DBAs - We would like your input...

Calling all DBAs - Oracle University would like your inputs in order to better tailor their course offerings around what you actually need to do, rather than what they think you need to do.

They've put a bit of thought into what data they need - you can read about their process for building this survey here.

The survey itself is available on-line for about the next six or so weeks.  You can participate in the survey here.

So, if you've ever wanted to influence what is taught to the next generation of DBA's - or influence what sort of courses would be available for you - please take the time to fill out the survey.

Thanks!

45 years ago...

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

It was 45 years ago today that those words were broadcast. One of my favorite TV series (Enterprise was probably my personal favorite of all of the genres) of all times.

I enjoyed reading this list of eight gadgets from Star Trek that made it into 'real life'. I never realized that the StarTAC from Motorola was named after Star Trek - that is sort of neat. I remember many years back, Verizon came into Oracle in Virginia to try to sell our division on a new phone plan. My manager and a coworker were there and the Verizon person asked us what type of phone we used. My manager had an AT&T phone that was pretty fancy for the time - he could walk up to his computer and the blue tooth would unlock it automatically. My coworker had an early Palm phone - it could do data and web and all. Mine - it was a Star TAC - I flipped it out and said "I can make phone calls with it". The guy from Verizon said "yeah, well the Smithsonian just called and they want your phone" (I got a new phone shortly after... A Palm phone, I used it for years).

Anyway - the list of things that were "Star Trek worthy" but are now real is longer than eight - but that blog post is fun to read. But as I wrote a while ago - and as someone commented on that post - we still need transporters!

And the winners are...

To the first 10 that signed up for the Real World Performance Day using the "referred by Tom's blog" moniker - the books and shirts are in the mail:



I just sent them out today - you should get them soon. Looking forward to meeting:

Venky from Illinois
Kevin from Toronto
Tom from Toronto
Heather from Toronto
Stephan from Maryland
Daniel from North Carolina
Aaron from Maryland
Joe from Massachusetts
Steve from Wisconsin
Ted from Pennsylvania

(I guess Canadians type fast - Toronto being the big winner!)