It's Not Red
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I'm spending the week at Red Gate Software in Cambridge, UK because, well, I'm not really sure why. Red Gate has been wanting me to come over and meet people and so here I am. I like being in an office, though I could do without the 4600+ mile commute. I wasn't sure what to expect when I came over, though I expected something red. Offices are decorated and laid out differently in every company that I've ever been to, so I was curious to see how Red Gate had set things up. What didn't I see?
No red desks. No red shirts, at least not a uniform of Red Gate shirts. No red carpets, red monitors, or red doors. The desks and chairs aren't red, pens and pencils look normal, and the only iPods I've seen have been white or pink. A few red walls, like the one shown below with 10 clocks showing the time in major markets around the world, Denver being one of them. Or maybe it's just because I'm there 🙂 They help me remember not to call home at 5am.
I haven't seen Robin, but there was a Phil Factor here yesterday that I met and had the chance to talk to. He has a John Deere tractor, so maybe that's one of those signs of being a good DBA and writer: owning a tractor 🙂
Actually it's very interesting being in an office again. It's been four years since I spent any significant time in a busy office actually working with people. I miss the ability to take a break and walk around, chatting with someone for a few minutes. Walking outside to talk to the horses leaves me a little less satisfied, though I do tend to win the SQL Server debates with Zarah or Rain.
I also saw a demo of the NEW SQLServerCentral.com site. It looks very similar to the current one, mostly at my request, but Steve D and Steve S have done a fantastic job building a new codebase, making my admin job a little easier, and adding a few nice tweaks that we think you'll like. We're looking to drop that site into beta very soon and hopefully launch it in the next month or so.
So it's been a fun journey, and I've got a couple days left and a few English beers to finish, but I'm certainly ready to return home and get back to my nice, quiet, simple country office with it's sunny days.
Cold and low 60s here.
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Phil Factor? You're kidding right?
If you are, its too subtle for me!!
Jamie Thomson
http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson -
I met Phil Factor, though by his real name.
And I found out another DBA has a tractor as well!! Something to think about
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You say that "there was 'a' Phil Factor here yesterday" - how many are there and which one did you meet ?!
Jamie obviously hasn't been visiting this site too much anymore - if he had he'd have read that editorial about you being on the phone with (one of the) Factors a few days ago..
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
AFAIK, there's just one Phil Factor. I'll have to check and see
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My dad owns 5! Does that count? And I used to run the farm from I was about 14 until I left Norway at 20. Including miling the cows from my grandpa got too sick to do it anymore when I was 12.
Maybe it is the work habits that it got me into that makes it easy to be a DBA
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Work habits of a tractor driver, that would be creating traffic bottlenecks and rescueing lost city boys from unfamiliar terrain would it?
David
If it ain't broke, don't fix it...
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Sounds very cool! One of these days I hope to spend some time in the UK as my wife is Scottish (her parents came to America in the 50's). I didn't know a new site design was on its way, I look forward to it (assuming they add a 'Stop Watching This Topic' button).
And meeting Phil Factor would definitely be neat.-----
[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font] -
Steve,
I lived in Waterbeach, just NW of Cambridge, for 3 years. Take the city tour, check out the Kings College chapel, and if you can get over to Lavenham, Suffolk, it's worth the trip.
I was just in Denver last week, BTW. Have fun and a safe trip back.
Lynn Hineman
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In the clock picture, I notice that it appears that minutes go by slower on the West coast of the US mainland than the East coast.
Is that because of the lag time for SQL time updates across the country or that West coasters just enjoy life a little longer (slower) than their East coast cousins?
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Manual clock synchronization isn't probably working.
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That'll be our next tool.
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Having read this post I nervously looked in the mirror. Yes, phew, there is only one Phil Factor. Yes, I did pop over to Red-Gate to meet Steve, and can assure nervous readers that he is a real person. I didn't tell Steve that I also have a 1962 'Red Fergie' tractor; I felt he'd relate better to my beautiful John Deere 855.
Best wishes,
Phil Factor -
ohoh is the Red Fergie a 3-cylinder 35?
I can't tell you how many times that thing tried to kill me on the hills back in Norway! -
It might be General Relativity .... if you're in the UK, the West Coast of the US, being further away, appears to be spinning faster than the East Coast, thus time runs more slowly ....
Reminds me of the old joke: Confucius say, "Man with watch always know the time; man with two never quite sure."
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