Sunday, January 14, 2007 - Posts

In Atlanta...

I finally left Richmond only four hours later than expected.

We made great time on a nice big jet to Atlanta. I found the gate, grabbed a mocha, and found a seat near an AC receptacle so I can get some work done.

And then the inevitable announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen travelling to Minneapolis aboard flight ..." You guessed it, delayed again.

I suppose the airlines are doing the best job they can but this seems counter-productive - not to mention counter-profit.

The good news? My Mom reads this blog and likes for me to let her know how these flights go. She's able to track my progress today by just reading this!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: More delayed flights fun with airports Mom

Re-Import Schema in Team Edition For Database Professionals

What happens when I want to refresh the schema in a Team Edition for Database Professionals database project? Say I've created a project, imported a database schema, and then I make some changes using SQL Server Management Studio. How do I get my updates into my database project?

There are a couple ways to accomplish this. This post describes one method.



First I create a database project named Test1:

Once created the project shows up in Solution Explorer:

I right-click on the project name (Test1) and click Import Database Schema:

I configure the import dialog as shown:

After I click Finish, the import process fires:

After import completes, I note the warnings and click the Finish button. When I right-click on the project name (Test1) in Solution Explorer, my context-sensitive menu has changed. To proceed with the demonstration, click Unload Project:

Once the project is unloaded, Solution Explorer now contains only the project file. I right-click the project and click Edit Test1.dbproj:

The xml containing the project definition opens in the IDE editor (There are always risks when editing xml project definitions, so be careful. It's a god idea to make a backup before editing begins.):

If I collapse all but the last tag (the tag that contains the schema definitions), I can easily highlight this information:

Once deleted, I save the file and close it:

Right-click the project name in Solution Explorer and select Reload Project:

If I forgot to close the file earlier, I will receive this prompt:

When the project reloads, the schema is empty:

A right-click on the project name in Solution Explorer brings up the earlier menu, allowing me to import the schema:

There are always risks when editing xml project definitions, so be careful. It's a god idea to make a backup before editing begins.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Data Dude Team EDition for Database Professionals Import Re-import refresh schema

posted Sunday, January 14, 2007 4:55 PM by admin with 0 Comments

Lemons...

Funny, I was just posting - here in Richmond, VA, about leaving on time.

We did manage to leave on time (which, in hindsight, should have been a clue) but turned around half-way to Cincinnati because the part of the aircraft that cools things off and provides cabin pressurization above 10,000 feet stopped working. We could have flown there below 10,000 feet, if only we'd taken on enough fuel before leaving.

So now I'm forced to sit in a bar at the Richmond airport, waiting on the 3:05 to Atlanta (my beautiful bride, who lived in Georgia while attending high school, tells me it's pronounced "Alanna" - there are no t's in the name of the city), drinking Sam Adams, blogging, and watching football. As I type, the Bears are up 14-7 over the Seahawks. Remember I mentioned that stuff about lemons earlier? :)

I will get to Minneapolis a little later than expected, but it's all good.

I bought a mammoth burger at a little shop down the terminal and walked over here to the Sam Adams bar with it. I asked the bartender lady "Do-I-have-to-buy-a-beer-to-sit-here-and-eat-and-watch-football-and-blog-just-say-yes?" She said "Yes." So I was practically forced to drink this cold delicious Sam Adams draft.

Internet access is free (as in beer - unless you're drinking Sam Adams at an airport bar) at RIC. The website is www.FlyRichmond.com.

Next entry from Minnesota, provided my luck changes...

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Delayed flights blogging football Sam Adams FlyRichmond.com

The Freezing Redneck Tour - 2007 Rolls On!

The Freezing Redneck Tour - 2007 continues. In Week 2, I'm off to Minneapolis for an SSIS training course.

Since I started traveling regulary, I've been checking out different airlines - just to see what the differences are. I don't have enough data to make any determinations yet, but I see an interesting trend: a lot of the major airlines subcontract to smaller carriers. I see it with a flight advertised with Delta, for instance, but with a sub-heading that says something like "Operated by Fly-Me-Please Airlines."

It looks like the boarding for my connector is beginning - on time this time! :)

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Solid Quality Learning SSIS Training Minneapolis

Career Advice: Going Solo

I recently shared this advice with a friend who is considering becoming an independent consultant:


0) There's a great book about consulting by Tom Lambert called . I highly recommend it. I love Chapter 6. I just bought a used copy from Amazon for $4.20.

1) Don't take anyone's advice seriously - unless you know for a fact they have a fully licensed version of CrystalBall 3.2 software installed and running, and you've conducted the tests yourself to validate it works as advertised. I do not have a fully licensed version of CrystalBall 3.2 installed.

2) I'm a huge believer in going for it. Any comments I make are going to slant that way. But - and this is a big butt (double-entendre intended) - be aware of as many risks going in as you can possibly identify. When you go for it, identified risks provide metrics for measuring your progress.

For instance, if you are not independently wealthy, money makes a good metric. As I mention in The Clean Break : I remember looking at the checking account one day during my first few months of entrepreneurship and seeing $80 in there. I thought "I must've done something stupid." I was right, and this was the beginning of my understanding of business development.

3) There's a lot of hubbub out there about identifying your weaknesses and trying to "not do anything stupid." Hogwash. Quitting Harvard in your junior year to start an industry is stupid, but it worked out ok for Bill Gates.

4) Odds are you're not going to make as much money as Bill Gates. That's ok, you can live very well on substantially less.

5) I subscribe heartily to the philosophy. It basically states "you're good at what you're good at - go do that." Weaknesses will remain weaknesses but they do not have to stop your momentum with your strengths.

For instance, you are passionate about great coding. I built my first (and now my second) business on passion. I kid you not. The fact that I was good at what I did helped, but the passion sold.

It's like the scrawny kid who gives 110% every football practice. The coach is going to call that kid's number before long - and that kid will likely impact the game. Be that kid.

6) Speaking of sales, it will be good at some point to figure out how you're going to get new work. The inherent weakness in any consulting model (and this is a weakness for me too) is: you (and I) do not scale well. If all our business is generated by us, then performed by us, then invoiced and accounted for and business-developed by us - we are going to be very busy doing a lot of stuff which a) we may be no good at; and b) we may not like in the least.

This is business development. I've always managed this with channels. You probably know this already, but a channel is a company or individual that will tell others about you and your work - either for free or for some direct or indirect gain (money).

That aside, you will be amazed at the work that finds you once you go into business for yourself.

7) How much do you know about contracts? I didn't know beans about them until I got handed my [sic]hat once. It only cost me $6,500 to learn about contracts - which, I hear, is pretty cheap.

There's lots of approaches to contracts. Verbal contracts usually prove at some point to be as valid as the paper on which they're printed. I like work orders that specify deliverables and percentages expected for bid-by-job work. I like billing cycles (1st of each month, 15th and 30th, or my personal favorite: every Friday) for bid-by-time work. No matter what, you want to have terms (net 30, net 10, etc.) in writing up front.

The customer is not always right. In our field, a lot of customers are completely ignorant of what they're asking you to do for them. You need to keep this in mind when negotiating the contract. And protect yourself.

There is such a thing as bad business. Bad business will hurt you way more than no business. Bad business ends up causing you to work for free. And there are a substantial number of business people out there who believe they're doing you a service by teaching you this valuable lesson while consuming your single, non-scaling resource: you. They're on par with people who want to teach you how to play poker or pool... just bring money. ;)

Pop quiz: The nicest, most sincere people with whom you are negotiating are:
a) Truly the salt of the earth, genuine, will-do-anything-to-help-everyone-succeed people.
b) Sick bastards who are playing a game with your life and future by which they gain points the more you suffer.
c) You have no idea - until payday.

The answer, sadly, is c.

8) How much do you know about managing cashflow? You can actually lose money - for years in fact - and remain in business if you can maintain a positive cashflow. In my opinion, this is the key to the business side of things.

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Developer Community Career Advice Independent consultant

posted Sunday, January 14, 2007 9:17 AM by admin with 0 Comments