2008 September | SQLRockstar

DMAIC Is For Everyone

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 29, 2008 ⋅ 2 comments

Last week I was in a Six Sigma Black Belt training class. The program itself is three weeks long, spread over four months. I have already attended the Green Belt training, so many of the terms and acronyms used were already familiar to me. With the expanded format we were able to spend far more [...]

Acronyms

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 26, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Be very careful when using acronyms, especially when sending text messages. If you are heading to Six Sigma training, it would be unwise to shorten that to “SS Training”. Trust me, people will get the wrong idea.

SQL Server 2005 Embedded Edition

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 22, 2008 ⋅ One comment

So, it would appear that Windows Server Update System (WSUS, who names these things?) is running on SQL 2005 Embedded Edition. Raise your hand if you are running this edition. What’s that? No? Are you sure? I mean, the name implies it is embedded, and a quick look in the dictionary tells you that embedded [...]

Fantasy Football

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 16, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

If you find yourself in five different fantasy football leagues, and you go 0-5 in any given week, then it is time to hang up your fantasy shoulder pads and move on with your life. Your family misses you.

Group Dynamics

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 16, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

I came across another post on a Six Sigma blog that I found to be quite interesting and applicable to most. The author writes about an interesting group exercise taking place during a class she was teaching. The exercise was about personality preferences with regards to team management, and you can read about it here.
This [...]

Thinking Ahead

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 15, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

As I continue to dive into my Six Sigma training, I have found that one of the best things about the training is the exchanging of stories. It seems that almost every time someone wants to make a point with regards to Six Sigma, they share a story. And I have to admit that I [...]

Did you know?

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 5, 2008 ⋅ One comment

Did you know that the Batmobile has been using alternative fuel for over forty
years? That’s right, it uses atomic batterties, which must be brought to power
before the turbines can get up to speed.

PASS Conference

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ September 5, 2008 ⋅ One comment

The 2008 PASS summit (www.sqlpass.org) will take place in Seattle this November. Your truly has been given the chance to present a talk at the conference. The title is “Operations Manager 2007 for the DBA”. It is essentially the same talk that I will be giving next Tuesday in NYC and in Waltham at Code [...]