Sometimes I'm timely in getting the news out on useful resources.  And, other times, I'm a bit slower on the draw.  As I told my friends back at New Year's Day, "As an official member of the Procrastinators Club, welcome to 2008!"  On the other hand, it's always good to remind folks of great resources that are still available and on the shelf.  Why?  Well, the Internet hits us with such a deluge of constantly new material, that we often forget about the old(ish) stuff that's still really useful.

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Quest vConference for SQL Server

One of the most popular teaching sessions I ever engaged in was the Quest vConferences for SQL Server in 2010, with my good friends Buck Woody (blog | twitter) and Brent Ozar (blog | twitter).

These are evergreen favorites for their strong technical content and, perhaps, an outpouring of Brent's faux chest hair in the latter part of the training events.  Go to this URL for the code samples, download the slides, and to rate the presentation: http://questkb.com/live and or http://www.vconferenceonline.com/shows/spring10/quest/conference/ondemand.asp.  You can also get the full events shipped for free anywhere in North America on a single DVD.

24 Hours of PASS Celebrates Women in Technology

Kalen Delaney, author and expert, and one of the initiators of WiT within PASS

It's always a big thrill for me when a successful initiative launched by PASS goes viral.  One such example is the 24Hours of PASS.  (See last year's webcasts at http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/2010/).  I now see other industry trade groups and technology user groups launching their own 24 Hours type webcast marathons.  Kudos - PASS folks thought of it first!  (I'd give proper credit, if I could only remember who thought of it.  Rick Heiges (blog | twitter), I think).

This year, 24 Hours of PASS is gearing up for an exceptional lineup of SQL Server and BI experts in 24 one-hour technical webcasts. This free training event takes place over two 12-hour days March 15-16, with each day beginning at 12:00 GMT (UTC). Click here to get registered: http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/Spring2011/.  And in celebration of Women in Technology, PASS is hosting an all female line-up of speakers.

This is another area in which PASS has prompted many emulators.  My memory of the details grow dim, since this was almost ten years ago, but I believe it was then PASS director Kalen Delaney (blog | twitter) and Microsoft liaison to the board Jacqueline Borges who put forward the idea of hosting a special Women in Technology luncheon.  Kalen, set me straight on the details!  Since that time, WiT has gone on to be one of the best parts about the big PASS Summit and something widely emulated by other professional and trade associations.

Microsoft Thrive - Career Planning Insights

I was honored to be a featured speaker on the Microsoft Thrive website about this time last year.  What's Thrive?  It's a website put together by Microsoft that helps you plan out your career.  It has certification and learning resources, career paths, and traditional learning patterns and practices.  In other words, it tells you what you need to know to qualify for various kinds of it jobs and then gives you links to dive deeper.  Check it out!

http://www.microsoft.com/click/thrive/

Enjoy!

-Kev

 Twitter at kekline

 More content at http://KevinEKline.com