I've been asked to explain three major events that brought me to where I am today. That's a tall order for me, since I view everything as a continuum of multiple small events. But there are some ''seminal'' events that tend to either show or dictate a further direction, so in the context of working with technology in general and SQL Server in ...

I know it's been a while since my last post, and there is a specific reason for that, which I am going to tell you about. On February 5th, I emailed to my editor the LAST chapter of my new book, after the author reviews and all comments from the editors were answered. I was technically done, except for a bit of work on the Intro, etc. Less than an ...

I almost didn't respond to the request for an interview with Richard Morris of Simple Talk. There were a few strange things in the request that made me think it might be spam or phishing. But I asked some trusted colleagues, and found out it was for real, and you can read the result ...

Wow! Would you believe that it’s almost five months since my last blog post? How time flies.   No, I have not forgotten about you. I know you’ve all been faithfully checking the site (or your feed) each day, maybe even each hour, to get my next post. What can I say? I’m sorry for keeping you waiting so long.   The truth is, that I have ...

I can't help it; I'm a mother. I am so excited about what my son is doing that I just have to share it. My #2 son  is a budding actor and vocalist, and to earn money this summer he is working as a clown for a large organization that provides clowns, rides, games, balloon artists and magicians to local events. I found out several months ago ...

I know I’ve been neglecting my blog lately, but I at least have a valid excuse this time. Four weeks ago, I received two emails on a single day, both inviting me to speak at two different Dutch events that will be held in the same week.   I replied “yes” to both mails, and since have been preparing my sessions. For those readers who would ...

So just like poor Hugo, I've been tagged by the menacing Denis, asked to describe the steps I will take to becoming a better developer over the next six months. I gave this some thought, and decided that I won't commit to reading any more technical books--I have a huge shelf of books I've already read or am halfway through.  And I won't ...

It's all the fault of Denis Gobo. He tagged me, and now I feel obliged to publish my plans for the last half of 2007 as well. I am not quite as ambitious as Denis, though.   My first commitment Like Denis, I will read more technical books. I have a huge stack of unread books on my desk, that I will try to finish. Here are the books, in ...

It’s been quite a while since my last blog post. Almost three months, in fact. In case you have been wondering if I was ill, dead, or abducted by aliens – not at all. The reality was far worse: Adam Machanic has coerced me into contributing a chapter on spatial data for his excellent book “Expert SQL Server 2005 Development”, due out in May ...