Today flew by. I posted earlier about my visit with Dr. DeWitt and it’s late, so bullets for the rest of the news for today.

• Bagels at Einsteins are good. Not that I didn’t expect them to be, just confirming!
• I watched part of Windows Azure Deep Dive by Mark Russinovich. Good stuff, though I hope to never have to set up a Sharepoint farm, on Azure or elsewhere. He linked to a Powershell script that will do it all for you…in only four hours! It does feel like Azure is mature enough to use. Private subnet, can create more subnets, supports cert based VPN for site or point based solutions, lots more discussed. I think finally time to dig in.
• Stopped at the community zone and got pulled into a discussion about SQLSaturday rules, brands, lunch costs, and more. Good discussion and worth the time (hopefully more on this later).
• Lunch was very good. BBQ pork, chicken, some very good corn bread.
• After lunch I wandered the lunch area as I usually do, just to see who I bump into and meet some new people. The international area was amazing.
• I attended most of Bob Ward’s session today. Mostly over my head and at a level I don’t need often, but definitely interesting and very fast paced.
• Got an invite to speak at SQLSaturday in Germany and a promise to pick me up at the airport if I do. Think that will have to wait a year or two, my kids would want to go and I’m not ready to be with them on a plane for that long of a trip yet. Maybe I’ll combine it with a trip to Portugal to see Niko when I do go.
• Stopped in at the SQL Clinic to ask two questions and see my friend Mark Souza. Scored two Azure Cats while I was there. Did I get answers? Not quite, though to be fair I didn’t have all of the details that might have gotten us there. Which doesn’t diminish the fun I have in teasing Mark about stumping his team! If you’re here, go visit – lots of knowledge in that room (and you get a free cat).
• Took a break, then back for the expo. Lots of former PASS Board members wound up waiting in the same place. Me, Allen Kinsel, Rick Heiges, Joe Webb, Rob Farley (soon to be former, close enough), we saw Wayne Synder later too. Going to try to get a photo tomorrow after the keynote.
• Expo was busy, fun. I’ll go back tomorrow to see some of the vendors that interest me the most.
• Dinner with Jim Murphy sitting outside, friends kept dropping in, making for a long and pleasant evening. Dropped in briefly at the SQLSentry party, but I decided I like quiet and cool outside more than loud and warm inside, but it was a good group there, good party!

That’s all for today. I’ll try to do better on notes tomorrow. We’ll see!