Okay, this isn't really about SQL Server, but I have been building a new machine today, and it is easily the most powerful computer that has ever been inside my house. In fact it is more powerful than most of our production servers. The mere act of opening applications like Management Studio and Visual Studio finishes so quickly, my head spins. Even converting Windows Server 2008 to a Vista-like workstation (aero, etc.) can't slow this thing down. I am thinking about buying an additional video card and adding two more monitors, just to see if I can give it a challenge. :-)
Anyway, when setting up a new machine, I always want to make it feel "new" by installing different wallpapers and screen savers. Well these were posted several months ago, but they were new to me: official SQL Server 2008 wallpaper and screen saver!
http://blogs.technet.com/sqlman/archive/2008/07/26/sql-server-2008-desktop-background-and-screen-saver.aspx
I have my resolution in a widescreen format, so the wallpaper doesn't look that great when stretched (it mushes the text), but the screen saver is pretty cool.
Also I am trying to find a way to use this image that Denis Gobo found, which is the first time I have ever seen someone mimic an application accurately in real life:
The only thing left (still) is getting into the ancient Cisco gear protecting my company's VPN. As Andy has noted, Cisco is not playing very nice with 64-bit Windows. And I've tried what seems like the only alternative ($144) from NCP software, but can't figure out the precise settings and secret handshakes that need to occur for this to work. I have thirty days to try that out before I have to pay for it, so we'll see what IT says about supporting me and trying to figure out how to connect to our specific gear. In the meantime, what I have actually resigned to do is run Leopard (OS X 10.5.5) and then load my Windows x64 OS inside of VMWare Fusion. This works pretty well, but I cannot use Hyper-V or aero inside the VM. At least I can connect to the VPN from the Mac and then allow the VM to use that connection.