MS 70-432 passed

So... I have grand aspirations. With the reworking of the MCM program, I decided it was time to get some certifications under my belt (since they go towards something more grand now). Today, I took my first MS test and have to say that the experience wasn't horrible. I have a long way to go to the MCM, but you have to start somewhere.

Blaze your own trail

Not to brag, but I've been reading xkcd since before it was cool. The one from today struck a chord with me. Specifically, the second-to-last panel. It's been said many times, many ways before. I can think of a couple of other phrasings of it off of the top of my head: "Seek not to follow in the footsteps of the masters. Seek what they sought." and even "You cannot become that which you admire." The point of all of this is that I see so many people trying to succeed (by whatever metric success is measured by) by trying to mimic the actions of those that are considered successful. A lot of success, in my opinion, is circumstance. Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people. So rather than try to duplicate success, try to figure out what those you consider successful were trying to accomplish rather than how they did it. You have talents that they don't. Use them to blaze your own trail.

The software industry and NASA

No... I'm not talking about how NASA uses or develops software. We typically call software releases "launches" and got to thinking about parallels that can be drawn between software launches and space shuttle launches.

The blog's been a bit fallow...

Hi all,

It's been a while since I rapped at you. See, the company that I work for has a love/hate relationship with web filtering. Or, perhaps more specifically, they're updating the filters employed with what I can only describe as enthusiastic capriciousness. For a long time, this site was blocked from where I could post technical content (that is, from work). And so it was. I've noticed lately that the filters were changing and so I attempted to access my little web diary once again only to meet with success. And so here we are. Hopefully I can embark once again on a meaningful dissemination of tips, tricks, and other miscellany. Buckle up.

Sybase ASE vs SQL Server. Hajime!

Linchi Shea recently drew a couple of comparisons between Sybase ASE and SQL Server here. It's been a while since I worked with Sybase, but there were some features that it had that I wish SQL server had.

Fortune cookies are usually junk, but...

Fortune cookie fortunes are more platitude than anything these days. I'm usually put off by them. I usually want something along the lines of "you will be rewarded for your recent hard work" or "they really are out to get you". So I was pleasantly surprised when I got the following:

Those who endure most are rewarded most.

True enough (in bed).

Create a database snapshot

I've been meaning to write this one for a while. The need arose today to be able to create a database snapshot fairly quickly. Here's what I came up with: