Indexes, constraints, keys - when, where, and how to apply them best
Writing DDL in collaborative dev teams

DML, stored procedures, functions
Writing efficient SQL code
Clean and clear development practices
Do's and Dont's when writing SQL code
Security considerations

Best deployment practices
Database projects and releases
Moving code between Dev, QA, and Production
Writing good code to eliminate deployment issues

Presenter: Dr. Omri Bahat, CEO of SQL Farms, Inc.

Dr. Omri Bahat is the CEO of SQL Farms, Inc., a software company that develops database management tools for mid-size to very large SQL Server environments and data centers. Before SQL Farms, Dr. Bahat served as the lead database architect at Symantec, responsible for database development, change management, and deployment in large SQL server environments. Dr. Bahat writes for SQL Server magazine, is a regular speaker in software conferences and SQL user groups, he manages the Northern VA SQL user group (http://www.novasql.com/), and in his spare time also runs the SQL Education Center (http://education.sqlfarms.com/).

SQLDiva