Blends With Savanna Grasses

@BrentO, are you trying to butter me up for some cash? Quite possibly the most flattering words ever spoken about me: http://ping.fm/2EqZp sql sqlcruise

Labels: sql, sqlcruise

Just put out a new blog post on consolidated sources for Microsoft content: http://ping.fm/iDSJN

I'm amazed. The "Voice", James Earl Jones, turned 80. He finds my lack of faith disturbing! http://ping.fm/RhrJr

I put up a bunch of family photos from the holiday season through the end of 2010. If you haven't seen the kids in a while, check it out.

Labels: Experiences, Kids

I take the girls out every year for a little father-daughter time. We usually will blow off school, get lunch, and then I take them for a manicure and acrylic nails.

This year (2010) we went to the wonderful restaurant, Ms Scarlett's Tea Room. Very foo foo, but hey, I'm secure in my masculinity. And, most importantly, they had a ball.

Labels: Kids

Join me & fellow database experts Brent Ozar and Iain Kick for High Performance Backup & Recovery webcast: http://bit.ly/gMXIQ2

So glad to have my truck back! Like me, it's a 1966 model. It was a cowboy cadillac in its day, with AC, automatic transmission, and all the options. It even had safety belts, which the original owner (I'm the 3rd owner) paid $20 extra for.



Rachel has a lot more details on her blog about the ordeal it took to finally get it back. But now that it's home, we'll just pretend that all of those travails never happened.

Labels: Cars

Yeah, I know. I've been terrible about keeping this up to date. So here are some pictures to catch you up on activities at Kline Manor. So here are some fun things to see, grandma and grandpa, that we've all been up to.

At left, speaking at the PASS cloud computing seminar in Seattle.

I did a huge amount of traveling and speaking at conferences in 2010. It was a good year and all indications point to 2011 being even better. But I'm also trying hard to keep my travel in check and spend lots of time with the kids and with Rachel.

At right, the Chihuly Art Exhibit at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens

We've been able to do a LOT of fun things with the kids. Cheekwood is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The Chihuly glass art exhibit was neat and we all enjoyed it. However, the park was really dark in some areas and we saw more than one person turn an ankle in the dark. We even were passed in a crowded stairwell by some EMTs trying to get to a injured woman who tripped in the dark. Can you say "LI-A-BILITY"?!? One of the things that most amazed us that night was, believe it or not, the flashlight application built in to my smartphone - a very awesome HTC EVO.

At left, Ava goes all Jack Sparrow on us.

Halloween was great fun. But because our neighborhood has too much space between the houses, the kids went elsewhere to trick or treat. The kids brought back bucket loads of candy. I think they'd have made themselves sick if they'd eaten even 10% of it in a single evening. Even better - there was so much candy that they didn't even notice I snitched a piece or two. =^)

At right, we celebrate Rachel "Twix" Ramsey's birthday. Yippee, she's 18! And look at that awesome cake my beloved baked for Twix!

Rachel, Dylan's girlfriend of over a year now, turned 18. We luz her very much and had a little cake and ice cream for her.

At left, the choir of Mount Juliet Middle School. Can you find Savannah, Kaylee, and Anna?

The girls did lots of singing and have truly grown in there vocal skills. It's great to see the three of them singing some really challenging songs. I have this "Von Trapp" dream that they'll some day sing as a trio for me ... and the world. Now, if only our school choir directors would get their act together, the shows would be nearly professional quality!

At right, Katie and Anna at the beautiful Radnor Lake park.

I've been carving out more special time with the girls and I think that it's making a difference. Even little things like trips to the heated pool at the YMCA become special when you're totally mindful of the experience and undistracted by all the cares of the world.

At left, I got my favorite "Diablo" character action figure from Dylan as a present. With the beard, I'm starting to channel a little more of the berserker bloodline. Now, where's my chain mail armor!

Emily and dad at lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant.

Emily had a tough fall in 2010, no doubt. But she pulled through and is doing better than ever. I think 2011 is going to be an awesome year for her.

Labels: Experiences, Kids

I'm submitting my abstracts to the SQLBits conference. Spring in the UK! =^)

Labels: sqlbits

Installing SnagIt & Camtasia from TechSmith this morning. Awesome programs! mvpawards

Labels: mvpawards, TechSmith

Great PASS chapter meeting in Naples. Today, customer meetings and the Orlando MagicPASS chapter meeting.

Fever & chills - check. Body aches - check. Gastric distress - check. Is it the flu or do I just need more cowbell?

OMG - my new laptop & hardware came in! Thx Quest!

Do you use Sybase? Then take a look at the free Toad for Sybase beta at http://bit.ly/eyefhS. sql sybase dba

Labels: dba, sql, sybase

Now I realize why I accomplished so much yesterday - I didn't read any email after 2:00 pm.