And I thought this would be so easy.

Latest attempt. I just did an uninstall of HDInsight. Then I found all the Hadoop folders on the drive and removed them. I validated that there were no services left running or anything else that might interfere with a fresh install. Then, I rebooted the server (have you tried turning it off and on again?). After all that, I tried rerunning the HDInsight Community Preview. This time I ran it as an administrator on the system, even though I already am logged in as one. Paranoia at every step is my new approach since there have been no errors until I try to turn the silly thing on.

And the install went perfectly. I can see two folders, Hadoop and HadoopFeaturePackSetup. Last time there was a third folder HadoopInstall or something like that. This doesn’t bode well. Let me check the services. Nope. I can’t see anything added. Crud. So, I try the powershell command anyway, just to see what I’ll get. It’s a new error, which is nice:

Join-Path : Cannot bind argument to parameter ‘Path’ because it is null.
At C:\hadoop\start-onebox.ps1:2 char:23
+ $start_cmd = Join-Path <<<< $env:ISOTOPEJS_HOME “bin/start_daemons.cmd”;
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Join-Path], ParameterBindingValidationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationErrorNullNotAllowed,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.JoinPathCom
mand

Crud. My assumption is, I’m doing something wrong. I just can’t figure out what. Lots of searching later, I think I may have found the issue. I’ve been trying to install this on my local server that I use for lots of my tests because it’s a physical box that I can access on the road. It’s also a domain controller. I finally tracked down this thread on Microsoft’s forums. Great. OK. Next step, setting up a virtual server. May as well make it Windows 2012 while I’m at it. More to come when I get past this hurdle. Oy.

There’s still a little time left in the year. I know some businesses have allocated training budgets and if they don’t spend the money, they lose it from their budget. So a few of you might still be looking for opportunities to get your learn on. I’ve got one more big one before the end of the year. You can try heading down to Florida for the Live 360 conference. I’ll be there along with several friends (love my #sqlfamily). I’m presenting two sessions, one on setting up an environment for performance testing using the new distributed playback capabilities from SQL Server 2012 and one on introducing the accidental DBA to backups. You can still register here to attend these sessions and all the other great ones being presented. Last chance to use up that training budget for the year, so don’t miss it.

A virus found it’s way on to my system through a trojan horse, past all the security & anti-virus software. I went through the process of cleaning up, but I kept finding pieces of functionality that had been negatively impacted. Further, I was getting lots of Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crashes. This was all on my beautiful Lenovo W510 that I use constantly and that I need for demo’s while on the road. It needed a rebuild.

When it came to doing the work, I planned on a Windows 7 install. It had been working on the machine for about 18 months without any issues at all so I figured I’d just go back to it… But, Windows 8 is coming out. So, for deep technical reasons that I’ll attempt to summarize in this long list of bullet points, I decided to go for trying out the new OS:

• Shiny

With all that technical mumbo-jumbo out of the way, let’s talk about what’s worked, what hasn’t and what I’ve found to be different.

The first, and most important piece of software that I got running was SQL Server. The install was flawless. I have nothing to report. Install went off without a hitch. Next up, all the Red Gate software suite of tools (for obvious reasons). Again, nothing to report. Everything I’ve tested so far, has run just fine.

I did need to run a special VPN software for connecting back to the Mother Ship, and that won’t install on Windows 8. I’ve had to install it on another machine so that I can run home to momma to get new software installs as they become available (shiny). That was the first real issue.

I’ve got a long list of software that I’ve installed and have nothing to say about. It’s all worked fine. Let me know if you want it.

A few things about Windows 8. Shiny. That out of the way, I’ve noticed a few things. Some of the “apps” that are geared towards tablets & phones behave in quite funky ways when run on a traditional laptop. And, I haven’t found a good way to shut these down once they’re started (like your phone, but this isn’t a phone) other than opening Task Manager (which has received a pretty major facelift by the way) and killing them there. Also, while I hated the recently accessed document list, I did like the list of documents that came off particular apps in the Start menu. I liked this because I was usually working on one document a bunch, a chapter for a book, or a presentation, and I could easily get that opened from the icon. Now, I have to start the program and then find the documents that I want open inside it. Feels very old school.

My laptop is actually running faster (benefits of cleaning out all the crap accumulated from 18 months of testing software), but, the built-in camera is not being recognized by any of the apps. The drivers seem to be out of date. Research suggests this is a known issue. In the mean time, I’m stealing the camera off the kid’s computer.

Some of the new interface is nice. Some of it seems to be a pain in the bottom. For example, it’s hard to shut down. You have to go to the lower right of the screen to get a pop-up and then at least three mouse clicks. I know, I had to do two before, but now it’s one more. Not shiny.

I talk frequently about the need to test your backups. I just tested mine. Prior to the virus I had just set up Mozy to backup my systems files, the important stuff. Well, recovery just worked, but… as I’ve suggested in the past, you need to know how to do a restore. I messed mine up twice and thought I had lost the files from the backup. Turns out everything was fine. Mozy just paid for itself.

I’ve been working with my VMWare machines, no issues. I’ve even tested using Live Meeting. It’s all good. As I get more interesting stuff to say, I’ll pass it on.

Here’s the situation. We’re absolutely falling down as men and professionals. Ladies, feel free to read on and comment, but I’m talking to the guys.

This blog post has been percolating in my mind for quite some time, but a few new stories have brought it to the fore. The most recent was when I heard that, in front of multiple other male MVPs, a female peer was propositioned using language that I wouldn’t condone when speaking to an animal, let alone a peer. And that’s the point, these women are peers. Yes, they happen to be female, but more importantly, they’re our peers.

And you know who I’m most upset with? No, not the individual who acted like a jerk. There’s always a few of those around. No, I’m upset with the MVPs who were present when it occurred and did nothing. Said nothing. Did nothing! Simple question for you lot. Are you men, or are you boys? If you’re men, you don’t let other men talk to your peers that way. Ever. It’s not acceptable. It’s not polite. Most importantly, it’s not professional. If you’re boys, please go home until you’ve decided to grow up.

I get it. We’re all consenting adults (except the boys, who have left) and we all have different levels of tolerance for different types of behavior. I know I’ve personally crossed lines that upset others and I’ve been called out on it (by men, and professionals, acting as such). Sooner or later everyone is going to cross a line somewhere. It happens. What I would expect is that we will stand up, like men, like professionals, and hold that person accountable for their actions. Then that person can adjust their behavior appropriately, issuing apologies as needed. And women aren’t gentle flowers that need protecting. Far from it. However, they are peers. They are our equals (probably, based on behaviors noted, superior to some of you). They should absolutely be treated like it.

I also understand that we’re going to be in places where alcohol may be consumed, and to excess (guilty again). This lowers inhibitions and changes behaviors. Once more, we’re all adults and if you don’t want to be around this behavior, don’t go. But once more, it’s entirely possible to go through your alcohol consumption without turning into a raging jerk. And, if someone turns into a raging jerk, the rest of us have to be ready to intervene when it’s clear it’s necessary. In the case I mention, and in others I’ve heard about, it was necessary.

And yeah, we may go to places intentionally to let our hair down in less than appropriate ways (once more, guilty). Usually these are very clearly marked and announced so you can’t go into them expecting a church social. It won’t be. But, you also can’t go into them acting like a raging jerk.

I was discussing this with others, because of other similar stories that came up, and we decided that the simplest way to explain this is using the Wheaton Law (possibly NSFW), which I had to look up. It’s very similar to the Golden Rule (and yeah, that’s Wikipedia, cope), which I already knew. But I’ve supplied links to both so you can figure it out in case either of these is new to you. I mean come on guys, just because you’re away from your wives and you’re around fun, intelligent, beautiful women (of which we have more than our share in the SQL Server Community) doesn’t mean you start propositioning anything that moves. And if you really must do this, do it with some class and understand that when the lady says no, it ends that line of pursuit.

And don’t think this has gone unnoticed. I’m using the one general scenario because it was pointed out to me that MVPs are evidently not capable of policing themselves. If we don’t do it, it will be done for us and not in ways that any of us are going to appreciate.

I realize this is likely to be an unpopular post. I really don’t care. I’m more than a little ashamed to be associated with people who act that way towards women. Sorry. Don’t like it. Can’t abide it. Something must be said before things have to be done. I actually can’t believe I’ve had to write this down, but I’ve heard too many of these stories to stand quietly by any longer.

Let me reiterate. I’m not saying this because I think women are wilting flowers that need protection. Far from it. I know a few of the ladies from the SQL Family that will remove your family jewels and show you the side of them that you’ve never seen before. It’s not that I think they need protection, no. It’s that I think they shouldn’t have to put up with the jerky behavior. It’s that simple.

Jerks, you’re on notice. There are men, professional men, out there and they’re going to call you out on your behavior. Clean it up now. Guys, don’t let these jerks define us, ever.

I’m not going to black out my blog, because, let’s face it, who’s going to notice? But for all six of you who read this (and, of course, you Mom), I do want to point out that these are horrific bad bills. They are sponsored by Democrats and Republicans, so party affiliation shouldn’t enter into this. In this case, they’re all bad guys. And why? Greed, pure & simple. Hollywood donates millions & millions to politicians and they expect these people to stay bought and deliver on their “anit-piracy” legislation.

Don’t know anything about this? Here’s an article. Just don’t focus on SOPA. It’s the bill sponsored by the Republicans (which for some reason is the only one called out as evil…grrr). There’s also PIPA, which is the Senate equivalent sponsored by Democrat Patrick Leahy (who clearly doesn’t get it).It’s absolutely as messed up as SOPA.

Anyway, blogs all over are blacking out today (by the way, this won’t work after 1/18/2012, so don’t bother):

My favorite
The Oatmeal

Please take five minutes out of your day today to voice your opinion on these bills. I don’t care if you’re in favor of them (although if you are, I think you’re nuts), but you need to contact your representatives and make your voice heard.

No more politics. Back to your regularly scheduled SQL Server nerdery.

I somehow made the Top 10 Community Choice Bloggers in the SQL Server Magazine 2011 awards (keep scrolling to the bottom). This was evidently a write-in list and some of you who read my rambling attempts to understand this SQL Server stuff thought enough to actually write down this blog. I’m completely and utterly gobsmacked, humbled, surprised… and yeah, happy. #6 …. Wow!

Thank you.

Gotta go get some posts written now.

A friend of mine recently got his first smart phone, an Android. My wife has also recently moved into the world of smart phones, again, an Android. I’ve been working with Android for a year now and loving it, and not even remotely non-vocal about it. I even picked up a Droid tablet, an Asus Transformer
(which I LOVE). My advice on apps has been solicited a few times. I forwarded the most recent request to G+, Twitter & Facebook.

Funny thing is, I’ve installed a ton of apps and then uninstalled most of them. There are only a few that I’ve found really, really useful. Note, this is beyond the basic stuff that comes with the phone, email, web browsing, maps, navigation, calendar, etc. That stuff is wonderful. I’m talking apps. Here’s my list:

• TripIt, if you travel,TripIt is a glory, just a glory.
• Springpad is great for taking notes on the go, especially if you combine it with the Barcode Scanner app
• PdaNet is good for tethering, again, if you’re travelling
• Kindle, just in case
• Cardstar, because I don’t want that crap hanging off my key chain
• Google Sky Map, ‘cause it’s wicked cool
• HIIT Internval Trainer is a great timer for Tabata’s.
• JogTracker Pro is OK as an way for tracking mileage walked, jogged, etc. I’m still looking for something better here.
• Tasker, hard to describe. Check it out.

And that’s all I’ve got on my phone. I have a different list for my tablet. I’ll compile that at some point (I need to post a review of the tablet).

Here are some of the responses I got from my beg. I might try a couple of these that I haven’t heard of:

• Note Everything, Simple note app that is reduced to the max
• PomLife
• LLama profile manager. nice to know your phone will be quiet/loud, even if you forget set set it…
• Dropbox
• Google+
• soundhound
• linkedin
• skype
• kindle
• walgreens (if you Rx with them)
• Quickoffice
• WiFi Analyzer
• Chrome to Phone
• CamScanner. That lets you take a picture of a document and it converts to a PDF.
• Amazon

I’ve made the commitment to read and review 12 books over 12 months as a part of continuous personal development. This is my second book.

While this is a book review, the first thin you need to know is that the Strengths Finder 2.0 book is actually just a written, in-depth, support document for the test that you take on the StrengthsFinder web site.The core idea to the test and the book is to identify your strengths and work on them instead of spending all kinds of time trying to fix your weaknesses. If you just think about it a little bit, it makes sense that you can spend days and weeks trying to improve in an area where you are not terribly strong while improvement in areas where you are already strong will come to you, fast & furious.

The book is broken down into two parts, an introduction that goes over the concepts and science behind finding your strengths, and a huge section that defines all the various strengths identified in the test. Between reading the first and second section, you’re supposed to take the test.

The book is really interesting to read. The first section brings out a number of interesting facts from different areas of psychological research that seem… accurate. I’ve read some psychology types of books where so much of the “science” reads like so much feel-good claptrap. This is not one of those. There are discussions about the fact that you still have weaknesses and blind spots that you’ll need to take into account, even as you work on your strengths.

My test came out with the following strengths:

• Achiever
• Input
• Self-Assurance
• Learner
• Significance

Personally, reading through the descriptions, I think it shows an accurate test (and Mrs. Scary sure thought it was accurate). With these results and the book in hand, you can start to set goals to change how you work and perform in life. You’ll have a description of what each of these words means, and more importantly, a list of ideas for how you can apply them to start trying for improvement. Better still, the book has a section on each strength called “Working With Others Who Have…” for each strength so you can understand how better to deal with others.

At least that’s the theory as laid out by the book. I do find this all very useful. I appreciate the insights into what makes me more motivated. It works. Unfortunately, I haven’t also incorporated a regular review of these goals into my workload and I think to fully realize the results that needs to happen. Also, a psychological test I went through with my previous employer emphasized that knowing yourself is important, but that knowing others and figuring out how best to communicate with them (note, not adjusting yourself, just your message, you can do this and stick to your strengths) is the best way to improve your working relationships. Because of that, I feel like I only have half the tools I need. Yeah, I can make guesses at what other people might be (and sometimes it’s obvious), but not knowing, it is possible to still mess up the communication.

Overall, a great read, good information, extremely useful, but still not quite enough for what it sets out to do, at least in my opinion. However, I am going to try to focus on this on a regular basis (daily) so that I can start to use what I’ve learned and learn more (after all, I’m a Learner).

The first book I read for my 12 goal oriented books was Jerry Weissman’s Presentations in Action: 80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters.

Up front, let me say, this book met my expectations. I expected to see a lot of things I already knew. I expected to learn a few new things. What I didn’t expect was more books for my reading list.

The book is broken down into 80 little stories and these are grouped into five sections talking about Content, Graphics, Delivery Skills, Q&A (dealing with it, not your questions), and Integration. The sections made a lot of sense even if a couple of the stories felt like they had been sort of shoe-horned into the section. Most of the stories made a lot of sense, and they really do offer a lot of good advice for presentations, big & small, live & recorded, private & public. And that’s good, because I’ve tended to have a single presentation style for all those events. Now I’m finally learning otherwise. Not only do you need to modify your message for the audience, something I was already aware of, but you need to modify your delivery for the size and location of that audience.

What I liked best was that Mr. Weissman put a lot of other reading in front of me. He not only presented interesting cases, but he told where they came from and related readings and other stuff along those lines. For me, it expanded the reach and usefulness of the book.

Some of the advice just isn’t going to be helpful. Such as “When in Doubt, Leave it Out.” I suppose if I were doing a keynote or some similar type of situation, this is useful advice, but most of my speaking is of the type “you have 90 minutes to fill, go.” You can’t cut that down to 45 minutes because you’ll get bad reviews, not kudos.

Some of the advice is excellent. I was already very aware of “I Can Read It Myself.” Others I’m realizing that I needed. For example, “In Q&A, Speed Kills,” just last week I presented at a user group, heard 3/4 of a question, and started answering. Unfortunately, I didn’t wait for 100% because when I was done, the person asking, finished, and my answer, which had run on for about 2 minutes was cut down to 2 words. Ouch. Lesson learned, a little late.

Some of the stories, well, let’s just say he used politics, which, makes sense because it’s all about communications and presentations. But… I don’t like getting a clear view of someone’s political leanings in a book of this sort. It just doesn’t belong here. If you can’t keep it neutral, don’t use that type of information, now matter how applicable and effective. If you do, and your biases slip through, it absolutely detracts from the effectiveness, and I’m sorry Mr. Weissman, but you were pretty clear and it was irksome for those who don’t agree with you.

That aside, this was an excellent read. It’s short, but extremely focused and very informative. If you’re just getting started as a speaker, I’d recommend getting a copy. If you’re experienced, I suspect you’ll still get something out of it.

Next up for my 12 is StrenghFinder 2.0.

No, PD doesn’t stand for PowerShell Development. It stands for Professional Development. Sharks either swim or die (and yes, I know that’s not 100% accurate, but I need a hook on which to hang this lesson). Knowledge workers either develop more knowledge or become buggy whip manufacturers. It’s that simple. Keep moving/learning or die/become obsolete. I’m voting for continuing to learn.

In keeping with this, during SQL Cruise Alaska (I’ll be posting more on my thoughts about the trip), I was privileged to sit through Buck Woody’s (blog|twitter) presentations on “Three C’s on the High Seas.” Buck is a great teacher and not at all afraid to hand out homework, which he did before and during the cruise. Confession time, I did fail to do one pre-cruise assignment and Buck marked my grades down accordingly. I think I’m going to get a gentleman’s C on this one (which would make it “Four C’s” but I digress). One assignment was to give yourself a measurable goal of reading twelve (12) books on professional development related to your goals over the next year. I will read the following books and post short reviews about them:

Presentations in Action by Jerry Weissman: 80 memorable presentation lessons from the masters. I’m always looking to improve my presentations, so any help I can get is worth investigating.

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath: Basically, learn your strengths and start to work them. This was supposed to be part of my pre-cruise homework. I’ll hand it in late and take the hit.

Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us by Seth Godin: Innovation by building a tribe of people that support that innovation. Plus, I just like reading Seth Godin books.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business by David Siteman Garland: Entrepreneurial approaches to marketing. Technically I’m not technical any more. I’m a marketing wonk. Might as well learn about the job.

Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself by Daniel H. Pink: Shifting working patterns in the new business models operating these days. Sounds good to someone who lives in the US and works for a company in England.

Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky’s Concise Guide to Finding Technical Talent: How to find good developers. I still think of myself as a developer, so I might as well try to be a good one. One way is to understand how they’re recognized and emulate that behavior.

Moving Applications to the Cloud on the Microsoft Azure Platform by Eugenio Pace, et al: Yeah, it’s on Buck’s list and it looked interesting. I’m convinced that we need to pursue knowledge of SQL Azure and understand how to work with it as part of keeping our jobs.

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything: Not sure I buy it, but since I’m so involved with the SQL Server community, might as well try to understand how they work.

The Long Tail: Again, trying to understand my new job within our changing world.

The Cloud At Your Service: I’m All In. Of course defining what I’m all in for is a different matter entirely.

The Wuffie Factor: Got this one from Tom LaRock’s (blog|twitter) reading list. He has some good stuff.

That’s my list. Watch for the blogged reviews. I do reserve the right to change my mind on my reading list, so don’t come back on me in 6 months complaining that I didn’t read the book I said I was going to.

Your turn.