Well written AND entertaining. Nice. 🙂

I've been using SqlSvr since the 6.5 days I still learn new stuff everyday. I have to admit I usually use DatePart -...

Sorry - harsh was not the intention. Perhaps what I should have said is the article...

IMO there's a time and place for everything. There's no need to be weaned, just educated. Cursors are not evil - just a tool in the toolbox.

As for the...

I don't think the XML solution is "bad" per se, in no way did the author claim this was suited to all situations. The trigger solution will have its own...

I'm confused.  The BOL & referenced link shows:

To me this says that if you combine False & Unknown you get Unknown. ...

That is definitely a cool way to skin the cat.  I have been fascinated by XML since the early days and still am. 

There have been plenty of times I...

For women who have children, especially small children, I think any professional career path is going to be a difficult one.  When both parents work full-time, there's always the morning...

Agreed, Mark is correct. You are most likely seeing multiplicative results.  To test, make sure you select the fields in your JOIN clauses, and try ordering by them as well. ...

Steve,

Something that has worked for me in the past is doing this:

If a param is passed it is...

Gosh, don't we all take these things a bit too seriously.