Manda QoP

I've created a presentation for the August SQL User Group which is about using ' sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats ' DMV in order to evaluate your index usage. The presentation and code sample is available to download on the right.

Seems the IT Crowd hit the nail on the head with FriendFace. FaceBook are buying a company called FriendFeed, guess FriendFace is a better name than FaceFeed. :)

In a fit of insanity I signed up to do a 40km leg of the Lake Taupo cycle challenge, oh dear. Those who know me will understand the issue here. I'm short, fat, unfit, have a knee full of titanium bolts and haven't ridden a bike for 3 years. Being side-swiped by a bus passing too close was the final straw after being knocked off by three cars prior to that, and let's not forget car drivers who can't wait 2 seconds to turn left and turn across the front of you, or morons who fling car doors open without looking to see if anyone is coming. They don't just knock you off in Auckland, to add insult to injury they get out of their cars and scream abuse at you for being on the road in the first place, one car driver swerved into a cycle lane to knock me off and then yelled at me for being in the middle of the road - thank goodness for a fast police response and other car drivers with a modicum of sense who gave statements verifying the guy was a nutter. Anyway, all t...

I've just been to the launch meeting for The Whatsit? which is a free online cybersafety resource for SMEs. The Whatsit? has been created by NetSafe after research into cybersafety and security processes/practices of SMEs in NZ were shown to be somewhat inadequate. This new tool helps SMEs to create a cybersafety policy quickly and easily using multichoice options in a web-based application. It looks pretty useful and will make implementing a policy much quicker for business owners with little time. Check out www.thewhatsit.org.nz for more information. The speakers got me thinking though. It seems that NZ businesses are not catching on to the idea of cloud computing, the speakers were talking about such horrors as staff using gmail, hotmail or instant messaging whilst at work. With more companies moving their email services (amongst other things) out to the cloud, the distinction between work/personal email could become somewhat blurred. And instant messaging is a great to...

As it's getting kinda large now, version 1.1. of the script is attached as a link on the right. Constructive comments/suggestions welcomed. Also, let me know if it's useful for you. :)

Apparently this year you can get help with your Auckland City Council rates if your household earns less than $30k per annum. I doubt that anyone could even buy a shared equity house in Auckland with a household income

Myles Matheson from Microsoft will be presenting "Demystifying Business Intelligence" and Carolyn Sanders from Fronde Systems Group will be presenting "Scrum 101 - Unleashing the theory!". Tickets are $35, price includes dinner and a glass of wine. Tickets available from www.girlgeekdinners.co.nz . DEMYSTIFYING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BI is real hot right now, but I often find myself in situations where I have to try and explain Business Intelligence (BI). It’s not that easy to define BI in a universal definition that everyone agrees with. BI is as much a collection of technologies and principles as anything else. My talk will be about how companies use BI and what it means to the IT professional. I will take you through the first principles of BI. The who, why, and how we deliver BI systems today. We will also look at an end to end solution that many businesses already own. Myles is a Solution Specialist for Microsoft New Zealand. He has worked in the fiel...