This will be a short post, mainly because I’m writing this on my phone (I left my laptop in my hotel room; I don’t really need it today), and writing a blog post from my phone is difficult to do. But anyway… I’m writing from the lobby of the Seattle Convention Center for PASS Data Community Summit! Today is mainly a day of precons (which I’m not registered for).

Because of the last few months dealing with my illness, I've had a lot of free time on my hands. Recently, I started tackling extracurricular projects that haven't received enough of my attention, namely, my original music. I have a number of demos that I've put together, and I have several more that I've started but haven't been able to finish.

One Man, One Heart, One Soul - A young man asks himself questions, and tries to be honest with his own feelings. #pop #rock #adultContemporary #ballad #PowerBallad

YouTube video by PASS Data Community Summit

As regular readers of my blog (both of you) may have noticed, I've been pretty quiet lately. It's like I went down to PASS On Tour and pretty much dropped out of site. Well, there's a reason why. Roughly just before Labor Day weekend, I started feeling ill. It was bad enough that I took some sick days from work. A few days ended up being -- well, a lot longer.

Well, I'm actually writing this about three days after I arrived home from PASS Summit On Tour NYC. I wish I could say that I took the last three days to decompress, but that's not the case; I went right back to work the next day. It was a fun but tiring trip -- they always are. Even my wife commented about how tired I looked when she picked me up at the train station.

This coming Monday, I'll be traveling down to NYC for PASS Summit On Tour. This is one of three "traveling" events (the other two are in Dallas and The Netherlands) that provides attendees with a smaller, more localized, and less expensive version of PASS Summit. I'm very much looking forward to going to this event on Monday (

Next week (August 19), I'll be presenting one of my favorite sessions in one of my favorite cities! Come hear my presentation, Networking 101: Building Professional Relationships, at PASS Summit On Tour NYC! In my session, we'll discuss tips for incorporating networking into your professional development! We'll practice networking within the confines of our conference room, so be prepared to network!

I figured this was a good time for an upcoming event update. I am confirmed for two upcoming events, both of which are related to PASS Data Community Summit! I will be doing my networking presentation at the following two PASS events. Tuesday, August 19: PASS Summit On Tour NYC November 19-21 (exact date TBD): PASS Data Community Summit…

I was poking around LinkedIn and saw posts from multiple #SQLFamily friends saying they were named Microsoft MVPs. I am very happy for all my friends who are recognized with this award! To my friends who were recognized, congrats! You are all very well deserving! That said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a slight twinge of jealousy.

An adult contemporary band, with influences derived from classic and progressive rock, pop, jazz, and even classical. #pop #piano #adultContemporary #chicago

I can now say it's official: I've been selected to speak at 2025 PASS Data Community Summit! This will be my fifth time speaking at this event, and my third time making the trip to Seattle for this event (the other two were virtual)! I'll be doing what is probably my favorite presentation: my networking talk! This is in addition to my trip down to NYC for PASS On Tour in August! Hope to see you in Seattle the week of November 17!

PASS Summit 2024 welcomed a diverse line-up of topic experts delivering world-class training and career...

Now that I've announced PASS Summit On Tour NYC, this is probably a good time to update my list of upcoming speaking engagements. Saturday, June 14 (this upcoming Saturday): SQL Saturday Montreal -- I will be presenting my networking and job-hunt sessions this Saturday north of the border this weekend! These are probably my two best-selling presentations. On se voit au Canada ce samedi!

Now that it's been announced, I can say it officially: I've been accepted to speak at PASS Summit On Tour NYC! The event will take place Monday-Tuesday August 18-19 (I will be speaking on Tuesday the 19th) at Jay Conference Bryant Park on 6th Ave. directly across the corner from Bryant Park in NYC. I'll be doing what is probably my favorite presentation: my networking presentation! Hope to see you in NYC in August!

Since my last speaking engagement update, I only had one confirmed date (which has since passed -- the event went well!). As it turns out, I've been accepted to speak at another event, which is coming up in a few weeks. That event is... SQL Saturday #1121, Montréal, June 14, 2025: This will be my second time speaking in Montréal, and my first…

For the second time in a year, I will be speaking in Canada! I received word yesterday that I will be speaking at SQL Saturday Montréal on June 14! This will be my second time speaking in Montréal within a year. Last May, I spoke at DevOpsDays in Montréal. (In fact, the venue for SQL Saturday is only a stone's throw away from where I attended…

This is a reminder that this coming weekend, I'll be heading down to NYC for SQL Saturday. NYC SQL Saturday is my most-attended SQL Saturday event. It was the first SQL Saturday I ever attended back in 2010. This coming Saturday will be my fourth time (if I counted correctly) speaking at NYC SQL Saturday. I am very much looking forward to this event; I always look forward to getting together with #SQLFamily friends, as well as meeting new people and helping attendees.

Dr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” has some pointed guidance for today’s Trump opposition.

It's been a while since I've written one of these "upcoming engagements" posts, but quite honestly, that's because I haven't had any speaking gigs coming up. But now that NYC SQL Saturday is a month away, and I've submitted presentations to a couple of other events, I figured this would be a good time to list what I (might) have coming up.